U.S. patent application number 14/515116 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-16 for medical garment.
The applicant listed for this patent is Christian Theodossiou. Invention is credited to Christian Theodossiou.
Application Number | 20150101102 14/515116 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52808374 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150101102 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Theodossiou; Christian |
April 16, 2015 |
MEDICAL GARMENT
Abstract
A garment used for medical purposes is disclosed. The garment
may include one or more slits or openings strategically positioned
therein, so that medical equipment may be inserted through the
slits, which provide access to a patient's body or skin. The slits
may be positioned along the sides of the garment, and may include
attachment means, such as snaps, buttons, hook and loop fasteners,
or any other suitable means. A slit may also be positioned on the
front or back portion of the garment so that medical equipment may
be inserted through the slit to make contact with a wearer's body,
it may further be covered by a pocket flap that may open to allow
access to the slit and close to allow coverage and further allow
for the storage of wires or tubes that remain connected to wearer's
body but not connected to their associated medical equipment.
Inventors: |
Theodossiou; Christian;
(Asheville, NC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Theodossiou; Christian |
Asheville |
NC |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52808374 |
Appl. No.: |
14/515116 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61890964 |
Oct 15, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/114 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2400/44 20130101;
A41D 13/1245 20130101; A41D 13/1254 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/114 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/12 20060101
A41D013/12 |
Claims
1. A medical garment comprising: A front portion connected to a
back portion along the peripheries thereof, said medical garment
defining a neck opening at the top, two sleeves for arms including
a top seam and bottom seam with openings at the distal ends for
hands, and a body section with opening at the waist for the torso;
said front portion being removably attached to said back portion on
one side from said waist upwardly to a bottom portion of said
sleeve; and said front portion being removably attached to said
back portion on one side from said neck opening downwardly to a
shoulder portion.
2. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion on both sides from said
neck opening downwardly to a shoulder portion.
3. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion on both sides from said
waist upwardly to a bottom portion of said sleeve.
4. The medical garment of claim 2 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion on both sides from said
waist upwardly to a bottom portion of said sleeve.
5. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
fully removable from said back portion about a periphery
thereof.
6. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion along said bottom seam of
said sleeve.
7. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion on both sides along said
bottom seam of said sleeve.
8. The medical garment of claim 1, further including a slit defined
by said front portion or said back portion to allow medical
equipment requiring contact with a garment wearer's body to pass
through.
9. The medical garment of claim 8 further including a pocket flap
which is attached to said front portion or said back portion and
covers said slit.
10. The medical garment of claim 9 wherein said pocket flap is
removably attached to said front portion or said back portion.
11. The medical garment of claim 9, wherein said pocket flap
includes a first side and a second side which are removably
attached to said front portion or back portion.
12. The medical garment of claim 1, wherein said front portion and
said back portion are removably attached from said neck opening
downwardly along said top seam to a distal end of said sleeve.
13. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein said front portion is
removably attached to said back portion on both sides from said
neck opening downwardly along said top seam to a distal end of said
sleeve.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a garment
used for medical purposes is disclosed. The garment may include one
or more slits or openings strategically positioned therein, so that
medical equipment may be inserted through the slits, which provide
access to a patient's body or skin. Oftentimes, patients in a
hospital, and particularly patients who may be under the care of an
intensive care unit of the hospital, are hooked up to various types
of machines with tubes for carrying fluids, electrical monitors,
and other types of medical equipment. Many times, patients wear
hospital gowns, which are loosely draped over the patient's body
with a large slit that is positioned on a backside of the gown, and
the slit may be closed with ties that are intermittently positioned
on either side of the slit. Because these hospital gowns are
loosely fitting, tubes and wires that are attached to the patient
may be positioned so that they simply pass under the front portion
of the gown, through the sleeve of the gown, or through the slit at
the back of the gown.
[0002] Unfortunately, hospital gowns are notoriously unsightly
garments, and the slit in the rear portion thereof provides a line
of sight to the patients back and buttocks, which may be a source
of embarrassment to the patient. Another common complaint about
hospital gowns is that they are paper-thin and loosely fitting,
which causes patients to be cold.
