WO2003087933A1

WO2003087933A1 - A bag for a medical item such as an x-ray cassette

Info

Publication number: WO2003087933A1
Application number: PCT/DK2003/000245
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lars Broen
Original assignee: Lars Broen
Priority date: 2002-04-12
Filing date: 2003-04-11
Publication date: 2003-10-23
Also published as: AU2003226938A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bag for enclosing a medical item, such as an x-ray cassette, to be positined beneath a patient in bed with aminimum of discomfrot to the patient. The bag comprises a substantially flat and unsewn sleeve made of a liquid-impervious and non-sticking material with an opening for insertion of the medical item to be contained in the bag. The bag has tapered edges facilitating easy insertion of the bag between the patient and a surface supporting the patient.

Description

A BAG FOR A MEDICAL ITEM SUCH AS AN X-RAY CASSETTE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bag for enclosing a medical item, such as an x-ray cassette, to be positioned beneath a patient in bed with a minimum of discomfort to the patient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During hospitalisation or in their home, some patients are so very ill that it is desirable to perform treatments on the patient without moving the patient out of the bed or lifting or turning the patient in the bed. For example, hospital beds or stretchers are known comprising a tray for reception of an x-ray cassette below a patient support surface of the hospital bed. US 5,996,149 B1 discloses a hospital bed of this type having an x-ray tray that permits the x-ray cassette to be loaded at substantially any horizontal location below the patient support surface by sliding the cassette onto the tray using the hands. After the x-ray cassette is loaded on the x-ray tray at a desired horizontal location below the patient, the x-ray tray can then be lifted upwardly by a lifting apparatus to position the x-ray cassette adjacent a bottom surface of the patient support surface.

In a more simple solution, an x-ray cassette is placed directly beneath a patient lying in bed for optimum exposure of the x-ray film. However, this may contaminate the cassette, since the patient may suffer a physical trauma losing blood or other body fluids, or, the patient may suffer a communicable disease that can be transferred to the cassette, or, the cassette may scrape a patient's skin surface, etc. The companies Novarad AB and Scanflex AB, respectively, produces a bag for enclosing an x-ray cassette to be positioned beneath a patient. The bag has been developed by Innovative imaging Pty Ltd., Australia, and is shown in Fig. 1. The bag consists of an inner bag and an outer bag. The inner bag protects the x-ray cassette and is made of fabric without coating and the outer bag is made of a fabric coated on one side with a plastic material. The inner and outer bags have sewn seams and borders along its edges making it very cumbersome to clean for re-use. The bag is not waterproof. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, there is a need for a bag that facilitates convenient positioning beneath a patient in bed without having to lift or turn or otherwise move the patient in bed and that is also easy to clean for re-use thereby complying with hygienic standards of a hospital. According to the present invention the above-mentioned and other objects are fulfilled by a hygienic and re-usable bag, comprising a substantially flat and unsewn sleeve made of a liquid-impervious material with at least one opening for insertion of the medical item to be contained in the bag and having tapered edges facilitating easy insertion of the bag between the patient and a surface supporting the patient. The bag may be used for any medical item that it is desired to position directly beneath a patient, for example an x-ray cassette. The bag may be shaped and dimensioned to fit, e.g. snugly fit, the item in question. For example, an x-ray cassette is generally rectangular and thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bag comprises a rectangular part to accommodate an x-ray cassette. For cassettes of different sizes, correspondingly sized bags may be provided.

In a bag that is intended for accommodating an x-ray cassette, the liquid-impervious material is x-ray translucent.

It is important that the material and joints of the bag are easily cleaned, e.g. by a suitable antiseptic cleanser, such as alcohol, chlorhexidine, etc. Therefore, according to the present invention, any joints are unsewn. Joints may be formed by gluing, taping, heat welding, etc.

The material may be a plastic substance, nylon, or coated fabric, such as canvas both sides of which are coated with e.g. plastic, such as polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, etc, teflon ®, etc. A thermoplastic polyurethane or polyethylene coated fabric has a very high weld strength compared to PVC and thermoplastic rubbers. Further, it has a good resistance to food oils.

The bag may be formed by a first and a second sheet of the liquid-impervious material that are aligned along respective edges thereof and attached to each other along edges e.g. by gluing, heat welding, etc.

For easy insertion of the bag between the patient and the surface supporting the patient, the bag may have a tapered end that is inserted and pushed in beneath the patient. For further facilitating insertion of the bag, the tapered end may be stiffened by a tapered member, e.g. made of plastic, that is aligned with the tapered end of the bag and positioned inside the bag, e.g. trapped between joints in the bag. Due to the member, the tapered end of the bag is easily pushed in beneath the patient and when the end emerges on the other side of the patient, the remaining part of the bag containing the medical item can easily be positioned beneath the patient by drawing the tapered end of the bag until the bag is correctly positioned.

An outer surface of the bag may be textured or granulated to minimise sticking to the patient's skin and maximise comfort during use. Very often, the patient lies on a rubber mattress with a naked back. It has been found that a very smooth surface has a tendency of sticking to rubber and to moist skin, however this problem has been solved by provision of a bag with a non-sticking surface, such as a textured surface, a granulated surface, etc, that has proven not to stick to a rubber surface or moist skin. The textured surface may be a textured Teflon ®, polyurethane, polyethylene, etc surface, e.g., formed by spraying Teflon ®, polyurethane, polyethylene, etc, onto a supporting web of e.g. canvas, fibre glass loom, etc. Teflon © is presently preferred due to its advantageous non-sticking characteristics. Alternatively, the supporting web comprises the above-mentioned plastic substance, nylon, or coated fabric, such as canvas coated with, e.g., plastic, such as polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, etc, teflon ®, etc.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bag is manufactured from a fibre glass loom that is coated with a textured Teflon ® surface on one side and with an adhesive on the other side. With the adhesive, the coated fibre glass loom is glued to a plastic coated fabric, such as canvas coated with polyethylene. This provides a flexible bag with strong weldings and a non-sticking surface.

