112results about "Breast-nipple shields" patented technology

A device for expressing human breast milk has a breast shield for bearing against a mother's breast, a vacuum pump for generating a vacuum, a line which connects the vacuum pump to the breast shield and is intended for transmitting the vacuum generated to the breast shield, and a chamber. The line ends on the pump side in a first port of the chamber. The chamber has a second port for connection to a milk collecting container. The two ports in the chamber are connected to each other in terms of fluid communication. During the expressing operation, the line forms a milk line for transporting breast milk expressed in the breast shield to the chamber and from the chamber to the milk collecting container. The pump can be designed to be quiet and small.

A device for delivering an agent into breast milk while breastfeeding. In one embodiment, the device includes a breast shield modified to engage a non-woven material which has been impregnated with a milk soluble active agent such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). A lactating animal, e.g. a woman, uses this agent-delivering breast shield during breastfeeding to administer prophylactic or therapeutic agents to a suckling infant. The inventions are particularly well suited to preventing transmission of HIV virus from mother to child. Alternatively, the agent-laden material could be used with a baby bottle nipple or pacifier.

The invention provides an areola pad for use during breast feeding. The invention is used to treat sore and painful nipples caused by breast feeding and to enable uninterrupted nursing. The invention includes a flexible element composed of one or more bio-compatible polymers, where the element is breathable, and allows contact between the mother and the infant. The flexible element further includes a centrally-located opening for receiving a nipple of any size, where the nipple extends through the opening and is uncovered.

Systems and methods for pumping milk from a breast responsive to a controller, wherein the milk is expressed from the breast under suction and milk is expulsed from the pumping mechanism to a collection container under positive pressure.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a covering member for a protruding portion of a patient's body. This cover is flexible and collapsible so that it conforms to the shape of the encased portion of the body. This prevents the cover from being noticed while it is worn under clothing. The cover can contain a medicament or agent for pretreating a portion of the body before an examination or procedure. When the cover is used to apply a topical anesthetic to a portion of the body for a recommended period of time prior to the procedure or examination commencing, the amount of discomfort experienced by the patient can be significantly reduced compared to the amount experienced by the patient who has the anesthetic applied for just a few moments before the procedure begins. Alternatively, the cover can be used to hold a medicament or agent on the intended portion of the body in order to heal a wound or cure a condition such as a skin rash or the like.

An insert for a breast-receiving funnel of a breast pump includes an elongate inflatable bladder which defines a pressure chamber. The elongate inflatable bladder is configured to fit in a teat receiving space of the breast receiving funnel so that the bladder extends from an inner end of the funnel towards an outer end of the funnel. The bladder lies between a user's teat and the funnel when a breast is inserted in the funnel, such that the elongate inflatable bladder is configured to deform towards a user's teat located in the teat receiving space in a predetermined manner when a pressure difference is applied between the teat receiving space and the pressure chamber such that a peristaltic action is applied to the user's teat, to aid the expression of milk therefrom.

The invention is an apparatus (10) for treating inverted nipples and / or the collection of NAF. The invention includes an assembly which creates an airtight seal upon attachment to at least an areola (16) of an inverted nipple (18) and by rotation of a part thereof draws a partial vacuum to apply an outward force to the nipple; and a syringe (26) including a curved longitudinal axis (28), the syringe being carried by the assembly and being in fluid communication with a chamber (24) of the assembly upon attachment of the assembly to at least an areola of an inverted nipple, the syringe including a plunger (30) which is sealed against an inner surface (34) of the syringe and is rotatable to move along the longitudinal axis relative to the chamber which moves the plunger within a syringe body to expel air from the syringe body away from the chamber upon rotation of the plunger in a first direction and to aspirate air from the chamber upon attachment of the apparatus to the breast surrounding the nipple upon rotation in a second direction opposite to the first direction to create a partial vacuum within the chamber to evert the nipple.

A reusable, washable breast shield for use by lactating women. The shield may include an inner layer and an outer layer. The shield may be placed against the breast of the user and may be held in place with an article of clothing or may be used without supporting clothing.

A method of collecting colostrum from a breast of a human and dispensing the colostrum to a newborn may involve: coupling a first end of an adapter with a syringe; positioning a second end of the adapter in contact with or near the breast; manually expressing colostrum from the breast into the second end of the adapter; coupling the second end of the adapter with a breast pump shield; expressing colostrum from the breast, using the breast pump shield and a breast pump system attached to the breast pump shield; retracting a plunger of the syringe to cause the colostrum to move into the syringe from the adapter; detaching the adapter from the first end of the syringe; and dispensing the colostrum to the newborn from the syringe.

An optical pickup including an optical member which inhibits interference light reflected from an adjacent layer from being received by a photodetector when an optical information storage medium includes a plurality of recording layers on at least one side thereof. The optical pickup suppresses a photodetector, especially first and second sub-photodetectors of the photodetector, from receiving the interference light reflected from the adjacent layer.