[0003] Heretofore, efforts have been made to address these issues.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,268 discloses a patient's garment
which is suitable for various medical procedures, which will give
the patient a sense of dignity and well-being, and which is of
relatively low cost, high durability and common sizing. The
patient's garment has a body portion and sleeves. The body portion
includes a main panel which can be positioned to either the front
or rear side of the patient and a pair of adjacent side panels
which could normally be positioned on the other side of the
patient. The outer side edges of the side panels are joined
together in overlapping relationship when the garment is worn by
the patient by a plurality of vertically spaced apart fasteners.
The sleeves are sewn to the body portion, and the top of each
sleeve is provided with an openable seam having adjacent mating
edges which extend from the neck of the patient over the patient's
shoulder and down along the arms. The mating edges can be held
together in overlapping relationship by a plurality of spaced apart
hook and loop fasteners. The fasteners can be opened to facilitate
various hospital procedures such as X-rays, thorax and upper
abdomen examinations, and I.V. therapy, and also permits a mother
to nurse her baby without removal of the garment.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,087 describes a garment permitting ease
of enclosing portions of a human body. The inventive device
includes a front garment panel positionable over an anterior
portion of a human body. A rear garment panel is positionable over
a posterior portion of a human body and can be removably coupled at
opposed lateral edges thereof to opposed lateral edges of the front
garment panel to fully enclose the selected portion of the human
body.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,271 discloses a garment for a hospital
patient. The garment has a front piece with a first side, a first
shoulder, a second side, and a second shoulder, and a back piece
with a first edge and a second edge. The first edge of the back
piece is sewn to the front piece at a first side and first shoulder
thereof. A plurality of fastening means in pairs is provided at a
second side and a second shoulder, and the second edge. Two sleeves
are respectively formed at the first and second shoulders. The
sleeve at the first shoulder is sewn with the first edge of the
second piece. The sleeve at the second side is sewn only with the
front piece. An extending part is formed on the front piece and
extends backwards from the second shoulder.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,716 describes a medical gown that
includes separable portions that can be joined using color coded
fasteners. The garment includes a pair of sleeve portions each
having a separate seam extending from a neck opening to a distal
end of the sleeve portion. Disposed along each of two opposing
edges of separable seam are a plurality of mating, color-coded
fasteners allowing a medical worker to easily secure the garment
about a patient. The garment also includes a back flap that wraps
around to partially overlay a front surface of the garment, and
which is likewise secured with color-coded fasteners.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 7,987,524 discloses a long-sleeved,
pullover-type upper body garment has a continuous slit, which runs
up the side of the garment from the bottom of garment body to an
arm pit, and downward along the underside of a sleeve, and
terminates at a point intermediately along the length of the
sleeve. The segment of the slit that is in the body of the garment
is temporarily closeable using mating hook-and-loop fastener
members that are attached to the body of the garment on opposite
sides of the slit. The segment of the slit in the upper portion of
the sleeve remains at all times "open", thereby allowing access to
the middle and/or upper end of the wearer's arm for attachment of
IV tubing or other medical lines. The circumference of the lower
end (e.g., forearm portion) of the sleeve is neither separable or
openable, thereby requiring that a wearer insert his/her hand
through the lower portion of the sleeve. The garment can be donned
or removed by a patient to whom mid-arm medical lines are attached,
without necessitating detachment of the medical lines. Conversely,
mid-arm medical lines can be attached to a wearer's arm without
necessitating rolling up of the sleeve or removal of the
garment.
[0008] U.S. Publication No. 2010/0242150 A1 describes a hospital
gown having strategically positioned slits and fitted fasteners
along the front, back and sides to allow preferential closing of
the open seams and securing sensor connected leads or intravenous
tubing to the patient. The hospital gown has a rear-opened garment,
fasteners for closing the shoulder and sleeves sections, rear
fasteners, plurality of strategically positioned slits for passing
tubes and wire and plurality of pockets. The hospital gown may
comprise a side-opened garment, shoulder fasteners, side fasteners,
plurality of slits for passing tubes and wire and plurality of
pockets. The preferred and alternative embodiments of the hospital
gown feature one or more hook-and-loop strips or snaps
strategically placed at the front, sides and, or back of the
hospital gown.
