Design and analysis of a magnetic connection device for external ventricular drain

Abstract

It is difficult to separate Luer lock adapters during the external ventricular drainage (EVD) since they are often connected by a threaded connection, and the infusion needle put into the patient's body gets pulled out when extubation occurs unexpectedly. The paper described a new magnetic connection assembly made up of ring magnetic permanents and a Hall sensor that could be used to replace Luer lock adapters for quicker disconnection and reconnection of the drainage catheter. For the design and analysis of the device, the finite element method magnetics (FEMM) was used to estimate the size of magnetic permanents and the best detection site of the Hall sensor for detecting whether the magnetic permanents were closely attracted and/or pulled apart. Then an experiment was conducted to confirm our findings. Both simulation and experiment revealed that a pair of hollow cylindrical magnetic permanents, each with height 10 mm, outer diameter 8 mm, and inner diameter 4 mm, could achieve the same force as the Luer lock adapters held, and that the best Hall sensor detection position was in the middle of the permanent magnets, with a radial distance of about 2 mm.