U.S. patent number 3,802,416 [Application Number 05/244,214] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-09 for tight enclosure for the treatment of a patient in a confined atmosphere.
This patent grant is currently assigned to La Calhene. Invention is credited to Jean-Pierre Cazalis.
United States Patent |
3,802,416 |
Cazalis |
April 9, 1974 |
TIGHT ENCLOSURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF A PATIENT IN A CONFINED
ATMOSPHERE
Abstract
An enclosure for the treatment of patients has a rigid frame
covered with a flexible at least partially transparent plastic
material to surround a bed. Half suits are attached to openings in
the sides of the enclosure for use by attendants. Movable panels
adjacent the half suits in the enclosure may be placed in
horizontal position for work surfaces adjacent the bed. Air locks
are provided for emergency admission to the enclosure and for
admitting the patient thereto. The enclosure has means for forced
ventilation and adjustment of atmopsheric pressure within the
enclosure.
Inventors: |
Cazalis; Jean-Pierre
(Maisons-Laffitte, FR) |
Assignee: |
La Calhene (Bezons,
FR)
|
Family
ID: |
9075431 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/244,214 |
Filed: |
April 14, 1972 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 16, 1971 [FR] |
|
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71.13641 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
600/21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61G
10/005 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61G
10/00 (20060101); A61b 019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/1R,1B,191
;312/1-5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Truluck; Dalton L.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. Enclosure or room for treatment of a patient in a confined
atmosphere, comprising:
a basic rigid structure defining the room,
a bed inside said room,
tight and flexible partially transparent walls connected to said
structure defining the treatment enclosure,
means for ventilating and regulating the pressure inside the
enclosure,
intervention means to reach the patient, to provide his care and to
introduce or take out of the enclosure materials and food, said
intervention means including at least one working surface,
connected to said flexible wall, hinged to said rigid structure and
movable between an at rest position parallel to a lateral wall of
the room and a horizontal working position inside the room against
the edge of said bed at the height of said bed, transfer devices
for said surface free of bacteriological contamination, an opening
in said walls adjacent said surface and a half suit for
intervention secured around said opening, said surface being a
panel hinged to said rigid structure forming one side of a flexible
frame having two equal sides hinged on three horizontal parallel
axes adjacent the edge of said bed, a ball slide slidably mounted
on a vertical post of said rigid structure, one of said axes being
connected to said slide, the second of said axes merging in the
common generatrix at the two sides of said frame, the third of said
axes being connected adjacent the lower end of the bed to said
rigid structure and a stop for said slide on said vertical post at
the horizontal position of said panel.
2. Enclosure or room for treatment of a patient in a confined
atmosphere, comprising a basic rigid structure defining the room, a
bed inside said room, tight and flexible partially transparent
walls connected to said structure defining the treatment enclosure,
means for ventilating and regulating the pressure inside the
enclosure, intervention means to reach the patient, to provide his
care and to introduce or take out of the enclosure materials and
food, said intervention means including at least one working
surface connected to said flexible wall, hinged to said rigid
structure and movable between an at rest position parallel to a
lateral vertical wall of the room and a horizontal working position
inside the room against the edge of said bed at the height of said
bed, transfer devices for said surface free of bacteriological
contamination, an opening in said walls adjacent said surface and a
half suit for intervention secured around said opening and at least
one external, substantially parallelopipedal appendix of said
flexible wall outside the room, an opening in one face of said
appendix and said wall communicating with said enclosure, a movable
panel closing said opening, a horizontal hinge for said panel
joined to said rigid structure for rotation of said panel between a
vertical at rest position parallel to the wall of the room and a
horizontal working position inside the room level with and against
the edge of said bed, an opening in said movable panel and a half
suit for intervention secured about said opening.
3. Enclosure according to claim 2, including a rapid intervention
air lock chamber in one of said walls.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Very often it is necessary, for medical treatment, to put a patient
into an enclosure bacteriologically separated from the surrounding
atmosphere. This need occurs either because we want to protect
ourselves from a person who suffers of a serious contagious
desease, or quite to the contrary, because certain treatments make
a person more receptive to the biological contamination which is
carried in the surrounding atmosphere, and therefore it is the
patient we then try to protect from the pathological germs from the
outside world.
