WO1997005838A1

WO1997005838A1 - Wound bandage unit

Info

Publication number: WO1997005838A1
Application number: PCT/SE1996/000979
Authority: WO
Inventors: Per Olof Lissmyr
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-08-04
Filing date: 1996-08-01
Publication date: 1997-02-20
Anticipated expiration: 1998-02-04
Also published as: SE9502752D0; SE507476C2; AU6673196A; SE9502752L

Abstract

The invention includes a wound bandage unit (5) that consists of a plate and a strap (16) that interacts with said plate, designed to be able to cover a wound (4) by pressing the plate through pressure exerted by the strap, against a patch of skin (3) that contains a wound, in order to at least temporarily cover said wound, thereby reducing and/or stopping haemorrhage from the wound; said plate having the shape of a cup (6'), with a concave section (6a) that is meant to lie against and/or cover said wound (4) and a compress (9) that is placed in said cup (6'). Said cup (6') is equipped, and/or interacts, with several peripherally-related tips (10). Said tips (10a, 10b) are oriented towards one another. Said tips are given a stiffness that, when pressed against the area of skin (3) that surrounds the wound, is designed to press said area of skin (3) and patch of skin (8) in a way that causes said wound (4') to press shut.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION

Wound Bandage Unit

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wound bandage unit; more particularly to a unit that consists of a plate and an inter¬ acting strap.

Wound bandage units of this kind are especially adapted to be able to cover, at least temporarily, a wound, by causing — with the strap — the plate to clamp against a patch of skin with a wound, thereby reducing and/or stopping a haemorrhage from the wound.

According to the invention, the wound bandage unit is more particularly adapted to be able to serve as a pressure ban¬ dage that has been designed to be able to reduce and/or stop a major haemorrhage. The plate, whose shape is rigid, serves as a pressure plate, while the strap that interacts with it can be stretched around an appendage, such as an arm, and by means of tensional force press the plate against and around a patch of skin with a wound.

According to the invention, the wound bandage unit is de¬ signed to give the pressure plate a cup-shaped form whose inner concave part is meant to cover the wound with a com¬ press that is placed in said cup. DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

Wound bandage units have been shown in several distinct exam- pies, and have been adapted to various applications; that is, to the part of a body where the wound exists, and to the size of the wound.

Similarly, wound bandage units of the category pressure ban- dage have been shown in several distinct designs.

One design of a wound bandage unit, of the type referred to above, was made known through the Swedish pattern application 94-2285 — publicly made available on 10 May 1995, and anno- unced in a Swedish magazine on registered patterns on 7 June 1995 — and represents the state of technology on which the present invention is based.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

Given the previous state of technology, as it has been de¬ scribed, it should be considered a technical problem to be able to create a wound bandage unit of the type mentioned above that is simple to use, easy to have on hand, is adapted for various types of wounds, and that can be made ready for use within a very short time.

It ought also be considered a technical problem to be able to create a wound bandage unit whose design and shape facilitate its use without any special instructions and training.

Still another technical problem, given a wound bandage unit of the type described above, is in being able to realise the significance of being able to create conditions, as well as realising the benefits of having a rigid cup supplied, and or interacting, with several peripherally-related tips, where said tips are oriented towards one another, pointing into the centre.

Another technical problem is in being able to realise the significance of, and the benefits associated with, allowing said tips to be given a stiffness that, when applied with a certain force against the area of skin that surrounds the wound, presses said area of skin in a way that causes said wound to be pressed shut.

Another technical problem is in being able to realise the significance of, and benefits associated with, permitting said tips to make up an integral part of said cup.

Given a wound bandage of the type described above, it should also be considered a technical problem to be able to realise the significance of, and the benefits associated with, arran¬ ging — outside of said tips and related to the cup — a peri- pherally-related edge that is designed to be able to seal against the skin that immediately surrounds the wound.

Yet another technical problem is in being able to create, with simple means, conditions whereby there is room to hold, and the possibility to fasten — at least within the area for the tips — a pad with pronounced liquid-absorbent quali¬ ties, where said pad is preferably a foam rubber pad.

