U.S. patent application number 12/070075 was filed with the patent office on 2008-06-12 for infant cpap nasal cannula seal.
Invention is credited to Timothy R. Beevers.
Application Number | 20080140044 12/070075 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39059418 |
Filed Date | 2008-06-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080140044 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Beevers; Timothy R. |
June 12, 2008 |
Infant CPAP nasal cannula seal
Abstract
A method and assembly for attaching a flexible longitudinal
medical element to the face of a patient by providing a polymer
strip having adhesive material on one side and hook material on the
other. Also, a strip of loop material is affixed about the flexible
longitudinal element. The loop material is engaged to and secured
by the hook material, thereby affixing the flexible longitudinal
element to the patient's face, at a desired location.
Inventors: |
Beevers; Timothy R.;
(McMinnville, OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OLYMPIC PATENT WORKS PLLC
P.O. BOX 4277
SEATTLE
WA
98104
US
|
Family ID: |
39059418 |
Appl. No.: |
12/070075 |
Filed: |
February 14, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10667728 |
Sep 22, 2003 |
7331348 |
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12070075 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
604/391 ;
128/207.18; 604/389 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M 16/0666 20130101;
Y10S 128/26 20130101; A61M 16/0672 20140204; A61M 16/0688
20140204 |
Class at
Publication: |
604/391 ;
128/207.18; 604/389 |
International
Class: |
A61F 13/15 20060101
A61F013/15; A61M 15/08 20060101 A61M015/08 |
Claims
1. A method of securing a flexible longitudinal medical element to
a patient's face, comprising: (a) providing a polymer strip having
adherent material on a first side and hook material on a second
side; (b) adhering said adherent side of said polymer strip onto an
area of said patient's face, where it is desired to secure said
flexible longitudinal medical element; (c) securing a strip of loop
material about said flexible longitudinal medical element; and (d)
engaging said loop material to said hook material, thereby engaging
said flexible longitudinal medical element to said polymer strip
and by way of said polymer strip, to said patient's face, at said
desired location.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said polymer strip forms a part
of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seal, also
including a portion adapted to cover a patient's nose, but defining
nostril apertures to permit breathing.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said nasal CPAP seal is an infant
nasal CPAP seal, sized to fit the face of an infant.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible longitudinal
element is a respiratory tube, adapted to deliver air or oxygen to
a patient.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said respiratory tube is a CPAP
tube.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said CPAP tube is a nasal CPAP
tube.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said polymer strip is placed on
said patient's upper lip area.
8. An assembly adapted to facilitate the retention of a flexible
longitudinal medical element to a patient's face, comprising: (a) a
polymer strip having adherent material on a first side and hook
material on a second side, said adherent material being adhered to
an area of a patient's face at a location where it is desired to
secure said flexible longitudinal medical element; (b) providing a
flexible longitudinal medical element having a strip of loop
material secured around it; and (c) wherein said loop material is
engaged to and thereby secured to said hook material thereby
engaging said respiratory tube to said polymer strip and by way of
said polymer strip, to said patient's face, at said desired
location.
9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein said polymer strip forms a part
of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seal, also
including a portion adapted to cover a patient's nose, but defining
nostril apertures to permit breathing.
10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said nasal CPAP seal is an
infant nasal CPAP seal, sized to fit the face of an infant.
11. The assembly of claim 8, wherein said flexible longitudinal
element is a respiratory tube, adapted to deliver air or oxygen to
a patient.
12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein said respiratory tube is a
CPAP tube.
13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein said CPAP tube is a nasal
CPAP tube.
14. The assembly of claim 8, wherein said polymer strip is placed
on said patient's upper lip area.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
10/667,728, filed Sep.22, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] An issue may arise when attaching a respiratory tube to a
patient of finding a attachment location additional to the nose
itself to attach the device so that the but stays correctly
oriented relative to the nose. This problem is also encountered in
the attachment, in general, of flexible longitudinal medical
elements to a patient's face.
SUMMARY
[0003] The present invention is a method and assembly for attaching
a flexible longitudinal medical element to the face of a patient by
providing a polymer strip having adhesive material on one side and
hook material on the other. Also, a strip of loop material is
affixed about the flexible longitudinal element. The loop material
is engaged to and secured by the hook material, thereby affixing
the flexible longitudinal element to the patient's face, at a
desired location.
[0004] The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages
of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration
of the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment(s), taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a top view of an infant nasal CPAP cannula seal
according to the present invention.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the infant nasal CPAP
cannula seal of FIG. 1, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 3A is an illustration of opening an antiseptic
container in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal according to the
present invention.
[0008] FIG. 3B is an illustration of peeling a cannula seal from
its releasable liner in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal
according to the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 3C is an illustration of carrying a cannula seal to an
infant's face in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal according to
the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 3D is an illustration of placing a cannula seal on an
infant's face in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal according to
the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3E is an illustration of placing a cannula seal over an
infant's nose in a method of using the CPAP cannula seal according
to the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 4A is an illustration of placing a strip of loop
material about a cannula in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal
according to the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4B is an illustration of placing an additional loop
material about a cannula in a method of using a CPAP cannula seal
according to the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 4C is an illustration of a CPAP cannula seal having
strips of loop material applied to, which represents a stage in a
method of using a CPAP cannula seal according to the present
invention.
[0015] FIG. 5A is an illustration of an alternative CPAP cannula
seal assembly according to the present invention, in which the
releasable liner assembly includes a first releasable liner, and a
second releasable liner overlaps said first releasable liner.
