Surgical gown having a fluid guiding channel
A surgical gown includes a body containing a front portion having a first bottom periphery and a back portion extending from each of lateral sides of the front portion and having a second bottom periphery extending from two ends of the first bottom periphery; two sleeves secured to two upper sides of the body respectively; a neck opening defined by upper edges of the body; and an upturned flap extending upwardly from the first bottom periphery of the front portion and at least a portion of the second bottom periphery of the back portion, and affixed to the body at plural points along an upper periphery of the upturned flap such that the upturned flap forms an exterior guiding channel.
This invention relates generally to a surgical gown, in particular to a surgical gown with a fluid guiding channel to be worn by medical personnel during surgical operations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIt is well known that surgical gowns are used for preventing blood or other tissue liquids containing bacteria from splashing to medical personnel, which will cause cross-inflection between the medical personnel and the patients. Accordingly, conventional surgical gowns are designed to reduce the strike-through of body liquids including blood to eliminate the need for repeated laundering and sterilization. However, blood or other tissue liquids containing bacteria has a tendency to run down the outer surfaces of the surgical gowns, frequently wetting the shoes, grounds and unprotected lower portions of the wearer's clothes such as the wearer's trousers, which causes inconvenience to the cleaners of the operation rooms and may cause contaminations to the medical personnel.
Therefore, there exists a need for surgical gowns that are capable of catching body fluids and minimizing the tendency of the body fluids to run off surfaces of the surgical gowns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA primary object of the present invention is to provide a surgical gown with a fluid guiding channel that is capable of catching body fluids. The other object of the present invention includes to provide a surgical gown with a fluid guiding channel that is capable of guiding the caught body fluids to a back of the wearer to prevent cross-infection.
The present invention in one embodiment relates to a surgical gown. The surgical gown mainly contains a body, two sleeves, a neck opening, and an upturned flap. The body contains a front portion having a first bottom periphery and a back portion extends from each of lateral sides of the front portion. The back portion has a second bottom periphery extending from two ends of the first bottom periphery. The two sleeves are secured to two upper sides of the body respectively. The neck opening is defined by upper edges of the body. The upturned flap extends upwardly from the first bottom periphery of the front portion and at least a portion of the second bottom periphery of the back portion, and is affixed to the body at plural points along an upper periphery of the upturned flap such that the upturned flap forms an exterior guiding channel. The present invention in another embodiment relates to a method of manufacturing a surgical gown. The method contains the steps of: providing a body containing a front portion having a first bottom periphery, a back portion extending from each of lateral sides of the front portion and having a second bottom periphery extending from two ends of the first bottom periphery; providing a flap extending from the first bottom periphery of the front portion and at least a portion of the second bottom periphery of the back portion; securing two sleeves to the body at its two upper sides respectively; forming a neck opening at upper edges of the body; upturning the flap; and affixing the flap to the body at plural points along an upper periphery of the flap such that the flap forms an exterior guiding channel.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from ensuing descriptions of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
With reference to
The two sleeves 20 are secured to two upper sides of the body 10 respectively and two elastic cuffs 50 are secured to ends of the two sleeves 20 respectively. The neck opening 30 is defined by upper edges of the body 10 to fit a wearer's neck. The upturned flap 40 extends upwardly from the first bottom periphery 11a of the front portion 11 and a portion of the second bottom periphery 12a of the back portion 12, and is affixed to the body 10 at plural points 42 along an upper periphery 40a of the upturned flap 40 such that the upturned flap 40 forms an exterior guiding channel 70. The upper periphery 40a of the upturned flap 40 is in a shape of arc. In some other embodiments, the upturned flap 40 may extend from full length of the first bottom periphery 11a of the front portion 11 and the second bottom periphery 12a of the back portion 12.
Please refer to
In a preferred embodiment, a flap height between 2.5 to 3 inches is contemplated. It has been determined that a flap height between the aforementioned dimensions is sufficiently stiff to form and maintain a channel for the collection of body fluids. Nevertheless, other flap dimension may work as well. In a preferred embodiment, the flap 40 is affixed to the body 10 at plural points 42 and the distance between the adjacent affixing points 42 is preferably between 8.5 to 9 inches. In fact, the number of the affixing points 42 and the distance between the adjacent affixing points 42 depend on the stiffness of the material used to construct the body 10.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, the front portion 11 and the back portion 12 of the body 10 are both closed such as shown in
Referring to
The invention may also be implemented in other specific modes without departing from the spirit and the essence of the invention. For example, the bonding of the flap to the body can be performed by adhesive, or any other methods. Thus, the above-mentioned embodiments shall be regarded as explanatory but not restrictive. All changes consistent with the meaning and range of the claims and the equivalents shall fall within the scope claimed by the invention.
Claims
1. A surgical gown, comprising:
- a body comprising a front portion having a first bottom periphery and a back portion extending from each of lateral sides of the front portion, the back portion having a second bottom periphery extending from two ends of said first bottom periphery;
- two sleeves secured to two upper sides of said body respectively;
- a neck opening defined by upper edges of said body; and
- an upturned flap extending upwardly from said first bottom periphery of said front portion and at least a portion of said second bottom periphery of said back portion, and affixed to said body at plural points along an upper periphery of said upturned flap such that said upturned flap forms an exterior guiding channel.
2. The surgical gown of claim 1, wherein said surgical gown is made of fluid repellent non-woven fabrics.
3. The surgical gown of claim 2, wherein said upper periphery of said upturned flap is in a shape of upward arc.
4. The surgical gown of claim 3, wherein said exterior guiding channel has two ends, which are lower than a middle portion thereof.
5. The surgical gown of claim 1, wherein said first bottom periphery of said front portion and said second bottom periphery of said back portion together are in an upward arc shape.
6. The surgical gown of claim 1, wherein said front portion is closed and said back portion is opened.
7. The surgical gown of claim 1, wherein said back portion of said body further comprises two ties for conformably securing said surgical gown around the body of a wearer.
8. The surgical gown of claim 7, further comprising two elastic cuffs secured to ends of said two sleeves respectively.
9. The surgical gown of claim 1, wherein said front portion and said back portion are both closed.
10. A method of manufacturing a surgical gown, comprising the steps of:
- providing a body comprising a front portion having a first bottom periphery, a back portion extending from each of lateral sides of the front portion and having a second bottom periphery extending from two ends of said first bottom periphery;
- providing a flap extending from said first bottom periphery of said front portion and at least a portion of said second bottom periphery of said back portion;
- securing two sleeves to said body at its two upper sides respectively;
- forming a neck opening at upper edges of said body;
- upturning said flap; and
- affixing said flap to said body at plural points along an upper periphery of said flap such that said flap forms an exterior guiding channel.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of affixing is made by thermal bonding said flap to said surgical gown by ultrasonic waves.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 17, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 25, 2009
Inventor: Qin Zhu (Simi Valley, CA)
Application Number: 12/213,266
International Classification: A41D 13/04 (20060101); A41D 10/00 (20060101);