Title of Invention	HYPODERMIC NEEDLE STICK INJURY PREVENTION DEVICE
Abstract	HYPODERMIC NEEDLE STICK INJURY PREVENTION DEVICE

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Form 2 THE PATENT ACT, 1970 (39 OF 1970) Complete Specification (Section 10 rule 13) Title of the Invention: Hypodermic Needle stick injury prevention Device Applicant: Dr. Gajiwala Kalpesh Jayantkumar M.S. (Gen. Surgery), M.Ch. (Plastic Surg.) Address: Flat 2 & 7,1st floor, Navaz Mansion, 25 Shahid Bhagatsingh Road, Mumbai 400039, Maharashtra, India. Phone: 2043776 / 2021587; Mobile: 9820016319 E-mail: Nationality: Indian This complete specification gives Nature and purpose of Invention and manner in which it is to be used, GRANTED Introduction: Hypodermic needles, commonly called injection needles, are used extensively in medical practice for the purpose of injecting medicines, aspirating / withdrawing blood, pus, tissues etc., as well as many other purposes. Since it comes in contact with the tissue fluids, it becomes a potentially dangerous source of infection to the healthcare personnel handling it. An open hypodermic needle is a potentially dangerous situation where an operator or an assistant i.e. doctor, nurse or a technician (healthcare worker) is likely to get hurt. It is imperative for a person handling a hypodermic needle and a syringe to immediately cap the hypodermic needle after use, for safe parking till it is thrown away or reused in the same patient. Many doctors, nurses, technicians and others are constantly exposed to accidental hypodermic needle stick injuries with possible injection and subsequent infection with lethal and incurable diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis etc. One way to prevent this is to immediately cover the hypodermic needles with the hypodermic needle covers (i.e. hypodermic needle caps or needle sheaths) after use, which are usually provided along with. Unfortunately many accidents happen while replacing the hypodermic needle back into the needle cover, as it is held between the thumb and a finger, which are very close to the opening of the needle cover. Here a simple device is described which creates a safe distance and some safeguards between the operator"s hand and the needle cover while replacing the hypodermic needle back into its cover for the safety of the handlers. Prior Art and Background: There are in prior art several devices which are invented with the sole purpose of preventing accidental injuries to the healthcare workers. Many inventions have been described to protect a health worker from the hypodermic needle stick injury after the hypodermic needle has been used. Most of this incorporate some form of locking needle cover or sheath so as to secure the used hypodermic needle in the needle cover. But they do not deal effectively with the safety of the handler while replacing the needle back into its cover. Objective of the invention: The present invention does not in any way alter the simple hypodermic needle covers or sheaths available with the hypodermic needles. But it provides a simple and safe mechanism of keeping the health worker away from the contaminated hypodermic needle tip while the hypodermic needle is safely and snugly replaced in the needle cover. It also provides various guards and blocks to prevent accidental slippage of the hypodermic needle tip towards operator"s hand while replacing the hypodermic needle. The design is simple, flexible and the product being flat can easily be incorporated with syringe-hypodermic needle- needle cover pack commonly available in the market. The Statement of Invention: (1) The invention relates to a hypodermic needle stick injury prevention device, which comprises of a flat strip, the said flat strip having, (a) one or more holes or slots at one end of the strip and at least one of these holes corresponds to the outer design of the hypodermic needle cap or cover or sheath, to hold the needle cover snugly and sufficiently away from the grip end, (b) a grip end which is at the end opposite to the end where said holes or slots are present,(c) A guard rail or a groove in the intervening region. Description of the Invention: It is a flat strip of suitable length, width and thickness, rounded at the edges and the corner to prevent accidental scratches from sharp edges and corners, Fig.l. It may be made up of metal, wood or any other suitable synthetic non-toxic material, which may be radio-opaque and of suitable colour to identify it easily from the tissues and blood and which can also be sterilised. At one end there is custom designed slots or holes, Fig.l A, B. This slot or a hole is designed to snugly fit to the specific outer design of the hypodermic needle cover. Further down there is a guard-rail, Fig.lC, 2C, on one surface and a corresponding grove on obverse side, Fig. 2 C, with a central slopping gutter Fig.1D, 2 D. This is to prevent sliding of the hypodermic needle towards the operator"s hand in case it misses the opening of the hypodermic needle cover. Thus the purpose of the guard-rail or the groove is to show different possibilities of arresting a sliding hypodermic needle from reaching the operator"s hand, without suggesting that this be compulsorily so. Obviously one may use the guard-rail or grooves on both sides. Beyond this is an area, which is scored on the surface, on both sides. This is the portion for the operator to hold the strip firmly, Fig.1E, 2E, 6. A hole or a slot may be circular or polygonal i.e. many sided and angled, Fig, 1 A, B; 7, 8, 10, are few such examples. One can indeed vary the outer design of hypodermic needle cover in infinite possible ways and giving all possible design is beyond anyone"s scope. Suffice is to say that as the outer diameter and the design of the hypodermic needle covers vary from manufacturer to manufacturer the dimensions and the design of the hole needs to be