Another technical problem is in being able to realise the significance of allowing a compress to be arranged so that its one side rests against the pad, while its other side makes contact and interacts with the patch of skin that contains the wound.

Still another technical problem is in being able to create, by means of a design that solves the above-named technical problems, a protective paper or shield of some kind that is primarily arranged to cover the compress.

Another technical problem is in being able to realise the significance of adapting said pad to be able to assign the compress a force in the direction of the wound when a cup is applied and clamped.

Moreover, it ought to be a technical problem to be able to show a wound bandage unit that may be used several times, simply by exchanging a compress or similar materials, and/or a liquid-absorbent pad after each use.

Another technical problem is in being able to create a wound bandage unit that, by means of a simple exchange of compress and/or pad, may be adapted for use in various applications.

SOLUTION

In order to solve one or more of the technical problems men¬ tioned above, the present invention, which is based on a wound bandage unit, consists of a plate and a strap that in¬ teracts with the plate. The unit is designed to cover a wound and parts of the skin that surround it, thereby being tem- porarily able to reduce and/or stop a haemorrhage from the wound, by pressing, through pressure exerted by the strap, against the section of skin that contains the wound.

In particular, the basis for the present invention requires that the pressure plate be designed in the shape of a cup, with a concave inner section, designed to completely or par¬ tially cover the wound and surrounding sections of skin with a compress that is inserted in said cup.

Given a wound bandage unit of this kind, the present inven¬ tion shows that said cup must be equipped, and/or must inter¬ act, with several peripheral-related tips; that said tips are oriented towards one another, and that they point towards the centre; that said tips are designed to be stiff enough that when they are pressed against a wound and the skin that sur¬ rounds it, they press said area of skin in a way that causes the wound to close.

As proposed embodiments, falling within the scope of the in¬ ventive thought, it is shown that said tips may make up an integrated part of said cup.

Further, it is shown that outside of said tips there is a peripherally-related edge, designed to be able to seal aga¬ inst the skin that surrounds the wound when pressure is app¬ lied to the cup.

Within the area for the tips, there is a liquid-absorbent pad, which may favourably consist of a separate unit designed of a foam rubber pad.

A compress, which forms an additional separate unit, is situ¬ ated within the area for the tips, and is designed to rest with one side against the pad, and with the opposite side against the wound, either completely or partially covering the wound and the section of skin that immediately surrounds it.

Also shown is a protective layer of paper, or similar materi¬ al, which is designed to cover the compress, and to interact with the cup.

Again, it is shown that the outer, convex side of the cup is equipped with one or more first means — in a two-part con¬ nection arrangement — where a second means is formed in a strap, which strap preferable is made of elastic material.

The ends of this strap may also be equipped with some sort of connection arrangement. Finally, it is shown that when the cup is applied and con¬ stricted, said pad is dimensioned and adapted to be able to press the compress against the wound.

BENEFITS

According to the present invention, the prime benefits that characterise a wound bandage unit are in the conditions that are created, making it possible to construct a pressure ban¬ dage that, when applied, not only offers the required pres¬ sure to a section of skin containing a wound, but also cre¬ ates conditions whereby said pressure presses an area of skin and said patch of skin in a way that causes the wound to close, thereby reducing and/or stopping haemorrhage from the wound.

Another advantage is that much of the wound bandage unit can be produced in a plastic material, and that a compress and/or a liquid-absorbent pad may consist of an easily exchangeable unit.

