Self-Disinfecting Protective Garment

Abstract

A self-disinfecting personal protective garment comprises a plurality of pockets covered by a porous external layer. Each pocket contains (or can be filled with) a disinfecting solution. Applying compression to the flexible chamber of the pocket (such as by inflation of adjacent inflatable chambers) causes pressurization of the disinfecting solution and forces the solution to flow from the pockets across and through the porous external layer and ultimately to spread over the external surface of the protective garment—so as to eradicate the pathogens on the surface and disinfect the protective garment. Also described is a conversion kit configured to add a self-disinfecting feature to a conventional protective garment. The protective garment of the invention may be used by healthcare workers treating Ebola patients or patients with other highly contagious infections—to extend the time of garment usage, simplify garment removal procedure and increase their personal safety.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to personal protective apparel. More particularly, the invention describes a self-disinfecting protective garment, which can be used by healthcare worker when treating patients with communicable diseases.[0002]Medical professionals frequently interact with patients who have communicable diseases. When treating such patients, the medical professional must take care not to become infected or ill due to the microorganisms or pathogens related to the disease. This is frequently accomplished by donning a medical gown and gloves. If the pathogen is particularly aggressive or life-threatening, additional protective equipment may be used such as hazmat suites, coveralls, masks, head covers, aprons, etc, cumulatively referred hereto as “protective garments”.[0003]Currently unfolding Ebola crisis in West Africa is a vivid and unfortunate example of the inadequacy of current pathogen control protective garments. World Hea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a new type of protective garment that can be worn for a longer time than previous versions. It has several advantages, including being self-disinfecting, easy to put on and take off, and providing a visual indicator of disinfection. The garment can also be used with various additives, such as coloring agents to ensure proper coverage and evaporating solutions for cooling. Overall, the invention improves safety and hygiene for users, and can be tailored to different needs and preferences.

Problems solved by technology

Beyond the Ebola crisis, various other aggressive infections and drug-resistant pathogens represent a significant public health problem, which can affect individuals at work, at home, and even in the hospital.

SARS, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), influenza and other pathogens are currently circumventing our traditional approaches to pathogen control, and challenging our capacity to innovate new technical solutions.

Existing disposable protective garments have a number of serious limitations.

First of all, they have limited time of use.

It is recommended to change the protective garment after only 30-60 minutes of using thereof, otherwise protection of the healthcare worker may be compromised.

Such frequent exchange of protective garments increases the chance of contamination by frequent handling of soiled garments, as well as increases the cost of treating patients.

Secondly, donning and removal of the protective garment is a complicated procedure requiring extensive training.

A simple misstep by either one of them may also cause inadvertent contamination and expose that healthcare worker to the pathogen.

Another limitation of the current protective garments is that it gets to be very hot inside for the healthcare worker who wears the garment.

Uncomfortable conditions may increase the risk of making a mistake while treating patients and the risk of exposure to the virus.

Finally, there is a risk of cross-contamination by the healthcare worker of the next patient if the previous patient was indeed infected with the virus and the doctor for some reason did not change the protective garment between the patients.

However, for these fabrics the 3-log kill rates for vegetative pathogens are in the range of 1-24 hours, and many, if not most, of these current designs have little or no effect on pathogens like the Ebola virus.

Therefore, while these fabrics may be useful for other purposes, they are not effective for the purposes outlined above.

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