[0009] U.S. Publication No. 2012/0151658 A1 discloses a medical
garment formed of a central body region and two side regions with a
pair of belts and a pair of fasteners for securing the garment
around a patient's body is provided. The central body region may be
worn on the back or front and may have a v-neck form. A waistband
extends across the central body region and across one side region
with a first belt secured at the junction of the central region and
the second side region and extending to the outer edge of the first
side region. The second belt extends from the secured end of the
first belt through the waistband across the central body region,
the second belt exiting the waistband at the junction of the second
side region and central body region. A first fixed tie is
positioned at the outer edge of the second side region along the
position of the waistband. A second fixed tie is secured to the
inside of the waistband between the central body region and first
side region. This garment design allows for easy gathering of
fabric to present a secure and attractive body covering.
[0010] U.S. Publication No. 2012/0246796 describes a medical
garment is provided that includes fabric fitted for an upper torso
of a patient whereby a separable length is formed in the fabric
with fastening strips fastened along the separable length, which
may be used by the patient when dressing, undressing, bathing and
during examinations by a healthcare professional.
[0011] Thus, it would be desirable to provide a garment that would
provide access to a patient's skin and body, but which would also
be warmer and more attractive to wear.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a medical
garment may include one or more slits or openings strategically
positioned therein, so that medical equipment may be inserted
through the slits. In one embodiment, the medical garment may
include, attachments for removably closing such slits. The
attachments may be snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or any suitable
means. The attachments may allow the slits to be fully open,
partially open, or fully closed, as desired. In one embodiment, the
garment may have a slit that proceeds from the neck opening, or
collar, of the garment down a portion of the sleeve following the
shoulder which would allow for a larger neck hole. In another
embodiment, the garment may have a slit that proceeds along the
periphery, from the waist of the garment along the side seam up
into the underarm and out along the bottom seam of the sleeve to
the distal end of the sleeve which would allow access to the torso
of an individual. In another embodiment a slit in the garment may
proceed around the entire periphery to allow full separation of a
front portion of the medical garment from a back portion. Having a
front portion that is removable from a back portion allows a user
to choose from different designs or configurations of front
portions for the medical garment.
[0013] In one embodiment the garment may have a slit defined by the
front portion of the garment near to where the medical equipment is
desired to make contact with a user, allowing the medical equipment
to pass through. This placement of the slit is useful because it
removes some of the discomfort and inconvenience associated with
having tubes and wires running underneath medical garments. For
example, this may be useful when the person has a central venous
access device, such as a non-tunneled or tunneled catheter, or
other medical device that requires access to the chest of the user.
In another embodiment, the slit may be defined by the back portion
to accommodate access to the back of a user.
[0014] In one embodiment, the slit on the front or back portion of
the medical garment may feature a pocket flap to cover it via
attachment with the medical garment around the slit. A pocket flap
may allow for storage of some of the tubes or wires of the medical
devices when unconnected from the machines but still connected to
the user. For example, a child with a tunneled central catheter may
be able to have the catheter tube stored in the pocket created by
attachment of the pocket flap which helps keep the tube from being
tangled, pulled, or coming into contact with a surface that may
have potential infectious agents.
[0015] Further features of this invention will be apparent from the
attached drawings and description of illustrative embodiments of
the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with regard to the
following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings
where:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the medical
garment with a slit featuring removable attachments proceeding from
the collar of a garment down the shoulder and terminating at a
point along the sleeve, a slit featuring removable attachments
proceeding from the waist of the garment up to the underarm of the
shirt and continuing out along the base of the sleeve to the end of
the sleeve, and a slit defined by the front portion with a pocket
flap that may cover the slit or open to allow access to the slit by
featuring removable attachments;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of the medical
garment further with a larger opening in place of the slit on the
front portion;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a front view of one embodiment of the medical
garment in use with a tube exiting the slit defined by the front
portion;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a front view of one embodiment of the medical
garment in use with a tube stored in the pocket created by
attachment of the pocket flap; and
[0021] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the medical
garment with a slit and attachment means around the periphery of
the garment to allow full separation of a front portion of the
medical garment from a back portion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] In one embodiment of the medical garment 10, a shoulder slit
16 may extend from one side of the collar or neck opening to a
shoulder portion, as shown in FIG. 1. This shoulder slit 16 may be
opened in order to facilitate the process of putting the garment 10
onto the patient, particularly if the patient has bandages or
medical equipment attached to his or her head or neck. Essentially,
this shoulder slit 16 enlarges the neck opening to make it easier
to place the garment 10 onto the patient. As shown in the FIG. 1,
the shoulder slit 16 may include attachment means 18, such as
snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or the like that may be used to
close the shoulder slit 16, either partially or completely, as
desired or necessary.
