GB2162754A - Adapter for facilitating supply of fluid to tracheal tubes - Google Patents

Abstract

An adaptor for attachment to the proximal end portion of a tracheal tube (2) includes a block-like body member (14) which can be releasably secured to said proximal end portion (6) of the tube (2). A receiving portion or bore (20) is formed in said body member (14) in which can be removably located any one of a series of hollow tubular members or needles (22) having different internal diameters. A free end of a needle (22) in the bore (20) is directed into the tracheal tube (2) whereby a source of fluid under pressure supplied to the other end of the needle (22) can be fed into and through the tracheal tube (2). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Adaptor for enabling a supply of fluid to tracheal tubes This invention relates to adaptors for enabling a supply of fluid to be fed to tracheal tubes, and has particular though not exclusive application to such adaptors for enabling the controlled supply of ventilating air under pressure to tracheal tubes.

In the following description and claims, the general term 'tracheal tube' is to be understood as embracing within its scope double lumen tubes, endobronchial tubes and tracheostomy tubes as well as conventional tracheal tubes for purely ventilating purposes.

Conventional tracheal tubes, which may be of rubber, plastics or metal, are commonly used to enable forced or artificial ventilation or respiration or a patient, usually during an operation, it being established practice to position a sealed cap over-a standard connector member on the proximal end of the tube and to feed oxygen to the tube, by way of the sealed cap, from a remote supply point. The supply of oxygen may be under manual control, for example from a bellows or like arrangement, whereby intermittent injection of high pressure oxygen is achieved in accordance with the operator's actions.

Tracheal tubes vary in size from, typically, 3mm internal diameter for infant use up to 9 or 10mm internal diameter for adult purposes.

However, as well as the necessity of providing tracheal tubes of physically-differing sizes to suit patients of different age groups, there is also a need to supply the oxygen at differing pressures depending upon the patient involved.

Current arrangements, in which the oxygen supply itself, and the control thereof, are at regions remote from the tracheal tube, are, on certain occasions, not particularly suited to accurate control and monitoring of the pressure and volume of oxygen fed to the patient.

It would be desirable to be able to provide an arrangement enabling ready control of the oxygen supply to a patient through a tracheal tube and located in the vicinity of the tube itself.

According to the present invention there is provided an adaptor for attachment to a tracheal tube, said tracheal tube having a proximal end portion, the adapter comprising a body member for releasably securing to said proximal end portion, said body member having formed therein a receiving portion into which can be removably located any one of a series of hollow tubular members the bores of which are of different diameters, the arrangement being such that, with the adaptor in position on the tracheal tube and with a tubular member located in said receiving portion, a free end of the tubular member is directed into the tracheal tube whereby a source of fluid under pressure supplied to the other end of said tubular member is fed into and through said tracheal tube.

It will be appreciated that, for a given source of fluid under pressure, a particular hollow tubular member can be located in the body member of the adaptor to provide a desired supply of pressurised fluid to the tracheal tube - the greater the internal diameter of the tubular member, the greater is the pressure of the fluid emanating therefrom.

Conveniently the proximal end portion of the tracheal tube comprises a cup-shaped connector member located on and feeding into a generally cylindrical tracheal tube member.

Preferably the body member is of generally block-shape and includes a slot therein adapted to seat over a wall of said connector member, the body member further including releasable securing means reacting between the body member and said wall of the connector member.

Said releasable securing means may comprise a screw-threaded bore in the body member opening into said slot, and a corresponding screw mounted in said bore for engagement with the wall of the connector member.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the receiving portion of the body member comprises a cylindrical receiving bore in said member the axis of which is substantially parallel with the longitudinal central axis of the proximal end portion of the tracheal tube and is preferably substantially coaxial with said longitudinal central axis.

The diameter of the receiving bore is such as to enable location therein of any one of said series of hollow tubular members, the body member inciud- ing further releasable securing means reacting between the body member and a hollow tubular member within the receiving bore to retain said member in said bore.

Preferably the further releasable securing means comprises a screw-threaded bore in the body member opening into said receiving bore, and a corresponding screw mounted in said threaded bore for engagement with a sidewall of the hollow tubular member in said receiving bore.

In a preferred arrangement, the fluid supplied to the tubular member is oxygen and the proximal end of the tracheal tube is open such that, in use, the oxygen under pressure emanating from the tubular member entrains with it atmospheric air which is fed together with the oxygen along the tracheal tube.

By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a section through an adaptor according to the invention mounted on a tracheal tube.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a conventional tracheal tube of plastics material indicated generally at 2 and including an elongate, slightly curved tracheal tube member 4 of circular transverse section for location in a patient's trachea, and a hollow connector member 6 having a lower end portion 8 located in, to be a push-fit in, the proximal end of the tube member 4. The connector member further includes an upper end portion 10 of generally cylindrical or cup-shape which may be of a diameter greater than that of the tube member 4.

