This application is the United States national phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2013/066161 filed Aug. 1, 2013, and claims priority to European Patent Application Nos. 12305971.9 and 13305096.3 filed Aug. 3, 2012 and Jan. 28, 2013, respectively, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.
The present invention relates to a closing system for a hand-held medical container, said closing system allowing both opening and closing of said container with a single hand.
Small containers that can be held with a single hand, such as bottles, vials or tubes are widely used in everyday life to store some material in the form of a liquid, a paste or divided matter. They usually consist in a storage compartment, intended to store the material, and a closing system, intended to prevent spilling of the material when the container is transported or turned over.
In this application, the distal end of a component or apparatus must be understood as meaning the end furthest from the hand of the user and the proximal end must be understood as meaning the end closest to the hand of the user, with reference to the injection device intended to be used with said component or apparatus. As such, in this application, the distal direction must be understood as the direction of injection with reference to the injection device, and the proximal direction is the opposite direction, i.e. the direction of the transfer of the product from the container used with the closing system of the invention, such as a vial, to the injection device.
In the medical field, hand-held containers such as vials are commonly used to store and distribute drugs or vaccines intended to be injected to patients. Such containers are inexpensive, durable and can be made sterile before being filled with a pharmaceutical product. A number of doses can be stored in a limited space and such medical containers are therefore convenient for medical staff working outside of the hospital. Indeed, they are widely used in large scale immunization programs or during pandemics, where populations living in remote area, far away from towns and hospital facilities, need to be vaccinated or cured.
These vials are usually closed by a septum intended to be pierced by the needle of an injection device. This septum therefore acts as a barrier between the inside of the vial and the outside environment: it protects the pharmaceutical product stored in said vial from outside contaminants such as dust, bacteria, germs or viruses.
However, some contaminants might reach the inside of the vial despite the septum, thus damaging the efficacy and the sterility of the pharmaceutical product. This happens especially during remote healthcare operation, where pharmaceutical products such as drugs or vaccines need to be injected to populations living far away from hospital facilities in poor hygienic conditions.
First of all, the septum itself may be damaged during transportation or when handled in rough conditions. This could include shocks, excessive sunlight, excessive temperature, very low or high humidity level, or contact with hazardous liquid. Additionally, it is sometimes difficult to guaranty favorable hygienic conditions in such remote locations, and the septum and/or the vials could be contacted by unclean hands or contaminated surfaces. Finally, and in the case of multidose vials, the septum needs to be pierced several successive times i.e. as many times as the number of product doses stored into the vial. This repeated piercing could mechanically damage the septum, for example by leaving tiny holes through its material.
There is therefore a need for a device that would protect the septum of a container, such as a vial, when it is exposed to potential contamination.
Moreover, during remote healthcare programs, a wide number of healthcare workers are usually involved and it would be difficult to provide them with specific trainings to use non obvious new devices. This is the reason why any device designed for improving the practice of healthcare workers needs to be straightforward and obvious to operate. In addition, the healthcare workers who perform injections of pharmaceutical products to patients have to carry an injection system, a case, or other medical devices, at the same time they handle the vial. Consequently, such a device should be safe and convenient to manipulate.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to provide a device capable of protecting the septum of a container, such as a vial, while being safe, straightforward and convenient to manipulate. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a device that could be manipulated so as to give access to the opening of a container, for example the septum of a vial, or on the contrary so as to protect said opening or septum, with only one hand.
A first embodiment of the present invention is a closing system for a container to be held with a single hand, said closing system comprising:
In one configuration, a closure for a container includes a cap comprising a skirt and a transverse wall having an access port defined therein. The closure also includes a cover extending substantially parallel to the cap and comprising a guiding member extending therefrom. The closure further includes a hinge member in communication with at least a portion of the cap and at least a portion of the cover, the hinge member allowing a planar rotation of the cover with respect to the cap from a first position in which the cover is disposed over the access port, to a second position in which the cover is spaced apart from the access port. In certain embodiments, the cover may be disposed in the same plane in both the first and second positions.
In a further configuration, a closure for a container includes a cap having an access port defined therein. The closure also includes a cover pivotally connected to the cap, wherein the cover is rotatable with respect to a portion of the cap from a first position in which a portion of the cover restricts access to the access port to a second position in which the access port is unobstructed by the cover.
