Central venous permanent catheter with lockable lumen

The project Central Venous Permanent Catheter with a Lockable Lumen is one of the prize recipients of the “Medical Engineering Innovation Contest 2009”. It received an award from and was funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).
Promotional reference: 01EZ1003
Press release BMBF: Homepage and PDF-file (640 KB)

Permanent catheters are used for many applications. Common usages are hemodialysis (a method for removing waste products from the blood after kidney failure), nutritional support and Intravenous treatments. Contaminated catheter materials may cause complications, especially bacterial infections.
A possible origin for the infections is the area within the catheter (lumen), which acts as a bioreactor for the microorganisms. To prevent this, an antimicrobial fluid (lock-solution) is injected into the catheter. Aside from the disadvantageous in-flow profile, the correct dosage is also problematical in the clinical setting.
A lumen-lock-balloon is incorporated into the lumen of the catheter. This is filled during the stand-by phase of the catheter and fills the inner volume completely. While the lumen-lock-balloon is empty, it lies folded together along the inner wall of the catheter and clear of the lumen.
The displacement of the inner volume by the lumen-lock-balloon during the stand-by phase prevents the creation of a bioreactor. The lumen-lock- balloon is emptied by an over center device during the usage times and the lumen is then operational. This actuator enables easy servicing and is resistant to problems. In vitro and in vivo experiments are planned subsequent to the optimization of the catheter and the actuator. These experiments will reproduce the clinical conditions during the use of a central venous catheter. A catheter with a lumen-lock and a conventional catheter will be compared using microbiological methods.

Operational concept

Contact persons

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Affeld
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Sebastian Schulz

Cooperation partner

Spiegelberg KG

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (promotional reference 01EZ1003).