EP0236620A1

EP0236620A1 - Body exhaust gown arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0236620A1
Application number: EP86308425A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Frederick Hugh Howorth
Original assignee: Howorth Air Engineering Ltd
Current assignee: Howorth Air Engineering Ltd
Priority date: 1986-02-05
Filing date: 1986-10-29
Publication date: 1987-09-16
Also published as: GB8602807D0; FI863182A0; FI863182A

Abstract

When used in a sterile air zone in conjunction with a downwardly directed sterile airstream, it is not necessary for a body exhaust gown arrangement, comprising a sleeved gown (10) and underlying exhaust duct means (11), to provide for exhaustion of bodily emissions via an exhaust tube connected to a remote manifold and such emissions may safely be vented from the beneath the gown (10) at floor level. This is accomplished by impeller means (19) connected to the exhaust duct means (11) and mounted beneath the gown (10). The wearer is able to move around much more freely with this arrangement.

Description

This invention relates to a body exhaust gown arrangement for use in operating theatres and other locations where contamination of work zones, such as operating and instrument tables or work benches, by bodily emissions is to be minimized and, if possible, prevented.
Previous body exhaust gown arrangements comprising a gown made of material which resists the passage of air and prevents undesirable body emissions from escaping into the. ambient air and incorporating exhaust duct apertures beneath theg)wn in the region of the face or chest of the wearer have been described in Patent Specifications Nos. 1208284, 1395099, 2105971 and 2151457. In all of these arrangements air is drawn into the bottom of the gown, and in most cases also in through apertures in the gown or hood near the face of the wearer, and thence into exhaust duct means, in the form of flexible tubing, via the aforesaid apertures. Air drawn into the exhaust duct means is carried away by an extension exhaust tube which is connected to an exhaust manifold situated on a wall, floor or ceiliag,the extension tube being flexible and of sufficient leagth to allow the wearer an adequate range of movement. Beyond the manifold, the exhaust air passes along a rigid exhaust pipe or channel to a remote motor-driven fan which discharges the air outside the room where the work zone is being kept free of contamination.
It is an object of this invention to simplify the aforesaid exhaust arrangement by substantially eliminating the extension tube and removing the need for the fixed exhaust means, namely the rigid channel, the fan and the motor.
Pursuant hereto, the invention provides a body exhaust gown arraagement comprising a sleeved gown and exhaust duct means, in the form of flexible tubing, which, in use, extends over each of the wearer's shoulders beneath the gown and has a plurality of exhaust inlets in the region of the wearer's chest or face, characterised in that the exhaust duct means is connected, beneath the gown, to impeller means and thence discharges exhaust air directly into the ambient air from the bottom of the gown.
This novel proposal has arisen from an appreciation that in an operating theatre or other sensitive environment, the work zones which have to be kept free of contamination by bodily emissions, such as operating and instrument tables and work benches, are located of the order of 1m above floor level. Indeed, the floor of an operating theatre has always been regarded as microbiologically dirty. Moreover, when procedures which must be contamination-free are being carried out in these work zones it is necessary to have either a downward or downwardly exponential (i.e. downwards and radially outward) flow of clean air of sufficient velocity to prevent the movement of contaminents upwards or inwards towards the work zone. In such circumstances the venting of bodily emissions from beneath an impermeable gown at floor level does not jeopardize the sterility of the work zone yet has the advantage of allowing the wearer of the gown a much greater degree of freedom of movement than when connected up to. an extraneous exhaust system. In any event, appropriate filter means may be associated with the impeller means or with an outlet duct leading therefrom to minimize the amount of contamination reaching the ambient air.
The gown itself may have an integral or removable hood which may or may not be provided with a mask over a front opening in line with the eyes of the wearer. Alternatively, the gown may have a close-fitting mandarin-style neck and be designed for use with a separate cap and mask to facilitate work at microscopes.
The exhaust duct means is preferably in the form of a loop for fitting to the wearer in the manner of a large necklace and having exhaust inlets at intervals therealong. The loop is advantageously composed of alternate lengths of flexible corrugated tubing and short sections of non-flexible tubing, each of which has therein a respective exhaust inlet.
Preferably the loop connects by its ends to a Y-shaped connection which, in turn, is attached to impeller means in the form of a fan driven by a small motor. The motor may be supplied with power either by batteries or by a wire connection to a low voltage supply point. The fan, with its associated motor, may either be fixed to a belt worn around the waist of the wearer or be in the form of a back pack with shoulder straps. In either case it preferably leads into a downwardly extending outlet tube having its end at about the same level as or slightly below the hem of the gown.
The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure is a front perspective view showing one practical embodiment of the exhaust gown arrangement in use on a wearer.
As illustrated, one practical embodiment of the body exhaust gown arrangement of the invention comprises, in combination, a fabric gown 10 and underlying exhaust duct means in the form of a loop 11. The gown 10 has sleeves 12 which fit closely around the wrists of a wearer 20 and an integral hood 13 provided with a narrow opening 14 in line with the wearer's eyes. The fabric of the gown 10 is either impermeable or of very low permeability to air, moisture, or airborne particles and may suitably consist of material sold under the Trade Mark Ventile or the Trade Mark Goretex.
The loop 11 is composed of alternate lengths 15 of the flexible corrugated tubing and short sections 16 of non-flexible tubing each of which has therein a respective exhaust inlet in the form of a slot 17. The exhaust duct loop 11 is intended to be fitted onto the wearer 20 (who will be wearing undergarments) in the manner of a large necklace and it has two ends which fit into a Y-shaped connector 18 resting against the back of the wearer 20. The connector 18 is attached to a fan housing 19, which is carried on a belt (not shown) to be worn around the waist of the wearer 20 beneath the gown 10. The central region of the exhaust duct loop 11 may also be held in position by being secured to this belt at the front of the wearer 20 by means of tapes, or the tapes may be separately tied around the wearer's waist. The fan inside the housing 19 is driven by an adjacent low voltage motor 21 which receives its power supply from batteries or remotely via an electric cable. In this respect, a 12V or 24V supply should be sufficient. The fan housing 19 is connected to a downwardly extending flexible outlet tube 22 which terminates at about 0.3m above the floor, that is at about the same level as the bottom hemline 23 of the gown 10, when the fan is at waist height.
A further belt or tie 24 is provided to encircle the gown 10 externally and secure it tightly around the waist of the wearer 20.
Tapes 25 are attached at each side of the eye opening 14 and are tied back around the head of the wearer 20 to bring about close contact between the gown material and the face of the wearer across the forehead and below the eyes, but above the end of the nose of the wearer 20. Small gaps will, however, remain at each side of the wearer's nose.
In use, the gown 10 itself forms a barrier greventing dissemination of body emissions from the wearer into the ambient air. When the fan 19 is switched on, air is drawn into the gown 10 via the opening 14 and the gaps at each side of the wearer's nose and then into the exhaust duct loop 11 via the slots 17 and is vented from the outlet tube 22 about 0.3m above the floor The belt or tie 24 at the waist tends to prevent, or at least restrict, flow of air upwards from the bottom of the gown 10 towards the exhaust duct inlets 17 so bodily emissions below the waist will tend to disperse gradually from the bottom of the gown 10.
The aforesaid venting and gradual dispersal of contaminated air from the level of the bottom of the gown 10 should not prove detrimental since this is approximately 0.3m above the floor and thus well below the level (approximately 1m above the floor) of work zones, such as operating and instrument tables which must be kept free of contamination during the course of an operation to minimize the risk of infection of a patient. Moreover, as mentioned in the early part of this description, in order to achieve a sterile zone around an operating table or the like during the course of an operation or other work requiring a germ-free environment a downward or exponentially downward flow of clean air will necessarily have to be provided and this will, of course, prevent the contaminated air issuing from the bottom of the gown 10 and the end of the outlet tub* 22 from dispersing upwardly towards the work zone. Instead it will be entrained outwardly from the sterile zone, which is located below the ceiling mounted outlet means from which the downwardly flowing air issues.
In certain circumstances it will be desirable to incorporate filter means in the outlet tube 22 and in other circumstances where a mask is used to cover the opening 14 in the hood 13 it may alternatively or additionally be desirable to have a filter over any air intake aperture to protect the wearer from contamination, e.g. in the case of work with contageous diseases or harmful chemicals.
As mentioned previously, the form of the gown itself will depend on the circumstances of use and it may or may not incorporate a hood as in the above-described example. Also it may or may not be provided with an opening down the rear to facilitate putting on and taking off by the wearer.
Furthermore, in contrast to the waist-mounted fan in the illustrated embodiment, in an alternative embodiment the fan with its associated motor (preferably battery powered) may advantageously be in the form of a back pack which is mountable by means of shoulder straps. In such a case, the I-shaged connector leading to the fan housing should, of course, be disposed higher up the back of the wearer.