In yet a further configuration, a closure for a container includes a first portion having an access port defined therein and a second portion pivotally connected to the first portion. The second portion is transitionable from a first position in which the first portion covers the access port to a second position in which the first portion is spaced apart from the access port.
The closing system of the present invention may be intended to be adapted to a hand-held container, in which case the closing system of the invention is referred to in the description of the figures below as an adaptor as it is intended to be mounted on an independent container. For example, the closing system of the invention consisting in an adaptor may be mounted on a container with the access port of the closing system of the invention facing an opening of the container, for example facing the septum of a vial. For example, the cap of the closing system of the invention as an adaptor may be mounted onto an opening of the container with the access port facing said opening. The hand-held container may be a medical container, such as for example a conventional vial for storing pharmaceutical products, such as multidose vials for vaccines. Such a vial 1 is shown on
Alternatively, the closing system of the present invention may be integrated in the hand-held container, namely may be a part of the container itself, the cap being a part of the container wall for example, with the access port facing an opening of the container.
The closing system of the present invention allows an efficient closure of the container, for example a vial, and an efficient protection of the vial septum. Thanks to the hinge and the guiding member, it is also very simple to manipulate with a single hand: the container can be grasped by one hand and only the thumb is required to open and close the cover. In particular, thanks to the guiding member and the hinge, the user can rotate the cover from its first position, also referred to hereinafter as the “closed” position of the cover, in which the cover closes the access port, to its second position, also referred to hereinafter as the “open” position of the cover, in which the cover no more closes the access port, with only one hand, and in particular with one finger, for example the thumb. The closing system is thus particularly valuable in the field of medicine where the healthcare workers often need their second hand to handle a swab, another container or an injection device. Furthermore, the cover preferably cannot be separated from the cap even if the container falls during operation. The closing system is therefore resistant to rough conditions often met in remote areas, outside the hospital.
In embodiments, the hinge of the closing system comprises a shaft extending in the distal direction from the cover, and a corner hole provided in the transversal wall. The transversal wall, the cap and the cover, may show a perimeter having the global shape of half a circle terminated by half the square inscribing said circle. For sake of clarity, it is then considered hereinafter that the transversal wall, the cap and the cover may show a global circular shape except for one linear side, namely the side of the square mentioned above, and two corners, located at each end of said linear side. For sake of clarity, in the following description, it will be considered that the transversal wall, the cap and the cover have four sides, globally corresponding to the four sides of the virtual square above, namely a linear side as defined above, an arched side, opposite said linear side, and two sides joining said linear side to said arched side. The corner hole is therefore provided at one of the corners of the transversal wall, and the shaft is intended to be received inside the corner hole. In embodiments therefore, the hinge is provided at a corner of the transversal wall. This hinge allows a straightforward planar movement of the cover regarding the cap: the cover slides in a planar rotation regarding the transversal wall to give access to the access port. Moreover, the cover can be guided during the whole movement by a single finger contacting the guiding member.
In embodiments, the guiding member is a stud. This shape has been found preferable to allow the user's thumb to guide the cover during the closing and the opening. Moreover, the stud also provides a visual and tactile indication to the user for an obvious operation of the closing system. Any health care worker is thus able to use the closing system in an appropriate way without a specific training. In other embodiments, the guiding member could be a hole, a lug or a ring. For example, the stud extends in the proximal direction from the cover.
In embodiments, the cover further comprises a pushing surface, to allow the opening of the cover by a suggested thrust movement from the user's thumb. The pushing surface also provides further visual and tactile indication for an untrained user to operate the closing system in an appropriate way.
In embodiments, the hinge is located on a side of the cover. This position allows a fast opening with only a limited movement of the user's thumb. Preferably, the hinge is also located on a rear portion of the cover, to allow a natural sliding movement to the back of the closing system.
In the present description, the terms “front” and “rear” are defined with respect to the position of the user with respect to the closing system of the invention when the user uses said closing system, with the side, part or portion of the closing system or of an element thereof closest to the user being referred to as the “front” side, part or portion of said element or closing system, and the side, part or portion of the closing system or of an element thereof furthest to the user being referred to as the “rear” side, part or portion of said element or closing system. In embodiments, the rear side of the transversal wall, cap and cover corresponds to the linear side of said transversal wall, cap and cover as defined above.
In embodiments, the pushing surface is located on a front portion of the cover, in order to be located nearby the user's thumb when the user grasps the container with his hand. Due to its position, the user is led to push onto this surface without a specific training.
