EP0503027B1 - Lymphatic drainage device - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for lymphatic drainage comprises a body (1) substantially cylindrical in form and hollow, and a suction bulb (4), the body comprising a narrowed portion (3) serving as an internal anchor zone for the suction bulb and as a recess for holding the device between two fingers. The lower edge (2) of the body (1) is rounded to form a surface which will slide on the skin without causing damage.

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for lymphatic drainage.

Lymphatic drainage is a relatively recent concept and it gives rise to quite varied developments, interpretations and applications. The invention described here gives the term lymphatic drainage a particular and new content. However, in this document, the term lymphatic drainage is used exclusively in the sense of: action on the tissues in order to facilitate the circulation of the lymph.

As said, multiple applications have emerged and it should be noted that the present invention is clearly and resolutely different from certain techniques involving punctures, punctures and other electrical or chemical treatments.

There are multiple kinds of suction cups, from the simplest to the most complicated, intended for various uses in relation to the human body. Their first common point is to use a depression capable of creating a local revulsion by strong blood aspiration. Their second common point is that they are neither designed to be displaced on the skin in the active phase, nor usable for this purpose, which is moreover normal since they are designed for a strictly local application. We will cite the German document DE 34 03 226 A1, which gives an example of a suction cup of this type.

There are also suction cups for treating wrinkles. Since the wrinkle is a break in the connective tissue, the repair of this break involves a call of the blood on the surface due to its exclusive repairing properties. A treatment of wrinkles by this means supposes not only the achievement of a suction force, but also the faculty to be able to drive the suction device over the entire pattern of the ride. A very sophisticated device of this type is illustrated in document EP 0 365 230 A2.

Conventional suction cups are designed to create extravasation in the blood and cannot be moved around the skin. The devices intended for the treatment of wrinkles can certainly be moved on the skin, however they are intended for the face and shaped for this and they also seek an extravasation of blood.

The apparatus illustrated in French document FR-A-O 966 298 has an application end opposite which is provided a suction mouthpiece in the form of a vase which is intended to receive a suction bulb. Under the suction effect caused by the pear, the pores of the skin are wide open, which facilitates the deep penetration of fatty products, such as creams. If necessary, this device could be used to make lymphatic drainage. However, if it may in theory be possible to actuate the bulb of the said device so as to create a suction force sufficient to extend the epidermis, but not strong enough to cause an extravasation of blood, while allowing movement on the skin ; such manipulation is hazardous and impractical. In fact, such a device will not be suitable for lymphatic drainage because it does not include constructive measures making it possible to create, regularly and without effort, the desired suction force and no other. On the contrary, the configuration proposed in this document prohibits the achievement of this result.

We thus realize that there is no device or device allowing to create without fail and without research or effort a suction force sufficient to extend the epidermis, but not strong enough to cause an extravasation of blood, all allowing movement on the skin. These characteristics are considered necessary for performing lymphatic drainage according to the method of which the present invention is the instrument.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to propose an apparatus for lymphatic drainage which can be moved without damage on the skin and whose constructive principles allow the user to cause a suction force sufficient to extend the tissues, but however too low in all cases to cause extravasation of blood.

To this end, the apparatus for lymphatic drainage comprises a body of substantially hollow cylindrical shape and a suction bulb, the lower edge of the body being rounded so as to provide a surface capable of sliding without damage on the skin, the device characterized by the fact that the body has a constriction serving on the one hand as an interior anchoring zone for the suction bulb and on the other hand as a groove allowing the device to be taken between two fingers, and by the fact that the dimensions of the pear are chosen so that it cannot be pushed into the body beyond the plane passing through the upper edge of the body.

A few details about the method will better understand the features of the invention, indicating what they should actually be used for. The method consists in driving the lymph from the engorged tissues towards the collecting and receiving lymph nodes. In fact, this course is indeed the natural course which must be accomplished. However, in the event that this circulation is poor, the action of the lymph system is no longer sufficient and an induced acceleration of the lymph flow becomes necessary. Massage can help to restore this circulation to a certain extent, but we have seen that compressing the tissues reduces their permeability when it is precisely the opposite that we would need. The method therefore aims to temporarily extend the tissues so as to facilitate the transit of the lymph in the desired direction. It is only a question of favoring the natural circulation and in no way of aspirating mechanically the lymph by making it leave its normal circuit. It is thus understandable why the suction cups and the anti-wrinkle devices which have been described above are absolutely not suitable and why also it had become necessary to perfect the device according to the invention in order to be able to apply the method.

