Patent Application
20250090736
The present invention relates to transfer sets with integrated access port for use by clinicians and patients because the integrated access port may be used to inject medications and/or extract sample fluids from a patient, eliminating the need to connect other devices to the transfer set to do these and other actions. More specifically, the present invention relates to a peritoneal dialysis transfer set with integrated access port wherein the integrated access port may be used for placing a disinfecting fiber within the transfer set.
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a treatment for kidney failure that uses the peritoneum in a person's abdomen as the membrane through which fluid and dissolved substances are exchanged with the patient's blood. Peritoneal dialysis removes excess fluid, corrects electrolyte problems, and removes toxins in patients with kidney failure. Peritoneal dialysis has better outcomes than hemodialysis during the first couple of years. Other benefits include greater flexibility, lifestyle advantages (such as home treatments and better patient mobility) and better tolerability in those patients with significant heart disease. Additionally, peritoneal dialysis is significantly less expensive than hemodialysis, about $53,000 per year compared to about $72,000 per year according to information from the U.S. Renal Data System.
Typically, a few weeks before the patient starts peritoneal dialysis, a surgeon places a permanent, soft tube catheter into the patient's abdomen. In peritoneal dialysis, a specific solution, known as a dialysate, is introduced through the permanent, indwelling peritoneal catheter in the lower abdominal cavity and when the dialysis cycle is completed the dialysate delivery is discontinued and the indwelling peritoneal catheter capped off so that the patient may move freely about. The dialysis cycle may cither occur at regular intervals throughout the day, known as continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), or at night with the assistance of a machine, known as automated peritoneal dialysis (APD). The solution is typically made of sodium chloride, bicarbonate, and an osmotic agent such as glucose.
Peritonitis is a serious infection of the peritoneum, the tissue that lines the abdomen and protects internal organs. It can be caused by a hole in your digestive tract, a burst appendix, or an infection of the fluid that accumulates in some people with liver or kidney failure. Peritonitis can cause severe pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, and bloating. It can also lead to sepsis, organ failure, and death if not treated quickly. Peritonitis is a serious risk to peritoneal dialysis patients because a common cause of peritonitis is touch contamination, e.g. insertion or handling of the peritoneal dialysis catheter (also referred to as a PD catheter) or connecting/disconnecting the dialysate delivery mechanism to/from the indwelling PD catheter by un-sanitized hands, which potentially introduces bacteria to the abdomen.
Best practice disinfecting procedures have been adopted to reduce the incidence of peritonitis for peritoneal dialysis patients, but peritonitis remains a serious concern for clinical and especially at-home peritoneal dialysis patients. Various types of disinfection techniques have been used with limited success.
However, one very promising disinfecting technique is the delivery of non-ultraviolet light inside catheters and/or extension sets to prevent, reduce, or eliminate infectious agents before, during, or after a medical procedure. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 11,229,728; 11,229,808; and 11,497,932 that disclose light delivery techniques and options both inside and outside the body providing effective sterilizing that enhances prevention, reduction, and elimination of infectious agents throughout the dialysis system, including in, on, or around the catheter, in, on, or around catheter extensions or connectors, and/or on or in tissue surrounding the catheter while in a body cavity.
Present PD extension sets are used as a portion of the dialysate delivery mechanism that connects to the indwelling PD catheter and such PD extension sets have been used for years. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,533,996; 5,582,600; 8,377,012; and 8,636,706 that disclose PD extension sets (including extensions known as transfer sets) that are to be disposed between the PD catheter and the fresh and waste dialysate reservoirs. However, such PD extension sets do not provide access for delivery of disinfecting light directly into the extension set or the PD catheter through the extension set.
The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to transfer sets with an integral access port for introducing and inserting elongate members such as, for example, a guide wire, an endoscope, an angioscope, a hysteroscope, a gastroscope, a flexible telescope for colonoscopies, bronchoscope, a cystoscope, probes for illumination, probes for pinpoint medication or treatment delivery, probes for inflation gas delivery, fiber optics, and any of numerous other devices or instruments that are elongate and may be inserted into and/or retracted from a cavity of a patient's body and/or from within tubular structures outside a patient's body.
