U.S. patent number RE38,485 [Application Number 08/683,126] was granted by the patent office on 2004-04-06 for drape for use by anesthesia provider.
Invention is credited to Lyndon J. Busch.
United States Patent |
RE38,485 |
Busch |
April 6, 2004 |
Drape for use by anesthesia provider
Abstract
A drape is shown for use by an anesthesia provided during a
surgical procedure to temporarily hold accessories such as a
suction instrument. The drape is adapted to be received on a
patient support structure such as a hospital operating room table.
The drape includes a main sheet of flexible, drapable material
including a head region received beneath a patient's head having a
pocket fold which defines an accessory receiving pocket. An
envelope region is formed beneath the head region by folding a
portion of the main sheet back upon itself. The envelope region
defines a second accessory receiving pocket for the drape and
further anchors the drape to the table during use. Subdivisions of
the pocket folds provide smaller receptacles. Also provided are
devices to adhere instruments in place and to secure the drape to
its support. Additionally, methods of manufacture and use are
included.
Inventors: |
Busch; Lyndon J. (Fort Worth,
TX) |
Family
ID: |
32034249 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/683,126 |
Filed: |
July 22, 1996 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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626620 |
Dec 7, 1990 |
5156167 |
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850599 |
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684643 |
Apr 12, 1991 |
5095918 |
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Reissue of: |
850599 |
Mar 13, 1992 |
05335677 |
Aug 9, 1994 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
128/852;
128/855 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
46/23 (20160201); A61B 46/00 (20160201) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
19/10 (20060101); A61B 19/00 (20060101); A61B
19/08 (20060101); A61B 019/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/852,849,855,845,846,850,851,853,854,856 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Brown; Michael A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bergen; Grady K. Johnston, III;
Robert H.
Parent Case Text
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
.[.The present application.]. .Iadd.This application is a Reissue
of Ser. No. 07/850,599 filed Mar. 13, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No.
5,335,677 which .Iaddend.is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.
07/626,620 filed Dec. 7, 1990 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,167 and U.S.
Ser. No. 07/684,643 filed .[.Jul. 30, 1991.]. .Iadd.Apr. 12,
1991.Iaddend., now U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,918 which are commonly owned
and both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A surgical drape for use on a patient support structure, the
drape comprising: a main sheet of flexible, drapable material
having first, second and third regions; the first region adapted to
receive at least part of a patient, and including a first fold for
receiving accessories; the second region including a second and a
third fold, said second and third folds adapted to be arranged
below the part of the patient received by the first region, and
second fold defining a pocket adapted to receive at least part of
the support structure and said third fold defining an accessory
receiving pocket, wherein the opening of the accessory receiving
pocket defined by the third fold is open in a direction opposite to
the opening of the pocket defined by the second fold, and wherein
one of the pockets is directly on top of the other pocket; and the
third region adapted to depend downwardly from the support
structure when the drape is received on the support structure,
including a fourth fold for receiving an item.
2. The drape of claim 1 wherein the third region is adapted for
receiving an accessory.
3. The drape of claim 1 wherein the third region is adapted for
receiving a liquid.
4. The drape of claim 1 wherein the third region includes a sealed
portion such that an opening remains thereby creating a pocket.
5. The drape of claim 4 wherein the sealed portion is oriented
substantially perpendicular to the fold of the second region.
6. The drape of claim 4 wherein the pocket includes a transparent
member such that visualization of an interior of the pocket is
possible.
7. The drape of claim 1 further comprising an aperture.
8. The drape of claim 7 wherein the aperture is adapted to receive
the patient's head therethrough.
9. The drape of claim 7 further comprising a fourth region adjacent
to the aperture adapted for use as an ether screen.
10. A method of receiving an item into a surgical drape, said
method comprising: selecting a flexible drapable material provided
with at least four folds; installing the material onto a patient
support structure such that a portion of the first fold receives a
portion of the support structure and a portion of the second fold
is beneath the support structure; placing a portion of a patient
onto a portion of the drape such that the second and third folds
are anchored by that portion of the patient and are arranged below
that portion of the patient; and arranging the fourth fold to
depend downwardly from the support structure.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of selecting
a drapable material having said folds wherein at least one of the
folds includes a sealed portion such that an opening remains
creating a pocket.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the pocket is used to receive an
anesthetic accessory.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the pocket is used to receive a
bodily liquid from the patient.