la figure 1

montre une vue en coupe de la première variante de l'appareil selon l'invention;

les figures 2 et 3

montrent des vues schématiques en coupe de l'effet réalisé lors de l'utilisation de l'appareil selon l'invention sur la peau;

la figure 4

montre une vue schématique de la surface de contact de l'appareil avec la peau, selon la première variante;

la figure 5

montre une vue schématique de la surface de contact de l'appareil avec la peau, selon une deuxième variante d'exécution de l'appareil; et

la figure 6

montre une vue schématique de la surface de contact de l'appareil avec la peau, selon une troisième variante d'exécution de l'appareil.

The description which follows, given by way of example, refers to the drawing in which:

figure 1

shows a sectional view of the first variant of the apparatus according to the invention;

Figures 2 and 3

show schematic sectional views of the effect achieved when the apparatus according to the invention is used on the skin;

figure 4

shows a schematic view of the contact surface of the device with the skin, according to the first variant;

figure 5

shows a schematic view of the contact surface of the device with the skin, according to a second variant of the device; and

figure 6

shows a schematic view of the contact surface of the device with the skin, according to a third variant of the device.

According to a first alternative embodiment, shown in Figure 1, the device comprises a body 1 whose shape is substantially that of a hollow cylinder. The main body is preferably made of hard plastic, by injection into a mold. The thickness of the wall of the cylinder is chosen essentially as a function of the bearing surface of the lower edge 2 of the device on the skin. For an outside diameter between 3 and 6 centimeters, the ideal thickness appears to be between 3 and 3.5 millimeters. The lower edge 2 of the device is rounded so as to exclude any scratching when the device is moved over the skin. There is also a constriction 3 in the middle area of the body of the device. This constriction performs two distinct functions.

Firstly, it should be emphasized that the use of the device must be preceded by a preparation of the skin which essentially consists in coating the latter with a cream. The cream acts on the one hand as a preparative agent according to its properties, and on the other hand as a lubricant and it is this action which must be taken into account here. Indeed, manipulation of the device on a skin coated with cream quickly leads to an undesirable transfer of cream onto the operator's hand, even supposing that the latter is not yet itself coated. The lubrication effect does not take long to express itself where it is not desired, namely between the hand of the operator and the device. It thus becomes difficult to properly grasp the device, to direct it and to print it a slight elevation which is described in more detail in relation to FIG. 2. The first function of the throttle 3 is therefore to offer a comfortable grip allowing the operator to guide the device without straining towards the collecting nodes and to lift the device during its journey. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the constriction 3 is provided to receive the operator's index and middle fingers in opposition, the hand being able to be turned either palm in the air or palm towards the skin.

The second function of the constriction 3 is to serve as an interior anchoring crown for a pear 4 which makes it possible to create a depression inside the device. The pear 4 is made of a flexible material and relatively little stretch. The rubber would be ideal for its properties. However, the creams used to lubricate the skin can attack it. So you should rather use a flexible plastic whose properties are similar to those of rubber. The upper part 5 of the body of the device, delimited by the end of the constriction and by the upper edge of the device, plays an important role in the proper functioning of the device. As we said, there is no question here of causing extravasation of blood. Determining the suction force is therefore important. The upper part 5 participates in this determination insofar as it fixes the level up to which it will be possible to compress the pear towards the interior of the apparatus. The height of the upper part 5 must be related to the dimensions of the pear, the thickness of its envelope and its propensity to return to its form of rest. There is hardly any other way than trial and error to reach an optimal compromise of these parameters. However, once the optimal compromise has been reached, it is possible to manufacture a number of identical devices, all of which will have exactly the desired properties, that is, to consistently provide the desired suction force and only it.

In Figure 2, we can see that when the device is simply placed on the skin and delivered to itself, it causes by suction an elevation of the skin and a stretching of the tissues. In Figure 3, we note the additional elevation caused by the withdrawal force that the operator applies to the device, thanks in particular to the grip offered by the throttle 3. This additional elevation is important because it allows the slip to be carried out without compressing the connective and collagenous tissues which do not support compression well.