Frequently, transfer sets are used with catheters and other tubular structures to facilitate delivery of fluids from outside the body to inside the body and retrieval of fluids from inside the body to outside the body, and reducing, inhibiting, preventing, or eliminating infectious agents before, during, or after delivery and/or retrieval of fluids may be of paramount concern. Transfer sets with an access port eliminate the need to disconnect an already established delivery/retrieval channel for fluid flow when any of the above-mentioned elongate members are to be introduced and inserted into the delivery/retrieval channel.
There is a great need for increasing the efficacy of in-home and clinical peritoneal dialysis treatments for dialysis patients. Peritoneal dialysis is already considerably less expensive than hemodialysis, but more effective disinfection will drive the overall costs of peritoneal dialysis even lower, making peritoneal dialysis more attractive to both in-home and clinical use. Peritoneal dialysis already offers patients better lifestyle choices. In-home treatment, in the comfort and privacy of a patient's own home, is better than clinical treatment, and clinical treatment is better than hospitalization for most patients. Additionally, by increasing effective and safe home-conducted peritoneal dialysis, the stress and strain is less taxing on health institutions dealing with dialysis. Also, because in-home peritoneal dialysis is less expensive it will be more likely for a patient's insurance to cover in-home treatment.
Best practice disinfecting procedures are doing their part in reducing the rate of infection incidents, but such practices address only prevention of infection and some reduction of infections that may be presented where the disinfecting procedures are applied. Best practice disinfecting procedures, though helpful and needed, are severely limited. Once an infection is introduced or presents itself, if unchecked, migration of the infection within the dialysis system may lead to costly and painful changing out the catheter, or to serious infection within the patient's body, of which peritonitis is of paramount concern.
Hence, an introducing assembly or system that enables the appropriate elongate member to be introduced into catheters or other tubular structures, without compromising sterility or unduly inhibiting fluid flow, would advance in-home as well as institutional medical treatments. This is particularly true with in-home peritoneal dialysis.
Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are directed to a kit including an introducer assembly for introducing an elongate member into a tubular-receiving structure, where the introducer assembly has a ready mode, an introduced mode, and a detached mode. The ready mode being a configuration of the introducer assembly during shipping and/or storage typically wherein the introducer assembly is maintained sterile, and the elongate member is housed and secured within a protective guide tube. The introduced mode being a configuration of the introducer assembly after being connected to the tubular-receiving structure and the elongate member is advanced into the tubular-receiving structure to reside therein after securing the elongate member in place. Once the elongate member is secured in place, the guide tube of the introducer assembly may be detached from the elongate member for disposal, thereby changing the introducer assembly from the introduced mode to detached mode.
By making at-home administered peritoneal dialysis safer, lifestyle-friendly, and more cost-effective, that option for eligible dialysis patients becomes much more attractive, not only to patient's, but to caregivers, healthcare providers, and insurance companies as well. Furthermore, any increase in home-conducted peritoneal dialysis reduces dialysis stress on the health institutions dealing with dialysis.
By packaging the multifunctional transfer set a pre-packaged kit along with an elongate member, contents of the pre-packaged kit may be sterilized and compatibly matched in size and structure to operate together with the elongate member to accomplish a designed purpose. Further, the elongate member being selected from the group of elongate members including a guide wire, an endoscope, an angioscope, a hysteroscope, a gastroscope, a flexible telescope for colonoscopies, bronchoscope, a cystoscope, probes for illumination, probes for pinpoint medication or treatment delivery, probes for inflation gas delivery, and fiber optics. Moreover, dimensions of the multifunctional transfer set may be compatibly matched the elongate member selected so that, for example, a maximum diameter of the elongate member is less than a minimum diameter of the multifunctional transfer set.
Also, when the contents of the pre-packaged kit include a fiber optic, an introducer assembly, disposed in a ready mode, and having a length to receive and hold the fiber optic in position for introduction into the multifunctional transfer set may be included. If a fluid extension line for connection to the multifunctional transfer set is also included, the fiber optic may be pre-selected to have a length to extend through the multifunctional transfer set and into and/or through the fluid extension line.
The multifunctional transfer sets disclosed herein are ideal companions for pre-packaging into kits for distribution, complementary use of pre-selected compatibly matched component parts and fittings, and facilitating the implementation the multifunctional transfer sets into the delivery of medical services and treatments, enhancing overall performance, improving efficiency and efficaciousness, reducing costs, minimizing errors, preventing/reducing/eliminating infections, and simplifying assembly of the compatibly matched companion parts.
