Claims
- 1. An arterial cannula comprising:
a tubular body having a first end, a second end; and a lumen therebetween, wherein the tubular body is adapted to be implanted within an arterial lumen; and a tubular access leg having a first end connected to the tubular body at a junction, a second end, and a lumen therebetween, wherein the access tube lumen is fluidly coupled to the tubular body lumen at the junction.
- 2. An arterial cannula as in claim 1, wherein the tubular body has a length in the range from 10 mm to 50 mm and an outer diameter in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm.
- 3. An arterial cannula as in claim 1, wherein the access leg has a length in the range from 25 mm to 700 mm and an outer diameter in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm.
- 4. An arterial cannula as in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the access leg is sufficiently compliant so that no substantial forces may be transmitted to the tubular body through the access leg.
- 5. An arterial cannula as in claim 4, wherein at least a portion of the access leg adjacent to the tubular body has a bending stiffness which is less than that of the adjacent tubular body.
- 6. An arterial cannula as in claim 5, wherein said portion of the access leg has a hoop strength sufficient to withstand an internal pressure of −250 mmHg.
- 7. An arterial cannula as in claim 1, wherein the tubular body is circumferentially reinforced.
- 8. An arterial cannula as in claim 7, wherein the circumferential reinforcement comprises a helical wire or circumferential corrugation.
- 9. An arterial cannula as in claim 7, wherein the access leg is circumferentially reinforced.
- 10. An arterial cannula as in claim 9, wherein the circumferential reinforcement comprises a helical wire or circumferential corrugation.
- 11. An arterial cannula as in claim 1, further comprising a pressure-responsive valve at the junction, said valve inhibiting blood flow across the junction in the absence of a pressure differential thereacross.
- 12. An arterial cannula as in claim 11, wherein the valve is incorporated in the tubular body so that no structure of the valve intrudes into the vascular lumen.
- 13. An arterial catheter as in claim 12, wherein the valve is a slit valve formed in the tubular body at the junction.
- 14. A method for implanting an arterial access cannula within a lumen of an artery, said method comprising:
surgically exposing the artery; making an incision in a wall of the artery; introducing a tubular body of the access cannula through the incision and into the lumen of the artery so that a lumen of the tubular body is evenly aligned with the arterial lumen and an access leg of the cannula is aligned through the incision; and closing the incision and securing the tubular body within the arterial lumen.
- 15. A method as in claim 14, wherein the artery is selected from the group consisting of the proximal ulnar, proximal radial, brachial artery, axillary artery, subclavian artery and synthetic arteries.
- 16. A method as in claim 14, wherein the lumen of the tubular body is selected to have a cross-sectional dimension substantially equal to that of the blood vessel.
- 17. A method as in claim 16, further comprising the steps of determining a cross-sectional dimension of the artery and selecting a tubular body having a cross-sectional dimension substantially equal to that of the arterial lumen.
- 18. A method as in claim 14, wherein the tubular body has an outer diameter in the range from 10 mm to 50 mm and a length in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm.
- 19. A method as in claim 14, further comprising subcutaneously introducing an arterial port wherein the arterial port is connected or connectable to the access leg of the arterial access cannula.
- 20. A method as in claim 19, wherein the arterial port is introduced through the incision.
- 21. A method as in claim 19, wherein the arterial port is introduced through a separate incision remote from the first incision, and thereafter connected to the access leg of the arterial access cannula.
- 22. A method as in claim 14, further comprising surgically exposing a vein;
introducing a venous cannula through the wall of the vein; and introducing a venous port subcutaneously, wherein the venous port is connected or connectable to the venous catheter.
- 23. A method as in claim 22, wherein the venous cannula and the venous port are introduced through a single incision.
- 24. A method as in claim 22, wherein the venous cannula and the venous port are introduced through separate incisions and thereafter connected.
- 25. A cannula comprising:
a tubular body having a first end, a second end, and a lumen therebetween; a tubular access leg having a first end connected to the tubular body at a junction; and a pressure-responsive valve at the junction, said valve inhibiting fluid flow across the valve in the absence of a pressure differential thereacross.
- 26. A cannula as in claim 25, wherein the tubular body has a length in the range from 10 mm to 50 mm and an outer diameter in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm.
- 27. A cannula as in claim 26, wherein the access leg has a length in the range from 25 mm to 700 mm and an outer diameter in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm.
- 28. A cannula as in claim 25, wherein at least a portion of the access leg is sufficiently compliant so that no substantial forces may be transmitted to the tubular body through the access leg.
- 29. A cannula as in claim 28, wherein at least a portion of the access leg adjacent to the tubular body has a bending stiffness which is less than that of the adjacent tubular body.
- 30. A cannula as in claim 29, wherein said portion of the access leg has a hoop strength sufficient to withstand an internal pressure of −250 mnmHg.
- 31. A cannula as in claim 25, wherein the tubular body is circumferentially reinforced.
- 32. A cannula as in claim 31, wherein the circumferential reinforcement comprises a helical wire or circumferential corrugation.
- 33. A cannula as in claim 31, wherein the access leg is circumferentially reinforced.
- 34. A cannula as in claim 33, wherein the circumferential reinforcement comprises a helical wire or circumferential corrugation.
- 35. A cannula as in claim 25, further comprising a pressure-responsive valve at the junction, said valve inhibiting blood flow across the junction in the absence of a pressure differential thereacross.
- 36. A cannula as in claim 35, wherein the valve is incorporated in the tubular body so that no structure of the valve intrudes into the vascular lumen.
- 37. A cannula as in claim 36, wherein the valve is a slit valve formed in the tubular body at the junction.
- 38. A cannula as in claim 25, wherein the tubular body is adapted to be implanted in a blood vessel.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a division from co-pending application Ser. No. 09/472,593 (Attorney Docket No. 017742-000430) filed Dec. 27, 1999, which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/724,948 (Attorney Docket No. 017742-000410) filed Oct. 2, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,356, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/539,105 (Attorney Docket No. 017742-000400), filed on Oct. 4, 1995, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/183,151 (Attorney Docket No. 017742-000200), filed on Jan. 18, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,617, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09472593 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
10059850 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08724948 |
Oct 1996 |
US |
Child |
09472593 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08539105 |
Oct 1995 |
US |
Child |
08724948 |
Oct 1996 |
US |
Parent |
08183151 |
Jan 1994 |
US |
Child |
08539105 |
Oct 1995 |
US |