Embodiments of the invention relate to a sealing cap for a body fluid container and a blood collection device for collecting a blood sample.
Containers for body fluid collection and storage are known in many different versions. Among such containers are blood collection devices provided as blood collection tubes. State of the art blood collection tubes have commonly been provided with a thick rubber stopper also referred to as a cap which can be pierced with sharp needles using much force. The collection tubes are used as primary containers in laboratory analyzers. Today, the “usual” practice in laboratories is for the blood collection tubes to be opened before they are placed in an analysis machine in that the cap is removed either manually or using a decapper.
Body fluid containers with caps have been found whereby the rubber stopper is pre-pierced with a plastic device creating an opening through which pipetting is possible. Examples include devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,240,679 and 5,081,872. Other devices and machines are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,457 and WO 90/11752. Both processes mentioned above use disposable plastic parts. Furthermore, there are methods which press a washable hollow needle through the rubber cap which one may then pipette through (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,211). All of the systems were not able to establish themselves and have disappeared from the market once more.
The disadvantages of the prior art devices are that both of the above methods require a special device and particular equipment in order to provide the considerable force necessary to penetrate the cap. This can regularly lead to breakages in the tube container and the resulting contamination of the device, which is the exact opposite of the desired aim, namely a more or less contamination-free pipetting from “closed” tube containers. The other methods had the disadvantage of the hollow needle which must be cleaned or in cases of direct pipetting through the vacutainer's stopper, the forces necessary are particularly high and therefore it is not possible to pipette small volumes accurately due to the negative pressure which was thereby created in the tube container. A further disadvantage of existing solutions is that tube containers which do not have the device mentioned above are normally opened (decapped) before they are placed in the analysis equipment and have to receive a new closure (be recapped) prior to storage in a refrigerator. This has to be done for each subsequent analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,445 discloses a sealing cap for the mouth of a container which facilitates both the sealing of new bottles containing unused contents, and the re-sealing of those bottles already in use so as to preserve their contents. The sealing cap includes an inner cap and an outer cap. The inner cap includes a shielding plate which is fixed on the mouth of a container, and an annular strip which is provided at the lower end of the outer circumferential wall of the inner cap. The outer cap, which is fixed on the inner cap, includes a top lid, and a main cap with a guide tube having a lower-end sharp edge located opposite the shielding plate. By removing the annular strip from the inner cap and pressing down the outer cap, the lower end of the outer cap engages the outer circumference of the mouth of the container, and at the same time, the lower-end sharp edge of the guide tube pierces the shielding plate. The user then opens the top lid of the outer cap to access the contents of the container.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,234 a cap member having an annular wall and a top wall disposed within and connected to the annular wall is known. An arcuate pierce-plow member is disposed on an upper surface of the top wall at a position spaced from the annular wall. The pierce-plow member includes a piercing member disposed adjacent to the substantially flat portion of the plow base member. In an inverted, operative position relative to the container having a pierceable membrane which fluidly seals the mouth, the cap member can be used to pierce the pierceable membrane by rotating the cap member.
Embodiments of the invention provide an improved sealing cap for a body fluid container, and a body fluid collection device, which facilitates the handling of a body fluid sample for the user, especially a blood sample.
According to an embodiment of the invention a sealing cap for a body fluid container, is provided, the sealing cap comprising: an inner cap to be placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth, the inner cap comprising a shielding member to seal the mouth of the container, an outer cap resting on the inner cap, the outer cap being movable relative to the inner cap, a channel member, wherein by a rotational movement the outer cap is movable between a first position, in which the channel member is located separated from the shielding member, and a second position, in which the channel member is extending through the shielding member, thereby establishing an open state of the shielding member, and wherein the shielding member returns to a closed state when the outer cap is moved back from the second position to the first position.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a body fluid collection device for collecting a body fluid sample, e.g. a blood sample, is provided, the device comprising a body fluid container and a sealing cap according to the above described embodiment placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, a body fluid collection system for collecting a body fluid sample is provided, the body fluid collection system comprising a body fluid container and a sealing cap according to the above described embodiment placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth and a pipetting device.
