WO2003049799A1

WO2003049799A1 - Anti kinke

Info

Publication number: WO2003049799A1
Application number: PCT/DK2002/000760
Authority: WO
Inventors: Torsten De Voss
Original assignee: Euromedico Ltd.
Priority date: 2001-11-15
Filing date: 2002-11-14
Publication date: 2003-06-19
Also published as: AU2002354089A1

Abstract

A device (1; 15) serving to prevent a flexible tube (11) from kinking in a bend (12). The device (1; 15) comprises an arcuate brace (2; 16) with at least approximately the same outer radius as the inner radius of the tube bend and at least one hook shaped circular in form (3; 4) extending from either end of the brace (2; 16) at angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees. The hooks (3;4) serve to detachably fasten the device (1;15) to, for example, a medical tube (11) and to prevent the device (1; 15) from being inadvertently dislodged along the tube (11).

Description

ANTI KINKE

The present invention relates to a device to prevent a tube such as a medical infusion tube from kinking in a bend and comprising one predominantly arcuate brace with at least approximately the same outer radius as the inner radius of the tube bend as well as means for fastening the brace detachably to the tube .

During hospitalisation, many hospital patients require administration of often vital infusion liquids via intra- venous drips. It may be crucial to the patient's treatment that the administration of an infusion liquid is not discontinued inadvertently.

By way of example, nutrients such as glucose or proteins are administrable via a drip. However, such nutrients vital to the patient also provide nourishment for any bacteria present, which will rapidly multiply and either block the tube or, in the worst case, develop toxins fatal to the patient .

Accordingly, it is very important to avoid conditions promoting bacterial growth in a medical tube.

If an infusion tube is curved or kinked., a small cavity will appear inside the tube, wherein nourishment may settle and any bacteria present may lodge and multiply.

The device disclosed in US patent 6,001,081 to bend a medical tube is applied to prevent the tube from kinking in the bend and comprises for this purpose two arcuate shells, optionally held together by means of a hinge. Either shell is designed with a groove or a track, serving to take up part of the tube. Either shell is also provided with gripping means for engaging with the corre- sponding shell . The gripping means serve to ensure that the tube is held in place in its forced bend between the shells.

The device thus disclosed may, if the physical conditions allow so, readily be placed around an already inserted infusion tube.

But, when the device is definitively in place, it can only be moved by, for example, forcing the gripping means to disengage. Thereby the gripping means will be more or less damaged, and if the device is reused, there is a risk that subsequently the shells cannot be reliably held together.

If the device is instead moved by sliding it along the extent of the tube, such manipulations may, for example, cause an attached drip cannula to be dislodged or pulled out completely.

The international patent application WO99/56802 discloses a device to support a bend in a tube . The device consists of an inflexible disc having along its outer edge a continuous slidegroove to take up the bend. This prior art device is restricted to modes of administration where it rests against a base. If the device is placed without support, the tube may easily fall out or kink in places where the tube enters and leaves the device since, owing to its weight and extent, the device will tilt on an unsupported tube .

The prior art devices to prevent a tube from kinking must be fastened by means of sticking plaster, tape or sutures and accordingly cannot be placed on a non-fixated section of tube without risking dislodgement of the device.

It is accordingly a first aspect of the present invention to provide a device to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend, said device being, more readily than prior art, detachably mountable arbitrarily on a tube.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a device to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend, said device being more flexible and comfortable for a patient to have touching his/her body.

A further aspect of the invention is to provide a device to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend, said device being inexpensive and simple to manufacture.

For the sake of convenience, the device to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend will hereinafter be referred to as an anti-kink.

The novelty and distinctiveness according to this invention whereby the various aspects of the invention are achieved consist in the fact that the means for detach- ably fastening the brace to the tube comprise at least one hook shaped predominantly circular in form, said hook extending from either end of the brace at an angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees.

If the fastening means are designed as hooks at either end of the brace, the tube may readily and advantageously be held in place on the brace without the tube being squeezed or kinked.