For the above-recited and other features and advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are depicted or illustrated in the appended figures. Understanding that these depictions and drawings show only typical embodiments of the invention and should not be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with reference to the accompanying figures in which:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, as represented in the Figure(s), is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of presently preferred embodiments of the invention.
The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.
A representative prior art transfer set 10 is depicted in
The transfer set hub assembly 12 further comprises a core male luer 28 (partially shown in
The intermediate tubing 14 is connected and permanently secured between the transfer set hub assembly 12 and the coupling assembly 16, and has a length that, typically, is the variable that determines the length of the of the transfer set 10. Transfer sets are manufactured in several lengths to accommodate various uses. Transfer sets that have been in use in peritoneal dialysis for more than a decade are typically 9-12 inches long.
The coupling assembly 16 has a luer (not visible in
The dialysis-related prior art transfer set 10 is designed to connect a dialysis catheter (not shown) to the dialysis bag assembly containing dialysis solution (either fresh or waste, not shown). As mentioned above, a few weeks before a patient starts peritoneal dialysis, a surgeon places the distal end of a permanent, soft tube catheter (one of several types of peritoneal dialysis catheters) into the patient's abdominal cavity so that a portion of the catheter (the proximal end) extends outside of the patient's body. The proximal end of the catheter is secured with a cap that prevents infection. Typically, the luer (not visible in
In peritoneal dialysis, the solution known as dialysate is introduced through the permanent, indwelling peritoneal catheter into the lower abdominal cavity, and when the dialysis cycle is completed, the delivery of fresh dialysate is discontinued, and the indwelling peritoneal catheter capped off so that the patient may move freely about. The dwell time of the dialysate within the lower abdominal cavity is about 4 to 6 hours, and the waste dialysate is drained by gravity or by machine (a cycler). The cycle of one introduction of fresh dialysate and draining waste dialysate is called an exchange. Most patients need 3 to 4 exchanges each day which take about 30 to 40 minutes each. Consequently, even with careful handling of the transfer set and various connections, infectious agents may be introduced into the dialysis setting, particularly when it is performed at home.
The most frequent and important complication of peritoneal dialysis catheters is infection, which may result in catheter loss and discontinuation of peritoneal dialysis. Infection of the abdominal lining (peritonitis) is a common complication of peritoneal dialysis and can be quite serious. Studies have consistently shown that peritoneal dialysis patients who experience peritonitis were 2-6 times more likely to experience premature mortality within the first 1-2 months post-occurrence of peritonitis, with cardiac mortality being the predominant cause of mortality.
Consequently, preventing, reducing, or eliminating infection in the peritoneal dialysis setting addresses a long-felt need for dialysis patients. Unfortunately, the presently used prior art transfer set 10 does not adequately address or facilitate enhanced disinfection techniques or devices.
An exemplary transfer set 40 with an access port 44 of the present invention is depicted in
The principal difference between the transfer set 40 depicted in
Turning now to
The Y-adapter 46 is connected to the transfer set body 42 in any suitable manner. As shown in the exemplary embodiment of
A series of side elevational views is depicted in
The cap 48 (such as vented cap 48 in
Transfer set 40 of
The branch tubing 58 is stretched over and envelops the barbed end 72 of the side port 70 and secured by the compression sleeve 86 that overlays the portion of the branch tubing 58 that extends over the barbed end 72 and compresses that connection to enhance the securement and reduce any chance of disconnection.
Turning back to
To start, a prior art transfer set 10 of the type shown in
So that components remain secured together, a bonding solvent or adhesive may be applied to secure components from pulling, twisting, or rotational disengagement. For example, to secure the coupler tubing 56 to the hollow flange 30 a bonding solvent or adhesive may be applied to the inner wall of the coupler tubing 56 before the hollow flange 30 is inserted into the lumen of the coupler tubing 56. Making certain that coupler tubing 56 is fully seated against the abutment shoulder 90 further assures that the connection of coupler tubing 56 to the hollow flange 30 seals properly. Additionally, bonding solvent or adhesive may be applied to female threads 62 of the modified hub body 20 (now a transfer set body 42) and/or inward male threads 92 of the core male luer 28 (now luer connector 50) to secure the threaded engagement of the transfer set body 42 to the luer connector 50.
