EP3073984A1

EP3073984A1 - Training sucking unit

Info

Publication number: EP3073984A1
Application number: EP14799477.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mario Rigert; René Fischer; Florian Beutter
Original assignee: Medela Holding AG
Current assignee: Medela Holding AG
Priority date: 2013-11-26
Filing date: 2014-11-18
Publication date: 2016-10-05
Also published as: CH708892A1; WO2015078729A1; US20160293059A1; AU2014356691A1; CN105813614A; TW201526887A

Abstract

A training sucking unit for premature babies has a plate (2) and a teat (1), which is connected to the plate (2) and has a mouthpiece (12). The teat (1) has a main body (11), which forms a mouth support, wherein the mouthpiece (12) adjoins the main body (11) and tapers with respect to the main body (11). In the mouthpiece (12) there is at least one cavity (40, 41, 42) with at least one suction opening (13, 14, 15, 41, 42) for providing a nutritional or rewarding drip, wherein the cavity (40, 41, 42) is formed in such a way that it is closed apart from the at least one suction opening (13, 14, 15, 41, 42). This training sucking unit makes it possible for a premature baby to be given optimal, motivation-based training for sucking behaviour.

Description

TITLE training suction unit

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a training sucking unit for premature babies.

PRIOR ART The chances of survival of a human preterm infant are considerably greater today than they were a few years ago. Since it is usually too weak to drink from the mother's breast, it is artificially nourished. However, so that it does not get used to this type of diet and so that it can develop the natural reflexes, which a term-born baby automatically has, it is always tried to promote the sucking behavior.

WO 2012/118658 relates to a pacifier or pacifier for premature babies, which is intended to animate the premature baby for sucking and which should train the coordination between sucking, swallowing and breathing. This pacifier has a rectangular hollow nipple, which is attached to a soft shield with a soft handle. The tip of the nipple may be open so that an intubation tube can be performed.

Also known in the art are nipples and pacifiers which serve a variety of purposes. For example, US 8,357,117 discloses a nipple for a milk bottle, the nipple having a retention lip in the mouthpiece. This lip holds a drug tablet introduced during use so that the tablet is dissolved by the milk flowing through the nipple and the drug is released to a baby is administered. US 8,357,117 discloses a pacifier in which a medicament tablet is also insertable, in which case the tablet is dissolved by the baby's saliva. DE 10 2011 107 942 describes a pacifier or soother for administering X-ray contrast agents. For this purpose, a hose is attached to the back of the pacifier, which opens into a through hole of the nipple and is welded thereto. WO 2013/074319 shows a pacifier with a forked front part. An upper part of this bifurcated part comes to lie over the human tongue, a lower part below the tongue. The lower part medication is administered so that the patient or the baby must swallow the drug. EP 2 586 420 discloses a spoon-shaped pacifier intended to make it easier for a baby to switch from liquid food to solid food.

US 1,985 also shows an artificial breast for babies who do not want to drink from bottles. This artificial mother's breast comprises a vitreous body in the form of a breast and a sponge placed thereon, which is connected to a milk bottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a training teat unit which enables a premature infant to develop optimal absorbency and to increase absorbency through exercise.

This object is achieved by a training suction unit having the features of patent claim 1.

The erfmdungsgemässe training sucking unit for premature babies has a shield and connected to the shield sucker with a mouthpiece. The nipple has a base body which forms an oral support. The mouthpiece connects the base body and tapers against the main body. At least one cavity with at least one suction opening is provided in the mouthpiece for providing a food or reward drop, wherein the cavity is designed to be closed except for the at least one suction opening. In the following, we will speak of food and / or reward drops, whereby a single drop, but also a few drops, will fall under these terms.