In embodiments, the hinge is located at a corner of the transversal wall, and the pushing surface is located on the cover at a position diametrically opposed to said corner.
In embodiments, the stud is located on a rear portion of the cover. This position is advantageous to supplement the pushing surface during the opening movement, in particular in case the user does not grasp the container in the most appropriate way.
In embodiments, the stud is located on a first side of the cover and the hinge is located on an opposite, second side of the cover. Consequently, the stud located on a rear portion of the cover is brought nearby the user's thumb when the cover is in the open position. The closing movement is thus rendered obvious to untrained users, as they only need to pull the stud with their thumb to close the cover.
In embodiments, the pushing surface and the stud are located on the same first side of the cover. The pushing surface is thus located at another extremity of the cover regarding the hinge, which allows smooth and easy opening of the cover thanks to a leverage effect. Moreover, if the user's thumb slides from the pushing surface, for example because of water or condensation onto the cover, said thumb would come in contact with the stud and a fast opening will be possible anyway.
For example, in embodiments, the hinge is located at a corner of the rear side of the transversal wall, the pushing surface is located on the front side of the cover at a position diametrically opposed to said corner, and the guiding member, for example the stud, is located on the cover at the other corner of the rear side.
In embodiments, the closing system comprises unidirectional means only allowing a clockwise or a counterclockwise rotation. This forces the user to manipulate the closing system in only one direction, therefore restricting any inappropriate operation. The closing and the opening must be done in the same clockwise or counterclockwise movement, which renders the closing system safe and obvious to manipulate.
In embodiments, said unidirectional means comprises a tooth located on a flexible leg substantially parallel to said cover, and three openings located on said transversal wall. In particular, the flexible leg and the three openings are capable of cooperating together so as to allow only one of the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations for the cover. For example, the flexible leg is capable of successively engaging and disengaging said openings when the cover is rotated in the allowed rotation, whereas said flexible leg is definitely stuck inside one of said openings if the cover is rotated in the non authorized rotation. These unidirectional means have proven to be very reliable and easy to manufacture.
In embodiments, the closing system further comprises locking means to maintain the cover in a closed position during storage. These locking means prevent undesired opening of the cover, in particular during storage and shipping.
In embodiments, the locking means comprises a peg located on a longitudinal extension of said cover, and a notch located on the skirt. Only a small pressure is required to disengage the peg from the notch and these locking means efficiently prevents undesired opening without hampering a simple opening of the closing system.
In embodiments, said transversal wall comprises a rear extension intended to block the user's index finger, in particular in the proximal direction, when said user grasps said closing system. For example, the rear extension extends in the rear direction beyond a longitudinal wall of the skirt. This helps the user to firmly grasp the container, even if the user's hand or the container is wet or dirty. Moreover, it also helps to correctly place the thumb nearby the pushing surface and thus improves the obviousness to manipulate the closing system.
In embodiments, the closing system further comprises protection means for preventing contact, when the cover is in its second position, between the user's hand and the part of the cover intended to face the access port in the first position of the cover. For example, the part of the cover which is intended to face the access port in the first position of the cover may face the ambient environment when the cover is in its second, open, position. In such a case, the protection means prevent contact between potential unclean hands of the user and said part of the cover. When the container the closing system is a part of or is mounted onto is a container for storing a pharmaceutical product, the protection means help preventing contaminants from reaching the inside of the container and from damaging the efficacy and the sterility of the stored pharmaceutical product.
For example, the protection means may include a protruding ridge located on a distal face of the cover, offset from said part of the cover intended to face the access port in the first position of the cover, said protruding ridge defining a distal extension of said cover. The distal extension therefore keeps away the user's hand from said part of the cover in the second position of the cover. Potential contaminants of unclean hands for example are therefore kept away from the part of the cover intended to face and/or contact the access port.
In embodiments, the protection means further include a step designed on said transversal wall of said cap, said step separating said transversal wall into a proximal portion where the access port is located, and a distal lodging, offset from said access port, said distal lodging being shaped and dimensioned so as to be capable of receiving said distal extension of said cover when said cover is in its first position. In the case of inappropriate operation of the closing system, for example with unclean hands, the potentially contaminated portion of the cover, namely the distal extension formed by the protruding ridge, is therefore kept away from the access port when the cover is back in its first, closed position. Indeed, when the cover closes, the distal extension is received in the distal lodging and is separated by the step from the proximal portion of the transversal wall where the access port is located. Potential contaminants of the distal extension are therefore restricted to the distal lodging of the transversal wall and the access port remains uncontaminated.