The transfer set body 42 as bonded with the luer connector 50 may be connected to the twist clamp 26 and secured by bonding solvent or adhesive in an open position that disables it from twisting, thereby creating a disabled twist clamp 94. As shown in
The intermediate tubing 14 may be cut to a desired length and fitted with an off-the-shelf flow-control device such as pinch clamp 60, thereby becoming branch tubing 58. The flow-control device (pinch clamp 60) allows or prevents fluid flow through the branch tubing 58. A tubular compression sleeve 86 may also be included in converting the intermediate tubing 14 into branch tubing 58. The branch tubing 58 (previously, intermediate tubing 14) may then be secured to the side port 70 by inserting the barbed end 72 of the side port 70 into the lumen 84 of the now branch tubing 58 and advancing the compression sleeve 86 to augment the security of the connection of tubing 58 drawn over the barb. Also, an adhesive may be used on the barbed end 72 to adhere the side port 70 to the newly converted branch tubing 58.
Additionally, a conversion of a prior art transfer set 10 into a transfer set 40 (as depicted in
Although prior art transfer sets 10 and other types of transfer sets have been known for decades, they have not been multifunctional, allowing access for any elongate device into the flow of fluid through the transfer set or into any passageway within the transfer set or any tubular structure connected to the transfer set. Simply put, known transfer sets have not had access ports that would permit access without disconnecting the transfer set. Hence, introducing and inserting elongate members such as, for example, a guide wire, an endoscope, an angioscope, a hysteroscope, a gastroscope, a flexible telescope for colonoscopies, bronchoscope, a cystoscope, probes for illumination, probes for pinpoint medication or treatment delivery, probes for inflation gas delivery, fiber optics, and any of numerous other devices or instruments that are elongate and may be inserted into and/or retracted from a cavity of a patient's body and/or from within tubular structures outside a patient's body has not been possible with existing, non-multifunctional transfer sets. Any of these elongate members introduced upstream of the transfer set to operate downstream of the transfer set required length sufficient to cover the upstream distance to the transfer set, plus the length of the transfer set, and plus the distance downstream of the transfer set needed to operate as intended. Such extended length may cause additional cost, handling difficulties, and/or may jeopardize the effectiveness of the elongated instrument inserted.
Hence, a method for converting an existing transfer set 10 into a multifunctional transfer set 40 with an access port 44 may proceed as follows:
An additional method for converting an existing transfer set 10 into an alternative exemplary multifunctional transfer set 40 with an access port 44 may have the following alternative steps:
As mentioned above, a few weeks before a patient starts peritoneal dialysis, a surgeon places a permanent, soft tube catheter into the patient's abdomen. In peritoneal dialysis, a specific solution, known as a dialysate, is introduced through the permanent, indwelling peritoneal dialysis catheter (PD catheter 98 in
The basic peritoneal dialysis system 100 (depicted in
Particularly with presently conducted at-home peritoneal dialysis treatments (though lesser so with institutional treatments), dialysis patients leave the transfer set 10 connected to the PD catheter 98 for as long as six to nine months capping off the transfer set 10, rather than the PD catheter 98, so that they may move about freely. They secure the external coupling end 110 of the PD catheter 98 and the connected transfer set 10 against their body using a wrapping, tape, or specially made belt under their clothing for comfort and so not to draw attention to the apparatus. As one might expect, this practice subjects these external components to possible contamination and infection vulnerability.
To address these types and other types of possible contamination and infection vulnerabilities the peritoneal dialysis system 100 may be enhanced by adding an EMR conduction system 124 to provide non-ultraviolet light disinfection and sterilization to the dialysis procedure prior to, during, and/or after a treatment. The EMR conduction system 124 comprises a light engine 126, a light transmission cord 128, and a light delivery element 130 (a portion of which is shown in
An alternative kit of disposable components (at least components that are replaced more frequently than the PD catheter 98 and perhaps less frequently than the peritoneal dialysis system 100) may comprise transfer set 40 with integral access port 44 and light delivery elements 130 of various lengths. Such kits enable pairing the light delivery element 130 which has a fiber optic 134 of a predetermined longitudinal length with a transfer set 40 (having a longitudinal length L40 that is considerably less than the longitudinal length L10 of known transfer sets 10). For example, referring to
Also, using the multifunctional transfer set 40 offers significant advancements over the long-used transfer set 10. In general, multifunctional transfer set 40 has enhanced capabilities of receiving an elongate member or device insertably/retractably therethrough and allowing fluid to flow therethrough without being impeded unduly, and once connected there is no need to disconnect transfer set 40 to enable the insertion/retraction of a light delivery element 130 or any different right-sized elongate member or device or to enable the injection of a medication or the like. Also, the length of the fiber optic 134 and the length the introducer assembly 136 (not shown in
Although, each of the multifunctional transfer sets 40 depicted in
The peritoneal cavity 140 is surrounded by the peritoneal membrane also known as the peritoneal lining 144. Peritoneal lining 144 contains many blood vessels. Dialysate 120 draws extra fluid, chemicals, and waste out of those blood vessels and through the peritoneal lining 144. Peritoneal lining 144 acts as a filter. The dialysate 120 is left in place for a prescribed period up to several hours while dialysis occurs. Then the old, waste-laden solution (also known as waste dialysate 120) is allowed to drain out through the PD catheter 98 for disposal. Fresh, clean solution (dialysate 120) is immediately delivered in, filling in the space again. This process of exchanging waste dialysate 120 with fresh dialysate 120 is called an exchange.
