The Ash Split Cath (TM) : The best inventions are simple

Dual‐lumen “acute” central venous catheters (CVC) for dialysis were developed in the 1970s and tunneled “chronic” CVC in the 1980s. Fibrous sheathing of these catheters diminished the patency after weeks to months of use. Double catheters like Canaud/Tesio worked better and longer than single body catheters but were tedious to place. I decided that the optimal CVC design would be a single body that split into two tips within the vena cava. The “Ash Split Cath (TM) ” was developed in cooperation with a company focused on dialysis access catheters, and quickly became widely used around the world. However, the patent did not prevent other companies from marketing split‐tip catheters. A disagreement on the terms of a royalty agreement further weakened the relationship between the marketing company and our R&D company.