Medical Garment and Method
A medical garment is provided for use with children patients during and following intravenous medical therapies and method for using the same. The garment includes fabric fitted for the upper torso of a patient with an easily detachable flap exposing an access opening located over the chest area to allow care providers with easy access to medical ports implanted in the patient's chest where most such ports are located for pediatric patients. An storage pocket is positioned inside and adjacent to the opening for easy, safe and discreet storage of tubing and small medical devices. The exterior surfaces of the flap and/or interior surfaces of the pocket may include ornamentation and/or design elements appropriate for children's clothing. The garment is designed to look like a regular piece of children's clothing which is comfortable for children to wear and which helps restore a feeling of normalcy to a child patient.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/813,837 filed 2013 Apr. 19.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThe present invention relates to medical garments, and more particularly to medical garments designed to meet the needs of children receiving medical therapies via implanted medical devices.
BACKGROUNDCurrent methods for providing medical treatment to children having cancer (and other serious medical conditions) regularly involve placement of intravenous access ports (and/or tubes) at the central chest area of the child patient. Chemotherapy, for example, is commonly administered through a central line, implantable port or PICC line inserted into the chest area below the collar bone. These ports (or tubes) may stay in place for some months or, in some cases, years and must be accessed regularly for administration of therapy and for cleaning. They can be used for a variety of medical purposes such as taking blood and administering medicines. While they are generally beneficial in allowing access to the body without having to insert a needle into the patient each time, they entail some difficulty and discomfort to the caregiver and patient.
Garments worn by children patients during intravenous treatment must allow easy access to the ports so caregivers may administer treatment, take blood and keep the ports clean. As treatment can be time consuming, physically uncomfortable and emotionally difficult, especially for children, special attention needs to be paid to make sure the child is as comfortable as possible without impeding access and/or disturbing the ports or the tubing attached thereto. The garments must provide warmth without being too tight or otherwise require constant removal or repositioning on the patient. Normal children's clothing is generally unsuitable for treatment because it doesn't provide adequate access to the chest area, would disturb the ports, or would otherwise need to be removed during therapy and put back on following therapy. Thus, children patients are generally given standard prior art loose fitting medical garments (such as gowns with openings at the back) to wear during treatment.
Unfortunately, standard prior art medical garments (such as gowns) are woefully inadequate for children patients receiving intravenous treatments (such as chemotherapy) because they do not meet the physical or psychological needs of the child during and post treatment. Prior art gowns, for example, are opened at the back and must be folded over or otherwise partially removed to expose the chest area during treatment. Being exposed to a chilly hospital environment is discomforting to a sick child. The prior art garments fail to adequately accommodate loose tubing and other connective apparatus which is often left dangling from the ports or otherwise tied to the child thus severely limiting the child's ability to reposition or move without affecting the port connections. This can be uncomfortable and distressing to the child. And, it could be life threatening if a tube is dislodged. Importantly, prior art medical garments do nothing to comfort the child's anxiety or help the child feel a sense of normalcy during or post treatment. Instead, prior art medical garments serve to remind the child (and signal to others) that he/she is receiving medical treatment for a serious and often life threatening medical condition. Post treatment, children having intravenous ports are limited as to what they wear because normal clothing is too tight and disturbs the ports and/or fails to adequately conceal them. Child patients often feel stigmatized by their condition and try to hide their condition for fear they may be judged or excluded by others. They want to wear comfortable clothing that helps them look and feel like a normal child both during and following treatment.
There is therefore a need for a garment which allows for easy access to the chest area by care providers, provides inconspicuous storage locations for tubing and other small medical apparatus, prevents trauma or dislodgment of the tubing and ports, and which quickly converts to a garment that looks like a normal piece of children's clothing.
SUMMARY OF INVENTIONIn accordance with the invention, the problem of providing appropriate access to the patient's chest area, inconspicuous storage for ports, tubes and small medical apparatus, and providing a child patient with a sense of normalcy is solved by a garment designed to look like a normal piece of children's clothing having an opening at the chest area adequate to provide easy access to implanted ports, tubing and small medical apparatus by care providers, an easily detachable flap with design and ornamentation consistent with normal everyday children's clothing covering the opening, and an inconspicuous interior storage pocket for storage of tubes and other small medical apparatus.
The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of a medical garment embodying the principles of the present invention only and are not for purposes of limiting the same.
The preferred embodiment of the medical garment is shown in the shape of a t-shirt. It should be understood, however, that alternative embodiments of the present invention may be in the form of any torso-covering garment having a front, a back, and two sides with arm holes. For example, alternative embodiments of the garment may be in the shape of a shirt, a dress, a sweatshirt, a jacket or any other garment which covers the torso of the patient.
