Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – With light – thermal – or electrical application
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-29
2001-07-31
Nasser, Robert L. (Department: 3736)
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
With light, thermal, or electrical application
C602S014000, C602S041000, C602S054000, C607S114000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267740
ABSTRACT:
This application contains material related to the U.S. Patent application filed on even date herewith that is entitled “FLEXIBLE NON-CONTACT WOUND TREATMENT DEVICE” and to the following pending U.S. Patent applications all assigned commonly with this application:
Ser. No. 07/900,656, filed Jun. 19, 1992, for “THERMAL BODY TREATMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD”;
Ser. No. 08/356,325, filed Feb. 21, 1995, for “WOUND COVERING”;
Ser. No. 08/785,794, filed Jan. 21, 1997, for “NORMOTHERMIC HEATER WOUND COVERING”;
Ser. No. 08/86,713, filed Jan. 21, 1997, for “NORMOTHERMIC TISSUE HEATING WOUND COVERING”;
Ser. No. 08/786,714, filed Jan. 21, 1997, for “NEAR HYPOTHERMIC HEATER WOUND COVERING”.
Technical Field
This invention relates to a wound treatment device and, in particular, to a wound treatment device having a substantial portion of a wound cover that is in non-contact with a wound and capable of delivering heat to the wound. More particularly, the wound treatment device includes such a wound treatment device with a single joint that maximizes the ability of the wound treatment device to adapt to the contours and movements of a human body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A novel mode of wound treatment is disclosed in detail in published PCT Applications WO 94/00090 and WO 96/15745, both owned in common with this application. This new treatment employs a non-contact wound treatment device that covers a wound, forming a treatment volume about and over the wound. An embodiment of such a wound treatment device may be characterized in having a plurality of parts, three of which are useful for the purpose of description. These. three parts are an attachment portion, a wound treatment portion, and a transition portion. Each portion serves a respective function.
The attachment portion connects and retains the wound treatment device on the skin of a person. The wound treatment portion typically includes a standoff that rises above the person's skin surface, and a wound cover that spans an open portion of the standoff. Together, the standoff and wound cover define a wound treatment volume and a wound treatment area onto which the wound treatment volume is projected.
The transition portion connects the attachment portion to the wound treatment portion. An important function of the transition portion is to adapt the wound treatment device to the contour of the portion of a person's body where the device is mounted and to movements of the person's body that deform the wound treatment device in situ. In this regard, an important function of the transition portion is the accommodation of patient motion by the compliance of the transition portion.
Achievement of this important function of the transition portion is challenged by the need to maintain the orientation of the wound cover in the wound treatment portion —both in aspect and location —with respect to the wound being treated. The orientation of the wound cover is difficult to maintain when the wound treatment device is mounted on a highly curved part of a body. While the wound treatment devices disclosed in the referenced PCT applications exhibit excellent adaptability in a surface that is parallel to the surface of the body portion where the wound treatment device is mounted, there is impairment of adaptability and disturbance of the orientation of the wound cover due to limited flexibility in the direction of a Z axis that is perpendicular to the surfaces. If the transition portion is substantially perpendicular to the attachment portion, it may buckle in response to body motion or contour and collapse the standoff in the wound treatment portion. The collapse of the standoff of course alters the orientation of the wound cover with respect to the wound, possibly reducing the effectiveness of the wound treatment device.
Z axis conformability is especially important for a wound treatment device used on a portion of a person's lower leg. The lower leg has a very tight radius of curvature. Therefore, when a three-dimensional wound treatment device is curved around a lower leg, substantial stress results that may result in deformation of the shape of the wound treatment device, in some cases even causing the wound cover to contact the wound.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The overall flexibility of a wound treatment device is enhanced by an invention based upon the inventors'critical realization that provision of a joint in the transition portion that connects the wound treatment portion to the attachment portion accommodates patient motion and contour by providing articulation between these portions that permits flexion of the wound treatment device in all dimensions of the volume that the wound treatment device occupies.
In this invention, the joint connects the wound treatment portion to the attachment portion, extending between the standoff and the attachment portion. The joint attaches to the attachment portion under the standoff between inner and outer perimeters of the attachment portion.
Preferably, the inner perimeter of the attachment portion is limited to being contained within the outer perimeter of the standoff. This permits reduction of the size of the attachment portion, minimizing the total “foot print” of the wound treatment device. A smaller footprint is generally considered to be advantageous particularly when attaching the wound treatment device to a highly curved part of a person's body, such as the surface of a lower leg.
The joint, its connection of the standoff with the attach mnent portion, and its attachment to the attachment portion between inner and outer perimeters of the attachment portion provides a hinge-like operation that maximizes the adaptability of the wound treatment device and maintains the orientation of the wound cover over greater ranges of body curvature and movement than previously obtainable.
It is, accordingly, an objective of this invention to provide a flexible, non-contact wound treatment device that adapts to body curvature and motion.
Another objective is the provision of a non-contact wound treatment device having a wound treatment portion and an attachment portion, with a joint between the wound treatment and attachment portions.
It is a related objective in this latter regard to provide a joint between the wound treatment and attachment portions in the form of an accordion- or bellows-like member operating between the bottom of the standoff in the wound treatment portion and the attachment portion.
It is a further related objective to provide a joint between the wound treatment and attachment portions in the form of a seam joining these portions and permitting articulation therebetween.
A significant advantage of the invention is the potential reduction in size of the attachment portion, providing a smaller footprint of the wound treatment device.
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p
Augustine Scott D.
Rock John P.
Augustine Medical, Inc.
Gray Cary
Nasser Robert L.
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