The present invention will now be described in greater detail based on the following description and the appended drawings, in which:
For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”, “longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as it is oriented in the drawing figures.
As seen above, and with reference to
With reference to
In embodiments not shown, the closing system of the invention does not comprise any gripping member. For example in embodiments where the closing system is a part of the container itself, no gripping member is necessary. Alternatively, the cap itself may show a shape adapted for coupling and/or mounting the closing system/adaptor of the invention on the container or vial, in which case no specific gripping member is necessary.
In embodiments not shown, the closing system of the invention neither comprises a counting ring nor a pierceable elastomeric piece. The counting ring and the pierceable elastomeric piece are optional elements of the closing system of the invention.
With reference to
Still with reference to
With reference to
In embodiments not shown, the skirt of the cap as defined above may be capable of coupling and/or mounting the closing system/adaptor onto a container.
With reference to
In embodiments not shown, in which the closing system/adaptor of the invention comprises no gripping member and no counting ring, the cap may show different shape and dimensions, as long as said cap is capable of being coupled and/or mounted onto a container, preferably with the access port facing an opening of the container.
Moreover, the U-shaped skirt 43 of the cap 40 is aligned with the U-shaped element 21 of the gripping member 20 when the different elements of the adaptor 10 are assembled. With reference to
With references to
In the embodiment shown on
As it can be seen on
Suitable materials for the pierceable elastomeric piece 50 of the adaptor of the invention include natural rubber, acrylate-butadiene rubber, cis-polybutadiene, chlroro or bromobutyl rubber, chlorinated polyethylene elastomers, polyalkylene oxide polymers, ethylene vinyl acetate, fluorosilicone rubbers, hexafluoropropylene-vinylidenefluoride-tetrafluoroethyleneterpolymers, butyl rubbers, polyisobutene, synthetic polyisoprene rubber, silicone rubbers, styrene-butadiene rubbers, tetrafluoroethylene propylene copolymers, thermoplastic-copolyesters, thermo-plastic elastomers, or the like or a combination thereof.
Preferably, the elastomeric piece is self-resealing and it automatically and rapidly closes the hole produced by the piercing of the needle, for example in less than 0.5 seconds, once the needle is removed from the elastomeric piece. This automatic closure step may occur a high number of times, in particular as many times as necessary for removing the number N doses of product initially present in the multidose vial 1. Suitable materials for self-resealing pierceable elastomeric piece include synthetic polyisoprene, natural rubber, silicone rubber, thermo-plastic elastomers, or the like or a combination thereof.
The cover 60 will now be described in detail with reference to
In this preferred embodiment, both the stud 68 as guiding member and the pushing surface 62 are significantly offset to the corner 61d where the hinge (46, 66) (see
More precisely, as the cover 60 is considered to have a substantially circular shape defining a center C located on the planar portion 64, therefore the pushing surface 62 is localized at about 180° from the corner 61d including the hinge (46, 66) (see
In other embodiments not shown, the guiding member could have another form such as a hole, a lug or a ring and the distal surface bulges from the sheet 61.
Now considering the distal face of the sheet 61 as shown on
Furthermore, as shown on
The sheet 61 may be made of any material such as high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), silicon resin or any other rigid polymer. Alternatively, materials such as metal, wood or glass may be used.
In the embodiment of the closing system/adaptor of the invention as described in
The use of the closing system of the invention as an adaptor 10 once connected with a vial of
With reference to
The pierceable elastomeric piece 50 extends through the central hole 33 of the counting ring 30 to come in close contact with the outer surface 4a of the septum 4 of the vial 1. In particular, the protruding part 53a even distorts the outer surface 4a of the septum 4, as can be seen on
The attaching means 44c, 56, 57 and 44d appropriately connect the elastomeric piece 50 and also allow a fast and straightforward assembly of the elastomeric piece 50 inside the needle access port 44. Indeed, the elastomeric piece 50 can be presented by the distal face of the cap 40, proximally pushed into the needle access port 44. It is easily deformed in the needle access port thanks to its elastomeric properties which allows the inner radial pegs 44e to pass along the distal portion of the longitudinal wall 54 up to the circular groove 56. The shoulder 57 rests on the abutment surface 44d of the needle access port 44 and prevents any further proximal translation: the elastomeric piece 50 is correctly assembled with the cap 40.