14. The method of claim 10 wherein the drapable material includes
an aperture to receive a portion of the patient therethrough.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the part of the patient received
through the aperture is the patient's head and further comprising
step of utilizing a part of the drapable material to function as an
ether screen.
16. The surgical drape of claim 4 wherein the sealing is
accomplished by heat.
17. The surgical drape of claim 4 wherein the sealing is
accomplished by sewing.
18. The surgical drape of claim 4 wherein the sealing is
accomplished by gluing.
19. A surgical drape for use on a patient support structure, the
drape comprising: a main sheet of flexible, drapable material
having first, second and third regions; the first region adapted to
receive at least part of a patient, and including a fold defining
an accessory receiving pocket; the second region adapted to receive
at least part of the support structure and having a fold defining a
pocket, wherein the opening of the pocket is open in a direction
opposite to the opening of the accessory receiving pocket, and
wherein one of the pockets is directly on top of the other pocket;
the third region adapted to depend downwardly from the support
structure when the drape is received on the support structure; and
an aperture adapted to receive a part of a patient
therethrough.
20. The drape of claim 19 wherein the aperture is adapted to
receive the patient's head therethrough.
21. A method of receiving an item in a surgical drape, said method
comprising: selecting a flexible, drapable material provided with
at least three folds and an aperture to receive a portion of the
patient therethrough; installing the material onto a patient
support structure, such that a portion of the first fold receives a
portion of the support structure; placing a part of a patient onto
a portion of the drape such that the second fold is anchored by
that part of the patient; and arranging the third fold to depend
downwardly from the support structure.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein the part of the patient received
through the aperture is the patient's head and further comprising
the step of utilizing a portion of the drapable material to
function as an ether screen..Iadd.
23. A surgical drape for use on a patient support structure, the
drape comprising: a sheet of flexible, drapable material including
a top edge and a bottom edge separated between two side edges, the
sheet having a first region, a second region and a fold generally
perpendicular to the two side edges and between the first and
second regions with the first region to the top edge direction of
the fold and the second region to the bottom edge direction; the
first region adapted to receive at least part of a patient; and the
second region adapted to be arranged below the part of the patient
received by the first region, wherein the fold defines an
anesthesia accessory receiving area adapted to receive an
item..Iaddend..Iadd.
24. The drape of claim 23 in which the first and second regions are
adapted for receiving a liquid..Iaddend..Iadd.
25. The drape of claim 23 in which the side edges are sealed such
that an opening generally remains between the top edge and bottom
edge thereby creating a pocket..Iaddend..Iadd.
26. The drape of claim 25 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
heat..Iaddend..Iadd.
27. The drape of claim 25 wherein the sealng is accomplished by
sewing..Iaddend..Iadd.
28. The drape of claim 25 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
gluing..Iaddend..Iadd.
29. A surgical drape for use on a patient support structure, the
drape comprising: a main sheet of flexible, drapable material
having first and second regions; the first region adapted to
receive at least part of a patient, and including a first fold for
receiving accessories; and the second region including a second and
a third fold, said second and third folds adapted to be arranged
below the part of the patient received by the first region, said
second fold defining a pocket adapted to receive at least part of
the patient support structure and said third fold defining an
acessory receiving pocket, wherein the opening of the accessory
receiving pocket defined by the third fold is open in a direction
opposite to the opening of the pocket defined by the second fold,
and wherein one of the pockets is directly on top of the other
pocket..Iaddend..Iadd.
30. The drape of claim 29 in which the second region is adapted for
receiving a liquid..Iaddend..Iadd.
31. The drape of claim 29 in which third fold in the second region
includes a sealed portion such that an opening remains thereby
creating a pocket..Iaddend..Iadd.
32. The drape of claim 31 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
heat..Iaddend..Iadd.
33. The drape of claim 31 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
sewing..Iaddend..Iadd.
34. The drape of claim 31 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
gluing..Iaddend..Iadd.
35. A surgical drape for use on a patient support structure, the
drape consisting essentially of: a main sheet of flexible, drapable
material having a first region to receive at least part of a
patient onto the first region, and including a first fold for
receiving accessories..Iaddend..Iadd.
36. The drape of claim 35 in which the first region is adapted for
receiving a liquid..Iaddend..Iadd.
