FR2798281A1 - HOLDING, SUPPORT, HOLDING OR IMMOBILIZATION DEVICE FOR MEDICAL USE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for medical retention comprising at least a rigid or semirigid supporting part (10) and at least a flexible part (20) made of foam whereof one side is attached to said support part (10) and the other side is designed to be urged in contact with the user. The invention is characterised in that said flexible part (20) made of foam comprises on its surface in contact with said supporting part (10) removable fixing means for easily setting and removing said flexible foam part (20) respectively before and after the device is used, and said surface of the flexible part (20) comprising removable fixing means is coated with a peelable film (25) before it is fixed on said supporting part (10).

Description

The present invention relates to a device for medical use and more particularly to a support, restraint, immobilization or comfort device for medical use.

The devices to which the invention applies can be of various types and include in particular splints, corsets, belts, neck braces, shell mattresses, medical chairs, etc. For reasons of clarity, the following description will be given with reference to a particular use, namely a cervical collar, also called neck brace, but it is understood that the problems posed, as well as the advantages provided by the solution of the invention are identical or similar in other types of devices to which the invention can be applied.

Cervical collars, or neck braces, must meet several requirements which are often difficult to match. Thus, a neck brace must obviously meet the objectives of cervical blocking, must be able to be easily put in place, the safety of the fixation must be guaranteed, it must meet hygiene requirements to avoid any risk of contamination by blood products and / or microbial, and it must be reasonably costly.

To ensure appropriate cervical blockage, which must be all the more rigid when used in trauma, a neck brace must include a support part, also called a shell, which can be made of rigid or semi-rigid material, on which, for for obvious reasons of comfort, a foam part is provided between said support part and the patient's neck. Therefore, there is a hygiene problem, mainly in trauma. Indeed, the foam part does not allow effective decontamination of a soiled neck brace. This hygiene problem, and in particular the contamination of the neck brace with blood or microbes, can be solved by a single-use neck brace. However in this case there is the problem of cost since all of the soiled neck brace is discarded after use. Another solution that has been proposed is to insert the neck brace into a kind of jersey sock, which prevents contamination of the neck brace during use. This solution has a certain advantage in terms of cost but has the major drawback of being irritating to the skin of the user.

The present invention aims to provide a device for medical use, such as a neck brace, which does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks. In particular, the present invention aims to provide such a device for medical use which optimally fulfills all the above requirements, in particular in terms of hygiene and cost.

The present invention also aims to provide such a device for medical use, the use of which is simple and reliable.

The present invention therefore relates to a device for medical use comprising at least one part of rigid or semi-rigid support and at least one flexible foam part, one side of which is fixed to said support part and the other side of which is intended to come into contact with the user, characterized in that said flexible foam part comprises on its surface in contact with said support part removable fixing means allowing easy fitting and removal of said flexible foam part respectively before and after using the device.

Preferably, said support part is for multiple uses, said flexible foam part is for single use. The device of the present invention therefore has the advantage of being able to reuse the plastic support part, the latter being perfectly suitable for cleaning and decontamination after use on the patient, both in the context of trauma and as part of a comfort immobilizer. The interior foam lining is disposable and can be replaced at will and if necessary (soiling, soiling, etc.). The criteria of cost savings and hygiene are therefore both optimally fulfilled.

Advantageously, said flexible part is made of a foam molded at high pressure.

Advantageously, said removable fixing means comprise a repositionable adhesive ensuring a secure fixing, removable by peeling. This solution is advantageous in that it is simple to implement, while ensuring very good resistance of the flexible part on the support part, in particular as regards friction and relative displacements between these two parts, so that the installation and removal by peeling are very easy due to the characteristics of the repositionable adhesive.

Advantageously, said surface of the flexible part comprising the repositionable adhesive is covered with a peelable film before it is fixed to said support part. In this way, the flexible foam parts can be stored separately, the peelable film only being removed when said foam part is intended to be used with a corresponding support part. Advantageously, said flexible part comprises positioning means, such as ribs, to facilitate its fixing to said support part. This further facilitates the positioning of the flexible part on the support part.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the device is a cervical collar, said flexible part being able to be produced with different materials and / or thicknesses depending on the use of said cervical collar.