To this date, in order to treat someone under these conditions, we
have been using rooms which are as tight as possible, taking into
account that several times during the day someone has to enter into
said room in order to take care of the patient as well as to bring
his food. These entries are made through an air lock chamber which
each time inevitably puts the atmosphere in which the patient is
living in contact with the surrounding atmosphere, and also puts
the attendant in direct contact with the patient. Thus the risk of
transferring the pathogenic germs to one side or the other always
exists. although the air lock chambers include a sterilizing device
(air shower, ultra violet rays. . .).
The object of the present invention is a tight enclosure for
treating a patient in a confined atmosphere which reduces the
inconveniences mentioned above in a simple manner and at the same
time has some additional advantages which will be described further
on.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This tight enclosure for the treatment of a patient in a confined
atmosphere comprises essentially the following features:
A basic rigid structure which represents the room itself,
A bed located inside said room,
Connected with said structure, tight flexible walls, whereby
certain parts of them at least are transparent, and define the
treatment area as such,
Means for insuring the ventilation and the regulation of pressure
inside the enclosure,
Means to reach the patient, to administer treatments, to introduce
and extract from the enclosure the materials and food.
It is easy to understand one of the immediate advantages obtained
by having, according to the invention, the walls of the treatment
enclosure made of a material which at the same time is tight,
transparent and flexible, whereby preferably a plastic fiexible
film is used such as a vinyl polychloride of a thickness
proportionate to the resistance which the walls are supposed to
have or a complex flexible film obtained by calendering two simple
flexible films of different nature. Such a material guarantees a
perfect tightness relative to bacteria and pathogenic germs in
general. Since such a wall is transparent to light and sound, the
patient who lives inside of this enclosure can see and hear
everything that goes on outside and therefore does not suffer any
feeling of claustrophobia which sometimes overcomes patients who
have been confined for too long in an enclosed room. It is
understood that it is desirable but not compulsory to have the
flexible walls of the treatment enclosure be transparent over their
whole surface. Nevertheless, it might also be necessary in some
cases to make said walls of flexible surfaces partly opaque and
partly transparent and this still falls within the scope of the
invention. The usage of a complex film allows combining, with a
supporting film, another thin film with desirable properties, such
as, for example, the absence of odors. Since the material used is
flexible, it allows the external operators to approach the bed of
the patient or the use of any other apparatus or device located
within the enclosure by using tight suits of a known type.
Based on the utilization of the tight treatment enclosure, it can
be used with a lower or higher than normal pressure. In both cases,
classical and known means are used to assure the maintenance of a
constant pressure inside the enclosure as well as the ventilation
of the atmosphere in which the patient lives. Bacteriological
filters, generally made of paper with small pores, are used in the
ventilation circuits in order to obtain a bacteriological tightness
of the enclosure of treatment with respect to the surrounding
atmosphere.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, these means of
intervention comprise at least one working surface of a panel
tightly connected to the flexible wall, hinges on the rigid
structure and is movable between and at rest position, where it
coincides with the lateral vertical wall of the room, and working
position, inside the room, where it is placed horizontally against
the edge of the bed at its height, said panel being equipped with
transfer devices free of bacteriological contamination and having
an opening over which a tight half suit is affixed.
In a preferred embodiment of this working surface, the panel hinged
on the rigid structure constitutes one of the two sides of a
flexible frame with two equal sides, hinged following three
horizontal parallel axes at the bedside, wherein the first axis is
connected with a ball slide mounted in a sliding manner around a
vertical pole which has a rigid structure, the second axis
coincides with the common generatrix at the two sides of the frame
and the third is connected near the floor and on the bottom of the
bed, to the rigid structure. A stop is used to block the slide on
the vertical pole in a position which corresponds to the horizontal
unfolding of the hinged panel.