With reference to
Additionally, the cap 40 is itself snap-fitted on the gripping member 20 thanks to the recesses 43c engaged with the radial pegs 23 present on the tubular wall 22 of U-shaped element 21 of the gripping member 20. As a consequence, the cap 40 is fixed with respect to the gripping member 20. In an embodiment not shown, the cap 40 and the U-shaped element 21 can be integrated together and form a single element, namely a cap acting as a gripping member.
According to the
The cover 60 is maintained in its first, closed position as the peg 43a engages the notch 63d of the cap 40, the peg 63a and the notch 43d serving as locking means for preventing any undesired rotation of the cover 60. The cover 60 therefore allows an efficient protection against dust and contamination of the elastomeric piece 50 and thus of the septum 4 of the vial 1, when the vial 1 is not in used.
Usually the vials containing vaccines are stored at cold temperature (2-8° C.) and, when a user takes a vial out of the refrigerated storage, some condensation could appear on the surface of the vial septum and/or on the surface of adaptor 10 as it is exposed to ambient temperature. The discontinuous circular rim 64d of the cover 60 is in tight contact with the transversal wall 41 of the cap 40, in particular with the portion located around the needle access port 44, when the cover 60 is in its closed position. This prevents any condensation from being trapped into the recess 51 while effectively closing the needle access port 44 as this discontinuous circular rim 64d allows a gas exchange between the recess 51 and the outside environment.
Furthermore, the distally sloped surface 52 of the elastomeric piece 50 shown on
Thanks to its configuration, the protrusion 55 of the recess 51 remains a dry and clean pierceable surface as the limited amount of condensation is restricted to a portion of the bottom surface around the protrusion 55. The discontinuous circular rim 64d, the distally sloped surface 52 and the protrusion 55 are thus all designed in such a way to prevent or to limit contamination due to bacteria growing in condensation nearby the pierceable elastomeric piece 50 and the septum 4.
When the user needs to withdraw a first dose of product, he grasps the adaptor 10 coupled to the vial 1, his index finger contacting the U-shaped skirt 43 and the rear extension 41b of the cap 40 as can be seen on
To complete the movement of the cover 60 to its second, open position, the user sustains the pressure on the pushing surface 62 until the cover 60 is at 180° of its first position and allows the access to the needle access port 44.
Then the user can withdraw a dose of the pharmaceutical product stored in the vial 1. This can be done by turning the vial over, the proximal face of the transversal wall 41 now substantially facing the ground as shown on
The user can then fill the injection device 70 by withdrawing a dose of the pharmaceutical product contained in the vial. Even if the inside of the vial 1 is under vacuum after removal of the needle 71, no outside air is sucked inside. Indeed the distal surface 53 of the elastomeric piece 50 and in particular the protruding part 53a engages the surface 4a of the septum 4. The interface between the elastomeric piece 50 and the septum 4 is preserved from outside air, condensation and contaminants; the elastomeric piece 50 and the septum 4 of the vial 1 behave has a single piece. The elastomeric piece 50 therefore allows the septum 4 of the vial to reseal before the complete removal of the needle 71 and prevent sucking of the outside air into the vial.
With the cover 60 in an open position, the elastomeric piece is directly exposed to outside contaminants. Nonetheless, any direct contact is avoided with the bottom surface of the elastomeric piece, intended to be pierced, even if the user's fingers or any contaminated surface might come in contact with the pierceable elastomeric piece 50. The recess 51 and the proximal surface 52 prevent the user's finger or any other contaminated surface to contact the bottom surface 53. Moreover, if any dust would penetrate the recess or if any condensation would form, they will mainly be restricted around the protrusion 55, therefore keeping the protrusion 55, intended to be pierced, substantially away from contaminants. The recess 51 therefore provides an additional and valuable protection against the contamination of the inside of the vial 1. This is particularly important when the adaptor 10 is used in locations where the user has a limited access to efficient soap or sterilizing solution.
After the injection device 70 is filled with the pharmaceutical product, the adaptor 10 can be closed. Performing this step implies moving the cover 60 from the second open position back to its first closed position. The pushing surface 62 of the cover is now in the opposite direction as regards of the thumb of the user who has to pull on the stud 68 with his thumb for moving the cover 60 in a planar clockwise movement towards its closed position. In this position, the peg 63a of the cover 60 is re-engaged in the notch 43d of the cap 40 and the cover 60 is locked.
