STERILE CONNECTION OF TUBING

• Main Authors: MIN, Kyungyoon, MADSEN, James, BRIERTON, Mark J, WESTBERG, Tom
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 03.08.2022
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROMTHE BODY; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A sterile connection device (10) includes first and second carriages (14,16). The first carriage defines a first portion of a proximal slot and a first portion of a distal slot, while the second carriage defines second portions of the proximal and distal slots. A controller executes a sterile connection procedure in which a solid cutting blade is heated, followed by the heated blade being moved to a cutting position to cut sealed proximal and distal tubes received by the slots. The second carriage moves proximally or distally with respect to the first carriage so as to align the cut ends of the tubes. The heated blade then moves out of the cutting position, followed by the first carriage moving toward the second carriage so as to press the cut ends of the tubes into contact with each other so as to sterilely connect the cut ends and define a joined tube.