When it is desirable to move the anti-kink to a new position on the tube, the existing bend is pulled slightly away from the brace, whereby the tube can readily and quickly be slid through the gaps of the hooks until the anti-kink is placed in the desired new position on the tube . The fact that there is an opening between the free end of either hook and the adjacent end of the brace makes it especially easy to place the tube on the desired section of the tube. Only a very small section of the tube is re- quired to pass through the opening between the hook and the adj acent end of the brace .

It is particularly appropriate for the opening to have a sufficient size to allow the tube to be inserted into the respective hooks without causing permanent deformation of the tube .

When the tube is placed in the gaps of the hooks, the curved section of the tube will abut on the brace, thereby eliminating the risk that the tube may kink.

Accordingly, it is particularly advantageous > to apply the anti-kink on sections of a tube where the risk that the tube may kink is especially high, and the hooks prevent advantageously the anti-kink from spontaneous dislodgement on the relevant section of the tube.

In a preferred embodiment of an anti-kink according to this invention, the openings of the hooks are shaped on the same side of the brace. This simplifies the task of mounting the anti-kink on the tube.

Alternatively, the openings of the two hooks can be shaped on either side of the brace to obtain further cer- tainty that the anti-kink will not be dislodged on the tube .

The tube is especially easy to mount when either hook forms an obtuse angle with the brace. In addition, an ob- tuse angle prevents the tube from being squeezed by the anti-kink proper. If the tube is to be bent into a U-bend of approximately 90 degrees, either hook can advantageously extend from the brace at an angle of approximately 90 degrees.

This embodiment of the invention is particularly advantageous when applied to a free-hanging section of, for_. example, a drip tube that cannot be fixated or can only be fixated with difficulty.

Tubes that are particularly prone to kinking can be furnished with a required number of anti-kinks according to the invention.

The outer side of the brace may optionally be designed with a groove, said groove having a cross section with predominantly the same radius as the outer radius of the tube. This presents the advantage of the tube being, at least partially, taken up by the groove, thereby providing the best possible prevention against damage of the tube from its being squeezed or pushed against the brace .

For several purposes, at least one side of the brace may suitably be designed with a supporting surface to support the device against a base, such as a hand or an arm. If the anti-kink is, for example, applied to a tube section closely connected with a drip cannula, such a supporting surface will feel more comfortable and allow unrestrained use of the hand or arm into which the drip is cannulated. In addition, the supporting surfaces may advantageously prevent ulceration owing to friction between skin and anti-kink and/or owing to the anti-kink or parts thereof chafing the underlying skin.

If the anti-kink is manufactured from a material that bends without breaking, the brace can be shaped into any required and appropriate kink-free arcuate form, depend- ing on the nature of the tube and the specific requirements at the place of application.

Bends in tubes often constitute bottlenecks wherein bac- terial growth rapidly develops. Accordingly, it is particularly advantageous to manufacture the anti-kink from a transparent material that will allow continuous inspection of the tube.

When, for example, a medical tube is heated to temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, it becomes soft, with enhanced risk of kinking. Accordingly, the anti-kink may advantageously be designed from a material that is deformation-resistant, even at temperatures up to 50 degrees, thereby preventing that the heat of, for example, a highly febrile patient makes the anti-kink so soft as to pose a risk of deformation of the anti-kink with the consequent risk that the tube will kink, anyway.

The invention is explained in detail hereinbelow, where alone examples of embodiments are described by reference to the drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 shows, seen in perspective, a first embodiment ac- cording to the invention of a device to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend

Fig. 2 shows the same, seen from above,

Fig. 3 shows the same, mounted on a medical tube and placed on a hand, and

Fig. 4 shows, seen in perspective, another embodiment according to the invention. The device 1 shown in Fig. 1 to prevent a tube from kinking in a bend will hereinafter be referred to as an anti- kink 1.

The anti-kink 1 consists of an arcuate brace 2 and two hooks shaped circular in form 3,4 on the same side of the brace, said hooks extending from either end of the brace at an angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees .

The hook 3 is designed with an opening 5 extending between the hook 3 ' s free end 6 and the brace 2 ' s adj acent end 7. The hook 4 is designed with a corresponding opening 8 extending between the hook 4 ' s free end 9 and the brace 2's adjacent end 10.