The position of the pushing surface 62 on an opposite side from the hinge (46, 66) and preferably as far as possible, allows a leverage effect resulting in very smooth and easy movement of the cover 60 at the beginning of its rotation. The position of the guiding member, namely the stud 68, offset from the corner 61d but not at the extremity of the sheet 61, allows closing the cover 60 with a limited movement of the user's thumb.
The pushing surface 62 and the stud 68 therefore permit a relay as an interface for the user's thumb. The pushing surface 62 allows the user to rotate the cover 60 for the first 180° (the opening), while the stud 68 allows the user to rotate the cover 60 for the last 180° (the closing). The pushing surface can also help the user for the very last degrees of the rotation, as it is almost came back to its first position in front of the thumb. The stud 68 can also be used during the opening, for example if the user is unable to grasp the vial 1 in an appropriate way. These two interfaces, namely the pushing surface 62 and the guiding member 68 therefore allow a straightforward and reliable operation of the cover 60.
During the whole operation, only a single hand is required to open and close the cover 60 of the adaptor 10. Thanks to the hinge formed by the shaft 66 coupled with the corner hole 46 of the cap 40, together with the pushing surface 62 and the stud 68, the cover 60 can be moved with a single thumb, the other fingers grasping both the vial and the adaptor. As a result, the user can grasp with its second hand any other required material, such as an injection device.
Moreover, the clockwise rotation indicated by the arrow 69 present on the cap is forced by the unidirectional means 64b, 64c, 49a, 49b and 49c. Additionally, the fingers of the user are just in contact with the cover 60 and with the rear extension 41b of the cap 40 and contact neither the cap 40 nor the elastomeric piece 50. This leads to a safe and straightforward operation with limited contamination, as the user is prevented from touching the pierceable elastomeric piece 50. The user is therefore preserved from any accidental pricking or movement and does not require particular training to properly operate the adaptor 10.
Indeed, the closing system comprising the transversal wall 41, the cover 61 and the hinge (46, 66) could be used with any container intended to be manipulated with a single hand, particularly in the medical area but also in the fields of cosmetics, food or industry. The closing system according to the present embodiment of
The closing system of the present invention allows a safe and straightforward manipulation even when operated by an untrained user.
With reference to
The cap 400 comprises a transversal wall 410 having a substantially four-sided shape and divided into a low front portion forming a distal lodging 411 separated from a high rear proximal portion 412 by a curved step 413 (see
The cover 600 comprises a sheet 610 having substantially the shape of the transversal wall 410 of the cap 400 and being substantially parallel to the transversal wall 410. Similarly to the cover 60 of the adaptor 10 shown in
When the user grabs the adaptor 100, one of his fingers is in contact with the rear extension 410b, similarly to what is shown on
In the case of inappropriate operation of the adaptor 100, for example with unclean hands, contaminants are thus restricted to the rear extension 410b and the protruding ridge 650. When the user moves the cover 600 back from its open position to its closed position, the protruding ridge 650 only faces the low front portion forming the distal lodging 411 of the cap 400 and the curved segment 651 contacts the curved step 413. The distal extension of the cover 600, formed by the protruding ridge 650, is therefore received in the distal lodging 411 and is separated by the curved step 413 from the proximal portion 412 of the transversal wall 410 where the access port 440 is located. Contaminants potentially present on the distal extension are therefore restricted to the distal lodging 411 of the transversal wall 410 while the needle access port 440 accommodating the elastomeric piece 500 is covered by the clean circular rim 640d.
The protruding ridge 650 therefore forms part of the protection means, when the cover 600 is in its second or open position, for preventing contact between the user's hand and the part of the cover 600, for example the circular rim 640d, intended to face the access port 440 in the first or closed position of the cover
The low front portion forming the distal lodging 411, the high rear proximal portion 412 and the curved step 413 of the transversal wall 410, together with the rear extension 410b therefore help preventing any contamination to be transferred from the user's hand to the access port 440 and the pierceable elastomeric piece 500 through the cover 600. When the adaptor 100 is mounted on a vial storing a pharmaceutical product, these features consequently prevent contaminants to reach the inside of the vial and to damage the efficacy and the sterility of the stored pharmaceutical product.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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12305971 | Aug 2012 | EP | regional |
13305096 | Jan 2013 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2013/066161 | 8/1/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/020100 | 2/6/2014 | WO | A |
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