Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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~-40612/RJS/ PATIENT-ACTIVATED BODY IM~OBILIZER AND METHOD OF USE
PAD
Back~round of the Invent n
The present invention relates to a harness or restraint,
and to a method of using same, for temporarily immobilizing
a patient's chest cavity or abdomen (vr other body part) to
relieve the strain which occurs, for example, during
periods of chest expansion or other movement. Specifical-
ly, the harness of the invention (1) is designed to provide
a comfortable, snug fit during periods of relaxation, yet
(2) is readily gripped and tightened using one or both
hands to ~irmly encase the body during periods of movement
or expansion such as those caused by coughinq or sneezing.
; The use of the harness involves squeezably engaging mating
end grips to temporarily tighten the harness about the
effected body part.
Operations or injuries to the abdomen or upper body cavity
frequently involve great trauma to muscle, tissue and/or
bone. For example, merely gaining access to the heart
cavity for heart surgery may involve cutting the sternum
lengthwise using a power saw, in addition to cutting
through tissue. This is in addition to ~he possibly
extensive surgery to the heart muscle and connecting
arteries and veins.
After the operation, the sternum is wired together, but for
approximately 3 to 6 weeks, the patient suffers consider-
able pain. The pain is even worse when the patient moves,
for example, when the chest expands during coughing or
sneezing. Unfortunately, considerable congestion occurs
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during the recovery period and it is recommended that the
patient cough as much as possible in order to remove fluid
from the lungs, since post-operative pneumonia is a danger.
Thus, the problem is that the patient must cough to avoid
pneumonia, but coughing or sneezing causes excruciating
pain due to the expansion of the chest cavity and the
stress and strain on the healing sternum and tissue.
Various medical and safety harnesses are available which
provide encircling support or restraint of body parts. For
example, Hasslinger U~S. Patent No. 4,396jOl3 teaches a
harness for supporting and guiding an ambulatory patient
comprising a strap which is se~urely belted about the body
by Velcro~ fasteners. The harness includes a pair of
handles or loops to permit an attendant to support and
guide the movement of the patient. Simpson U.S. Patent No.
4,273,130 discusses various types of medical constrictors
which are used to control the circulation of blood. These
include a strip of flexible material having projections
along one section which fit into openings in an overlapping
section. Velcro~ fasteners can be attached to *he opposite
ends of the constrictor strap. In t~ particular construc-
tion which is the subject of the Simpson patent, an elonga-
ted, flexible constrictor strip is used which has a ring
fastened at one nd~ An end tab at ~he other end loops
through the riny and is folded ~ack to overlap and attach
to the strap body via Velcro~ coupling surfaces or adhe-
sive-type surfaces.
Kilmer U.S. Patent No. 2,900,976 discloses a device for
elevating an impaired limb, comprising a leg-encircling
band which is raised and lowered by a pulley-supported
cable. The band includes a flaxible string which has a
first ring at one end and a D-ring at the second end which
passes through the ~irst ring and attaches to the cable for
encircling and eleva~ing limb. Finally, DeMeo U.S. Patent
No. 3,487,474 discloses a safety belt which provides a
handhold for passengers riding behind motorcycle drivers.
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The adjustable link belt encircles the waist of the driver;
the safety gxipping feature is provided by a pair of hand
grips or loops at the rear of the belt.
One problem with the above-described representative
harnesses with respect to the need for a temporary
immobilizer is that they are designed to securely restrain
encircled body part without regard to quickness of
application or release. Use of such harnesses as a chest
or sternum splint would involve essentially continuous wear
since it is not possible to quickly apply the device in
anticipation of, or at the onset of coughing. However,
continuous wear is contrary to the medical recovery
technique of leaving the chest unbound to reduce the
possibility of post-operative pneumonia.
The need for a temporary chest immobilizer which can be
applied instantaneously was realized as the result of
personal experience with surgery, the level of pain in-
volved during the post-operative recovery process and the
lack of available techniques and aids for effectively
immobilizing ths chest cavity during periods of coughing.
