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EP-4304691-B1 - CONNECTORS FOR RESPIRATORY SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND A FILTER

EP4304691B1EP 4304691 B1EP4304691 B1EP 4304691B1EP-4304691-B1

Inventors

  • O'CONNOR, MARK THOMAS
  • LAING, BRENT IAN
  • KLENNER, Jason Allan
  • POWELL, KEVIN BLAKE

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20220310

Claims (14)

  1. A connector (700) for use in a respiratory system, the connector comprising: a body (701) defining a bore (703) for receipt of a complementary connector component, the bore having a terminal end (704) that provides an entry into the bore for the complementary connector component, a sealing region (705) for engaging with a seal on the complementary connector component, and a sealing region dimension between opposed surfaces of the sealing region, the body comprising diametrically opposed retaining protrusions (710) that extend into the bore from an inner wall of the body, the diametrically opposed retaining protrusions having a distance between radially inward surfaces thereof, characterised in that the sealing region dimension is between 25 mm and 27 mm and wherein the distance between the radially inward surfaces is between 21 mm and 23 mm; wherein the connector comprises one or more axially oriented recesses (761) for interacting with complementary external alignment feature(s) on the complementary connector component, the one or more axially oriented recesses located in the body of the connector at the terminal end of the bore and extending from a radially inner surface of the body to a radially outer surface of the body.
  2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the sealing region dimension is between 25.5 mm and 26.5 mm, is 25 mm, is 25.1 mm, is 25.2 mm, is 25.3 mm, is 25.4 mm, is 25.5 mm, is 25.6 mm, is 25.7 mm, is 25.8 mm, is 25.9 mm, is 26 mm, is 26.1 mm, is 26.2 mm, is 26.3 mm, is 26.4 mm, is 26.5 mm, is 26.6 mm, is 26.7 mm, is 26.8 mm, is 26.9 mm, is 27 mm, or is any value between any two of those values.
  3. The connector of claim 1 or 2, wherein the distance between the radially inward surfaces is between 21.5 mm and 22.5 mm, or is 21 mm, is 21.1 mm, is 21.2 mm, is 21.3 mm, is 21.4 mm, is 21.5 mm, is 21.6 mm, is 21.7 mm, is 21.8 mm, is 21.9 mm, is 22 mm, is 22.1 mm, is 22.2 mm, is 22.3 mm, is 22.4 mm, is 22.5 mm, is 22.6 mm, is 22.7 mm, is 22.8 mm, is 22.9 mm, is 23 mm, or is any value between any two of those values.
  4. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the diametrically opposed retaining protrusions has a retaining face, wherein the angle of the retaining face is between 90 degrees and 125 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the bore.
  5. The connector of claim 4, wherein the angle of the retaining face is between 95 degrees and 120 degrees, is between 100 degrees and 115 degrees, is between 105 degrees and 115 degrees, is 90 degrees, is 91 degrees, is 92 degrees, is 93 degrees, is 94 degrees, is 95 degrees, is 96 degrees, is 97 degrees, is 98 degrees, is 99 degrees, is 100 degrees, is 101 degrees, is 102 degrees, is 103 degrees, is 104 degrees, is 105 degrees, is 106 degrees, is 107 degrees, is 108 degrees, is 109 degrees, is 110 degrees, is 111 degrees, is 112 degrees, is 113 degrees, is 114 degrees, is 115 degrees, is 116 degrees, is 117 degrees, is 118 degrees, is 119 degrees, is 120 degrees, is 121 degrees, is 122 degrees, is 123 degrees, is 124 degrees, or is 125 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the bore, or is any angle between any two of those values.
  6. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the diametrically opposed retaining protrusions are configured to provide a retention force in an axial direction of the connector of between 10 N and 100 N, optionally between 10 N and 75 N, optionally between 10 N and 50 N, the retention force being a pull out force required to remove the complementary connector component from the bore of the connector when in use.
  7. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the diametrically opposed retaining protrusions comprise a first pair of adjacent retaining protrusions on one side of the bore and a second pair of adjacent retaining protrusions on an opposite side of the bore.
  8. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the sealing region comprises an effective sealing location for contact by a surface of a seal on the complementary connector component, and wherein the sealing region dimension is a dimension of the effective sealing location.
  9. The connector of claim 8, wherein the effective sealing location is substantially at a centre of the sealing region, for contact by the surface of the seal which is at a centre of the seal.
  10. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sealing region is closer to the terminal end relative to the diametrically opposed retaining protrusions.
  11. The connector of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the connector comprises at least one internal alignment feature.
