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

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 quality of life.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individuals who undergo many types of surgeries are often left with an outside opening or stoma in the skin of their body. This opening is then usually connected to an external drainage device or an ostomy bag for receiving wastes from the body. 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. In addition, the ostomy bag has to be easily accessible to hospital personnel and should be easily removable without taking off the patient's hospital gown.

One group of prior art in this field described many different types of special custom-made garments and undergarments with support structure or structures to support and hold the ostomy bag. 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. In addition, when patients are non-ambulatory, it is often desired and even necessary to move and attach the ostomy bag at different heights or sometimes attach it to different parts of the patient's garment in order to ease the patient's movements, account for the patient's sleeping habits or account for the general discomfort of keeping the ostomy bag in the same location.

Another group of prior art in this field describes many different types of belts, Velcro or other types of closures that tie around or attach directly to the patient's body. Most out-patients utilize such belts or sling-like structures to tie the ostomy bag directly to the patient's leg or torso, particularly for ambulatory or out-patients. Most hospitals utilize simple safety pins to attach an ostomy bag to the patient's hospital garment, while staying in the hospital, or to the out-patient's own clothing. 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. Furthermore, most patients in an ambulatory state, and particularly when they are released from the hospital, feel very self-conscious about exposing their ostomy bag and have a strong desire to maintain a certain level of dignity and quality of life by keeping the ostomy bag out-of-sight in public. 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. Furthermore, both in-hospital and out-patients have a need to be able to place one or more ostomy bags at different locations on their garments.

Accordingly, there is a strong need for a patient-friendly and constraint-free external drainage device receptacle/support structure and attachment that is both cost-effective in production, does not require custom fitting for each patient and can be used effectively in hospital settings, as well as by ambulatory and out-patients. Furthermore, there is a need for an ostomy support structure device that can attach and detach easily to standard hospital gowns and to the personal clothing of out-patients, and at the same time be out-of-sight in public settings and not impede or interfere with the patient's movements. There is also significant need and desire to provide an ostomy holding device or structure that is inexpensive and easily and quickly disposable, when it is exposed to bodily excretions or to other contaminants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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.

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.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a disposable front-loading supporting structure that utilizes inexpensive adhesive materials for secure attachment to a standard hospital garment or an out-patient's clothing, and allows medical personnel easy access and view of the contents of the ostomy bag that is housed in the supporting structure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the hospital garment or an out-patient garment that utilizes an embodiment of the present invention, where the attachable structure that supports and holds an ostomy bag utilizes adhesive backing for attaching the support structure to the garment;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the hospital garment or an out-patient garment that illustrates one feature of the current invention that allows attachment of the ostomy bag supporting structure at different heights or locations on the garment, or can support multiple ostomy bags;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the hospital garment or an out-patient's own clothing that utilizes another embodiment of the present invention, where the attachable structure that supports and holds an ostomy bag utilizes snaps for creating the enclosure for holding the ostomy bag;

FIG. 5 is a front view that illustrates placement and use of an attachable ostomy bag support structure of the present invention on patient's own clothing;

FIG. 6 is a front view that illustrates placement and use of an attachable ostomy bag support structure of the present invention on children garments; and

FIG. 7 is a front view that illustrates placement and use of an attachable ostomy bag support structure of the present invention on infant garments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an inexpensive and fully detachable embodiment of the current invention. It depicts a support structure 130 formed by an outer part 145, an inner part 140 and seams or walls on each side, connecting the outer part 145 to the inner part 140, wherein said surfaces form a front-loading opening 142. An ostomy bag is inserted and secured in the opening 142, between the outer and inner parts 145 and 140. The inner surface 148 of the inner part 140 attaches the support structure to the garment by utilizing a PSA adhesive, plastic adhesive with a peel-off paper layer 147 that exposes the adhesive surface 148 for attaching the support structure to the garment at any desired location, or multiple locations.