The opening 5 serves to allow an area of a tube not shown to be inserted into the hook 3 , and correspondingly the opening 8 serves to allow an area of the same tube to be inserted into the hook 4 so that during use the tube will rest on the brace 2 and be secured by the hooks 3,4.

As shown in Fig. 1, the hooks 3,4 form obtuse angles, α_x,α₂ respectively, with the brace 2, said hooks 3,4, best shown in Fig. 2, concurrently extending from the brace 2 at an angle, β_1# β₂, of approximately 90 degrees.

The brace shown in Fig. 1 is further designed ^' with a groove 17 shaped on the outer side of the brace and serv- ing to take up a curved section of a tube not shown.

Fig. 3 shows the anti-kink 1 mounted on a U-bend section 12 of a tube 11. As shown in the example, the anti-kink with the attached tube 11 is placed on the wrist 13 of a hand 14. The tube 11 is held detachably fastened to the hand 14 by means of a piece of sticking plaster 20. The embodiment of an anti-kink 15 shown in Fig. 4 is a modification of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and identical members ' are referred to by the same reference numerals .

The anti-kink 15 shown herein has a brace 16 and hooks 3,4 furnished with supporting surfaces 18 and 19 respectively to support the anti-kink 15 against a base during use. Alternatively, the supporting surfaces may extend the full length of the brace.

By way of example, the anti-kink can be made of a transparent plastic material and may, advantageously, carry information about the type of tube for which the anti- kink is designed, to make sure that the anti-kink is always used correctly.

Claims

Patent claims

1. A device (1;15) preventing a flexible tube (11) from kinking in a bend (12) and comprising one predomi- nantly arcuate brace (2; 16) with at least approximately the same outer radius as the inner radius of the tube bend, as well as means (3; 4) for detachably fastening the brace (2;16) to the tube (11), characterised in that the means for detachably fastening the brace (2,-16) to the tube (11) comprise at least one hook shaped predominantly circular in form (3; 4) extending from either end of the brace (2; 16) at an angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees .

2. A device (1;15) as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that, between the free end (6; 9) of either hook (3; 4) and the adjacent end (7; 10) of the brace (2; 16), there is an opening (5; 8) of sufficient size to allow the tube (11) to be inserted into the hook (3;4) via the said opening (5; 8) .

3. A device (1;15) as claimed in claims 1 or 2 characterised in that the openings (5; 8) are found on the same side of the brace (2; 16) .

4. A device 1;15) as claimed in claims 1 or 2 characterised in that the openings (5; 8) are found on either side of the brace (2,-16) .

5. A device (1;15) as claimed in anyone of claims 1-4 characterised in that either hook (3; 4) forms an obtuse angle (α₁;α₂)with the brace (2;16) .

6. A device (1;15) as claimed in anyone of claims 1-5 characterised in that either hook (3; 4) extends outwards from the brace (2; 16) at an angle (β_x;β₂) of approximately 90 degrees.

7. A device (1;15) as claimed in anyone of claims 1-6 characterised in that the outer side of the brace

(2,-16) is designed with a longitudinal groove (17) having a cross section with predominantly the same ra- dius as the outer radius of the tube (11) .

8. A device (1;15) as claimed in anyone of claims 1-7 characterised in that at least one side of the brace

(16) has been designed with a supporting surface (18; 19) to support the device (15) against a base (13) during use .

9. A device (1;15) according to anyone of claims 1-8 characterised in said device being made of a material allowing the brace to be bent into a new permanent form without rupturing.

10. A device (1;15) according to anyone of claims 1- 9 characterised in said device being made of a trans- parent material .

1.0011.007 A device to prevent a flexible tube from kinking. Torsten de Voss, DTI, October 2001

1. First embodiment of anti-kink

2. Arcuate brace

3. First hook on brace 4. Second hook on brace

5. Opening in hook 3 , 4

6. Free end of hook 3

7. Adjacent end 7 of brace 16

8. Opening of hook 4 9. Free end of hook 4

10. Adjacent end of hook 4

^' 11. Tube

12. U-bend section of tube 12

13. Wrist

14. Hand

15. Second embodiment of anti-kink

16. Brace of anti-kink 15

17. Groove of brace 1

18. Supporting surface of hook 3 19. Supporting surface 19 of hook 4