In the following, the invention will be described in further detail, by way of example, with reference to different embodiments. In the figures show:
In the
According to an embodiment of the invention a sealing cap for a body fluid container, is provided, the sealing cap comprising: an inner cap to be placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth, the inner cap comprising a shielding member to seal the mouth of the container, an outer cap resting on the inner cap, the outer cap being movable relative to the inner cap, a channel member, wherein by a rotational movement the outer cap is movable between a first position, in which the channel member is located separated from the shielding member, and a second position, in which the channel member is extending through the shielding member, thereby establishing an open state of the shielding member, and wherein the shielding member returns to a closed state when the outer cap is moved back from the second position to the first position. The sealing cap, for example, may be used for sealing a blood collection tube.
An embodiment of the invention comprises the idea of movably mounting the outer cap onto the inner cap in such a way that the outer cap is located in a first position, which could also be referred to as the upper position, in which the channel member forming part of the outer cap is located separated from the shielding member, specifically above this. When the sealing cap is located on top of the container, this constitutes a closed interior of the container. The outer cap can be moved, by means of a downwards rotational movement, into the second position in which the channel member extends through the shielding member, thus creating an access to the interior of the container through which a body fluid can either flow directly or be extracted using suitable equipment, for example a pipette. The tip of the latter can be inserted via the body fluid channel in the channel member. Through a reverse rotational movement, the outer cap can be moved back upwards to remove the channel member from the area of the shielding member. The outer cap is guided between the first and second positions in its rotational movement with the help of guiding means. In this way, the use of the cap is made easier as through the help of the guiding means, the upward and downward movement of the outer cap is clearly determined. It is not left to the user, as to how much pressure he uses to open the outer cap. Rather, the guiding means define the movement of the outer cap relative to the inner cap in a particular way. The probability of damaging elements of the sealing cap is thus reduced.
In order to form the closed state, one embodiment sees a section of the shielding member, previously pushed to one side by the channel member, return to its starting position thus closing the interior of the container once more, in respect to the environment. Even though such a re-sealings usually less tight than the original seal, the container is closed in this way after body fluid has been collected in or extracted from the container and as such a further storage of the body fluid in the container is made possible.
The sealing cap or the body fluid collection device can be provided as sterile packaged articles, in particular also as disposable products.
In a preferred embodiment, the guiding means are configured to guide the outer cap on a helical path in the rotational movement between the first and second position. The configuration of a helical path supports an even and gradual raising and lowering of the outer cap relative to the inner cap, whereby the outer cap slides smoothly into the second position.
In a further embodiment still, the channel member is provided with a bottom-end piercing edge, configured to pierce the shielding member when the outer cap is moved from the first position to the second position for the first time by the rotational movement. With the help of the bottom-end piercing edge, the shielding member is pierced and cut in such a way that a section of the shielding member can be pushed to one side by the channel member as the channel member passes through the shielding member. The bottom-end piercing edge can be configured in an embodiment such that the cutting or piercing of the shielding member through the downward rotational movement of the outer cap takes place gradually.
According to a preferred embodiment, the bottom-end piercing edge is configured to pierce the shielding member along an annular piercing line. Such annular piercing line, in a preferred embodiment, may be an open circle line.
In order to form the closed state, one embodiment sees a section of the shielding member, previously pushed to one side by the channel member, return to its starting position thus closing the interior of the container once more, in respect to the environment. Even though such a re-sealing is usually less tight than the original seal, the container is closed in this way after body fluid has been collected in or extracted from the container and as such a further storage of the body fluid in the container is made possible.
