Surgery – Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants – Head or face protector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-03
2001-10-30
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Surgery
Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants
Head or face protector
C002S447000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308711
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to protective eye devices for patients receiving oral treatment, and more specifically to eye protectors for dental patients.
2. Description of Related Art
Patients receiving oral treatment often expose their eyes to harm. Whether the treatment is dental, orthodontic or surgical, treating physicians often work with highly sharp objects that require precision handling. A slight mishandling of a sharp instrument may cause permanent eye damage to the patient.
In addition to handling sharp objects, oral physicians typically work with a variety of materials and chemicals, all of which are handled within inches of the exposed eyes of a patient. For example, orthodontists commonly handle metals wires, brackets, and epoxy. Dentists often apply chemicals to the mouth. If spilled such chemicals can easily reach the eyes and cause severe damage. Even a routine dental cleaning involves many procedures, such as scrubbing with a brush and suctioning with a tube, that can cause fluids and other debris to splatter into the patient's eyes.
Despite these hazards, practitioners commonly do not require or even invite their patients to wear some type of protective device. This also makes the practitioner's job more difficult and stressful as he or she must exercise extreme care and precision in handling instruments, materials and chemicals. Practitioners also subject themselves and their businesses to potential liability resulting from lack of protection for the patient's eyes.
The prior art includes protective eye devices which are heavy and bulky and consequently uncomfortable for the patient. Furthermore, prior art devices are expensive to manufacture and, thus, are not disposable. This leaves patients exposed to infection from contaminated eye devices which have been used repeatedly.
Representative of this art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,119 (Guerrant), which discloses a frame with a shield and a strap secured to the frame at substantially the same level as the inferior apex of the frame. A slight horizontal distance is shown between the wearer's forehead and the superior rim of the frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a structure and associated method are disclosed which overcome these deficiencies in protecting the eyes of a patient receiving oral treatment. Though the preferred embodiment is a protective eye device for a dental patient, the invention may apply to different types of patients receiving varying oral treatment.
Structurally, the invention is a protective eye device adapted to be worn by a dental patient having a head and a face with eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a forehead. The protective eye device comprises an eye shield and a retaining member. The eye shield, or eyepiece, has an upper rim and a lower rim with bridge portions and attachment portions disposed between the upper and lower rim. The lower rim is adapted to form a seal, or establishes a sealing relationship, with the face of the patient. More specifically, the lower rim is configured to form a seal with a middle surface of the patient's face between the eyes and the mouth.
The bridge portions of the eye shield are disposed centrally of the eye shield, and are adapted to form a seal with the nose of the patient. The attachment portions of the eye shield are disposed outwardly and downwardly from the bridge portion. With this configuration, the bridge portions function as a pivot or fulcrum, with the attachment portions of the eye shield disposed below the fulcrum, and the upper portions of the eye shield disposed above the fulcrum.
The retaining member is coupled to the attachment portions of the eye shield in proximity to the lower rim and below the bridge portions. When the eye protector is operatively disposed on the face of the patient, tension on the retaining member initiates a lever action. As the attachment portions are drawn against the face of the patient, the eye shield tends to pivot on the fulcrum facilitating a sealing relationship between the lower rim and the face of the patient, while facilitating a spatial relationship between the upper rim and the face of the patient. This spatial relationship creates a gap between the forehead and the upper portions of the eye shield. The retaining member may be a strap, or a pair of arms with hooks adapted to secured behind the ears of the patient.
As a result of the retaining member being secured to attachment portions of the eye shield which are below the fulcrum, tension on the retaining member pulls the attachment points toward the face such that the upper portions of the eye shield extend away from the face. The eye protective device may include a cushion disposed along the lower rim of the eye shield to facilitate formation of the seal.
The eye shield may be sterilized and adapted to be disposable after a single usage. The eye shield may comprise a rigid material or a flexible material. If the eye shield is made of a flexible material, such as flexible thin plastic, tension on the retaining member will also pull a left side and a right side of the eye shield against the head and around the eyes of the patient.
The invention may simply include the eyepiece, or eye shield, alone. The eyepiece has an upper rim adapted to be operatively disposed in a spatial relationship with the face, and a lower rim adapted to operatively disposed in a sealing relationship with a middle surface of the face between the eyes and the mouth. The lower rim has a nose portion adapted to be secured against the nose. The eyepiece further comprises at least one attachment point for a retaining member, the attachment point being disposed below the nose portion of the lower rim such that the nose portion functions as a fulcrum between the lower rim and the upper rim. The upper rim is spaced apart and away from the forehead. The lower rim further comprises outer portions disposed outwardly and downwardly from the nose portion. In an operative position, the outer portions of the lower rim are curved toward and against the face. The eyepiece may comprise a flexible material or a rigid material. The eyepiece has a horizontal radius of curvature that increases from the lower rim to the upper rim.
The invention also includes a method for shielding the eyes of a face, the face having a nose, a forehead, and a mouth. The method comprises the steps of providing an eyepiece having an upper rim, a lower rim, bridge portions disposed centrally and between the upper rim and the lower rim, upper portions disposed above the bridge portions, and bottom portions disposed below the bridge portions; sealing a middle surface of the face between the eyes and the mouth with the lower rim of the eyepiece; coupling a retaining member to the bottom portions of the eyepiece; and pivoting the eyepiece at the bridge portions by moving the bottom portions of the eyepiece toward the face while moving the upper portions of the eyepiece away from the face.
The step of pivoting the eyepiece further includes opening a gap between the upper rim and the forehead.
The method further comprises the steps of disposing a cushion along the lower rim of the eyepiece as well as sterilizing the eyepiece.
The method further includes providing a previously unworn eyepiece. Therefore, each eyepiece may simply be thrown away after a single usage.
Many benefits result from this invention. The sterilization and disposability of the invention offers great advantages in that each eye protective device may simply be worn once and thrown away without great expense. Practitioners need not involve themselves with sterilization as each protective eye device is simply thrown away after one use. Furthermore, practitioners may perform their procedures more easily without fear of damaging the patient's eyes. The patient may undergo treatment more confidently knowing that his or her eyes are now well protected.
The entire eye protective device is very lightweight making it convenient and comfortable for
Brown Michael A.
Luminary Foundation
Myers Richard L.
Myers Dawes & Andras LLP
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