37. The drape of claim 35 in which the first region includes a
sealed portion such that an opening remains thereby creating a
pocket..Iaddend..Iadd.
38. The drape of claim 37 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
heat..Iaddend..Iadd.
39. The drape of claim 37 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
sewing..Iaddend..Iadd.
40. The drape of claim 37 wherein the sealing is accomplished by
gluing..Iaddend..Iadd.
41. A method of receiving an item into a surgical drape for use on
a patient support structure, said method steps consisting
essentially of: selecting a flexible, material provided with at
least one fold; installing the material onto the patient support
structure; and placing a part of a patient onto a portion of the
drape so that a first fold is anchored by that part of the
patient..Iaddend..Iadd.
42. A method of receiving an item into a surgical drape for use on
a patient support structure, said method steps consisting
essentially of: selecting a flexible, drapable material provided
with at least two folds; installing the material onto the patient
support structure, such that a first fold is placed on a top
surface of the patient support structure and a second fold is
placed under a lower surface of the patient support structure; and
placing a part of a patient onto a portion of the drape so that the
first fold is anchored by that part of the patient..Iaddend.
Description
The present invention relates generally to drapes of the type used
in caring for a medical patient, such as during surgical
procedures. More specifically, the invention relates to a drape
used by an anesthesia provider during surgical procedures to
temporarily hold accessories, such as a suction instrument, and to
limit contamination.
2. Description of Prior Art
The practice of anesthesia today is a highly technical science
involving myriad instrumentation. As a result, numerous items
congest the work environment of the anesthesia provider. During any
given surgical procedure, the anesthesia provider is surrounded by
multiple electrical monitoring devices as well as machines which
mix anesthetic gases, ventilate a patient's lungs, evacuate fluids,
administer and warm fluids, and warm the patient's body. Because of
the lack of a standardized receptacle or holder, items such as
mediations, syringes, needles, and various tubings are not always
within easy reach.
It is important to limit patient contamination of the work
environment, personnel and subsequent patients. Suctioning saliva,
blood, nasal secretions and gastric secretions potentiates
contamination by these fluids and by infectious agents they may
contain, such as hepatitis or the AIDS virus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,881, issued Jan. 26, 1988, to Meyers, shows an
anesthesia accessory unit which is a rigid tray assembly adapted to
be supported on an end portion of a patient's bed structure,
normally a hospital operating room table. While this device offers
a number of convenient receptacles, it is non-disposable and
relatively expensive to manufacture. Also, the receptacle areas are
not provided in the form of clean or sterile pockets which could be
closed about the contaminated portion of a surgical instrument to
prevent contamination of surrounding work areas, personnel, or
subsequent patients.
A disposable drape, particularly adapted for receiving anesthesia
accessories, could be inexpensively produced. Intended for only a
single use, it would not need to be laundered or re-sterilized. Use
of disposable drapes has increased in recent years. However,
Applicant is unaware of any drapes that have been tailored
specifically to hold anesthesia instruments during surgical
procedures to limit contamination.
The present invention provides an accessory holder for a medical
care provider, such as an anesthesia provider, in the form of a
disposable drape adapted to be received on an end of a patient
support structure, such as a hospital operating room table.
Additionally, the invention provides such a drape having accessory
receiving pockets which define clean or sterile enclosures for
temporarily holding a variety of accessories and instruments during
surgical procedures.
Another feature of the invention is a disposable drape having
pockets for receiving a suction instrument during anesthetic
procedures. The pockets provide a sterile environment for the
instrument and thus limit or avoid, contamination of the
surrounding work area, personnel, or subsequent patients.
The invention could decrease or eliminate the need for an assistant
to the anesthesia provider. Potentially the drape could improve the
dexterity of the anesthesia provider by providing a convenient
clean or sterile receptable for anesthesia accessories, thus
freeing a hand during surgical procedures.
Finally, the invention provides an accessory drape installable upon
a variety of hospital operating room tables, stretchers and patient
supports of various manufacturers' designs, so that the accessory
drape can be standardized from one operating room to another.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is intended for use by a medical care provider, such
as an anesthesia provider, during surgical procedures. Adapted for
reception on a patient support structure, the drape includes a main
sheet of flexible, drapable material. The main sheet has a first
region adapted to receive a part of the patient, usually the head,
when the patient is received on the support structure. This anchors
the drape. The first region includes a pocket fold which defines a
first accessory receiving pocket. An envelope region is formed
beneath the first region of the drapable material and defines a
second accessory receiving. The envelope region is adapted to
receive a part of the support structure to further anchor the
drape.