  12. The connector of claim 11, wherein the at least one internal alignment feature comprises at least one alignment member that extends into the bore from an inner wall of the body, wherein the at least one internal alignment member is configured to be received in a recess in the complementary connector component.
  13. The connector of claim 12, wherein the at least one alignment member is at a 90 degree offset around the bore from retaining faces of the retaining protrusions.
  14. A filter for use in a respiratory therapy system, the filter comprising: an inlet port for the flow of gases; an outlet port for the flow of gases; a cavity containing a filtration material in a flow path through the filter; and the connector of any one of claims 1 to 13 at the inlet port.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to connectors for use in breathing circuits, more particularly, though not solely, to connectors to be used at the terminal end of an inspiratory conduit. BACKGROUND Breathing therapy or respiratory therapy circuits are typically single use items. Once a therapy circuit, for example a respiratory gas conduit, has been used by a patient, the conduit together with a patient interface is typically thrown away. One of the reasons for this is to prevent contamination from one patient to another. Respiratory support systems that are used in multiple-patient environments typically require at least an inspiratory conduit and patient interface to be discarded and replaced between each patient to ensure the components provided for use by each patient are clean and not infected from prior users. This is time consuming which may be detrimental in an emergency. It also creates significant amounts of waste and adds to the overall cost of the procedures or at least to the overall hospital operation costs since the hospital needs to keep a larger stock of inspiratory conduits. This cost can sometimes be passed on to the patient. In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art. US 2018/078728 A1 discloses an apparatus or kit for a respiratory support system for delivering humidified gas to a user or patient. US 2010/148500 A1 discloses a connector for connecting the end of a chemical tube, a blood tube or a tracheal tube inserted to a human body with that of an external circuit. WO 2017/037660 A1 discloses connectors to be provided into fluid communication or engagement either directly with, or via a component to be associated with, a terminal end of a breathing conduit. US 2013/167841 A1 discloses a fluid delivery connection that includes a cuff to engage a port. SUMMARY At times, an airflow source may need to be removed or replaced, or a patient interface may need to be removed from a breathing circuit, or other conduit forming a part of a breathing circuit may need to be replaced. If detaching the particular component (e.g. conduit or a patient interface) from the circuit is difficult or time consuming, such detachments may adversely impact on the maintenance or continued delivery of a gas therapy to a patient, or may become a frustration for the person making such a detachment. Further, in emergencies, a slow or difficult connection mechanism can potentially place the patient's health in danger. Thus, a conduit connector that provides a "quick-connect" or "quick-release" capability, and yet which facilitates the rapid and correct alignment and connection of a new connector, as well as facilitating interchangeability of components, can provide greater comfort and/or safety for the patient. It may be desirable in a medical setting to utilize certain respiratory circuit components among multiple patients, particularly when each patient may require therapy for only a short time period. Examples include ambulances, Emergency Departments (ED), and transfer of patients between departments within a hospital, where patients may be kept on a respiratory support system for a short period of time (for example, maybe about 2-4 hours for the ED). A bacterial filter is therefore used between a patient interface and the inspiratory tube to prevent contamination of the components upstream of the filter so that these components can be used between patients without reprocessing. The patient interface and filter then stays with the patient as a single patient use component or alternatively may be discarded. In order to ensure that the components upstream of the filter are not contaminated and the system components are correctly connected to provide the requisite therapy, a connection assembly that can be used between the filter and the inspiratory tube is disclosed herein, such that the inspiratory conduit only connects to the filter and the patient interface conduit cannot directly connect to the inspiratory conduit. Reducing the risk of contaminating the inspiratory conduit (and its upstream components) can lead to a reduction in waste, and cost, as fewer circuit items are required to be replaced. Furthermore, the reduced need to reprocess the respiratory therapy apparatus minimises downtime for the apparatus. The reprocessing step would normally require replacing and/or sanitising components. Providing the connection assembly also improves safety of the respiratory support provided to the patient. The present invention is defined by the connector o