HOLDER APPARATUSThis invention relates to a holder apparatus for protection against injury or infection from the needle of a hypodermic syringe and to a method of such protection.
The medical, dental and health care professions are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of cross-infection between patients and themselves as a result of accidental injury from the needle of a hypodermic syringe which has been used to inject an infected patient. Such injury (so-called 'needle-stick') is particularly worrying in view of the increase in prevalence of hepatitis-B and of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
To some extent the problem is worse for dental practitioners because, unlike medical practice wherein the whole syringe is disposed of after use, in dental practice the syringe, being of different design, is re-used and thus the needle has to be removed from the syringe prior to disposal.
The present invention has as an object the reduction of needle-stick injury.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a holder apparatus for a sheath for a hypodermic syringe needle, which holder apparatus comprises a body provided with mounting means for mounting the apparatus upon a surface, and receiving means for receiving and releasably holding a said sheath for a needle of a hypodermic syringe, said receiving means being capable of accommodating sheaths in a range of sheath diameters.
The receiving means preferably comprise a piece of resilent material, such as suitable foamed plastics or rubber materials (e.g. polystyrene, polyurethane etc.), in which is formed an aperture or recess for receiving a said sheath. The elasticity of the material will permit retention of sheaths in a range of sheath diameters.
Alternatively the receiving means may comprise one or more spring clip devices wherein a said sheath may be received and retained, e.g. by means of resilient plastics, metal fingers, or by natural or synthetic bristles or fibres.
It is preferred that the holder apparatus of the present invention be capable of sterilization, e.g. by means of0 0 an autoclave (190 C), heated mastic (135 C), or other high temperature treatment.
It is envisaged that the receiving means may comprise a fluid or thixotropic material or a material such as 'Blu-tak' ('BLU-TAK' is a registered trade mark), even though such a material may not be autoclavable.
Preferably such a material possessesa) 'memory' to restore itself to an original state,b) the ability to flow under the influence of gravity to return to an original state, orc) adhesive properties whereby to retain a said sheath.
In a simple embodiment of the holder apparatus of the present invention the receiving means may simply include a tapered recess such that it can receive a said sheath in a secure manner and can accommodate a range of sheaths of different diameters.
The holder apparatus may be in the form of a hollow or solid block having an aperture or recess therewithin, the said receiving means being located within the block and aligned with the aperture or recess of the holder apparatus. Alternatively the receiving means may extend, e.g. laterally, from the holder apparatus, e.g.
in the form of one or more elasticated loops each for receiving a said sheath.
The holder apparatus of the present invention may be mounted upon, e.g secured to, a surface by any suitable means. For example the apparatus may include a magnet whereby it can be magnetically affixed to, e.g. an iron surface. Alternatively the holder apparatus may include one or more adhesive pads or an adhesive layer. As a further alternative the holder apparatus may be glued, nailed or screwed to a suitable surface. It is envisaged that the holder apparatus may simply be made suffiently heavy to provide it with the desired stability and resistance to movement.
The body of the holder apparatus may be made of any suitable material, such as wood, plastics, metal, cardboard, or compositions such as glass-reinforced plastics. Preferably the body is made of a blow-mouldable or injection-mouldable plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride. polystyrene, a polyalkylene, or polymethyl acrylate or polymethyl methacrylate.
Preferably the material is capable of withstanding sterilizing temperatures, e.g. of 135 0C or 190 0C.
In one preferred embodiment of the holder apparatus according to the present invention, the receiving means for receiving and releasably holding a said sheath for a needle of a hypodermic syringe is detachable from the body of the holder apparatus, e.g. by providing for co-operating tapered surfaces on an extended part of said body and upon an interior surface of the receiving means, or by providing co-operating screw threads or bayonet-fitting elements repectively upon the body and the receiving means. In another preferred embodiment, the holder apparatus is formed as an integral unit.
Embodiments of holder apparatus according to the present invention will now be described. by way of example only, by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a holder apparatus according to the present invention;Figure 2 is a transver-se- cross-section of the holder apparatus of Figure 1: andFigure 3 is a transverse section through a second embodiment of a holder apparatus according to the present invention.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a holder apparatus 1 comprises a body 2 formed of injection-moulded, autoclavable plastics material. The body 2 includes a raised portion 3 provided with a central dished section 4 in the centre of which is an aperture 5. Located beneath the aperture 5 is a piece of resilient foamed plastics material 6 retained there by means of a supporting plate 7 secured (e.g. glued) to the underside of body 2. The piece of resilient foamed plastics material 6 is provided with cross-cuts 8 to provide a resilient-walled recess 9 for a sheath (not shown) of a hypodermic syringe needle.
In this embodiment double-sided adhesive pads 10 are provided to secure the holder apparatus 1 to a suitable surface, although of course the holder apparatus may be free-standing. The holder apparatus 1 presents a generally sloping aspect to receive a said sheath at a convenient angle and to enable the holder apparatus to be mounted in both horizontal and vertical orientations.
The concave region 4 of the raised portion 3 facilitates guidance of a sheath into the recess 9 and facilitates subsequent guidance of a said needle of a hypodermic syringe into a said sheath.
Once the needle is located within a said sheath the needle may be safely removed from the syringe.
Thereafter the combination of needle and sheath can be disposed of without risk and the syringe body sterilised, autoclaved or disposed of as desired.
A recommended procedure for using the apparatus of the present invention is as follows.
1) A syringe with sheathed needle is handed to a practitioner by a nurse or assistant; 2) The practitioner removes the sheath from the needle and places the sheath in the device of the present invention;3) On completion of the injection, the syringe, with the contaminated needle, is placed directly into the sheath located within the holder apparatus of the present invention;4) Once the needle has been fully inserted into the sheath, the sheath and barrel of the syringe can be grasped and removed from the holder apparatus of the present invention;5) The sheathed needle can then be unscrewed from or pulled off the syringe without danger and can be disposed of, e.g. in a 'sharps' disposal box, or the complete unit, i.e. sheathed and syringe, can be disposed of.
Referring now to Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings, a second embodiment of the holder apparatus is shown.
This differs from the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 in that the receiving means 11 is releasably mounted upon the body of the holder apparatus and in that the arrangement for receiving a sheath comprises a tapered recess 12. The recess 12 is of generally frustoconical shape and includes a longitudinal division 12a to provide the recess 12 with a degree of resiliency, thereby to facilitate the gripping of a said sheath.
The releasable mounting is effected by providing co-operating tapered surfaces 13,14 respectively on the receiving means 11 and on an extended part 15 of the body of the holder apparatus. Other elements of this embodiment are similar to those of the first-described embodiment. This second embodiment is used in a similar manner to the first-described embodiment, but with the difference that the releasably mounted receiving means may conveniently be removed from the holder apparatus to facilitate inertion of a said sheath or insertion of the hypodermic needle in a so mounted sheath.
The present invention also provides a method of reducing needle-stick injury, which method comprises the steps of locating a sheath for a needle of a hypodermic syringe in a holder apparatus as hereinbefore defined, inserting a said needle affixed to a hypodermic syringe into a said located sheath, separating said needle and said syringe, and disposing of the combination of sheath and needle.
The present invention reduces the risk of needle-stick injury to practitioners within the medical. dental and health care professions and thus reduces the risk of cross-infection through such injury. The present invention also eliminates the need for special forceps to handle hypodermic syringes and needles safely.