Systems and methods for venipuncture and catheter placement

摘要

Intravenous access is achieved by introducing a catheter having a guidewire safety tip at its distal end. The safety tip can be advanced and retracted using a slider disposed over an access needle which is initially present in the catheter. After the catheter has been properly positioned, the access needle and guidewire may be removed so that the catheter is available for use.

主权项

1. An intravenous catheter assembly, comprising:
a tubular catheter body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a lumen therebetween; an access needle disposed in the tubular catheter body lumen and having a tissue-penetrating distal tip extending distally beyond the distal end of the tubular catheter body; a guidewire having a portion disposed outside and in parallel to the access needle and having a distal tip, wherein the access needle and the guidewire may be withdrawn together from the tubular catheter body after the guidewire has been advanced in the tubular catheter body lumen; a slide coupled to a proximal end of the guidewire so that distal advancement of the slide advances the distal tip of the guidewire from a distal end of the access needle; a first configuration, wherein:
the distal tip of the access needle extends beyond the distal end of the tubular catheter body by a distance in a range from 0.1 mm to 20 mm, anda proximal end of the slide is retracted from the proximal end of the tubular catheter body by a distance in a range from 10 mm to 100 mm; and a second configuration, wherein the distal tip of the guidewire extends beyond the distal end of the tubular catheter body by a distance in a range from 5 mm to 100 mm.