In an embodiment, restriction means are provided, the restriction means being configured to hold the outer cap in a used first position different from an unused first position when the outer cap is moved from the second position into the first position. In one embodiment, the restriction means are provided on facing surfaces of the outer cap and the inner cap. For example, on the outer cap a projection is located which interacts with a recess on the inner cap. The projection slides over the recess in the downwards rotational movement of the outer cap, but jumps into the recess in the upwards rotational movement of the outer cap, thereby providing a locked connection between the inner and outer cap. Also other engagement mechanism may be provided permitting the downwards rotational movement of the outer cap and securing the outer cap in the used first position.
According to a further embodiment, position label means are provided, configured to indicate at least one of the unused first position and the used first position of the outer cap. In this way, there is an external indication as to whether the sealing cap is in its original state or a used state. The latter is characterized by the fact that the cap has already been moved into the second position at least once, and thus an opening exists to the interior of the container for the collection or extraction of body fluid. It is thus, in practice, immediately evident to the user as to whether the container has been used or not. A colored marking as a position label means is preferred.
In a further embodiment still, wherein the shielding member comprise a pierceable sealing membrane, the sealing membrane is in one embodiment made of aluminium foil. This has a coating made of one of polypropylene and polyethylene which is used to further seal the aluminium membrane, for example with suitable conditions in respect of temperature and pressure. A similar sealing is also possible using a sealing membrane made of other materials. The pierceable sealing membrane is configured to avoid penetration of a body fluid including gas. Therefore, in a container sealed by the sealing cap a vacuum can be kept until the pierceable sealing membrane is pierced, for example until the container is filled with a blood sample from a patient in a phlebotomy. In order to fill the container with a blood sample in the scope of a blood test, a cannula is inserted through the sealing membrane and further through the shielding member.
According to a preferred embodiment, the outer cap is provided as a molded member made of a plastic material. In another preferred embodiment, the inner cap is made of an elastic material such as a thermoplastic elastomer or rubber.
In another preferred embodiment, guiding means are provided, configured to guide the outer cap relative to the inner cap in the rotational movement between the first and second position.
In a preferred embodiment, the guiding means comprise threads configured to provide a threaded connection between the outer cap and the inner cap.
In still a further embodiment, the channel member is provided with a passage for a pipetting device. In a preferred embodiment, the passage is provided with a diameter in the range from about 3 mm to about 11 mm.
In a preferred embodiment, the inner cap is provided as a stopper member, the stopper member comprising an inner circumferential wall and an outer circumferential wall.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a body fluid collection device for collecting a body fluid sample, e.g. a blood sample, is provided, the device comprising a body fluid container and a sealing cap according to any of the above described embodiments placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, a body fluid collection system for collecting a body fluid sample is provided, the body fluid collection system comprising a body fluid container and a sealing cap according to any of the above described embodiments placed on an opening in the body fluid container forming a mouth and a pipetting device. The pipetting device, for example, is provided as a pipetting needle.
In the starting position of the outer cap 5, as per
In order to fill the container 3 with a blood sample in the scope of a blood test, a cannula (not shown) is inserted through the opening 10 into the channel 11 and then further through the sealing membrane 8 and the shielding member 7. The outer cap 5 hereby preferably remains in the position shown in
The movement of the outer cap 5 downwards in the course of the rotational movement is guided by threads 14, the interlocking elements 14a and 14b provided on the inner and outer caps 4 and 5 respectively.
After a body fluid sample has been removed from the container 3 or body fluid has been collected in the container 3 the outer cap 5 can be moved back upwards again with a screw or rotational movement in the opposite direction, as shown in
In
In its lower part, the inner cap 4 has thicker sections 16 which comprise a possible embodiment of grip elements which facilitate the attachment and removal of the sealing cap 1.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations obvious to the skilled artisan are to be considered within the scope of the claims that follow and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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07010483 | May 2007 | EP | regional |
The present application is filed under 35 U.S.C. §111 (a) as a continuation of copending International Application No. PCT/EP2008/004080, with an international filing date of May 21, 2008,and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to European Patent Application No. 07010483.1, filed May 25, 2007,now EP Patent No. 2148823.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP2008/004080 | May 2008 | US |
Child | 12617070 | US |