Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Patent
1987-06-29
1989-03-21
Yasko, John D.
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
A61J 700
Patent
active
048139335
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for administering oral fluids.
The monitoring of an adequate intake of fluids is vital to the care of all who are ill or who, because of physical or mental disability, have an impaired ability to drink normally. Individual feeding of such patients is time consuming and imposes a great strain on nursing resources. Alternative methods of administering fluids are intravenous and nasal tubes and such alternatives may be used inappropriately because of lack of a suitable system or facility for the administration of oral feeds.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,934 describes an infant feeding device in which a teat is connected by a tube to an inverted feeding bottle. The infant can grasp the teat at will and place it in his or her mouth. The teat protrudes from a rigid disc which is too large to enter the infant's mouth, so avoiding any risk of the infant swallowing the teat. In the case of invalids, such an arrangement would not be satisfactory as the patient may not be able to place a feeder in his or her mouth or even may be of a mind to reject the feeder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a device for administering oral fluid to a patient comprises a nipple, mouthpiece shaped to be received between the lips and the teeth or gums of the patient to hold the nipple in the patient's mouth, a container for the oral fluid and a tube leading from the container to the nipple.
Normally, the container will be supported, preferably on a stand, at a level slightly above the patient's head, so that the oral fluid will be delivered to the nipple under gravity. The nipple or the tube preferably contains a valve to prevent the fluid from flowing freely out of the nipple. Such valve may be operable by the patient by the application of suction to the nipple and/or by manipulation by the patient, e.g. by tongue pressure.
Preferably, the mouthpiece is soft and is adapted to be received between the lips and the gums. It is of such a design that it can be retained by the dentulous, the edentulous or by a patient wearing dentures. Advantageously, the mouthpiece is recticulate or otherwise air pervious so that the mouthpiece does not impede mouth breathing.
It is recommended that the nipple should be positioned on the mouthpiece such that the nipple will lie on the tongue to stimulate a sucking action by the patient.
Conveniently, the container is closed by a rubber diaphragm which can be pierced by a hollow non-coring needle on the inlet end of the tube and which is selfresealing so that the hollow needle can be withdrawn and re-inserted several times, rather like the closure of a conventional blood transfusion or intravenous feed supply. This enables the tube to be disconnected, when not in use, and to be flushed with a suitable disinfectant, such as a mouthwash liquid.
Preferably, the stand incorporates a receptacle to receive a disinfectant, such as mouthwash liquid, in which the mouthpiece can be placed when not in use.
The container may have a closeable top to enable it to be filled just before use or to be re-filled, if desired. Alternatively, the container could be a pre-pack.
The device of the invention would normally be disposable. In many cases it would be discarded no longer than twentyfour hours after first being put in use, but would be used several times within this period, the mouthpiece being immersed in disinfectant when not in use and the tube being flushed with disinfectant between periods of use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of a device for administering oral fluid in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device on a stand, when not in use.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The device shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings comprises a soft mouthpiece 10 which is designed to be retained betwee
REFERENCES:
patent: 2589504 (1952-03-01), Miller
patent: 2653609 (1953-09-01), Smith
patent: 3165241 (1965-01-01), Curry
patent: 3187746 (1965-06-01), Gerber
patent: 3587934 (1971-06-01), Elmore
patent: 3669101 (1972-06-01), Kleiner
patent: 3995796 (1976-12-01), Kline
patent: 4114847 (1978-09-01), Bogensberger
patent: 4301934 (1981-11-01), Forestal
Kruter J. L.
National Research Development Corporation
Yasko John D.
LandOfFree
Oral feeding appliance does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Oral feeding appliance, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Oral feeding appliance will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-474511