Attachable, constraint-free external drainage device support structure for use with standard hospital garments and patients' own clothing

Abstract

A low-cost removable drainage bag support structure that can be attached to any location on the patient's hospital garment or personal clothing, without any uncomfortable and cumbersome belts or other attachments that tie the drainage bag directly to the patient's body, and without use of any expensive and inefficient custom-made undergarments. An attachable, easily removable and disposable drainage bag support structure that can be easily and cost-effectively utilized with standard hospital garments, and at the same time safely and securely support drainage bags for the out-patients, allowing to place the drainage bag out-of-sight when in public and reducing interference with patient's mobility, whereby improving dignity and quality of life for the out-patients that must carry in public one or more drainage devices. A low-cost attachable support structure that allows quick and easy removal from the garment, easy disposal and also allows hospital staff to monitor and observe the content and condition of the drainage bag placed inside the support structure.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention pertains generally to the attachable and removable holders or structures for supporting, housing and safekeeping of external drainage devices. In particular, it relates to the attachable and removable garment attachments that can house an external drainage device or an ostomy bag without any uncomfortable and cumbersome belts or other attachments that tie the ostomy bag directly to the patient's body, without use of any dangerous and unsteady safety pins that hold the ostomy bag and without special custom-made undergarments. It also relates to the attachable and removable ostomy bag holders that can be easily and cost-effectively utilized with standard hospital garments for in-patients, and at the same time support the ostomy bag for out-patients that are released from the hospital and need to keep the ostomy bag safely attached, out-of-sight when in public, and to reduce its interference with the patient's mobility and general quali...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachable and detachable receptacle device with good support for an external drainage device / bag (such as, for example, an ostomy bag), and which also provides easy access to the external drainage bag. It is also an object of the present invention to allow easy removal of the attachable receptacle device from the patient's standard hospital garment in order to check, change and dispose of the used external drainage bag and to be able to quickly and efficiently remove soiled or old garments and replace them with standard new garments, without any need to adjust or account for the patient's height, size, age, gender or body proportions. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a constraint-free and attachable drainage receptacle device that can be utilized cost-efficiently in current hospital settings, with standard hospital gowns and without any custom-made undergarments. It is further an object of the present invention to provide an attachable external drainage receptacle device that serves the above-mentioned needs of in-hospital ambulatory patients and out-patients who desire to keep the drainage bags safely attached to their garments, out-of-sight when in public, and not to impede or interfere with the patients' movements. In addition, it is another object of the present invention to provide an attachable drainage receptacle device that can safely and securely store the drainage bag while being kept out of sight in public places, and at the same time be easily accessible to medical professionals and patients. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a support structure for the external drainage bag that does not impede and simplifies multiple garment changes that occur during a hospital stay.

[0007]The present invention accomplishes this by providing an attachable structure that can be placed on the inside or outside of the typical hospital garment or patient's own clothing at any desired height or location. The present invention further accomplishes the above-mentioned goals and addresses the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art by providing an attachable, constraint-free support structure that is inexpensive, easily removable and that can be quickly and efficiently attached by means of a peel and stick adhesive backing, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) high tack tape-like removable material, VELCRO, iron-on-tape, snaps, hooks, buttons or other means to any standard hospital gown or out-patient's clothing. The present invention utilizes inexpensive and easy to manufacture materials for the ostomy bag support structure, and does not require any custom fitting or any expensive or difficult to manufacture undergarments. Furthermore, unlike the ostomy structures described in the prior art, the current invention utilizes inexpensive and simple support structures that can be easily and efficiently disposed of when exposed to contaminants, patient's bodily fluids or excretions collected in the ostomy bag. These and other beneficial features and advantages of the present invention are disclosed in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in each embodiment of the invention.

Problems solved by technology

The location of the stoma is typically in, but not limited to, the front lower torso area of the body, and the stoma is usually a very delicate device that does not have structural integrity to hold and support the ostomy bag that fills with body waste and needs to be regularly removed and replaced.

However, none of these special custom-made garments can be easily and inexpensively incorporated or used by hospitals.

One of the problems with these specialized undergarments is that they require expensive manufacturing processes and typically have to be custom fit for each patient.

This approach is inefficient and has not been used by most hospitals around the country because typical garments that are utilized in hospital settings have to be inexpensive, easily removable and washable, and must also fit patients of different height, weight, age, gender and body proportions.

Furthermore, the known custom-made garments and undergarments that support ostomy bags are not practical or useful for pediatric patients, partly due to significant variations in size, height and proportions among infants and children, and partly because of the need to support ostomy bags of different sizes for infants and small children.

Another problem with the above-mentioned custom-made specialized undergarment is that most patients need to change their garments quite often during their hospital stay.

Thus, change and re-supply of custom-fit undergarments creates additional hospital expenses and complicates hospital procedures.

Furthermore, the additional process of sorting and arranging these undergarments by size, height and weight before and after they are utilized by hospital patients is both inefficient and time consuming, taking time away from hospital personnel and increasing the cost of medical hospital care.

While relatively inexpensive, these devices and support methods have significant drawbacks.

First, uses of belts, slings, velcro or other attachments that directly attach to the patient's body is very uncomfortable, and often create rashes, inflammation and general discomfort for patients that often have other and more serious medical conditions.

Use of simple safety pins is a very dangerous and inefficient method, particularly because they might open, puncture the ostomy bag, or cause injury to the patient.

It also significantly interferes with the quality of life and mobility of ambulatory patients while in the hospital setting and of out-patients.

The use of safety pins also presents a problem of undesired motion of an ostomy bag during patient's movement and emphasizes the need to provide a supporting structure that would keep the ostomy bag safe and secure while in the hospital and out-of-sight after the patient had been released from the hospital.

They also do not wish to tolerate the risk of the ostomy bag separating from the garment and dropping to the ground during movement, particularly in public places.

Images