In another embodiment of the invention, the sheets for the bag are made of Teflon ® coated fibre glass loom that are welded together, and the weldings are reinforced by mechanical fastening means, such as buttons, etc.

In yet another embodiment, the outer surface of the bag is provided with the desired non- sticking properties by nano-technology modifications of the surface.

The bag may be thermally treated tolerating temperatures of at least 80°C for sterilisation of the bag. The bag may be cushioned, e.g. by a closed cell foam, for improved patient comfort. The cushioning material may be x-ray translucent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 schematically shows a prior art bag for an x-ray cassette, Fig. 2 schematically shows a bag in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 3 schematically shows another bag in accordance with the present invention, and

Fig. 4 schematically shows yet another bag in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 shows a prior art bag 1 for enclosing an x-ray cassette to be positioned beneath a patient. The bag 1 has been developed by Innovative Imaging Pty Ltd., Australia. The bag 1 consists of an inner bag 1a and an outer bag 1 b. The inner bag 1a protects the x-ray cassette and is made of fabric without coating and the outer bag 1 b is made of a fabric coated on one side with a plastic material. The inner and outer bags 1a, 1b have sewn seams and borders along its edges 3 making it very cumbersome to clean for re-use. The bag 1 is not waterproof.

Fig. 2 shows a bag 1 according to the present invention, comprising a substantially flat and unsewn sleeve 1 made of a liquid-impervious material, such as nylon or canvas coated with plastic. Preferably, the canvas is coated on both the surface facing the outside of the bag, and the surface facing the interior of the bag. An uncoated side of the fabric may provide an ideal micro-environment for microbial attack. The bag has an opening 2 for insertion of the x-ray cassette to be contained in the bag 1. Further, the bag has heat welded seams along three edges 3, 4, 5 thereof. The bag may also comprise borders that are fixed to the bag along the edges 3, 4, 5, e.g. by heat welding, for provision of rounded edges of the bag further facilitating insertion of the bag between the patient and a surface supporting the patient. The bag provides a water-proof shell for the contained cassette. The length of this bag is approximately 50 cm and the width is approximately 40 cm.

A preferred embodiment of the inventive bag is shown in Fig. 3. The bag 1 corresponds to the bag shown in Fig. 2 constituting a rectangular part of the bag 1 to accommodate an x- ray cassette, and further comprises tapered edges 6, 7 opposite the opening 2. A tapered plastic member 8 is inserted in the bag and kept in a substantially fixed position inside the bag between heat welded seams 9, 10, 11. A handle 12 may be fixed to the bag 1 at its tapered end facilitating positioning of the bag beneath the patient. A symmetric embodiment of the inventive bag is shown in Fig. 4. The bag 1 corresponds to the bag shown in Fig. 3, but further comprises second tapered edges 13, 14 opposite the first tapered edges 6, 7, and a second opening 15 opposite the first opening 2 whereby manipulation of the bag and insertion and removal of the medical item may be performed on both sides of the patient.

As indicated in Fig. 4, the bag 1 may not comprise a plastic member 8 for a more permanent use in a bed.

Claims

1. A bag for a medical item to be positioned beneath a patient, comprising a substantially flat and unsewn sleeve made of a liquid-impervious material with at least one opening for insertion of the medical item to be contained in the bag and having tapered edges facilitating easy insertion of the bag between the patient and a surface supporting the patient.

2. A bag according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid-impervious material is x-ray translucent.

3. A bag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer surface of the bag is provided with the desired non-sticking properties by nano-technology modifications of the surface.

4. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material comprises a textured or granulated surface.

5. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material comprises plastic.

6. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material is a coated fabric.

7. A bag according to claim 6, wherein the fabric is coated with plastic, such as polyurethane or polyethylene, etc.

8. A bag according to claim 6, wherein the fabric is coated with a non-sticking substance, such as teflon ®.

9. A bag according to claim 6, wherein the fabric is coated with a substance having a low coefficient of friction.

10. A bag according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the fabric is canvas.

11. A bag according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the fabric is fibre glass loom.

12. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer surface of the bag has been sprayed with a substance, such as plastic, preferably teflon ®, etc, for provision of a non-sticking surface whereby sticking of the outer surface of the bag to other surfaces is substantially prevented.

13. A bag according to any of claims 1-11 , wherein the outer surface of the bag is a teflon ® coated surface of fibre glass loom, the fibre glass loom being provided with an adhesive on the surface opposite the teflon ® surface for gluing of the teflon surface onto a polyethylene coated canvas.

15. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a first and a second sheet of the liquid-impervious material that are aligned along respective edges thereof and attached to each other along the edges.

16. A bag according to claim 15, wherein the sheets are attached to each other by gluing.

17. A bag according to claim 15, wherein the sheets are attached to each other by taping.

18. A bag according to claim 15, wherein the sheets are attached to each other by heat welding.

19. A bag according to any of claims 15-18, further comprising a tapered member positioned between the first and second sheets and aligned with the tapered edges of the sleeve for stiffening of the tapered part of the sleeve.