U.S. patent application number 10/603324 was filed with the patent office on 2004-01-22 for bottle with special top for use in the medical field.
Invention is credited to Schupp, Marco, Westermann, Harro.
Application Number | 20040011760 10/603324 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30445073 |
Filed Date | 2004-01-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040011760 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schupp, Marco ; et
al. |
January 22, 2004 |
Bottle with special top for use in the medical field
Abstract
A closure top is especially suited for use with a bottle for
medical use, particularly for enteral feeding. The closure top
screws onto the bottle. The bottle contents are accessible to a
feeding tube by means of a passage through the closure top. The
closure top may be provided with a freshness seal which is
penetrated by insertion through the passage of the feeding tube or
a cannula attached to the feeding tube. The top may have a
pressure-relief opening. A semi-permeable membrane may be fitted in
the opening.
Inventors: |
Schupp, Marco; (Schwollen,
DE) ; Westermann, Harro; (Koblenz, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JORDAN AND HAMBURG LLP
122 EAST 42ND STREET
SUITE 4000
NEW YORK
NY
10168
US
|
Family ID: |
30445073 |
Appl. No.: |
10/603324 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/388 ;
215/252; 215/309; 220/709 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J 9/04 20130101; A61J
1/1406 20130101; A61J 9/00 20130101; A61J 1/1418 20150501 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/388 ;
215/252; 215/309; 220/709 |
International
Class: |
A47G 019/22; B65D
051/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 20, 2002 |
DE |
202 10 966.6 |
Nov 28, 2002 |
DE |
202 18 500.1 |
Claims
1. Bottle with special top for use in the medical field featuring a
top (1) with a coupling (2) for the fitting of a transfer system to
a feeding tube (3) and with a freshness seal (4).
2. Bottle with special top as under claim 1 featuring the
incorporation of a pressure-relief opening (5) into the top.
3. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a coupling (2) for the fitting of a transfer
system to the feeding tube (3) with an external thread (6) and at
the free end (8) of the feeding tube (3), a cap (7) with an
internal thread (9) for screwing into the external thread (6).
4. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a top (1) that is screwed with an internal thread
(10) to an external thread located at the neck of the bottle, and a
top (1) that has on its lower edge a lock-in ring (14) so that it
is not detachable.
5. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a top (1) with perforation lines that tear apart
when the top (1) is unscrewed.
6. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring perforation lines placed vertically so that the
top is damaged when it is unscrewed.
7. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a semi-permeable membrane (12) that is fitted into
the pressure-relief opening (5).
8. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a felt membrane that is fitted into the
pressure-relief opening (5).
9. Bottle with special top as under at least one of the claims
above, featuring a closing cap (7) fitted on the top (1) to cover
the coupling (2) and also covering the pressure-relief opening (5).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a bottle with a special top for use
in the medical field.
[0002] If a patient is suffering from a loss of functioning of his
upper digestive organs (oral cavity, pharyngeal cavity,
oesophagus), he can no longer chew and swallow, but his
gastro-intestinal functioning is usually still in order. So, from a
medical viewpoint, such a patient has to be fed artificially by
introduction of nutrient solutions and liquids into his stomach or
intestines. This is called enteral feeding. Either through the
nasal cavity or directly through the abdominal wall, a thin-walled
feeding tube system is introduced directly into the patient's
stomach, or if there is no stomach functioning, directly into
intestines, to provide a route for food. In addition, a transfer
system is necessary to run liquid from a container into the feeding
tube. On hygienic grounds, such a transfer system is not used for
more than 24 hours.
[0003] In this process, various containers are used in which the
liquid food is kept and from which it is fed to the patient through
the tube.
[0004] Such a container may be, for example, a plastic bag filled
with liquid food which is hung on an infusion stand and connected
to a stomach feeding tube. These bags are usually elasticated bags
made of plastic which contract when emptied because of the vacuum
that is created. They are prefilled disposable products designed to
be thrown away after being used once. They are used exclusively for
administration of a liquid nutrient solution.
[0005] Another alternative are plastic containers filled at the
hospital with various liquids, such as herbal tea, and to which, in
a second step, the transfer system to the stomach feeding tube is
then connected. These containers have the drawback that the
necessary hygienic precautions are not always taken when they are
filled in the hospital. For example, these containers are hung on
infusion stands, a cap located on the top is opened and the liquid,
which is frequently a herbal tea made at the hospital itself, is
poured in. Due to the height of suspension, the liquid is
frequently spilt and thus both the container and the stand
splashed. Another drawback is that these containers are used
repeatedly without being properly and hygienically cleaned between
uses.