The first accessory receiving pocket has a top layer and a bottom
layer, each of which has a front edge, a rear edge and opposing
side edges. The front edge of the top layer may be recessed to
facilitate insertion of accessories within the pocket during
surgical procedures. Preferably, the drape includes at least one
additional accessory receiving pocket formed by a pocket fold in
the main sheet. The additional pocket is arranged to depend
downwardly from the first or head region of the drape, generally
perpendicular to the plane thereof when the drape is received on
the support structure.
The drape is particularly suited to temporarily hold a suction
instrument during surgical procedures. In such an embodiment, the
drape is received on a hospital operating room table. Additionally,
the drape could provide multiple pockets. Although the pockets
could be oriented with an opening at any convenient location, a
preferred embodiment orients the opening upward.
By including an aperture in the drape, other useful configurations
are possible. For example, the patient's head could be received
through an aperture and a panel of the drape could then be elevated
to form an ether screen. Additional features and advantages will be
apparent in the written description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a simplified, perspective view of a patient support
structure, in this case a hospital operating room table, showing
the accessory drape of the invention installed at the head of the
table, the drape being used to receive a suction instrument of the
type used during a surgical procedure;
FIG. 2 is a simplified view, taken along lines II.--II. in FIG. 1
showing the first accessory receiving pocket, envelope region and
one additional accessory receiving pocket with the folds being
exaggerated for ease of illustration;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main sheet of flexible, drapable
material used to form the accessory drape of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the initial folds used
to form the accessory receiving pockets;
FIG. 5 is a plan view, similar to FIG. 4, showing the fold used to
form the envelope region of the accessory drape;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines VI.--VI. in FIG.
5;
FIG. 7 shows the accessory drape folded in convenient fashion for
sterile packaging;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines VIII.--VIII. in
FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a top, plan view of the completed accessory drape of the
invention showing the completed folds;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines X.--X. in FIG.
9;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a suction instrument of the type
which can be stored within the pockets of the drape of the
invention;
FIG. 12 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which
the main sheet of flexible, drapeable material is provided as a
generally rectangular panel one end of which is folded to form a
hemmed pocket and having an opposite, free extent;
FIG. 13 illustrates the method by which the first and second
accessory receiving pockets are formed by repetitively folding the
free extent of the main sheet of drapeable material;
FIG. 14 is a view of the head support of a hospital operating room
table showing the drape of FIG. 12 installed thereon;
FIGS. 15abc are plan views showing alternative pockets;
FIG. 16 is a plan view showing eccentrically placed pockets;
FIG. 17ab is an embodiment including an aperture to receive a
patient's head and an ether screen barrier; and
FIG. 18ab is an embodiment having gutters along a portion of the
drape depending over the dies of the table.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an accessory drape 11 which is intended for use by a
medical care provider, such as an anesthesia provider
(anesthesiologist or anesthetist), during surgical procedures.
These procedures may occur in an operating room, emergency room or
in any other area where anesthetic accessories, such as a suction
instrument, are used. The primary purpose of drape 11 is to reduce
contamination of the surrounding area and/or personnel due to body
fluids which occur in routine anesthetic practice. Examples include
use of a suction apparatus to suction the oral cavity, nasal
passages and the stomach.
Accessory drape 11 is adapted to be received on a patient support,
typically a hospital operating room table, such as table 13 shown
in FIG. 1. Accessory drape 11 can also be utilized on other patient
supports, such as a stretcher, a gurney, or a chair. A number of
operating room tables are available commercially with either
moveable or fixed bases. The fixed-base table is typically
available with interchangeable table tops to meet the needs of
specific surgical specialties and will be familiar to those skilled
in the art. The standard operating room table has three or more
hinged sections including a head support (shown in isolated fashion
as 15 in FIG. 2) that can be pivoted or flexed at hinged locations.
Special operating tables are available, e.g., genitourinary,
orthopedic and ophthalmologic surgery.
