US 7,597,686 B2
	Valves and suction catheter assemblies
Nicholas Paul MacMillan, Dover (United Kingdom); Ian Douglas Stace, Minster-in-Thanet (United Kingdom); and Neil Steven Veasey, Ashford (United Kingdom)
Assigned to Smiths Group PLC, London (United Kingdom)
Filed on Jan. 29, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/765,953.
Claims priority of application No. 0304457.5 (GB), filed on Feb. 27, 2003; and application No. 0323511.6 (GB), filed on Oct. 08, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2004/0182393 A1, Sep. 23, 2004
Int. Cl. A61M 5/00 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 604—249  [251/318]

13 Claims

1. A suction catheter assembly comprising a suction catheter and a valve for controlling flow along said suction catheter, said valve comprising: a housing defining a first bore in communication with said suction catheter and a second bore extending to an outlet opening into said first bore through an aperture; a valve member, said valve member having a sealing surface and being slidable in alignment with said first bore from a first position where said sealing surface is on a side of said aperture remote from said first bore such as to allow unobstructed fluid flow from said suction catheter along the first bore to the second bore to a second position on an opposite side of said aperture to block flow of fluid from said suction catheter between said first and second bores, wherein said valve includes a rotatable locking member operable to prevent movement of said valve member, wherein said locking member is mounted on said housing and has an external surface formation that is out of alignment with a part of said valve member when said locking member is rotatable between a first position where said valve member is free for sliding movement, to a second position where said external surface formation is in alignment with said part of said valve member so as to hinder movement of said valve member.