Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Surgical mask

a mask and surgical technology, applied in the field of surgical masks, can solve the problems of reducing the potential for reuse of masks, and achieve the effects of reducing or eliminating fogging of eyewear, improving comfort, and facilitating proper use of masks

Inactive Publication Date: 2011-11-10
ALLEGIANCE CORP
View PDF14 Cites 21 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The invention relates to a surgical mask that provides a wearer with improved comfort, facilitates proper use of the mask, and reduces or eliminates fogging of eyewear, as compared with typical masks. The mask also provides a wide range of wearers with a good fit.
[0012]The mask may include a single pair of ties, or alternatively a single strap, that is attached to the upper, central, and lower parts of either side of the body of the mask in conjunction with one or more pairs of flexible restraint members. The restraint members are attached to or integral with the body of the mask at or adjacent to the sides of the body of the mask. The ties and restraint members may orient the upper, central, and lower parts of the mask to the corresponding portions of a wearer's face. The ties and restraint members allow the mask to be donned easily and assist a wearer in complying with protocol. Further, this configuration reduces the potential for reuse of a mask. The location of the ties and restraint members also allow the mask to fit wearers of a wide range of shapes and sizes.
[0013]In some embodiments, the mask may include a sealing member that is attached to or is integral with the upper part of the mask so as to be in contact with the wearer's nose and cheeks in use. This sealing member reduces or eliminates any gaps between the wearer's face and the upper part of the mask by forming a seal between the wearer's face and the mask. Preferably, the sealing member, alone or in conjunction with the upper part of the mask, forms at least one pocket that exhibits low vapor transmission or, more preferably, vapor impermeability, from the wearer's face through the upper part of the mask. This configuration reduces or eliminates vapor from the wearer's exhaled breath from escaping from the upper part of the mask and fogging the wearer's eyewear. The sealing member is preferably soft and flexible to provide comfort and adjustability to the wearer.
[0014]In some embodiments, the mask may include one or more barrier panels that are joined to or integral with the mask. The one or more barrier panels form a barrier that reduces or eliminates the wearer's breath from escaping through the body of the mask and rising and fogging the wearer's eyewear. For example, if the one or more barrier panels are positioned at the upper part of the body of the mask, the one or more barrier panels preferably direct the wearer's breath toward the central and lower parts of the mask so that it may escape through the body of the mask and / or out from the sides.

Problems solved by technology

Further, this configuration reduces the potential for reuse of a mask.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Surgical mask
  • Surgical mask
  • Surgical mask

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

experimental 1

[0090

[0091]The ability of the mask of the invention to prevent fogging of a wearer's eyewear and to restrict movement on a wearer's face as compared to three other masks that are commonly used by medical professionals was tested on a group of thirty random participants. The mask tested was similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, which includes sleeves as reinforcement members, and one set of ties. The mask also included a sealing member with two pockets similar to that shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b.

[0092]The commonly-used masks tested were the Cardinal Health Secure-Gard® Fluid Resistant Surgical Mask with Fog-Free Strip mask (Ref. AT74535), the Kimberly-Clark TECNOL® FLUIDSHIELD® Fog-Free Surgical Mask (Ref. 48207), and the 3M High Fluid Resistant Surgical Mask (Ref. 1835). Any markings on the masks, such as manufacturer names, that may allow a participant to identify one of the tested masks were covered by the moderators prior to testing.

[0093]All four of the masks tested ha...

experimental 2

[0106

[0107]The fit and comfort of a mask of the invention was tested on a group of 12 participants. The mask used was similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, which includes loops as restraint members.

[0108]The moderators first asked the participants a series of questions about the type of mask they currently wear at work, whether they wear eyewear, and whether they experience any fogging of eyewear while wearing the current mask. If the participant experienced fogging of eyewear, the participant was asked how they typically reduce or prevent the fogging. These responses included, for example, moving the glasses and lifting the mask, and taping or adjusting the nose wire.

[0109]The moderators then measured the facial width, facial length, nose length, and nose protuberance, or how far the nose protrudes from the face, of each participant. The facial widths ranged from about 10.6 cm to about 15 cm, the facial lengths ranged from about 9.5 cm to about 13.9 cm, the nose lengths...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

A surgical mask provides a wide range of wearers with a good fit and improved comfort, facilitates proper use of the mask, and reduces or eliminates fogging of eyewear, as compared with typical masks. The mask may include a pair of ties that are joined to the upper, central, and lower parts of either side of the body of the mask with the assistance of restraint members. The mask may also include a sealing member that reduces or eliminates gaps between the wearer's face and the upper part of the mask by forming a seal between the wearer's face and the mask in use. In addition, the mask may include a barrier panel that reduces or prevents the wearer's breath from escaping through the mask and rising to the wearer's eyewear.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 332,536 titled “Surgical Mask” filed May 7, 2010. The related application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to a surgical mask that provides a wide range of wearers with a good fit and comfort, while facilitating proper use of the mask and reducing fogging of the wearer's eyewear.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Medical professionals wear surgical masks to prevent contamination of a patient's surgical or wound site with the wearer's nasal and oral bacteria that may result from the wearer talking, sneezing, or coughing during a medical procedure, such as surgery. Surgical masks also protect the wearer's mouth, nose and mucosa from contacting splashes or sprays of the patient's blood or other body fluids and from airborne microorganisms.[0004]Typical masks include a body that covers the nose and mouth of the wea...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): A41D13/11
CPCA41D13/1115A41D13/1161A41D13/1169A41D31/102A41D31/12
Inventor PALOMO, JOSEPHCARROLL, STEPHANIEWEGENER, SARAAGUILAR, CHRISTOPHERMILLER, JOE
Owner ALLEGIANCE CORP
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com