The need for such immobilizer becomes quite apparent when
one considers that more than 170,000 heart bypass opera-
tions alone are performed in the United States annually.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a technique for instantaneously encircling the body
in response to or in preparation ~or the onset o~ coughing,
etc. to immobilize the chest or sternum or other encircled
body party.
It is another object to provide a light-weight strap or
harness which is normally worn comfortably as a loose vest
or belt and is adapted to be instantaneously closed in
preparation for or in response to the onset of coughing,
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sneezing, etc. to immohilize the ches-t and sternum or other body
part.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method
for a person to temporarily immobilize a selected region of that
person's own upper body such as the chest and sternum against
percussive expansion, comprising providing an inelastic circum-
ferential normally open body strap havi.ng a closed length approxi-
mating the circumference of the nonexpanded selected region but
shorter than the expanded body region and having a pair of closely
spaced handles, suspending the body strap from the shoulders
with the handles positioned at the front of the chest and the
open strap loosely encircling the major portion of the circum-
ference of the selected region; at the onset of coughing or
sneezing, forcibly engaging the handles to move the handles
together to tighten the strap about the selected region to prevent
percussive expansion of the chest during the coughing or sneezing;
and after the coughing or sneezing, releasing the gripping
members.
In another aspect, the invention provides a harness
configured to be positioned on and loosely about a selected region
of a wearer's upper body such as the chest or abdomen for permit-
ting the wearer to rapidly cinch the harness about the selected
region to prevent percussive expansion of the selected region
during coughing, sneezing or the like, comprising:` a normally
opened inelastic first strap of selected length for wrapping
around and loosely encircling the major pOrtiQn of the selected
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- ~a - 61051-1996
body region and having a closed length approx:imating the circum-
ference o:f the nonexpanded selected body region and shorter than
the expanded body region; a pair of support straps attached to the
Eirst strap at spaced points for passing over the shoulders of the
wearer to support and position the first strap at and loosely
encircling the selected region of the upper body; and a pair of
handles attached to the ~irst strap at spaced points such that
when the first strap is in position on the body, the handles are
closely spaced at the front of the body for ready access and rapid
use by the wearer for squeezing the handles together to close the
first strap tightly about the selected upper body region to there-
by prevent percussive expansion of the selected upper body region
during coughing, sneezing and the like.
In still other, alternative aspects, the harness and
support straps may be formed as part of~a unitary vest structure;
or the shoulder support straps may be omitted and the immobilizing
strap used on body limbs.
These and other aspects of my invention are described
in detail with respect to the dra~ings in which;
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment
o~ the harness or vest of the present invention showing the
position of the harness on a human body;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the harness of
Figure l;
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Fig. 3 is a top view of the harness of Fig. 1 illustrating
closure thereof ~y hand;
Figs. 4-6 are front, bottom and partial longitudinal
cross-sectional views, xespectively, of one type of grip-
ping member which is part of the immobilizer harness;
Figs. 7 an~ 8 illus~rate alternative approaches for fasten-
ing the body ~traps and shoulder straps;
Figs. 9-ll illustrate alternative approaches for attaching
the shoulder straps to the body strap; and
Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate an alternative gripping member.
Detaile~ Description
Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment 10 of my immobil-
izer in position supported on the shoulders of a human
body. The immobilizer 10 comprises a relatively wide
horizontal body strap 11 and a pair of narrower shoulder
support ctraps 12-12. The straps can be made of any of a
number of preferably light weight, non-stretch materials
such as canvas web~ing, plastic, cloth or leather. The
width of the s~raps will be readily varied to Cuit the
- particular need. However, cuitable width dimensions for a
chest/sternum immobilizer are four and one-~alf inches for
the body strap and one and one-half inches for the shouIder
straps 12.
The shoulder straps 12-12 are attached at one end to the
rear of the body strap ll at attachment points 15-15. The
other end of each shoulder strap is secured to the front of
the body strap ll, at or adjacent to the respective ends
13-13 of the body ~trap. Gripping handles 14-14 are
attached at each end of the body strap 11. The length of
the body strap and that of the shoulder straps are selected
so that, in repose, the gripping members 14-14 are spaced
apart several inches. Thus, and referring to Fig. 3, when
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the recuperating patient who is wearing the harness 10
desires to cough or sneeze, or senses the onset of coughing
or sneezing, the handles 14-14 can be squeezed together by
one or both hands to shorten ~he circumference of the body
strap 11 and, as a consequence, tighten the body strap
about the chest or abdomen to instantaneously and
temporarily immobilize the chest and sternum. After the
coughing, the handles 14-14 are released to release the
immobilizing constraint.