conformed to the specific requirement, so that the hypodermic needle cover fits snugly in the slot. In the preferred version the whole device is flat, simple and easy to package with an assembly of a syringe, a hypodermic needle and a hypodermic needle cover without occupying much space and yet separate so that it can be used for another hypodermic needle cover. In another preferred version the said strip may be optionally bent or curved at any point or points of the strip, for example Fig. 14, where it is shown with a bent near the grip end. Working of the Invention: As shown in Fig. 6 the apparatus is held at the operator"s end 6e. The hypodermic needle with its needle cover is parked in one of the slots. The syringe nozzle is fixed to the hub of the hypodermic needle and the needle is gently rocked out of the needle cover. The needle cover is kept parked in the apparatus. After the use when the needle needs to be replaced in the needle cover the apparatus is held again as shown in Fig. 6. The needle is thus replaced into the cover safely away from the operator"s hand unlike Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 avoiding accidental injury. Brief Descriptions of the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1. Surface view of the device. A flat strip rounded at the edges and corners with a circular slot A and hexagonal slot B, a guard rail C, Central sloping gutter D, a scored area for operator"s holding E. Fig. 2. A Surface view of the apparatus with the corresponding cross sections. Fig. 3. This shows how the operator"s finger 3f is very close to the tip of the hypodermic needle 3d while the needle 3c is being replaced in the hypodermic needle cover 3e. 3a is the syringe and 3b is the hub of the hypodermic needle fixed to the nozzle of the syringe. Fig. 4. This shows how the operator"s finger 4f being so close to the needle cover is likely to be injured by the tip of the hypodermic needle 4d while the needle 4c is being replaced in the hypodermic needle cover 4e. 4b is the hub of the hypodermic needle fixed to the nozzle of the syringe 4a. Fig. 5. Shows a needle cover 5a with a replaced needle 5b in a circular slot. 5c is another hexagonal slot to hold a needle cover of hexagonal design. 5d is a guard-rail with the gutter, 5e is a serrated grip portion for the operator. Fig.6 Shows a needle cover 6a with a replaced needle 6b in a circular slot 6c is another hexagonal slot to hold a needle cover of a hexagonal design. One can easily note that the operator"s hand 6f at the grip 6e is safely away from the needle and the cover, with added safety of the guard-rail 6d should it miss the mouth of the needle cover. Fig. 7, 8,9 and 10 shows some of the various possible designs. Fg.7 A flat strip with - 7a, a serrated circular opening, 7b, an octagonal opening, 7c, a notched gutter with 7d, a guard rail, 7e, a serrated grip. Fig. 8 A flat strip with - 8a, a serrated circular opening, 8b, a hexagonal opening, 8c, a notched gutter with 8d, a guard rail, 8e, a serrated grip. Fig. 9 A flat strip with - 9a, a serrated circular opening, 9b, a cross type opening to engage the hypodermic needle hub, 9c, a notched gutter with 9d, a guard rail, 9e, a serrated grip. Fig. 10 A flat strip with - 10a, a serrated circular opening, 10b, a pentagonal opening, 10c, a notched gutter with 10d, a guard rail, 10e, a serrated grip. This shows that the central gutter or the slop can have scoring or the steps or notches inside to help prevent the sliding of the hypodermic needle, so as to further arrest the sliding hypodermic needle from approaching the operator"s hand. Fig 11 shows a circular hole scored internally in a three dimensional manner. This improves the grip of the hypodermic needle cover. Fig.12 A shows a hypodermic needle cover with an expanded rim. Fig 12 B shows that cross sectional view of a slot with a step to hold the expanded rim of a hypodermic needle cover which is well fitting so as to make it flush with the surface of the device. Fig.l3A shows a slot which corresponds to the flanges on the hub of a hypodermic needle as in Fig.13 B, a perspective view and Fig. 13 C, a side view of a hypodermic needle hub. Again this example just serves to elucidate a point made as various possible external designs of a hypodermic needle hub are beyond any ones scope. Fig 14 shows a device in which, there is a little bend or curve at the operator"s end for the purpose of a better grip, but this may bring the hand more closure to the slots, 14d. I claim: (1) A hypodermic needle stick injury prevention device, which comprises of a flat strip, the said flat strip having: (a) one or more holes or slots at one end of the strip and at least one of these holes corresponds to the outer design of the hypodermic needle cap or cover or sheath, to hold the needle cover snugly and sufficiently away from the grip end; (b) the grip end which is at the end opposite to the end where the said holes or slots are present and which is optionally scored or roughened; (c) a guard rail or a groove in the intervening region, where in the said flat strip optionally has rounded edges and corners and / or is bent. (2)A hypodermic needle stick injury prevention device, as claimed in claim 1, where a guard rail or a groove surrounds a gutter or a slope, which is optionally scored, stepped or grooved. (3) A hypodermic needle stick injury prevention device, as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the slots corresponds to the hub of the needle. (4) A hypodermic needle stick injury prevention device, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strip is made up of natural material, metal or any synthetic material, which is optionally non-toxic and / or radio-opaque and / or sterilizable and / or of suitable colour so as to make it easily distinguishable from the tissues. Dr. Gajiwala Kalpesh J. Dated 24th day of April 2002 (Applicant)

