Inventors:
Stanley Markus - Oconomowoc WI
Robert Brewer - Oconomowoc WI
Assignee:
Daymark Medical Industries, Inc. - Pewaukee WI
International Classification:
C12Q 104, C12M 128, A61B 1000
Abstract:
A method and an apparatus is disclosed for detecting whether a catheter is the cause of an infection in a patient without removing the catheter from the patient. The apparatus includes a wire handle, brush and a protective, microbially impervious bag disposed over the handle and brush. In use, the apparatus is connected to a catheter, the brush is advanced through the catheter, and simultaneously removed from the protective bag. The apparatus is then withdrawn from the catheter, and simultaneously back into the bag, and the bag is capped to maintain the proper humidification of an fibrin sample obtained so that the microbes thus obtained remain viable.