This temporary immobilization of the chest or abdomen
greatly reduces movement of the sternum, rib cage and, in
so doing, greatly reduces pain. In addition, my own
experience leads me to believe that this immobilization
aids and quickens the healing process. At the same time,
the chest or abdomen is normally not tightly bound by the
harness, in accordance with the accepted medical practice
of having the chest unbound to reduce the possibility of
pneumonia and other complications.
The handles or gripping members 14 14 can take various
forms. A presently preferred version is shown in the front
view of Fig. 4 and in the associated views in Figs. 5 and
6. The handle 14 comprises a base plate 17 having an
upwardly (outwardly) angled grippin~ projection 18. A
plurality of slits 19-19 is formed at the top and bottom
edges of the base plate, whereas another plurality of slits
21-21 is formed at the rear edge. The slits 19 and 21
permit secure, ad~ustable fastening vf the shoulder strap
12 and the body strap 11 to the handle 14A, as shown in
Fig. 6~ The presence of slits 19 at the top and bottom
edges permits the handle 14A to be used as either the right
or left handle; only one set of slots 19 is used at a time.
The looped strap attachment to the handle 14, which is
shown in Fig. 6, allows the straps to be adjusted readily
to different lengths to accommodate different individuals
and/or different sizecl body parts.
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An alternative, streamlined gripping member or handle 14A
i9 shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Handle 14A includes an
opening 28 which can be used in conjunction with projection
18A ~or closing the strap 11 about the selected body part.
As shown in Fig. 13, in the embodiment 14A, single slits
l9A and 21A are formed in the top and bottom edges and at
the side edge of the handle for adjustably retaining the
straps 11 or 12. Alternatively, a plurality of one or both
of slits l9A and 21A can be used, in the manner of handle
14, Fig. 4.
Alternative attachments for the body strap ll and shoulder
straps 12-12 are shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In Fig. 7, handle
14B has the form of a closed loop or ring. The straps 11
and 12 are fastened to the handle 14B by folding back over
the handle and sewing at 22 and 23. Alternatively, as
shown in Fig 8, the attachment can be separable and the
length of the strap adjustable by using loop and hook
fastening surfaces 24 and 25 (for example, Velcro~). Other
separable fasteners can be used including buttons and
snap-on fastenings.
Similarly, the shoulder straps 12-12 can be joined to the
body strap in either separable or non-separable, adjustable
or non-adjustable fashion. For example, Fig. 9 illustrates
non-adjustable attachment by sewing. Fig. 10 illustrates
the use of spaced snaps 26-26 which permit adjustment of
the length of the shoulder straps 12-12 and the spacing
between the shoulder strap attachment points on the body
strap 11. Fig. 11 illustrates a similarly versatile
fastening approach using hook and loop type of fastening
surfaces 27,
The harness straps can take various ~orms in addition to
the body strap 11 and shoulder straps 12-12. For example,
the harness may be embodied without shoulder straps, that
is, as a body strap having handles 14-14. Such a harness
is useful as an immobilizer for body parts such as arms and
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legs. Secondly, the body striap need not have an opening
between "end sections 13-13", but could be attached as a
loose-itting belt which is tightened by the spaced handles
14-14. In this embodiment, the strap 11 could have over-
lapping ends which are secured by Velcro~ or other fasten-
ers to provide the loose repose fitting. For some
applications the strap 11 can be a continuous belt, i.e.,
without ends. As a third alternative, the body and
shoulder straps may be formed as a one-piece vest with
gripping members connected to the open ends of the vest.
Those skilled in the art will readily derive other embodi-
ments which are within the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Having thus described preferred and altexnative
embodiments of ~y invention, what is claimed is:
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