The access opening 14 shown in
The preferred embodiment of the flap 24 shown in
The edges of the flap 24 shown in
One will note that alternative embodiments of the garment may have one or more access openings 14 of a different shape than the corresponding flaps 24 intended to cover them. For example the access opening 14 may be round whereas the flap 24 covering it may be rectangular or vice versa. A variety of configurations of access openings 14 and flaps 24 located over the central chest region of the torso are possible as long as the flaps are of size and position to adequately cover the openings and to allow easy access by care providers to the ports and tubes emanating from the central chest area of the patient 12.
The storage pocket 34 shown in
The storage pocket 34 shown in
The preferred embodiment of the garment shown in
A method for using the garment includes wearing the garment such that the flap is located on or immediately adjacent to tubing, ports or other locations requiring access for administration of medical care. When access is desired, the flap is open and folded away from the opening. Excess tubing may be stored in the storage pocket. When access is not needed, the flap is closed using the temporary closure mechanisms.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment in the shape and form of a t-shirt and having a rectangular flap and rounded interior storage pocket. However, alternative embodiments may include any form of clothing designed to cover a person's torso and chest area including but not limited to a dress, sweatshirt, long-sleeve shirt, or poncho. The invention has also been described specifically for use by children and utilizing ornamentation that is typical of children's clothing. However, the invention may be used effectively with adult patients and utilize ornamentation and other design elements typical to adult clothing. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding this specification. It is intended by the application to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they are within the claims or the equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A medical garment preferably for use with children and for providing easy access to implanted ports, catheters and/or tubing used for administration of fluids and/or medication, the garment comprising:
- a garment body configured for covering the torso, the body having front, back and sides with openings for arms and defining exterior and interior surfaces;
- one more openings at the front side configured for providing easy access to ports, catheters, and/or tubing implanted at the chest region of the patient;
- one or more flaps for covering the one or more openings, each flap having and exterior and interior surface and two or more adjacent sides attachable with the exterior surface of the front side of the garment body;
- one or more storage pockets for storing excess tubing and other small medical apparatus at a location easily accessible to care providers by accessing through the one or more openings;
- wherein each of the one or more storage pockets has an opening, front and back exterior surfaces and front and back interior surfaces; and
- wherein at least one of the one or more storage pockets is located immediately adjacent to the one or more openings at the interior surface of the garment body;
2. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more adjacent sides of the one or more flaps is fixedly attached to the garment body and the remaining flap sides are removably attachable to the garment body such that the one or more openings are covered when the removably attachable flap sides are attached.
3. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the one or more adjacent sides of the one or more flaps is removably attachable to the garment body along the corresponding edges of the one or more openings.
4. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein one or more flaps is comprised of a piece of material folded over and fixedly attached to one another to form a front side and a back side.
5. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the front side of the one or more flaps has design ornamentation consistent with that of children's clothing.
6. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the back side of the one or more flaps has design ornamentation consistent with that of children's clothing.
7. The medical garment of claim 4 wherein the back side of the one or more flaps is removably attachable to the exterior surface of the garment body along two or more sides of the one or more openings.
8. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the one or more storage pockets are comprised of a piece of material folded over and fixedly attached at opposite sides to define a pocket with top pocket opening, closed sides and bottom and having front and back exterior surfaces and front and back interior surfaces.
9. The medical garment of claim 8 wherein the edge along the front side of the one or more storage pocket openings is fixedly attached to the interior surface of the garment body below the one or more openings.
10. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the one or more storage pockets is fixedly attached to the interior surface at the front side of the garment body along the bottom most edge of the one or more openings.
11. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the one or more storage pockets is removably attached to the interior surface at the front side of the garment body.
12. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein one or more interior surfaces of the one or more storage pockets has design ornamentation consistent with that of children's clothing.
13. A method for using the garment of claim 1 comprising the steps of
- positioning a garment having one or more access openings, one or more flaps and one or more storage pockets on a patient such that the one or more access openings are located at the patient's chest region having implanted port, catheter and/or tubing;
- storing excess tubing and/or medical apparatus needed for treatment in one or more storage pockets located immediately adjacent to the one or more access opening as needed; and
- covering the one or more access openings by attaching one or more flaps over one or more access openings.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 16, 2014
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2014
Inventors: Maria Hudak (Napa, CA), Bruce Brown (Napa, CA)
Application Number: 14/254,547