Advantageously, which said part of the support and / or said flexible part of the cervical collar includes) a precut to allow a tracheostomy.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the device is a splint.

These characteristics and advantages and others of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which - the Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the flexible foam part, with its removable protective film, - Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 showing the protective film during peeling, - Figures 3 and 4 show schematic perspective views of the device of the invention, before the flexible part is put in place on the support part, and - FIG. 5 shows the device, in this case the neck brace, state assembles ready for use.

Referring to the drawings, the device of the invention, in this case a cervical collar or neck brace, comprises two parts, a rigid or semi-rigid support part 10 made of a suitable plastic material, and an interchangeable foam part 20 and disposable after use, coated with a repositionable adhesive itself coated with a protective film The foam (20) is put in place after peeling of the 25 and positioning of the foam 20 in the interior of the shell 10.

In this way, the support part or shell 10 of the neck brace, which is relatively expensive, reusable, because it can be effectively decontaminated from common disinfectants. Of course, it advantageously fulfills all the requirements specific to the neck bands, namely ease of installation and security of the fixation, for example by a Velcro fastener 15, a radiolucency making it possible to perform radios of a patient provided with such a neck brace, and, according to an advantageous variant, it may include a precut tracheostomy opening (not shown) allowing its use in the tracheostomy. Advantageously, this support part 10 of the neck brace can be produced in several sizes to allow it to be adapted to different morphologies of individuals.

The flexible disposable foam part 20 is covered on one side by said repositionable adhesive, and is discarded after each use, which guarantees absolute hygiene. Depending on the use of the neck brace, that is to say a trauma use or a use for rest and cervical support, different types of foam can be used, in particular with different densities. Thus, in a trauma neck brace, the foam will be more rigid, while in a comfort neck brace, the foam will be more flexible. Advantageously, said foam part 20 also fulfills the usual requirements for the neck bands, namely neutrality with respect to the skin and disinfectant products applied to the skin, the absence of latex, radiolucency, and it can also , according to an advantageous variant, include a pre-cut tracheostomy opening (not shown). Likewise, this foam part can be produced in different dimensions to adapt to the different dimensions of the support part.

Advantageously, the foam part 20 is produced by high pressure molding in a closed mold, which provides a skin effect, eliminating any porosity, even the periphery of the foam part.

Advantageously, one can provide on the foam part of the positioning means (not shown), for example ribs or the like, to facilitate the positioning of the foam part 20 on the support part 10. These positioning means can be made on the entire periphery of the foam part only in particular places thereof.

As mentioned previously, the present invention also applies to other devices for medical use, and in particular to splints of various shapes, corsets, belts, shell mattresses, medical chairs, baby scales, etc. In fact, any medical device comprising a rigid or semi-rigid support part and a part in contact with the user, made of foam or the like, can be improved, both in terms of the hygiene criterion and that of the cost, by the present invention.

Claims (1)

 Claims 1.- Device for medical use comprising at least part of rigid or semi-rigid support (10) and at least one flexible part (20) of foam, one side of which is fixed to said support part (10) and the the other side is intended to come into contact with the user, characterized in that said flexible foam part (20) comprises. on its surface in contact with said support part (10), removable fixing means allowing easy fitting and removal of said flexible part (20) foam respectively before and after use of the device. 2.- Device according to claim 1, wherein said support portion (10) is for multiple use and said flexible portion (20) of foam is for single use. 3.- Device according to claim 1 or claim wherein said flexible portion (20) is made of a molded foam at high pressure. 4.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said removable fixing means comprise a repositionable adhesive ensuring secure fixing, removable by peeling. 5.- Device according to claim 4, wherein said surface of the flexible part (20) comprising the repositionable adhesive is covered with a peelable film (25) before being fixed on said support part (10). 6.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said flexible portion (20) comprises positioning means, such as ribs, to facilitate its attachment to said support portion (10). 7 .; Device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the device is a cervical collar, said flexible part (20) being able to be produced with different materials and / or thicknesses depending on the use of said cervical collar. 8.- Device according to claim 7, wherein said portion of the support (10) and / or said flexible portion (20) of the cervical collar include) a precut to allow a tracheostomy. 9.- Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the device is a splint.