Thanks to its mouth support, this training suction unit is modeled on a nipple for attachment to a milk bottle and / or a mother's breast. Thus, the premature baby can get used to the shape of the nipple or nipple at an early age. A subsequent Saugverwirrung can be avoided. In addition, a faster conversion from the feeding tube to the bottle food or to the mother's breast is possible. The inventive training sucker unit has the significant advantage that the infant receives a reward in the form of a food drop as soon as he shows first beginnings of a sucking behavior and / or deforms the teat with sufficient pressure. The training suction unit thus creates an incentive for further suction training. The infant can not swallow during training, since only a few, especially a single drop is provided and no further liquid follows. The training sucker unit is not for nutrition, but only for training. The capacity of the cavity is preferably relatively low, preferably less than 5 ml.

Depending on the embodiment, several food or reward drops may be present in the at least one cavity, which are dispensed continuously until the cavity is empty. Again, a swallowing or a malaise of the premature baby is still avoided, since the amount of liquid administered is still very low.

Breast milk is preferably offered as a food or reward drop. However, it is also possible to use other types of liquids, provided these are for the Premature babies are appropriate.

The at least one cavity can be filled in different ways with the food or reward drops. The nipple can be immersed, for example, in a liquid, in particular in pumped breast milk, until the at least one cavity is filled. The food or reward drop can also be introduced into the at least one cavity by means of a syringe, pipette or other suitable means. Another advantage is that the training sucker unit with the food or reward drops has a calming effect on the premature baby. It reduces stress, promotes digestion and relieves any pain in the child.

In a preferred embodiment, the sucker is hollow. As a result, he is flexible and feels in the mouth of the premature baby similar to a later inserted sucker a milk bottle.

Preferably, the at least one cavity is arranged in a free end region of the mouthpiece. Preferably, it is in the free peak, i. in the foremost free end of the mouthpiece. In one embodiment, this is the only cavity. This cavity can be easily filled by dipping the tip of the mouthpiece as well as by means of a syringe or a pipette.

Preferably, a closed partition is present in the teat, which runs approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal central axis of the teat and which closes the at least one cavity in a fluid-tight manner. The partition allows a hollow design of the remaining sucker. In addition, this partition is easy to produce.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the suction openings in a free end of the mouthpiece is arranged centrally relative to a longitudinal central axis of the mouthpiece, wherein a first of the at least one cavity is open towards this free end and ends in this suction opening. There may be other cavities and suction openings. In one embodiment, however, only these are upper Cavity, also called chamber, and only this one central suction opening available. In another embodiment, although the cavity is the only, there are still more suction openings, which are distributed over the circumference of the mouthpiece and also connect the cavity with the outside of the mouthpiece.

In one embodiment, in addition to or as an alternative to this upper cavity and this central suction opening, there are a plurality of suction openings and cavities, wherein at least some or all of these suction openings and cavities are formed by grooves which are formed in an outer side of the mouthpiece. If only grooves are present, the entire volume of the food or reward drop may correspond to that of the chamber, but the premature baby receives this volume in a temporally distributed manner and not necessarily at the same time.

Preferably, the grooves are at least approximately parallel to a longitudinal central axis of the mouthpiece. This encourages the premature baby to take the teat as deep as possible in the mouth.

Preferably, the grooves are arranged distributed uniformly over a circumference of the mouthpiece. This prevents the premature baby from getting used to an asymmetry that would not be present in the mother's breast.

In a preferred embodiment, the grooves terminate at a distance from the free end of the mouthpiece. This is particularly advantageous if in addition the chamber and the central suction opening are present.

In a preferred embodiment, each groove has a peripheral suction opening which leads outwardly from the chamber. In this case, thus, the grooves are connected to the chamber. The food or reward drop can only be made available in the chamber or the grooves can also be filled from the beginning. The last case optimizes the training: the premature baby receives a reward from the grooves with relatively little effort. If it absorbs more strongly or more specifically, the food or reward drop also comes out of the chamber to the grooves. So the infant learns to build up suction and trains the sucking behavior. In a preferred embodiment, at least a portion of the suction openings are arranged distributed over the circumference of the mouthpiece and lead from at least one arranged in the interior of the mouthpiece cavity to the outside.