The operator enters the tight half suit connected with the working
surface and stands in the center of the working surface and inside
the rigid structure but outside the treatment enclosure as such,
the lower part of which has changed its shape according to the
invention in order to allow him immediate access to the bedside of
the patient. The tight suit has interchangeable tight gloves by
means of which the operator performs all the manual actions
necessary for the care of the patient. Different transfer devices
are held by openings made on the working surface, and in the
central standing position are within reach of the operator's hand.
The advantage of this first variation of a means of intervention is
that it does not use any exterior surface to the rigid basic
structure, and it therefore is economical to install. On the other
hand, when the working surface is unfolded horizontally, it
occupies the entire free space between the bed of the patient and
the wall of the enclosure.
According to a second embodiment of the invention, the means for
intervention are constituted by at least one appendix of the
flexible wall, outside of the actual room, which communicates with
the enclosure, and is closed tightly by a movable panel around a
horizontal axis connected to the rigid structure between a vertical
at rest position, where it coincides with the lateral wall of the
room, and a working position, outside the room, where it is set
horizontally against the edge of the bed at the height of the bed,
said movable panel thus having an opening onto which a tight half
suit is affixed. The movable panel unfolds in this instance outside
of the rigid structure which forms the room and thus constitutes,
in a certain way, a cumbersome factor outside the rigid structure.
This external appendix, if it is located on the longitudinal axis
of the bed, also fulfills another very important function, since it
is through the opening on the movable panel, when the tight half
suit is not in place, that the patient is introduced into the
enclosure by using known means such as, for instance, a tight air
lock chamber, so that the transfer is done free of any
bacteriological contamination.
Finally, according to another characteristic of the present
invention, the tight enclosure is provided with a rapid means of
intervention for emergency cases when the doctor decides that the
need of intervention is more important than the consequences of a
limited risk of bacteriological contamination. This means of rapid
intervention can be for instance an air lock chamber composed of
one parallelopiped chamber with flexible walls, the external and
internal walls of which are provided with zippers, one of them
being made tight by means of adhesive tape. A preferred
construction of the air lock chamber is provided with means for
sterilizing to a desired degree the volume of air which inevitably
is exchanged between the enclosure and the surrounding atmosphere
at each passage. These means of sterilization can be an air shower
or a sterilization shower of ultra violet rays. According to
another variation, the means of rapid intervention are a tight suit
connected to the wall of the enclosure by an access passage, the
walls of which are continuous with those of the enclosure and those
of the tight suit. This last variation avoids the introduction of a
contaminated volume of air into the enclosure.
REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood from the following
description of the preferred embodiments of construction of the
isolated enclosure for treatment of a patient in a confined
atmosphere, the description of which will be made with reference to
the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a show in a plan view different combinations
possible of a working surface and of the external appendix used
around the enclosure of the present invention;
FIGS. 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b are vertical sections on the lines BB of
FIGS. 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a;
FIG. 5 is a total view in isometric perspective of a tight
enclosure for treatment, which includes two working surfaces of
FIG. 2a and one appendix of changeable shape;
FIG. 6 is a transverse section on the line VI--VI of FIG. 7 of a
working surface which unfolds according to the present invention;
and
FIG. 7 is a view in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 6 of the
operator standing in his half suit for intervention and, on the
actual working surface which is in an unfolded position, the
different transfer devices which are used for introducing and
extracting material or food from the enclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIGS. 1 to 4, reference 1 indicates the tight and flexible wall
of the actual treatment enclosure. Each enclosure contains a bed 2,
an air lock chamber for rapid intervention 3, and a number of
working surfaces 4 and/or external appendices 5.
In FIGS. 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b, working surfaces 4 and the external
appendices 5 are in an unfolded position (solid lines). The initial
at rest position is shown in dotted lines which show the change of
shape undergone by the tight flexible wall when the means of
intervention are used.