As seen in FIG. 1, support structure 13 may include a head 17, a
foot 19 and opposing sides 21, 23 which define a horizontal plane
25 of rest for a patient (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1). Head
support 15 located at head 17 of table 13 can be a cushion which
elevates the patient's head slightly above horizontal plane 25. The
cushion is usually pivotable about an axis which is approximately
transverses the patient's neck region.
As best seen in FIG. 3, drape 11 is formed from a main sheet of
flexible, drapable material 27. A number of flexible materials can
conveniently be utilized for this purpose including cloth, thin
plastic and even paper. If cloth or paper materials are utilized,
they are preferably formed from a water proof material which forms
a moisture barrier to prevent fluids present in any accessory
pockets from penetrating the material of drape 11. This can be
accomplished in a number of manners, including a thin plastic layer
sandwiched between upper and lower cloth or paper layers, spraying
or coating water previous materials with a moisture barrier
material, or forming the drape entirely from a water impervious
material.
As shown in FIG. 3, main sheet 27 of flexible, drapable material
initially forms a cross-shaped panel of material, the panel having
a longitudinal body portion 29 and a cross-arm portion 31 arranged
transversely thereto. Longitudinal body portion 29 includes a top
panel 33 and a bottom panel 35, cross-arm portion 31 including
outer panels 37, 39 arranged perpendicular to longitudinal axis 41
of body portion 29.
As shown in FIG. 1, main sheet 27 has a first or head region 43
which is adapted to be received beneath a patient's head when the
patient's head is received on head support 15 (FIG. 2) for
anchoring drape 11 to operating table 13. As best seen in FIG. 2,
head region 43 includes a pocket fold 45 which defines a first
accessory receiving pocket 47 for drape 11. First accessory
receiving pocket 47 has a top layer 49 and a bottom layer 51. Top
layer 49 and bottom layer 51 each have a front edge 53, a rear edge
55 and opposing side edges 57, 59, respectively (see FIG. 9). Front
edge 53 of top layer 49 is recessed to facilitate the insertion of
accessories, such as a commercially available suction instrument
(61 in FIG. 1).
An envelope region 63 is formed beneath first or head region 43
(FIG. 1) of the drapable material. Envelope region 43 defines a
second accessory receiving pocket 65 for drape 11. Envelope region
63 is adapted to be received beneath patient head support 15 which
further anchors drape 11 to table 13.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, drape 11 preferably includes at least
one additional accessory receiving pocket 67 formed by a pocket
fold in main street 27. An additional accessory receiving pocket 67
is arranged to depend downwardly from head region 43 of drape 11
generally perpendicular to the plane thereof when drape 11 is
received on operating table 13. If desired, additional accessory
receiving pockets 69, 71 can be provided which depend downwardly
from head region 43 of drape 11 on each of opposing sides 21, 23 of
table 13, adjacent head 43 thereof. Each additional accessory
pocket 69, 71 is arranged generally perpendicular to horizontal
plane 25 of the support structure.
As shown in FIGS. 3-10, drape 11 can be simply and economically
formed from the initially cross-shaped piece of material forming
main sheet 27. Head region pocket fold 45 is formed by folding top
panel 33 in the direction of cross-arm portion 31 (indicated by
arrows in FIG. 4), thereby overlaying cross-arm portion 31 a
selected distance. Seams 73, 75 can be provided along either of the
opposing side edges, as by heat sealing, sewing or gluing. Outer
panels 37, 39 are folded back in the direction of longitudinal body
portion 29 to form additional accessory pockets. Bottom panel 35 of
longitudinal body portion 29 has a lower most extent which is
folded back in the direction of cross-arm portion 31 to form an
additional accessory pocket (see FIG. 4). The accessory pockets
also have side seams, e.g., 77, 79, 81, 83.
Envelope region 63 can conveniently be formed in main sheet 27 by
folding a first selected length (85 in FIG. 3) back upon a second
selected length 87 to create and instrument receiving pocket 65.
Pocket 65 can also be provided with side seams 89, 91 (shown by
dotted lines in FIG. 5). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, top layer 88
of envelope region 63 is received beneath patient head support 15
to further anchor drape 11 to table 13.