[0006] In addition, such containers have the disadvantage that they
involve a considerable amount of work for hospital staff. The
standard procedure is to boil tap water first. This is then used to
make the herbal tea--another step in the process. The containers
also need to be cleaned, the boiled liquid has to cool before--as
the last step--it can be poured into the container and fed to the
patient.
[0007] Against this background, it is the mission of the present
invention to create a bottle with a special top for use in the
medical field which does not have the drawbacks listed above and
represents an easy-to-handle hygienically safe container for use
for artificial feeding. In addition, the aim is for the work
involved for hospital staff to be significantly reduced by use of
the bottle which constitutes the subject of the invention.
[0008] This is achieved by a bottle with a special top as per claim
1.
[0009] The bottle with a special top for use in the medical field
has a top with a coupling for a transfer system to a feeding tube
and it has a freshness seal. Another advantage is that there is a
pressure-relief opening in the top. So this is a standard bottle,
made of PET for example, tailored to the special needs for use for
enteral feeding. For example, it can be filled with mineral water
in the normal way and delivered to hospitals. Use in hospitals is
very easy. Nursing staff need only to take a prefilled bottle and
fit a feeding tube to the coupling in the top of the bottle. This
action pierces the freshness seal. A continuous flow of liquid from
the bottle is ensured by a pressure-relief opening in the top.
[0010] On the one hand, this system enables utilisation of low-cost
standard beverage bottles instead of the special containers used at
present. What is more, mineral water companies can then supply
liquids for enteral nutrition of patients, which means that
patients would be provided with minerals in a way not possible with
the use of boiled tap water as customary today. In addition, it is
a system involving little work, since all that has to be done is to
hang the bottle on an infusion stand and connect the feeding tube.
The top provides a coupling for the transfer system and so no
longer needs to be fastened to a container separately. Finally, the
system is hygienically safe, since the bottles are prefilled and
have a freshness seal.
[0011] This hygienic benefit is given further weight by a version
of the invention with a top that is not detachable from the bottle.
A suitable form of construction for this purpose consists of a top
with an internal thread that is screwed into an external thread on
the neck of the bottle, with the top having a lock-in ring on its
lower edge so that it is not detachable. Thus the top can only be
removed from the neck of the bottle by force and will be damaged in
the process.
[0012] A different form of construction has perforation lines that
tear apart when the top is unscrewed, thus guaranteeing that the
bottle really is only used once. This meets the high hygienic
standards essential in hospitals.
[0013] To fasten the feeding tube to the top of the bottle, the
coupling to which the transfer system to the feeding tube is fitted
has an external thread and the feeding tube has on its free end a
cap with an internal thread which can be screwed into the external
thread. In addition, there is a tubular cannula on the free end of
the feeding tube to pierce the freshness seal. The cannula is
inserted into the coupling in the top and pierces the seal in the
process. Then the cap with the internal thread is screwed into the
coupling with the external thread and the feeding tube fixed firmly
onto the bottle top in this way.
[0014] Appropriately, a semi-permeable membrane is fitted into the
pressure-relief opening, designed to enable pressure relief without
permitting liquid to escape through the pressure-relief opening.
Preferably, a felt membrane with the above qualities should be
fitted in the pressure-relief opening.
[0015] An example of how the invention could be constructed is
described in more detail below with the help of drawings. They
show
[0016] FIG. 1 a side view of top 1 with attached feeding tube
3;
[0017] FIG. 2 a top view of the top 1.
[0018] The top 1 constituting the subject of the invention has on
its upper side a coupling 2 with an external thread 6. In addition,
there is a pressure-relief opening 5 on the upper side, in which a
semi-permeable membrane has been fitted.
[0019] On the coupling 2, a feeding tube 3 is fastened by means of
a cap 7. For this purpose, the cap 7 has an internal thread 9 which
engages in the external thread 6. When the cap 7 is screwed in
place, a cannula 11 at the free end 8 of the feeding tube 3 is put
into the coupling and pierces the freshness seal 4. The freshness
seal 4 is fitted to the inside of the top 1.
[0020] On the lower edge of the top 1, there is a lock-in ring 14
which prevents the top from being unscrewed.
[0021] The construction form of the invention as described here is
a structurally simple solution of the problems described above. The
result is an easy-to-handle and hygienically safe beverage bottle
which can be used for enteral feeding of patients in hospital.
List of Reference Numbers
[0022] Top (1)
[0023] Coupling (2)
[0024] Feeding tube (3)
[0025] Freshness seal (4)
[0026] Pressure-relief opening (5)
[0027] External thread in coupling (6)
[0028] Cap (7)
[0029] Free end (8)
[0030] Internal thread in cap (9)
[0031] Internal thread in top (10)
[0032] Tubular cannula (11)
[0033] Semi-permeable membrane (12)
[0034] Lock-in ring (14)
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