According to the present invention, the primary characteris¬ tic features for a wound bandage unit are set forth in the characterising clause of Claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The currently proposed embodiment for a wound bandage unit, showing the significant characteristics of the present inven- tion, is described below with respect to the enclosed drawings, where: Figure 1 shows in perspective view as well as in a mag¬ nified view, an open flesh wound, located on the right forearm of a human being;

Figure 2 shows a wound bandage unit that has been app¬ lied to the wound, covering the wound, the patch of skin that contains the wound, and the surrounding area of skin;

Figure 3 shows in side view, and partially in cross- sectional view, the plate of the wound bandage unit without a pad or compress;

Figure 4 shows a sectional view through section A-A in Figure 3, with a pad and compress in place;

Figure 5 shows a position where the plate of the wound bandage unit is carefully applied without pressure to a patch of skin that contains a wound;

Figure 6 illustrates the plate of the wound bandage unit when the strap presses it against the wound at a prescribed force.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS AT PRESENT PREFERRED

The invention will now be described in greater detail, based on the exemplifying supposition that the arm la of a person 1 has been injured on the forearm, causing a wound 4 in a patch of skin 3. Moreover, we may assume that the wound 4 is open, giving rise to a haemorrhage 4' .

Figure 2 illustrates how a wound bandage unit 5, with a plate 6 and a strap 7, has been applied to the wound 4, in order to cover it, the patch of flesh that contains it, and even an area of skin 8 that surrounds the wound.

With reference to Figures 3 and 4, we will now describe in greater detail the design of the plate 6 in the wound bandage unit 5.

The pressure plate 6 is made of a plastic material in the shape of a cup 6 ' . Given the plate's 6 use as a pressure bandage, it may be called a pressure plate.

The pressure plate 6 has an inner concave section or cavity 6a designed to be able to surround and/or cover said wound 4 with a separate compress 9 (Figure 4), which is inserted in- side the outer-edge section 6a' of said cup 6'.

Said cup 6 is equipped, and/or interacts, with several peripherally-related tips.

The tips 10, which are symmetrically placed around the peri¬ meter of the cup 6 ' , are made of side-related truncated pyramid shapes.

Opposing tips 10a and 10b are specially identified, since these may be used to illustrate in greater detail the charac¬ teristics of the invention.

The tips 10, which are perfectly identical, have a free end 10' whose length approximately corresponds to one-half the length of the fixed end 10".

Said free ends 10' create a slight bow in the plane, as shown in Figure 3, and have, in a right-angled plane, the shape of an ellipse.

Each of the tips, such as tips 10a and 10b, are positioned in pairs opposite one another, pointing into the centre. The thickness of the tips is approximately 1 mm, although this may vary depending on the choice of materials used.

Figure 4 shows that the angle "a" should be greater than 20^' but normally less than 45' — ordinarily, this angle is bet¬ ween 25' and 35^*.

Each of the tips 10 may be given a stiffness that is adapted to press, when a given force is applied, said area of skin 8 and a surrounded patch of skin 3 in a way that causes the wound 4 to close (4" ) .

This will be described in greater detail with reference to Figure 6.

The Figures 3 and 4 illustrate how said tips make up an in¬ tegrated part of said cup 6'; however, they may also be part of a detachable grommet, which can be attached to the inside 6a of the cup 6' .

Outside of said tips (10a and 10b) is a peripheral edge 11, designed to lie tightly against the patch of skin 8 when the cup is depressed.

Figure 4 shows that the distance "b" between the edge 11 and the free end 10b' of the tip 10b should correspond to the distance from the edge 11 to each fixed end 10b" .

Said distance "b", the length of the tips 10, and their se- lected stiffness are interdependent factors, and may be adap¬ ted in practice, depending on how the unit is to be applied.

Within the area for the tips 10 is a separate liquid-absor¬ bent pad 12. Said pad may consist of a foam rubber pad, and is adapted to a thickness and density that will support and create a bucker for the compress 9.

Shown further is the ability to use a protective sheet 20 of paper or of similar material, arranged to be able to cover the compress 9 and a portion of the cup.

On its convex side (top), the cup 6' is equipped with one or more first means 15a, which is part of a two-part connection arrangement 15, where a second means 15b is shaped like a hole in a strap 16, which may correspond to the strap 7 in Figure 2.

The strap is equipped with end-related connection arrange¬ ments 16a, 16b, made up of a Velcro^® fastener.

Said pad 12 is designed to be able to direct a force to the compress 9 in the direction of the wound 4 when the cup is applied and constricted.

