A multilumen catheter having tubings extending into lumens within the
catheter. The lumens may be used for blood, drugs or other medicants. The
lumens may also be used for sensors. The junction element, external to
the patient, connects the tubings to the lumens. The tubings, also
external to the patient, connect to infusion members, to which one or
more infusion systems may be connected to deliver blood, drugs and other
medicants to the patient. A sensor having a sensing element may extend
through the sensor lumen and be positioned internal to the patient for
physiological parameter sensing. An external portion of the sensor may be
connected to associated electronics to provide automatic monitoring of
the physiological parameters and automatic delivery and control of the
infusants. Also, a central line catheter for delivering fluids directly
into a main artery or vein near the heart, which contains a first lumen
to deliver a fluid through the central line catheter and a second lumen
containing a sensor capable indicating a characteristic level in blood.
The first lumen delivers the fluid downstream of the sensor to prevent
any interference between the fluid delivery and the sensor readings. In
other versions, the central line catheter can have additional lumens for
additional purposes. In addition, the central line catheter can further
include a flush sleeve to remove debris around the sensor.