This ability of the present invention to safely and securely store the ostomy bag out-of-sight in public serves an important demand and desired function, and improves the patients' quality of life, and particularly that of ambulatory hospital patients and out-patients. The present invention enables a person to become ambulatory with dignity and privacy by allowing the patients to conceal the drainage bag and drainage cord from the outside world. It also allows concealing a single or sometimes multiple ostomy bags that must be worn by a patient. It also adds a sense of security and comfort to the person that has to wear the drainage bag. Furthermore, the support structure of the current invention can have multiple uses, for example, for containing and supporting devices during chemotherapy treatments, feeding tubes, urine catheters and ostomy bags used for multiple medical purposes.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the outer surface of the outer part 145 can be either completely made of clear and transparent plastic, some semi-transparent material or have a transparent window as part of its surface, for easy visibility and access by medical staff or the patient. The outer surface of the outer part 145 could also be made of red plastic, to indicate and facilitate disposal of the drainage bags containing biohazardous materials. It could also be made from non-woven polypropylene fabric or cotton, to facilitate moisture absorption.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the ostomy support structure according to the current invention. It shows a hospital garment or out-patient garment 200 having an outer layer 205, an inner layer 210 and a plurality of closures 220A and 220B. The closures may consist of ties, as shown in FIG. 2, or any other types of common closures, such as buttons, hooks, clips or other common closures used in garments. It depicts the supporting structure 230, formed by an outer part 245 and inner part 240, which holds and supports an ostomy bag 280. This supporting structure can be attached to a hospital garment or an out-patient garment 200 either on the inside surface, to keep the ostomy bag out-of-sight when the patient is ambulatory, or on the outside surface, for easy access by hospital personnel. FIG. 2 also depicts an ostomy tubing 290 that connects the stoma to the ostomy bag and at least one safety loop 270 or VELCRO strap that holds the tubing 290 in place and prevents undesirable shifting during movement. The support structure shown in FIG. 2 is preferably attachable to the garment via pressure sensitive (PSA) adhesive, and can be placed at any height, level or location on the garment. It allows use of the same support structure to safely and securely support the ostomy bag for any patient, regardless of his or her height, weight, age, gender or body proportions. The outer part 245 of the support structure 230 is preferably made of clear plastic or some semi-transparent material, to enable hospital staff to see inside the structure and monitor content and condition of the ostomy bag. In an alternative embodiment, the surface that attaches the support structure 230 to the garment utilizes plastic adhesive material, while the front part 245 is preferably made of non-woven polypropylene fabric. In yet another embodiment, the outer part 245 of the support structure 230 is made of red colored plastic material, or has a hazardous materials indicator. Because the materials used with the support structure of the current invention are very inexpensive and can be easily and quickly detached from the garment, the whole structure can be removed and disposed of with the ostomy bag, without incurring significant expense. The disposable version of the current invention is particularly necessary and needed for out-patients or when the patient undergoes chemotherapy and the content of the ostomy bag contains hazardous chemicals and waste materials.

FIG. 3 illustrates placement of multiple support structures 330A and 330B according to the current invention, placed at different locations on the inside surface 310 of the garment 300, which could be either a standard hospital garment or out-patient's own clothing. It also demonstrates how the support structures of the current invention can support one or more ostomy bags 380 and ostomy tubing 390, the latter held safely in place by one or more safety loops 370, to prevents undesirable shifting during patient's movement. As shown in FIG. 3, the multiple support structures 330A and 330B are preferably placed on the inside surface 310 of the garment 300.

FIG. 4 illustrates use of a typical hospital garment or an out-patient garment with one embodiment of the present invention. It shows a hospital garment or out-patient garment 400 having an outer layer 405, an inner layer 410 and a plurality of closures 420A and 420B. The closures may consist of ties, as shown in FIG. 4, or any other types of common closures, such as buttons, hooks, clips or other common closures used in garments. The attachable ostomy bag support structure 430 is preferably attached to the lower section of the inner layer 410 of the garment 400. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the support structure 430 consists of two parts, 440 and 445, where part 440 attaches to the inner layer 410, and the second part 445 of the support structure forms an enclosure for the ostomy bag by attaching to the first part 440 via snaps 460 and 450, located on each respective part of the support structure. The snaps 460 and 450 are preferably arranged on the side of each respective support structure, and are configured in such a manner that the enclosure for an ostomy bag that is formed by snapping the respective snaps 460 and 450 in place can vary in height. This is accomplished in this embodiment by connecting different corresponding sets of clipping snaps on the outer and inner parts 440 and 445.