In a preferred embodiment exactly one suction opening is present, preferably this is the above-mentioned central suction opening. However, it can also be arranged acentric or on the circumference of the mouthpiece. In one embodiment, the mouthpiece has a solid free end, with an outside of the free end having a plurality of blind holes forming the cavities and the suction openings. Here preferably no inner chamber is present and thus also no continuous suction opening. Similar to the grooves, the premature baby receives a reward with little effort and low suction power, as the blind holes release the absorbed fluid relatively quickly.

In one embodiment, the mouthpiece has a free end which is porous and thus forms the cavities and suction openings. This end may be formed by a sponge, which is integrally formed on the teat or inserted into the upper cavity or chamber and held fixed in this.

Preferably, the shield has a passage opening which is surrounded by the sucker. The nipple is hollow and a cavity formed thereby of the nipple is open to this passage opening. The at least one cavity is fluid-tightly separated from the cavity, for example by the above-mentioned partition wall.

Further embodiments are given in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation are to be interpreted. In the drawings show:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a erfmdungsgemässen

Traimngssaugereinheit in a first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a side view of the unit according to Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the unit according to Figure 1 on the

Bottom;

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a erfmdungsgemässen

Training sucker unit in a second embodiment;

Figure 6 is a side view of the unit according to Figure 5;

FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 5; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a erfmdungsgemässen

Training sucker unit in a third embodiment;

9 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 10 a longitudinal section through a training sucking unit according to the invention in a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 11 shows a longitudinal section through a training sucking unit according to the invention in a fifth embodiment;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a erfmdungsgemässen

Training sucker unit in a sixth embodiment; FIG. 13 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 12;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of an inventive

Training sucker unit in a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 15 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 14;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of an inventive

Training sucker unit in an eighth embodiment;

FIG. 17 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 16;

Figure 18 is a perspective view of an inventive

Training sucker unit in a ninth embodiment;

FIG. 19 a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 18;

Figure 20 is a perspective view of an inventive

Training sucker unit in a tenth embodiment and

FIG. 21 shows a longitudinal section through the unit according to FIG. 20.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first exemplary embodiment of the training sucking unit according to the invention. The unit comprises a sucker 1 and a shield 2. The sucker 1 is made of a soft flexible material, such as silicone. The shield 2 may also be made of silicone. It can be hard or soft. Preferably, however, it is relatively soft.

The sucker 1 may be made in one piece with the shield 2, in particular it may be molded or in single- or two-component injection molding together with be prepared the shield 2. However, the nipple 1 may also be mounted on the shield 2, for example by gluing or welding.

The shield 2 is annular, having two opposing planar surfaces. The circular outer circumference is interrupted by a recess 21. This recess forms a nose recess for the nose of the premature baby, so that nasal breathing is still possible. Preferably, at least one continuous emergency breathing hole 20 is present in the shield 2. If the premature baby puts the sign completely in the mouth, then breathing through the mouth is still possible thanks to this through-hole 20. The shield 2 corresponds in shape and design thus essentially the well-known soothers.

On shield 2, a handle 3 is formed or attached. It preferably extends on the suction member 1 opposite side of the shield 2 perpendicular to the flat surfaces. He goes along only a fraction of the circumference of the shield. 2

The handle 3 serves to hold the training sucker unit by hand. The handle 3 may be formed as the shield 2, in particular be made in one piece with this. However, it may also be soft, in particular flexible, be designed so that the premature baby receives no bruises, his head should come to rest on the handle 3.

The nipple 1 has a main body 11 and a subsequent thereto and integrally formed with the base body 11 mouthpiece 12. The nipple is hollow, with its cavity 10 is formed open to a through hole in the shield 2. The cavity 10 is thus accessible from the outside, from the side facing away from the mouthpiece 12 side.

