Method for straightening bent catheters for use
The invention involves a system and method for straightening and refurbishing medical catheters. The system includes the steps and equipment to repair bends and kinks which prevent proper usage of the catheter for a medical procedure. The system and method further checks electrical conductivity and resistance if needed. The catheters are then cleaned and repackaged for shipment and use.
1 . A method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters comprising:
providing an overview of the method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters including parts and documents ( 14 ), equipment required ( 16 ), setup and procedure ( 18 ) and inspection requirements ( 20 );
supplying a process flow chart ( 24 ) outlining an overview of the steps required to repair the particular medical catheter;
wherein the equipment required ( 16 ) refers to the equipment required to repair the bends and kinks of a particular medical catheter.
2 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters of claim 1 wherein the documents ( 14 ) lists the documents that are needed and/or required for refurbishing a medical catheter, wherein the catheter is intended to be put back into commerce as a usable product or discarded as not usable and tracked for disposal.
3 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters of claim 2 wherein the catheter ( 50 ) is placed in a mold ( 44 ), the mold ( 44 ) being constructed from a high temperature resistant material to include an outer diameter ( 42 ), an inner diameter ( 46 ) sized to abut outer diameter of the catheter, and a length ( 48 ) sufficient to cover the bend or kink.
4 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 3 wherein the mold ( 44 ) is constructed as a split mold including two or more mold halves ( 52 ) constructed to assemble into a full loop around the catheter ( 50 ).
5 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 4 wherein the mold halves ( 52 ) include alignment keys for aligning the mold halves ( 52 ) with respect to each other.
6 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters of claim 3 , including the step of positioning the mold ( 44 ) and medical catheter ( 50 ) within an induction coil ( 58 ), the induction coil ( 58 ) being constructed and arranged to heat the catheter ( 50 ) to a sufficient temperature to activate the shape memory of the polymer forming an outer sheath of the catheter ( 50 ).
7 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters of claim 3 , including the step of positioning the mold ( 44 ) and medical catheter ( 50 ) within an induction coil ( 58 ), the induction coil ( 58 ) being constructed and arranged to heat the catheter ( 50 ) to a sufficient temperature to reform the polymer forming an outer sheath of the catheter ( 50 ).
8 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 6 including the step of controllably cooling the catheter sheath using air provided by a blower ( 60 ) after being heated to provide the desired material flexural properties for the catheter ( 50 ).
9 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 7 including the step of controllably cooling the catheter sheath using air provided by a blower ( 60 ) after being heated to provide the desired material flexural properties for the catheter ( 50 ).
10 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 3 including the step of pulling the catheter ( 50 ) through a set of straightening rolls ( 64 ), the straightening rolls ( 64 ) including a plurality of rollers ( 66 ) arranged in perpendicular planes with respect to each other, the rollers ( 66 ) each including a groove ( 68 ) sized to accept and guide the outer diameter of the catheter, the rollers ( 66 ) positioned to bend the catheter ( 50 ) back and forth in a decreasing manner as it passes over the rollers ( 66 ) to straighten the catheter ( 50 ) when exiting the straightening rolls ( 64 ).
11 . The method for refurbishing bent or kinked medical catheters ( 50 ) of claim 3 including the step of checking electrical conductivity to determine if the catheter retains electrical conductivity.