Surgery – Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants – Restrainers and immobilizers
Patent
1994-05-03
1997-03-11
Hafer, Robert A.
Surgery
Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants
Restrainers and immobilizers
2163, 21617, 223101, 138 89, A61F 537, A41D 1900, D05B 9104
Patent
active
056091656
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
My invention relates to a finger protector particularly for use by doctors, dentists, surgeons and veterinary workers to protect their fingers from penetration by needles or bone and tooth splinters when working on portions of the body, e.g. when retracting bone and muscle portions during entry to the chest cavity, or when performing alveolar grafts or closing up after surgical or dental operations. They may also find application in the industrial field, e.g. when using industrial sewing machines, and the like.
During surgical operations it is frequently necessary for sewing to be performed under difficult conditions where access is restricted since the sewing site is within a body cavity accessed through a surgical incision. Under such circumstances the fingers of one hand may be required to hold parts together whilst the other hand manipulates the needle to perform the sewing together of those parts. With such restricted access it is very easy for the fingers of the one hand to be pricked by the needle which may cause infection of either the surgeon, or the patient, with Hepatitis or H.I.V., if one of them should be a carrier of the disease.
In order to prevent such injuries it has been suggested that the surgeon should use two or more pairs of gloves however such measures are not particularly effective since it is still possible for the needle to penetrate to the fingers, and it restricts movement and blood circulation in the fingers.
Alternatively a glove from material comprising, at least in part, metal wire has been suggested, to wear under the normal surgical glove. However such an inner glove, while providing excellent protection against cuts, does not provide complete protection against needle stab wounds, since the needle can penetrate the interstices of the woven material.
In order to provide complete protection of the fingers, while still permitting a reasonable amount of flexibility of the fingers and sensitivity to the touch of a needle or scalpel, my invention provides a finger protector comprising a tube-like portion with a closed end, shaped and sized to fit over the finger of a wearer characterised in that the wall of said tube-like portion is formed of at least one substantially circumferentially extending strip member of a material which strongly resists penetration by a needle, said strip member being so formed that adjacent edges of said strip member interlock to prevent the said strip member separating axially but allow a limited amount of axial movement such that, when worn on a finger, the finger may be bent to a limited extent without adjacent said strip member portions separating.
The adjacent strip like portions may be formed by adjacent rings or by adjacent turns of one or more helically wound strips, and the interlocking engagement of the strip like portions maybe provided by the adjacent strip portions having radially oppositely directed, channel sections with the outer side wall of each channel section engaging in the channel section of the adjacent strip portion to form a continuous sleeve which permits axial extension or contraction movement without allowing axial separation.
In one embodiment the tubular portion is formed by alternate inward and outward facing channel section rings, with the radial walls of each ring engaging in the channels of respective adjacent rings, while in another embodiment the tubular portion is formed of two helical members of radially oppositely directed channel section with the two members arranged such that the side walls of one channel member locate respectively in the channel of two adjacent turns of the other member.
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:
FIG. 1 Shows an elevation of one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 Shows a longitudinal section of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 Shows the cross section of the strip used in the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 4 to 8 Show alternative cross sections of the strips used to form the protector of FI
REFERENCES:
patent: 113601 (1871-04-01), Wansleben
patent: 467258 (1892-01-01), Nicolai
patent: 859771 (1907-07-01), Holden
patent: 2039505 (1936-05-01), Vollmer
patent: 2143927 (1939-01-01), Thompson
patent: 3290695 (1966-12-01), Burtoff
patent: 3511242 (1970-05-01), Agnone
patent: 4507804 (1985-04-01), Consigny
patent: 4825470 (1989-05-01), Horio
patent: 4873998 (1989-11-01), Joyner
Hafer Robert A.
O'Neill Michael
Wallace Stuart
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