FIG. 12 shows another embodiment 90 in which a main sheet of
flexible, drapeable material 92 initially forms a generally
rectangular panel with a hemmed pocket 94 (FIG. 13) formed on an
end 96 thereof and having a free extent 98 opposite hemmed pocket
94. First and second accessory receiving pockets are formed by
repetitively folding free extent 98. Thus main sheet 92 is folded
(FIG. 12) to form a first fold 100 which defines a first accessory
receiving pocket 102, Main sheet 92 is folded again to form a
second fold 104 beneath first accessory receiving pocket 102, the
second fold 104 defining a second accessory receiving pocket
106.
Drape 90 is used by placing first accessory receiving pocket 102
beneath the head of patient when the patient's head is received on
a head support 108. This anchors drape 90 to the support structure.
Second accessory receiving pocket 106 is placed beneath head
support 108 drape 90.
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, drape 90 is preferably provided with a
third accessory receiving pocket 110 formed by hemmed pocket 94.
Pocket 110 is arranged to depend downwardly from main sheet 92
generally perpendicular thereto when the drape is received on the
support structure.
Drape 90 is preferably formed from a waterproof material which
forms a moisture and biological barrier to prevent fluids present
in the accessory pockets from penetrating the material. At least
one of the accessory receiving pockets 102, 106, 110 can also be
provided with an absorbent lining (shown as 112 in FIG. 12) for
containing contamination within the respective accessory receiving
pocket. For instance, absorbent lining 112 could comprise a foam
lining which could be used to remove some of the gross
contamination from the suction device when the device is placed
within the pocket. Absorbent material 112 can conveniently be
absorbent paper, cloth, sponge or similar material. Any material
which serves to contain such contamination, or which can be lined
to contain such contamination, can be utilized.
Because an object of the invention is to limit contamination and
the spread of infectious agents, the drape is preferably provided
with at least selected regions formed of a material which will
contain contaminants. A variety of suitable materials can be
utilized which will be familiar to those in the disposable surgical
drape industry. Examples include paper, cloth, plastic, polymer
coated paper, or other material which serve a similar function.
Alternative embodiments will be apparent to the artisan. For
example, FIG. 15b shows an angled holster pocket. FIG. 15c shows a
pocket having a transparent face with calibration marks. A pocket
may be conveniently placed off center as in FIG. 16. This
arrangement allows placement of a tube holder or so-called
"Christmas tree" to one side of the pocket.
Additional features could be added without departing from the scope
of the invention. Means for securing a suction tube to the drape or
for adhering accessories to the drape could be included. For
instance, a loop or series of loops may provide such means. Also, a
Velcro.TM. patch or strip could be used to secure an accessory,
such as a tray. An alternative embodiment could provide to further
secure the drape to the mattress. For example, a portion of the
drape could be cut away from the area which would cover a
Velcro.TM. patch which some manufacturers provide to secure the
mattress to the table. On the other hand, the drape could be
adapted to receive the mattress in addition to the table.
Although the invention has been in described in its preferred form,
a number of modifications can be envisioned which fall within the
scope of the present invention. For instance, for use in a dental
office, the accessory drape might be oriented other than at the
extreme head of the bed with the envelope region continuing to be
received between the cushion and the patient support structure. The
accessory drape could also be equipped with other clamps and
receptacles to, for instance, crimp off the suction tubing to
reduce noise.
The invention has several advantages. The accessory drape is simple
in design and economical to manufacture. It can be made disposable,
thus eliminating laundering and sterilizing drapes for re-use. A
plurality of accessory pockets are included for receiving
instruments, such as a suction device, to reduce contamination of
the operating room environment and/or operating room personnel, or
subsequent patients, with body fluids which occur in the routine
use of suction devices during surgical procedures. The accessory
pockets provide a secure means for retaining a variety of surgical
instruments while isolating the instruments in sterile fashion.
The drape is conveniently received on a region, usually the head
region, of a variety of patient support structures. Such structures
include operating tables, emergency room tables, stretchers and
gurneys as well as chairs for specialized purposes, such as dental
procedures. The drape reduces contamination of the surrounding area
and reduces the chance of exposure of a care-giver, or of a
subsequent patient, to a variety of patient contaminants.
While the invention is described in some detail with specific
reference to a preferred embodiment and certain alternatives, the
invention is not limited to that embodiment or those alternatives.
Artisans of ordinary skill will appreciate other alternatives
within the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is
defined not by the foregoing description, but by the following
claims.
* * * * *