An adaptor for enabling a supply of fluid under pressure to be fed to the tube 2 is indicated generally at 12 and comprises a block 14 of, for example, aluminium which may be, typically, of overall size 2.5 cm by 2.5cm by 0.5 cm thick. A slot 16 is formed in the block 14 whereby the adaptor 12 can be positioned over the wall of the upper end portion 10 of the connector member 6 to locate the adaptor 12 relative to the tracheal tube 2.

A screw-threaded bore is formed in the block 14 to extend perpendicular to the slot 16, said bore terminating in said slot 16. A corresponding screw 18 in said threaded bore can be screwed into engagement with the upper end portion 10 of the connector member 6 whereby the adaptor is releasably secured to the connector member 6.

A further plain bore 20 is formed through the block 14to extend parallel with the slot 16, said further bore 20 preferably being substantially coaxial with the central longitudinal axis of the connector member 6.

The bore 20 is capable of receiving therein any one of a series of hollow tubular members, such as the intravenous needle shown at 22, the diameter of the bore 20 being equal to that of the largest needle to be received therein.

A needle 22 is releasably secured in the adaptor 12 by means of a clamping screw 24 mounted in a correspondingly- threaded bore in the block 14 extending perpendicular to the bore 20, the needle 22 including a lower end directed into the tracheal tube 2 and an upper end or hub to which a supply of fluid under pressure can be attached.

A preferred application of the described adaptor is in the supply of oxygen under pressure to a patient for forced ventilation during operation. ln such use, and for a given high pressure piped oxygen supply system, a suitable needle 22 is located in the adaptor and the oxygen supply is attached to the hub of the needle 22.

On intermittent depression of a manual switch associated with the oxygen supply or by means of an automatic ventilation device fitted to the high pressure oxygen line, controlled pulses of oxygen are fed through the needle 22, the pressure of the gas emanating from the lower end of the needle 22 being dependent upon the bore of that needle.

As the oxygen emanates from the needle 22, atmospheric air may be entrained therewith to be fed with the oxygen along the tracheal tube. The needle 22 is chosen such that an oxygen/air mixture of the desired pressure and volume is supplied to the patient.

For example, a child may be supplied through a 5.5mm plastic tracheal tube to which is secured an adaptor carrying a 21 gauge intravenous needle, while an adult may be supplied through a 9mm metal tracheal tube and a bent needle from a 14 gauge intravenous cannula.

In all cases it is preferred that the needle 22 is positioned to direct the entraining jet of oxygen along the lumen of the tracheal tube (rather than against a wall of the connector member 6), while the length of a needle can be altered to enable a jet to be fed in a chosen direction.

The provision of a receiving bore 20 that can accept a range of needles 22 of differing types, sizes, shapes and lengths in a releasable manner by way of the screw 24 increases the versatility of tracheal tube injectors and allows a degree of flexibility to improvised techniques of ventilation that sometimes have to be employed when dealing with clinical cases with problem airways.

Although described as supplying ventilating air to a patient, the adaptor may be used to enable the supply of other fluids, be it gases or nebulised liquid. Further, the invention has application to veterinary as well as human situations.

Claims (10)

1. An adaptor for attachment to a tracheal tube, said tracheal tube having a proximal end portion, the adaptor comprising a body member for releasable securing to said proximal end portion of the tracheal tube, the body member having formed therein a receiving portion into which can be removably located any one of a series of hollow tubular.members the bores of which are of different diameters, the arrangement being such that, with the adaptor in position on the tracheal tube and with a tubular member located in said receiving portion, a free end of the tubular member is directed into the tracheal tube whereby a source of fluid under pressure supplied to the other end of said tubular member is fed into and through said tracheal tube.

2. An adaptor as claimed in claim 1 for attachment to a tracheal tube the proximal end portion of which comprises a cup-shaped connector member located on and feeding into a generally cylindrical tracheal tube member.

3. An adaptor as claimed in claim 2 in which the body member is of generally block-shape and includes a slot therein adapted to seat over a wall of said connector member, the body member further including releasable securing means reacting between the body member and said wall of the connector member.

4. An adaptor as claimed in claim 3 in which the releasable securing means comprise a screwthreaded bore in the body member opening into said slot, and a corresponding screw mounted in said bore for engagement with the wall of the connector member.

5. An adaptor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the receiving portion of the body member comprises a cylindrical receiving bore in said member the axis of which is substantially parallel with the longitudinal central axis of the proximal end portion of the tracheal tube.

6. An adaptor as claimed in claim 5 in which the axis of the receiving bore is substantially coaxial with said longitudinal central axis of the proximal end portion of the tracheal tube.

7. An adaptor as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 in which the body member includes further releasable securing means reacting between the body member and a hollow tubular member within the receiving bore to retain said member in said bore.

8. An adaptor as claimed in claim 7 in which the further releasable securing means comprises a screw- threaded bore in the body member opening into said receiving bore, and a corresponding screw mounted in said threaded bore for engagement with a sidewall of the hollow tubular member in said receiving bore.

9. An adaptor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 in which the fluid supplied to the tubular member is oxygen and the proximal end of the tracheal tube is open such that, in use, the oxygen under pressure emanating from the tubular member entrains with it atmospheric air which is fed along the tracheal tube.

10. An adaptor substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.