The interesting aspect of these different figures is that they
illustrate that, with these two means of intervention which are the
working surface 4 and the external appendix 5, it is possible to
build, according to the particular needs, any geometrical
configuration desired, for the tight treatment enclosure where the
bed of the patient is set up. The choices may depend on many
circumstances. Some depend on the particular condition of the
patient, whereas others depend on financial considerations
concerning the surface on the floor occupied by the rigid base
structure that defines the room as such. FIGS. 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b
show that the floor occupation and the free space around the bed of
the patient, when the working surfaces 4 are in at rest position,
are in direct relationship. The structures of FIGS. 2a and 2b are
most complete and best balanced since they include two working
surfaces 4 situated at each side of the bed 2 and one external
appendix 5 located at the head of the patient which permits
simultaneously the intervention of three operators around the
patient.
The structure of FIGS. 3a and 3b are the optimal solution when
little space on the floor is available and it is desired to have
two persons intervene at the side and at the head of the bed.
FIGS. 4a and 4b represent an extreme case when the patient is
completely immobilized. It is then useless to locate anything
around the bed to allow the patient to move. In the tight enclosure
of these figures, the only means of intervention is an external
appendix 5 located on one of the lateral sides of bed 2 which
includes outside of the only opening provided for the tight suit, a
device 6 for transfer without bacteriological contamination. A
door, located at the head of the bed, may be used for introducing
the patient into the enclosure.
FIG. 5 is an isometric perspective of a tight enclosure for
treatment including rigid structure 7 and the tight, transparent
and flexible wall of the enclosure. Wall 1, not clearly seen in
FIG. 5 due to its transparency, is affixed on the rigid structure 7
by stay-plates 8 which hold it in place, particularly when the
enclosure is in a low pressure or high pressure atmosphere. In this
figure, the structure of rigid base 7 is made of metallic pipes
assembled according to known procedures, in order to form the
chamber itself. The tight transparent and flexible wall 1 defines
the tight enclosure and may be a flexible film of polyvinyl
chloride of 30/100 mm thickness, assembled by high frequency
welding. The dimensions of the room, seen in FIG. 5, are the
following: length 2m95, width 2m85, height 2m45. This gives the
patient a confinement volume of 20 m.sup.3.
Bed 2 is located in the middle of the enclosure and on either
lateral side of the bed 2 there is a working space, one space 4 is
shown in at rest position and space 4a is shown unfolded in working
position with an operator in the half suit 9. In FIG. 5, an
external intervention appendix 5 is shown with a parallelopiped
flexible wall closed at the bottom in a tight manner through a
movable panel 10 hinged on axis 46, connected to rigid structure 7.
Movable panel 10 is shown in FIG. 5 in a horizontally unfolded
position and is maintained in this position by ropes 11. An opening
12 is provided to which is tightly affixed a half suit for
intervention 13. In its unfolded position the movable panel 10 is
approximately at the level of the bed 2 of the patient and
consequently permits an easy access to the head and the bust by the
operator in suit 13. In its at rest position, panel 10 of the
external appendix 5 is vertically fixed against the vertical wall
of the rigid structure 7. In this position, it is used, after
replacing the suit by a transferring device free of contamination,
to introduce the patient into the enclosure.
In the enclosure of FIG. 5 are also shown the entry and exit pipes
for the ventilation of the enclosure at 14 and 15. Each pipe 15
opens into a metallic box 16 which contains bacteriological
filters, one box being located on top of external appendix 5. The
tight enclosure of FIG. 5 also includes an air lock chamber 16 for
rapid introduction in emergency cases comprising a parallelopiped
chamber, either internal or external of enclosure 1 and both walls,
internal and external, are closed by zippers, one of which at least
is airtight. These zippers are not shown in FIG. 5 in order not to
encumber the drawings.
Wall 1 of the enclosure also includes a manometer 17 for closely
monitoring the evolution of the internal pressure as well as that
of the tight and self-closing passages 18 for the introduction of
particular fluids for special treatment.
On panel 4 can be seen, besides opening 19 which is used for
mounting the intervention suit 20, two lateral openings 21 and 22
for locating transferring devices free of bacteriological
contamination for passing through wall 1 material and food needed
by the patient and the performing of the different cares which the
condition of the patient requires. Suit 20, which is in the at rest
position, is held by rope 23 attached at 24 to the upper part of
the rigid structure 7.