Claims

1. A body exhaust gown arrangement comprising a sleeved gown (1₀) and exhaust duct means (11), in the form of flexible tubing (15), which, in use, extends over each of the wearer's shoulders beneath the gown (10) and has a plurality of exhaust inlets (17) in the region of the wearer's whest or face, characterised in that the exhaust duct means (ll) is connected, beneath the gown (10), to impeller means (19) and thence discharges exhaust air directly into the ambient air from the bottom of the gown (10).

2. A gown arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the gown (10) has an integral hood (13) provided with a front opening (14) in line with the eyes of the wearer and with a number of tapes (25) for tying around the hood (13) in such a way that close contact between the material of the gown (10) is achieved across the forehead and across the face below the eyes, but above the nose, of the wearer.

3. A gown arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the exhaust duct means (11) is in the form of a loop for fitting to the wearer in the manner of a large necklace, said loop being composed of alternate lengths of flexible corrugated tubing (15) and short sections of non-flexible tubing (16), each section having therein a respective exhaust inlet (17).

4. A gown arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the exhaust duct loop (11) connects by its ends to a γ-ehaped connector (18) whereby it is connected to the impeller means (19).

5. A gown arrangement as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein a tie cord or the like is connected to the exhaust duct loop (11) to enable the wearer to secure the duct in place after it has been positioned on his/her chest.

6. A gown arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the impeller means (19), in the form of a fan driven by a small motor (21), leads into a downwardly extending outlet tube (22).

7. A gown arrangeatent as claimed in claim 6 wherein the outlet tube (22) ends at approximately the level of the hemline (23) of the gown (10).

8. A gown arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the impeller means (19) is fixed to a belt around the waist of the wearer.

9. A gown arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the impeller means is in the form of a back pack mountable by means of shoulder straps.

10. A gown arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein filter means are provided in association with the impeller means (19) or in association with an outlet duct (22) leading therefrom.

11. A gown arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, further inclnding a belt or tie (24) for securing externally of the gown (10) around the waist of the wearer to restrict upward flow of air beneath the gown (10).