Claims
- 1. A catheter, comprising:a first valve including a first protuberance and a first slit extending through the first protuberance and through the catheter, the first protuberance projecting from the catheter; and a second valve including a second protuberance and a second slit extending through the second protuberance and through the catheter, the second protuberance projecting from the catheter, the first and second protuberances projecting from the catheter by a substantially similar amount.
- 2. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the first and second protuberances project from an exterior surface of the catheter.
- 3. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the first and second protuberances project from an interior surface of the catheter.
- 4. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the first protuberance projects from an exterior surface of the catheter and the second protuberance projects from an interior surface of the catheter.
- 5. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the catheter is generally rectangular in cross-section.
- 6. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the catheter is generally oval in cross-section.
- 7. A catheter including an exterior surface and at least one interior surface defining at least one lumen, the catheter comprising:a first valve including a first protuberance, a second protuberance, and a first slit extending through the first and second protuberances and through the catheter, the first protuberance projecting from the exterior surface and the second protuberance projecting from the at least one interior surface into the at least one lumen; and a second valve including a third protuberance and a second slit extending through the third protuberance and through the catheter.
- 8. The catheter of claim 7, wherein the third protuberance projects from the exterior surface of the catheter.
- 9. The catheter of claim 7, wherein the third protuberance projects from the at least one interior surface of the catheter.
- 10. A catheter including at least one interior surface defining at least one lumen, the catheter comprising:a first valve including a first protuberance projecting from the catheter and a first slit extending through the first protuberance and the catheter, the first valve opening inwardly into the at least one lumen in response to a first aspiration threshold pressure differential, the first valve opening outwardly in response to a first infusion threshold pressure differential, the first protuberance impacting operation of the first valve; and a second valve including a second protuberance projecting from the catheter and a second slit extending through the second protuberance and the catheter, the second valve opening inwardly into the at least one lumen in response to a second aspiration threshold pressure differential, the second valve opening outwardly in response to a second infusion threshold pressure differential, the second protuberance impacting operation of the second valve.
- 11. The catheter of claim 10, wherein the catheter further comprises an exterior surface and the first protuberance projects from the exterior surface, the first protuberance impacting the operation of the first valve by requiring the first aspiration threshold pressure differential to be higher than the first infusion threshold pressure differential before the first valve will open into the at least one lumen.
- 12. The catheter of claim 10, wherein the catheter further comprises an exterior surface and the second protuberance projects from the exterior surface, the second protuberance impacting the operation of the second valve by requiring the second aspiration threshold pressure differential to be higher than the second infusion threshold pressure differential before the second valve will open into the at least one lumen.
- 13. The catheter of claim 10, wherein the first protuberance projects into the at least one lumen, the first protuberance impacting the operation of the first valve by requiring the first infusion threshold pressure differential to be higher than the first aspiration threshold pressure differential before the first valve will open outwardly.
- 14. The catheter of claim 10, wherein the second protuberance projects into the at least one lumen, the second protuberance impacting the operation of the second valve by requiring the second infusion threshold pressure differential to be higher than the second aspiration threshold pressure differential before the second valve will open outwardly.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/272,709, filed Mar. 19, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,483, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/943,046, filed Oct. 1, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,203.
US Referenced Citations (69)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 476 796 |
Mar 1992 |
EP |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09/272709 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/633543 |
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US |
Parent |
08/943046 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/272709 |
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US |