TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a holder for elongate flexible medical devices, and more particularly to a holder with medical device storage slots shaped to retain wound-up elongate medical devices wound in opposition to an internal unwinding bias.

BACKGROUND

A great many different medical devices are used in surgical and other clinical interventional settings. Elongate, flexible medical devices such as wire guides and catheters are often used by vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, and other medical professionals to gain access to a patient's cardiovascular system, for diagnostics, imaging, and direct treatment of many conditions. Because such devices are often relatively long, in some instances over a meter, storing such devices such that they are prepared for ready and convenient access has long been a challenge. The necessity to maintain a sterile field compounds such problems, with a typical setting including placement of the long medical devices on a tray or table in the open air of the operating room or other clinical setting. Certain attempts have been made to provide purpose-built holding devices, however, conventional techniques and apparatuses for such purposes leave much to be desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a medical device holder includes a one-piece holder body with a horizontally extending base wall having a plurality of base peripheral edges extending about a planar base face and forming a base footprint, a first and a second end wall that extend vertically upward, respectively, from a first one and a second one of the plurality of base peripheral edges, and a first side wall and a second side wall that extend vertically upward, respectively, from a third one and a fourth one of the plurality of base peripheral edges. The medical device holder further includes an opening defined by a plurality of top peripheral edges each formed by a different one of the first and the second end walls and the first and the second side walls and forming an opening footprint that fits within the base footprint. The first and the second end walls are oriented parallel to one another, and the first and the second side walls are oriented so as to converge toward the opening. A plurality of internal vertical walls form a plurality of medical device storage slots serially arranged between the first and the second end walls and extending vertically between the opening and the base wall. The plurality of medical device storage slots further extend horizontally between the first and the second side walls and are shaped according to the convergence of the first and the second side walls so as to retain within the plurality of medical device storage slots a plurality of wound-up elongate medical devices inserted through the opening.

In another aspect, a medical device holder assembly includes a holder having a one-piece holder body with a horizontally extending base wall with a plurality of base peripheral edges extending about a planar base face, a first end wall and a second end wall extending vertically upward, respectively, from a first one and a second one of the plurality of base peripheral edges. The one-piece holder body further includes a first side wall and a second side wall extending vertically upward, respectively, from a third one and a fourth one of the plurality of base peripheral edges. The one-piece holder body further has a plurality of internal vertical walls forming a plurality of medical device storage slots extending between the first and the second side walls, and serially arranged between the first and the second end walls. The one-piece holder body further has a plurality of top peripheral edges each formed by a different one of the first and the second end walls and the first and the second side walls and defining an opening to the plurality of medical device storage slots. The first and the second end walls are oriented parallel to one another, and the first and the second side walls are oriented so as to converge toward one another in a direction of the opening. A plurality of elongate medical devices each wound in opposition to an internal unwinding bias are trapped each in a biased state by way of contact with the first and the second side walls and the base wall within one of the plurality of medical device storage slots.