[0016] FIG. 5B is an illustration of an alternative CPAP cannula
seal assembly according to the present invention, in which the
releasable liner assembly includes a releasable liner and a
tab.
[0017] FIG. SC is an illustration of an alternative CPAP cannula
seal assembly according to the present invention, in which the
releasable liner assembly includes a releasable liner that is cut
into parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] One embodiment of the present invention is a nasal CPAP seal
10 (FIG. 1). Referring to FIG. 2, seal 10 is made principally of a
25 micrometer thick strip of flexible polyurethane 12 having a
hydrocolloid 14 (FIG. 2) laminated to it. Unlike CPAP seals that
are cut out of wound dressing, seal 10 is semi-transparent. Wound
dressing, because it is placed directly on an open wound, must be
sterilized and because of its composition the only practical way of
doing this is by bombarding it with gamma rays, which causes it to
become opaque. Seal 10, however, is not intended for use in
treating open wounds, but rather to be placed on intact skin and
mucous membrane. Although the manufacturing process is sanitary,
there is no need to sterilize the seals 10, allowing the production
of a translucent, semi-transparent seal 10, which permits
inspection of the underlying skin and mucous membrane. As noted in
the Background section this inspection is extremely important in
the prevention of skin necrosis due to an imperfectly applied seal
and in the prevention of nasal passageway closure, due to mucous
build-up, which is a potentially life threatening condition.
[0019] Seal 10, which is between 10 mm and 15 mm long and between 3
mm and 10 mm wide, includes a pair of adherence wings 16, for
gently fixing the seal 10 onto the cheeks of an infant patient and
a lip covering region 18 for adherence to the upper lip. Toward the
center of seal 10, a nose-covering region 20 defines a pair of
apertures 22, which are between 2 mm and 4.5 mm in major axis
length and are spaced apart by from 1.5 mm to 3 mm, and are adapted
to accommodate a pair of terminal air channels 24 (FIGS. 4A-4C) of
the CPAP cannula 26 (FIGS. 4A-4C) . Although these apertures are
shown as being round, an alternative preferred embodiment they are
D-shaped. Significantly, a set of radially outwardly extending cuts
or stellations 28 emanate from each aperture 22 (FIG. 1). Not only
do stellations 28 permit apertures 22 to accommodate any one of a
few different cannula makes, as the cannula is inserted through
aperture 22, a set of tabs 30 defined by the stellations 28 are
pushed inwardly so that they extend into the infant's nostrils,
contacting and providing gentle support to the delicate intranasal
mucous membrane. Only very small stellations 28 emanate from the
septum side of the apertures 22, to avoid weakening the thin strip
of material between the apertures 22.
[0020] The nose-covering region 2Q is defined, in part by a pair of
cuts 32, which facilitate region 20 in being folded upwardly
relative to the lip adherence region 18 and wings 16. Some
embodiments do not include cuts 32, as the wound dressing material
is quite flexible and compressible.
[0021] A v-shaped cleft 34 is defined by region 20 and helps region
20 fold in about the infant nose. In addition, a strip of hook
material 50 is present on the lower part of lip covering region 18
and wings 16. Material 50 is used to attach seal 10 to the cannula
26, which is fitted with a pair of loop material strips 54 (FIGS.
4A-4C).
[0022] In addition material 50 imparts structural rigidity to seal
10, which is of value in the handling of seal 10.
[0023] A set of differently sized nasal CPAP seals of this make
will be sold to accommodate various sizes of CPAP cannulas. It is
anticipated that medical personnel will keep a range of seals on
hand and pick an appropriate sized seal when needed.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 3A-3E, a seal 10 is used by first
removing it from a releasable liner 70 (FIG. 3B). It should be
noted that liner 70 is not the same size and shape as seal 10, as
it would be if seal and liner were simultaneously cut from the same
piece of wound dressing, as is the current practice. As liner 70
extends outwardly beyond the limits of seal 10, it is easier for a
user to first grasp liner 70 and then pry seal 10 free of it. In a
neo-natal care unit setting where every second can make a
difference to the health of the infant, this ease of use could well
be a life saving feature in some instances. Next (FIG. 3C) seal 10
is supported in transport to the infant's face, so that adhering
portions do not adhere to each other. Then, wings 16 are pressed
into the infant patients cheeks (FIG. 3D). Finally nose-covering
region 20 is folded upwardly to cover the infant nose, nostril
apertures 22 are lined up with the nostrils (FIG. 3E) and region 20
is folded over the infant nose thereby closing cleft 34. Finally,
terminal air channels 24 are fitted into nostril apertures 22 and
loop material 54 (FIG. 4C) is mated to hook material 50 to keep
cannula 26 supported and in place.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 5A, in an alternative preferred
embodiment, a release liner assembly 80 is made up of two a first
release liner 82, having a portion that is folded upwardly to
provide a free area 86 and a second release liner 84, which
overlaps liner 82, thereby providing a second free area 88 that a
user may grasp in removing the second liner from the seal 10. FIG.
5B shows yet another release liner assembly 90 in which a tab 92 is
interposed between release liner 84 and seal 10. In use tab 92 is
grasped by a user and used to peel the release liner 84 away from
seal 10. FIG. 5C shows a still further release liner assembly 100
having a first release 102 and a second release liner 104. When
assembly 100 is bent and bowed outwardly, liners 102 and 104
partially separate from seal 10 to form a pair of free areas
1Q6.
[0026] The terms and expressions that have been employed in the
foregoing specification are used as terms of description and not of
limitation. There is no intention, in the use of such terms and
expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and
described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope
of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which
follow.
* * * * *