According to the invention, Figure 5 illustrates how a wound bandage unit 5 should be placed centrally over the wound 4, so that the compress 9 best covers the wound 4 and its asso- ciated patch of skin 3, and to some extent, the surrounding area of skin 8.

Figure 5 illustrates that the tips 10a, 10b should be positi¬ oned well on each side of the wound 4, which is an open wound.

Figure 6 illustrates that the strap 16 has been stretched, and that its ends 16a, 16b have been fastened together. In this manner, the tips 10a, 10b press the open wound 4 closed, while the edge portion 11 is brought to press against the area of skin 8. In Figure 6, the pad is shown compressed, which exudes a noticeable force on the area 3 for the closed wound 4", thus creating conditions for reducing and/or stopping completely the haemorrhage 4' from the wound 4" .

Thus, when the wound bandage unit 5 has been applied, the tips (10a, 10b) have pressed the wound 4" together, the com¬ press 9 has been compressed at the edges, in part by the tips (10a, 10b) and in part by the cup 6'; finally, the flange 11 has been pressed against the surrounding area of skin 8, sealing off the haemorrhage.

In the position shown in Figure 6, the angle "a" may be approximately or somewhat less than 45' .

The change in angle ( from Figure 4 to Figure 6 ) is best adap¬ ted to 10'; ordinarily close to 15' .

To facilitate repeated use of the wound bandage unit, it may be advantageous to make the cup 6 and the strap 16 out of a plastic material. The pad 12 and the compress 9 consist of separate exchangeable units.

The tips 10a, 10b may be dimensioned in a known way using materials whose stiffness and selected angles vary as re¬ quired for a desired function.

Obviously, the invention is not restricted to the above illu¬ strated exemplifying embodiments. Modifications can be made within the scope of the inventive thought as illustrated in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wound bandage unit (5), consisting of a plate (6) and a strap (7) or a sling that interacts with said plate, designed to be able to cover a wound (4) by pressing the plate, through pressure exerted by the strap, against a patch of skin (3) that contains a wound, in order to at least tempo¬ rarily cover said wound, thereby reducing and/or stopping a haemorrhage (4') from the wound; said plate (6) having the shape of a cup (6'), with a concave section (6a) that is meant to wholly or partially cover said wound, and a compress (9 ) that is placed in said cup (6') c h a r a c t e r i ¬ z e d in, that said cup (6') is equipped, and/or interacts, with several peripheral-related tips; that said tips (10) are oriented with a directional component towards one another; that said tips are given a stiffness that, when they are pressed against the area of skin (3) that surrounds the wound, they are designed to press said area of skin and patch of skin in a way that causes said wound (4") to press shut.

2. A unit, according to Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that said tips (10) make up a part of said cup (6').

3. A unit, according to Claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i - z e d in, that outside of said tips (10) is a peripherally- related edge ( 11 ) designed to be able to seal against sec¬ tions of skin.

4. A unit, according to Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that a liquid-absorbent pad exists within the area for the tips.

5. A unit, according to Claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that said pad (12) consists of a separate unit, such as a foam rubber pad.

6. A unit, according to Claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that a separate compress (9) is arranged to rest against the pad ( 12) .

7. A unit, according to Claim 6 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that a protective sheet of paper (20) or similar material is arranged to cover the compress.

8. A unit, according to Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that said unit includes a two-part connection arrangement

(15), which consists of one or more first means (15a), and a second means (15b); that said cup (6' ) is equipped on its convex side with said first means (15a), and that said second means (15) is part of said strap (16).

9. A unit, according to Claim 1 or 8, c h a r a c t e r i ¬ z e d in, that the strap (16) is made of elastic material.

10. A unit, according to Claim 1 or 9, c h a r a c t e r i - z e d in, that the strap (16) is equipped with end-related

(16a, 16b) connection arrangements.

11. A unit, according to Claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in, that said pad (12), when a cup is applied and con- stricted, is designed to be able to apply a force to the compress (9 ) directed towards the wound (4) .