Delivering disinfecting, sterilizing, and/or therapeutic healing light by radial emission from fiber optic 134 may be done during different periods and in different ways than are shown in
Referring to
By changing the exchange selector 118 of the dialysate exchange switch 104 so that it selects neither the dialysate supply bag 106 nor the waste dialysate retrieval bag 108, the flow of dialysate 120 through the fluid extension line 102 is stopped. In this configuration, two situations are presented. The first situation would be pre-treatment, in other words, the configuration of components is newly configured as depicted in
The configurations depicted in
Turning to
The guide tube 152 may be disposable and may be constructed in dimensions ergonomically complementary to its intended use and/or target users and may be made of any suitable material that is cost-effective and complementary to its use. For example, and not limited to this example, the guide tube 152 may be constructed of lightweight materials with a larger diameter and larger movable parts balanced to fit comfortably in a person's 142 hand that may have limited dexterity, poor vision, and/or some other limiting characteristic(s) that may otherwise inhibit proper use of a less well-sized or smaller guide tube 152. Furthermore, the elongate member assembly 154, as housed within the guide tube 152 while in a ready mode, may be advanced within the guide tube 152 to an introduced mode wherein the fiber optic 134 of light delivery element 130 is introduced into a desired disposition such as within a tubular structure (e.g., a bore, tubing, a conduit, a catheter, transfer set, extension line, and the like). Because the fiber optics 134 of light delivery elements 130 are made to target light emission within various systems and to various locations, the guide tube 152 may require larger/smaller diameters, longer/shorter lengths, and larger/smaller other components to accommodate the selected fiber optic 134 of each light delivery element 130 to be used.
Additionally, there are numerous medical uses requiring introduction and/or retraction of medical instruments into a patient's body 142 or into a medical device or component. Again, by way of example and not to be limiting, it may be beneficial and cost-effective to use the guide tube 152 to insert and/or retract a medically related elongate member, such as a fiber optic 134 that may require one time or repeated insertion and/or retraction. It is contemplated that, armed with the disclosure herein, persons of ordinary skill in the art could fashion guide tubes 152, disposable or not, to advance and/or retract such devices or instruments without undue experimentation.
For conciseness, the introducer assembly 136 described herein is intended to be a representative, exemplary embodiment. The representative, exemplary embodiment of the introducer assembly 136 described herein has medical context by introducing a fiber optic 134 into a tubular-receiving structure such as a catheter, a transfer set, and/or an adapter and serves as a representative description of other similar embodiments.
To simplify the description of the introducer assembly 136,
The component parts of introducer assembly 136, in addition to guide tube 152 described above, comprise a slide collar 166 having a grip 168, a slide post 170, a centered capture structure having a centered annular cylinder (not shown, centered about the longitudinal axis 160), a proximal connector assembly 132 configured to nest within the centered annular cylinder, and a distal connector assembly 172 configured to nest rotatably with the distal portion 158. Additionally, an at least partially annular snap-fit joint (not visible) facilitates the rotation of a distal portion 158 relative to a proximal body 156 of the guide tube 152.