[0023] Other slits in the garment 10 may be provided, as well. In
one embodiment, the garment 10 may be in the form of a long sleeve
shirt, wherein one side of the shirt 10 includes a side-seam slit
20 from the waist 28 upwardly, extending through the underarm
portion 30, and outwardly to the end of the sleeve 32, as shown in
FIG. 1. This side-seam slit 20 may include attachment means 18,
such as snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or the like, that serve to
close the slit to the extent necessary. The side-seam slit 20 may
be completely closed, or may be partially closed, thereby allowing
just enough of an opening to run tubes, electrical wires, or the
like through the inner-side slit 20, so that medical equipment may
be attached to the patient's body and further attached to medical
equipment adjacent the patient's bed or wheelchair, for
instance.
[0024] In another embodiment, multiple slits may be incorporated
into the garment 10. For instance, the side-seam slit 20 extending
along the side of the garment 10, up through the underarm 30 and
out to the end of the sleeve 32 may be included, as well as the
shoulder slit 16 described above. These slits 16, 20 may be
incorporated onto the same side of the garment 10, or on opposed
sides. Alternatively, these slits 16, 20 may be incorporated into
both sides, as desired.
[0025] Optionally, other strategically placed slits may be
incorporated into the garment 10 in an area where medical tubes or
other equipment is required. For instance, slits in the back
portion or front portion of the garment 10 may be provided for
tubes 40 that must be placed adjacent those areas on the body. As
shown in FIG. 1, a chest slit 26 may be used to allow access to a
monitor, central venous access device, or other medical device in
or to that area of the body. The chest slit 26 may be sized
appropriately as necessary to accommodate the particular device in
use. For example, a larger chest slit 26, as shown in FIG. 2, may
be necessary for access to an implanted port catheter. A smaller
chest slit 26, as shown in FIG. 1 may be necessary for access to a
tunneled central catheter that exits the body in the chest region.
FIG. 3 shows a person with a catheter tube 40 exiting the chest
slit 26 as described. The chest slit 26 may further be covered when
not in use by a pocket flap 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The pocket flap
22 may connect to the garment by having a bottom seam 24, sewn on,
and the sides and top of the flap define attachment means 18 that
mate with corresponding attachments 18 on the chest area of the
garment 10. The pocket flap 22 may further act as a storage site
for a coiled up catheter tube 40, as shown in FIG. 4, by mating of
the attachment means 18 of the packet flap 22 with the
corresponding means 18 on the garment 10, such that the pocket flap
22 covers the chest slit 26 and coiled up catheter tube 40 that
exits the chest slit 26. This would help prevent the tube 40 from
coming into contact with surfaces that may host germs that could
cause infection.
[0026] Another embodiment may include slits around the entire
periphery of the garment 10, so that a front portion 12 of the
garment 10 may be removably secured via attachments 18 to a back
portion 14 of the garment 10, as shown in FIG. 5. In this way, it
is possible to provide, for instance, interchangeable front
portions 12 with a single back portions 14, or vice versa. By way
of example, a patient may have a single back portion 14 that may be
affixed to several different front portions 12, as desired. The
front portions 12 may include different colors, designs, or graphic
elements. If a patient likes several different musical bands or
sports teams, or some combination thereof, then they can select a
front portion 12 with the name or logo of their favorite band or
team. Because the entire front portion 12 may be removed from the
back portion 14, and the slit is provided around the entire
periphery, then medical tubes and the like may be inserted into the
slit at any point around the periphery of the garment 10.
[0027] It is contemplated that the garments 10 may be made from any
desirable material. It is further contemplated that garments other
than shirts may be included, as well. Pants having slits along a
vertical side may be provided. Other slits, such as along the
inseam of the pants, may be used, as well. Alternatively, one-piece
garments, similar to pajamas or jumpsuits having slits may be
provided, as well.
[0028] The garments 10 of the present invention may be initially
manufactured with the slits described herein, together with
attachment means 18 such as snaps or hook and loop fasteners.
Alternatively, slits may be cut into a pre-existing garment 10
after the manufacture thereof, and attachment means 18 may be
subsequently provided along the slits, as desired.
[0029] Although the present invention has been described in
considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions
thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and
scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the
description of the preferred versions contained herein. All
features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by
alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar
purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly
stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a
generic series of equivalent or similar features.
* * * * *