Documents:

373-mum-2002-cancelled pages(25-1-2005).pdf

373-MUM-2002-CLAIMS(24-4-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-claims(granred)(25-1-2002).doc

373-mum-2002-claims(granred)(25-1-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-claims(granted)-(3-11-2006).pdf

373-mum-2002-correspondence(25-1-2005).pdf

373-mum-2002-correspondence(ipo)-(13-1-2005).pdf

373-MUM-2002-CORRESPONDENCE(IPO)-(25-1-2007).pdf

373-MUM-2002-DESCRIPTION(COMPLETE)-(24-4-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-description(granted)-(3-11-2006).pdf

373-MUM-2002-DRAWING(24-4-2002).pdf

373-MUM-2002-DRAWING(AMENDED)-(14-2-2003).pdf

373-MUM-2002-DRAWING(AMENDED)-(6-1-2005).pdf

373-mum-2002-drawing(granted)-(3-11-2006).pdf

373-mum-2002-drawings(25-1-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 1(24-4-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 13(24-1-2005).pdf

373-MUM-2002-FORM 13(25-1-2005).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 19(8-7-2003).pdf

373-MUM-2002-FORM 2(COMPLETE)-(24-4-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 2(granred)-(25-1-2005).doc

373-mum-2002-form 2(granred)-(25-1-2005).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 2(granted)-(3-11-2006).pdf

373-MUM-2002-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE)-(COMPLETE)-(24-4-2002).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 2(title page)-(granted)-(3-11-2006).pdf

373-mum-2002-form 3(24-4-2002).pdf

373-MUM-2002-SPECIFICATION(AMENDED)-(25-1-2005).pdf

373-MUM-2002-SPECIFICATION(AMENDED)-(6-1-2005).pdf

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