The centered capture structure need not be annular or circular so long as it grasps or captures the proximal connector assembly 132 in a nesting engagement so that the elongate member assembly 154 advances longitudinally along the longitudinal axis 160. For example, the centered capture structure may be any of a number of structures that captures and secures the proximal connector assembly 132 during advancement of the slide collar 166 such as a partial cylinder, a hollow frustoconical structure (whether annular or partially annular), a rectangular tube or partially rectangular tube (if the transverse profile of the proximal connector assembly 132 fits therewithin and is captured), a non-circular tube or partial non-circular tube (if the transverse profile of the proximal connector assembly 132 fits therewithin and is captured), or any other capturing structure that secures and advances the proximal connector assembly 132 during the advancement of the sliding collar 166 and may easily release the proximal connector assembly 132 when guide tube 152 is removed from the elongate member assembly 154. Because the transverse profile of the proximal connector assembly 132 may have almost any shape, those skilled in the art, armed with this disclosure, may easily fashion a centered capture structure without undue experimentation.
The proximal connector assembly 132 nests within the centered annular cylinder and holds the elongate member; namely, a fiber optic 134 in the depicted exemplary embodiment, to extend along the longitudinal axis 160. For connecting proximal connector assembly 132 to the fiber optic 134, an SMA fiber connector 174 (SubMiniature A connector) may be used to securely grasp or hold the proximal end of the fiber optic 134 so that light transfers from a light source, such as light engine 126, to the fiber optic 134 for axial propagation along the fiber optic 134.
Stop 164 prevents distal portion 158 from advancing too far and/or from over rotating and damaging the distal connector assembly 172. The combination of advancing the slide collar 166 and rotating the distal portion 158 to couple together the proximal connector assembly 132 and the distal connector assembly 172 moves the introducer assembly 136 from the ready mode where the fiber optic 134 is housed within the guide tube 152 to the introduced mode where the fiber optic 134 is advanced fully through and extends from the distal connector assembly 172.
As shown in
Various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein describe configurations of component parts and arrangements of those component parts. The exemplary embodiments of the transfer sets 40 disclosed herein are extremely flexible and conducive to being combined with a wide range of known component parts or devices, making the transfer sets 40 of this disclosure ideal companions for kit distribution and complementary use platforms. For example, kits that include a transfer set 40 may be matched compatibly with numerous components, parts, and fittings. Implementing transfer sets 40 into the delivery of medical services and treatments will likely enhance overall performance, improve efficiency and efficaciousness, reduce costs, minimize errors, prevent/reduce/eliminate infections, and simplify assembly of parts by providing pre-packaged kits that comprise compatibly matching companion parts.
By way of example, and using peritoneal dialysis as a representative environment, utilizing non-ultraviolet light emitted radially from a fiber optic 134 can prevent infections (light targeting contamination-vulnerable locations prior to a dialysis exchange), reduce infection (light applied at first indications of infection before, during, or after an exchange), or eliminate infections (light applied at intensities and for dosing durations before, during, or after an exchange). A pre-packaged kit may contain a fiber optic 134 and a compatibly matching companion transfer set 40 where fittings match so that connections are secure and where the intended use is predetermined so that, for example, the fiber optic 134 has a diameter and the transfer set 40 has a through-lumen or passageway to receive the fiber optic 134 so that any fluid flow through the transfer set 40 and any tubular structure connected thereto (e.g., PD catheter 98, extension line 102, branch tubing 58, Y-adapter 148 with light coupling port 150 and the like) will not be occluded or otherwise impeded. Further the fiber optic 134 has a length that compatibly matches with the companion transfer set 40 to extend a desired length that takes the longitudinal length L40 of the transfer set 40 into account assuring that the reach of the fiber optic 134 is proper and that any radial emission segments of the fiber optic 134 are positioned within the transfer set 40 and/or any tubular structure connected thereto to emit the disinfecting/sterilizing light to pre-determined locations for effective treatments.
Another exemplary kit may further comprise an introducer assembly 136 that accommodates the size and length of the fiber optic 134.
Yet another exemplary kit may further comprise an extension line 102 that accommodates the size and length of the fiber optic 134 and is connectable securely to the transfer set 40.
Another exemplary kit may further comprise a PD catheter 98 that accommodates the size and length of the fiber optic 134 and is connectable securely to the transfer set 40.
Of course, there are many other configurations and structural arrangements that may benefit from the use of one or more transfer sets 40. Consequently, the various embodiments and configurations of transfer set 40 make the invention disclosed herein extremely versatile, retrofittable, and treatment enhancing.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present embodiments are exemplary and should not be limited to the embodiments shown and described.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments and configurations are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