The outer part 440 can be permanently attached to the inner part 430 at the lower boundary, joining two parts together. In an alternative embodiment, the inner part 440 can be attached and detached to and from the garment via snaps, or can be attached to the inner garment layer 410 by the pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). It can also utilize other methods and devices for secure attachment of the inner part 440 at different levels or locations on the garment, including without limitation VELCRO, iron-on-tape, buttons, hooks or other attachment methods for hospital and patient's own garments.

FIG. 5 illustrates use of one embodiment of the present invention with an out-patient garment 500. The out-patient garment could be, for example, a pair of pants 505, to which the support structure 530 of the current invention can be attached at any desired location or height. The ostomy bag 580 is placed in the opening formed by the inner and outer layers 540 and 545 of the support structure 530. The tubing 590, leading to the stoma, is attached to the ostomy bag 580.

FIG. 6 illustrates use of one embodiment of the present invention with a typical child's garment 600. Because of significant variations in size among children of different ages, the use of the support structure 630 of the present invention is particularly efficient and beneficial. It allows placement of different-size support structures at different locations or height levels on the garment, depending on child's age, height and body proportions, and can support one or more ostomy bags 680 and ostomy tubing 690, placed within one or more support structures 630.

FIG. 7 illustrates use of one embodiment of the present invention with a typical infant garment 700. Preferably, the support structure 730, used for infants is smaller in size because it is intended to hold a smaller ostomy bag 780 and shorter ostomy tubing 790. The support structure 730 of the present invention is particularly suited for use with infant garments because of the ease of attachment and detachment, as well as the ability to place the support structure at different locations on the infant's garment and thereby ensure proper care.

The above embodiments of the current invention also allow quick and easy placement and removal of the support structure from any standard hospital garment or patient's own garment. They do not require any cumbersome belts, slings or other attachments directly to the patient's body, which cause rashes, irritation and general discomfort for many patients. Unlike belts and other support attachments that directly connect to the patient's body, the current invention does not produce discomfort or pose a risk due to loosening of the belt or other support means during movement,

The above embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the invention. They are not intended to be exclusive, exhaustive or limiting on the scope of the invention described and claimed herein. Other variations could be used and applied by a person skilled in the art without deviating from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A structure for attaching to a garment and supporting an external drainage device comprising:

an attachable support structure having an inner and outer parts for forming said attachable support structure and at least one opening for housing and supporting the external drainage device, wherein the inside surface of the inner part of said support structure can be attached at any location on the garment to securely store the external drainage device.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said attachable support structure is placed on any standard hospital garment or patient's own clothing, without any extensive alterations or adjustments for height, weight, age, gender or body proportions of the patient.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA).

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using high tack tape-like removable material.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using iron-on-tape connection.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein said support structure attaches to the garment using a plurality of hooks, connecting said garment and said support structure.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using Velcro.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using a plurality of snaps located on the garment and said inside surface.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein at least part of said outside surface of the outer part of said support structure is made of at least partially transparent material, whereby allowing medical staff to view and monitor the content of an external drainage device placed in said support structure.

10. A structure for attaching to a garment and supporting an external drainage device comprising:

an attachable support structure having an inner and outer parts for forming said attachable support structure and at least one opening for housing and supporting the external drainage device, wherein said inner and outer parts of said support structure are connected to each other by a plurality of corresponding snaps and allowing to vary the height of the formed support structure by using different sets of connecting snaps for connecting said inner and outer parts.

11. A garment comprising:

at least one attachable and detachable support structure having an inner and outer parts for forming said attachable support structure and at least one opening for housing and supporting at least one external drainage device, wherein the inside surface of the inner part of said support structure can be attached at any location on the garment to securely store said at least one external drainage device.

12. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said attachable support structure attaches to the hospital garment without any extensive alterations or adjustments for height, weight, age, gender or body proportions of the patient.

13. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said support structure attaches to the patient's own clothing without any extensive alterations or adjustments for height, weight, age, gender or body proportions of the patient.

14. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA).

15. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using high tack tape-like removable material.

16. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using iron-on-tape connection.

17. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said support structure attaches to the garment using a plurality of hooks, connecting said garment and said support structure.

18. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using Velcro.

19. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said inside surface of the inner part of said support structure attaches to the garment using a plurality of snaps located on the garment and said inside surface.

20. A garment according to claim 11, wherein at least part of said outside surface of the outer part of said support structure is made of at least partially transparent material, whereby allowing medical staff to view and monitor the content of an external drainage device placed in said support structure.