Intravenous catheter assembly and a method of making a combination hub and catheter

Abstract

According to one aspect of the invention a method is provided for making a combination hub and catheter. A material is molded into a body having at least a first hub, and at least a first nose extending from the first hub. The first nose is then elongated into a catheter.

What is claimed:  
     
         1 . A method of making a combination hub and catheter, which includes: 
 molding a material into a body having at least a first hub, and at least a first nose extending from the first hub; and    elongating the first nose into a catheter.    
     
     
         2 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the hub has a luer lock formation thereon.  
     
     
         3 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein catheter has a length of at least 12 mm.  
     
     
         4 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the catheter has a length of at least 30 mm.  
     
     
         5 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the catheter has an outer diameter of between 0.37 mm and 3.7 mm.  
     
     
         6 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the catheter is sufficiently flexible so as to substantially conform to a curved body lumen when inserted into the body lumen.  
     
     
         7 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the material is selected from the group comprising a polyamide, a blend of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene and polyurethane, polyetheramide, a fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer, polypropylene, an ethylene propylene copolymer, polyurethane, and a blend of a polyamide and a polyetheramide.  
     
     
         8 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the nose is elongated at a temperature wherein the material is malleable.  
     
     
         9 . A method as in    claim 1    wherein the catheter is rigid at room temperature and flexible when exposed to moisture and body temperature.  
     
     
         10 . The method as in    claim 1    wherein (i) the body has a second hub, and a second nose extending from the second hub, an end of the first nose which is distant from the first hub is joined with an end of the second nose which is distant from the second hub, and (ii) the first and second hubs are moved away from one another so that both the first nose and the second nose are elongated, respectively into a first catheter and a second catheter, the method further including: 
 severing the first and second catheters from one another.  
 
     
     
         11 . The method as in    claim 10    which includes: 
 simultaneously molding a plurality of said bodies; and  
 simultaneously elongating the first nose and the second nose of each of the plurality of bodies.  
 
     
     
         12 . The method as in    claim 11    wherein the bodies are molded in a mold which is mounted to a turntable when the turntable is rotated so that the mold is at a first station, the method including: 
 rotating the turntable so that the mold is moved to a second station where the first nose and the second nose of each of the plurality of bodies are elongated.  
 
     
     
         13 . The method as in    claim 12    which includes: 
 rotating the turntable so that the mold is moved to a third station, the first and second catheters being severed while the mold is at the third station.  
 
     
     
         14 . The method as in    claim 12    which includes: 
 rotating the turntable so that the mold is moved to a third station; and  
 ejecting the bodies from the mold while the mold is at the third station.  
 
     
     
         15 . A mold for making a combination hub and catheter, the mold including: 
 a first component; and    a second component, the first and second components defining a volume into which a material can be injected so that the material takes the shape of a hub and a nose, the hub connecting to the first component and the nose connecting to the second component so that the nose is elongated into a catheter when the first and second components are moved away from one another.    
     
     
         16 . The mold as in    claim 15    wherein the volume includes a first hub volume in the first component, a second hub volume in the second component, and a nose passage from the first hub volume to the second hub volume so that the material in the nose passage is elongated when the first and second components are moved away from one another.  
     
     
         17 . The mold as in    claim 16    wherein the first and second components define a plurality of said volumes.  
     
     
         18 . An intravenous catheter assembly which includes: 
 a hollow hub;    a catheter having a length of at least 12 mm, a first end which is secured to the hub in a unitary construction, a second end distant from the hub, and a passage extending from the hub out of the second end; and    a needle, which is removably located within the passage, having a sharp tip in proximity to the second end of the catheter.    
     
     
         19 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the hub and the catheter are made of the same material.  
     
     
         20 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the hub has a luer lock formation thereon.  
     
     
         21 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the catheter has a length of at least 30 mm.  
     
     
         22 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the catheter has an outer diameter of between 0.37 mm and 3.7 mm.  
     
     
         23 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the catheter is sufficiently flexible so as to substantially conform to a curved body lumen when inserted into the body lumen.  
     
     
         24 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the material is selected from the group comprising a polyamide, a blend of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene and polyurethane, polyetheramide, a fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer, polypropylene, an ethylene propylene copolymer, polyurethane, and a blend of a polyamide and a polyetheramide.  
     
     
         25 . An intravenous catheter assembly as in    claim 18    wherein the catheter is rigid at room temperature and flexible when exposed to moisture and body temperature.