In FIG. 6, which is an elevation on line VI--VI of FIG. 7, the
construction detail can be seen of working surface and its half
suit. According to the present invention, the working space 4 has a
panel 25 joined tightly by welding 26 to the transparent and
flexible wall 1. Panel 25 hinges on the rigid structure 7 at
horizontal axis 27 connected to a movable ball slide 28 for
vertical motion along a post 29 of the rigid structure 7 between
two positions. One at rest position is shown in solid lines in FIG.
6 with working surface 4 vertical and parallel to the wall of the
enclosure. An intermediate position 4b is shown in dotted lines and
the working position 4a is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6. Panel
25 is part of a flexible frame 30 and is one of two equal sides
hinged on the three horizontal axes 27, 31 and 32 parallel to the
edges of the bed. Two of these axes 27 and 32 are, respectively,
joined to ball slide 28 and to the floor at a point located at the
foot of the bed with respect to the axis 32. The third axis 32 is
free and can move over the surface of a circular cylinder which has
axis 32 as an axis. The second side 33 of frame 30 is located
between axis 31 and 32 and is of an equal length to that of panel
25, since in unfolded position 33a, it acts as a vertical crutch
supporting working surface 4.
A counterweight 34 exerts through a cable 35 a constant upward
force on ball slide 28 to balance the weight of the structure of
working surface 4 described above.
Opening 19 of panel 25, according to the invention, supports a
tight suit 20 which is part of wall 1 and is kept in place in at
rest position by rope 23 hooked onto the ceiling 24 of the rigid
structure 7. This suit can be of any known type. It is
advantageous, particularly when the treatment enclosure is under
lower pressure than the surrounding atmosphere, that the suit have
a doublewall. In this case a pipe system 36 feeds air to suit 20. A
locking system, not shown, locks slide 28 and the flexible frame 30
in place, when the enclosure is at low pressure, since the frame
would have a tendency to unfold under the effect of the low
pressure. A stop 37 blocks slide 28 when working surface 4 is in
unfolded position 4a.
It is understood that, at the time of unfolding of the working
surface 4, wall 1 of the enclosure, which is secured in a tight
manner to the movable frame at its ends 38, 39 and 40 (FIG. 5),
must accompany the movable frame in its displacement. Since wall 1,
although flexible, is not elastic, an expansion pocket indicated at
41, is mounted on the lateral wall of the enclosure to allow the
displacement of the wall from position 1 to position la (FIG.
6).
The functioning of the structure of FIG. 6 for displacement of the
working surface 4 is as follows. Starting at the at rest position
shown in solid lines in FIG. 6, the operator who wishes to enter
suit 20 exerts a vertical push on ball slide 28 to bring it into
the intermediate position 28b with the assistance of counterweight
34 whose mass is chosen in proportion to the pressure difference
between the inside of the enclosure and the surrounding atmosphere
which pressure difference produces a considerable force in
proportion to the involved surface, said force being exerted, in
one direction or the other, on working surface 4. When the system
reaches the intermediate position 4b shown in dotted lines in FIG.
6, it is easy for the operator to enter suit 20 and a slight push
on the working table causes the ball slide 28 to return to its
initial position where it lodges against stop 37 which, with
vertical frame 33a, stabilizes working space 4 in unfolded position
4a.
In FIG. 7, working surface 4a is shown in unfolded position, an
operator having entered the suit 20 in working position. In panel 4
are orifices 21 and 22 where two transfer devices are inserted free
of bacteriological contamination, which are shown are two
containers of a known type 44 and 45 provided with double doors.
Those containers are, equipped with a closing device as described
in French Pat. No. 1,346,486 of Nov. 8, 1962, granted to the
Commissariat A l'Energie Atomique. These two containers allow the
introduction of different implements such as dressings and
previously sterilized instruments without breaking the
bacteriological tightness of the tight enclosure and the
surrounding atmosphere.
* * * * *