As shown in Figure 4, according to the first alternative embodiment of the device, the contact surface between the device and the skin is circular. As a result, the treated surface being completely symmetrical, the lymph does not have a preferential direction of flow.

According to a second alternative embodiment of the device, the contact surface between the device and the skin, shown in FIG. 5, resembles a shape reminiscent of that of a pear. Ideally it is probably the shape of a drop of water that should be looked for; however we would create a pointed side which is undoubtedly not desirable. In this second variant, the device has a precise orientation as to the direction it should follow in the path it describes on the skin, moving from the congested places towards the collecting ganglia. The tissue below the widest part of the contact portion is fully stretched. They are therefore made more permeable and constitute a preferential flow zone for the lymph. The sliding of the device creates a lateral pinching effect of the surface tissue, which avoids deep compression of the tissues but drives the lymph in the direction of movement of the device which is symbolized in FIG. 5 by the arrow AA '. Thus, deep tissue is neither compressed nor damaged. Being thus oriented as to the direction of its movement, the apparatus must be handled while taking care not to print an abrupt change of direction. On the contrary, the operator should follow a path following a curve as smooth as possible. The strangulation 3 plays an important role in this respect by allowing the operator's hand to pivot without constraint so as to always be in the best position, without an interruption of the journey being necessary to modify the orientation of the grip.

According to a third alternative embodiment of the device, illustrated in FIG. 6, the contact surface between the device and the skin is similar to that of a clover. The purpose of this configuration is to keep the directional aspect exposed in connection with the second variant, but nevertheless offering the possibility of effecting a steep change of direction according to angles α of 120 degrees on either side of the direction hitherto followed by the apparatus, which is symbolized by the arrow BB 'in FIG. 6.

To appreciate the characteristics of each variant, and their differences, it should be borne in mind that the drainage should preferably take place in a single and continuous movement. The operator pushes with his thumb the prominent part of the pear in the body of the device as can be seen under the reference 4 'of Figure 1, he keeps his thumb in this position until the application on the skin and then pulls the device towards the lymph nodes.

The shapes of the contact surface as exposed in the last two variants do not in any way oblige the entire device to conform to this profile. It is also planned to make the device with a standard body below the throttle and to provide the bottom of the throttle with a means of attachment to the contact part, for example with a thread . In this way, it will be possible to use a single body and to adapt one or the other of the contact parts to it as a function of the shape of the contact surface which is most suitable for a given drainage. In the same spirit, the last two forms of the contact surface present an asymmetry which is exploited to direct the flow of the lymph. Other forms of the same nature can also be of interest for certain places of the body.

It is possible to provide the device, according to any of the variants described, with a handle in order to facilitate gripping. However, experience shows that the most sensitive use of the device is achieved with the variants as described.

The advantages of the apparatus for lymphatic drainage according to the invention are expressed at various levels. First, it should be noted that the device is harmless. It is therefore perfectly suited for use without practical training on the part of the operator. This is important since, unlike many drainage techniques, the device can be perfectly used at home, the user being both operator and patient. Secondly, the constituent parts of the device incorporating no rare material or any non-standard manufacturing technique, it follows that the cost of manufacturing the device according to the invention is ridiculously low.

The dissemination of the device to the general public does not come up against obstacles of an economic nature or obstacles of a medical nature, in the broad sense.

Claims (5)

1. Apparatus for lymphatic drainage comprising a body (1) with a basically hollow cylindrical shape and a suction bulb (4), the lower edge (2) of the body (1) being rounded in a manner such as to provide a surface for sliding over skin without causing any damage, characterised in that the body has a restriction (3) which acts on the one hand as a internal anchorage for the suction bulb and on the other hand as a throat permitting the apparatus to be held between two fingers, and that the dimensions of the bulb (4) are selected in such a way that it cannot be pushed into the body (1) beyond the plane passing through the upper edge of the body (1).
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the shape of the contact surface between the skin and the lower edge (2) of the apparatus is circular.
3. Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the apparatus is shaped so that the shape of the contact surface between the skin and the lower edge (2) of the apparatus is not symmetric and there are no sharp angles.
4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, characterised in that the apparatus is shaped so that the shape of the contact surface between the lower edge (2) of the apparatus approximates to that of a pear.
5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterised in that the apparatus is shaped in such a way that the shape of the contact surface between the skin and the lower edge of the apparatus approximates to the shape of the external contour of a regular trefoil.

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