This invention relates to adapters for releasably attaching and removing syringes to medical injectors, and more particularly to adapters for releasably attaching and removing syringes of various types and sizes to front-loading injectors. Medical injectors and syringes containing fluid, such as contrast media, are commonly used to inject fluid into a patient in a wide variety of diagnostic imaging procedures. Injectors of the front-loading type are often used in such procedures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,858, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and fully incorporated herein by reference, provides a detailed description of injectors of the front-loading type and corresponding syringe designs. One advantage of the front-loading injector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,858 is that a syringe can readily be loaded onto and removed from the injector head without the need to disconnect the fluid path from the syringe to the patient. Another advantage of the front-loading injector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,858 is that the drive means of the injector head may be disengaged and retracted from the syringe plunger without retracting the syringe plunger, thus substantially reducing the risk of withdrawing fluid from the patient after completion of the diagnostic procedure. This feature is also taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,980, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and fully incorporated herein by reference. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,858, a syringe used with a front-loading injector requires a specially designed readily releasable mounting mechanism for securing the syringe to the front wall of the injector head and a specially designed readily releasable mounting mechanism for securing the syringe plunger to the piston head of the injector. These required mounting mechanisms oftentimes increase the cost of the syringes and prohibit the use of syringes of other various types, sizes and configurations with front-loading injectors. Thus, it is desirable to design adapters for use with syringes of various types, sizes and configurations to permit use of these syringes with front-loading injectors.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds