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Principal Investigators:
Francine Blei, M.D., Ann Aurigemma. R.N., New York University School of Medicine
Background:
When patients with central venous catheters (CVC's) develop infections, antibiotics
must be administered through each port of a multi-lumen catheter. Using currently-available
tubing, this is achieved by one of two techniques:
- alternating port delivery (i.e. every other
dose administered through the alternate port)
- split dose delivery (i.e. two pumps, each
with its own Intravenous ((IV) line delivering 50% of the prescribed dose
of each antibiotic simultaneously).
Both modalities have significant shortcomings:
the former depends on constant human implementation and is, therefore, labor-intensive
and error-prone; the later is expensive and cumbersome. These shortcomings
are compounded in the case of multiple antibiotic therapy and triple lumen
catheters.
Commercially-available Y-tubes are incapable
of addressing this situation. They are designed for the purpose of mixing
two or more input streams into a single output stream. It is not possible
to simply reverse the flow because the fitting "genders" are incompatible.
Summary:
The Reversed Y-extension Set is a device having a number of output legs equal
to the number of lumen in the multi-lumen CVC. Each of the output legs terminates
in a male Luer lock fitting while the input arm terminates in a female Luer lock
fitting. It thus allows for the splitting of a single (IV) antibiotic line between
the several lumens of a multi-lumen CVC. The invention obviates the need for either
split dose delivery (with dual pumps, dual IV lines, and dual sites for contamination)
or alternating port delivery with its constant manipulation of lines and consequent
increase in labor and potential for confusion.
Applications:
The Reversed Y-extension Set is the tubing of choice for treating infection in
patients with multi-lumen CVC's (estimated U.S. incidence of over 50,000/year).
While CVC tubing is currently a low margin commodity, this proprietary tubing
will reduce both the cost and the risk attendant to current techniques while increasing
effectiveness and convenience. These compelling advantages will not only insure
rapid penetration of the target market, but also will present leverage opportunities
for up- and downstream products (e.g. i.v. antibiotics and CVC's, themselves ).
Eventually, the device will become a large, indispensible part of the CVC tubing
inventory for use in the high percentage of uninfected patients with multi-lumen
CVC's who are only being infused with a single (i.e. non-antibiotic) fluid at
any time during their catheterization.
Patent : US Patent 5,921,965
For further information please contact:
New York University
Industrial Liaison/Technology Transfer
650 First Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016
Tel: (212)263-8178 Fax: (212)263-8189
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