The main body 11 is hemispherical or domed. He represents a mouth support; ie the lips of the premature infant enclose this base body 11 when used optimally, so that although the mouthpiece 12 is completely received in the mouth of the child, but not the entire base body 11. At what level of the curved flank of the base body 11 come to lie the lips of the child , is individually different.

The mouthpiece 12 tapers in relation to the main body 11. It can then be cylindrical in shape or frustoconical up to a free end, following the transition zone to the main body 11. Other shapes are also possible, with forms extending symmetrically about a longitudinal central axis L of the nipple 1 being preferred.

The sucker 1 is preferably formed thin-walled. The main body 11 may have the same Shore A hardness as the mouthpiece 12 or it may be made softer. The sucker corresponds in the aspects mentioned so far in its embodiment to the known suckers, in particular the suckers for premature babies.

In this embodiment, according to the invention, there is now a cavity in the form of a chamber 40, which is arranged in the front end region of the mouthpiece 12, that is to say in the tip of the free end. This chamber 40 is closed to the cavity 10 in a fluid-tight manner. Here is a closed partition 14 is provided, which separates the chamber 40 from the cavity 10 and thus from the outside of the suction unit. On the other hand, i. at the end of the mouthpiece 12, however, the chamber 40 is open. For this purpose, a central suction opening 13 is provided, which preferably extends centrically to the longitudinal central axis L. Instead of a single central suction opening 13, a plurality of suction openings may also be present in the tip of the mouthpiece 12, which are preferably arranged distributed together centrally around the longitudinal central axis L. In this case, one of the suction openings can also be arranged in the middle.

The mammal opening 13 is preferably surrounded by a radially inwardly sloping wall. The suction opening 13 is preferably round, but can be easily deformed by external force due to the softness of the front end. The suction opening 13 is relatively large in this embodiment. Typical diameters are between 1 and 15 mm, preferably approximately 5 to 7 mm.

In this chamber 40 can now be on the suction port 13 a reward drops, For example, mother's milk, fill. If the premature baby is sucking on the mouthpiece 12 lightly or if it presses it together, the drop is pushed out into the child's mouth. The child gets the motivation to repeat the process to get more reward drops.

The partition wall 14 facilitates the exit of the drop, since the wall 14 can act as a membrane during compression of the mouthpiece 12 and pushes the drop to the outside. However, the drop may also leak easily due to the deformation of the mouthpiece 12.

FIGS. 5 to 7 disclose a second embodiment of the training sucking unit according to the invention. The unit is designed substantially the same as the first unit. These parts are therefore not repeated. The same is provided with the same reference numerals. However, in addition to the chamber 40, the central suction opening 13 and the partition wall, there are still further cavities in the form of gaps or grooves 41. These run parallel to the longitudinal central axis L or they extend along the outer surface of the mouthpiece 12 to the main body 11 out. They are present only in the surface and do not form through-openings into the interior of the nipple 1. In these grooves 41, however, can also hold food drops, the grooves 41 act simultaneously as a cavity and as a suction port.

In one embodiment, not shown, only such grooves 41 are present, without chamber 40 or central suction opening 13. In this case, the partition wall 14 is unnecessary in the hollow sucker. 1

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9, the central suction opening 13 is substantially smaller than in the first example. It is preferably also round. Slits or other shapes are also possible. In the case of a round central suction opening 13, typical diameters are 0.2 to 5 mm, preferably approximately 0.5 mm.

The chamber 40 shown in Figure 9 is approximately the same size as the chamber 40 of the first example. It holds less than 5 ml. Typical values are included 0.01 to 2 ml, preferably 0.1 to 0.5 ml.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 10, this chamber 40 is larger. The partition 14 is no longer in the upper third of the mouthpiece 12 but close to the transition region to the base body 11. The chamber 40 therefore typically holds 0.5 to 3 ml.

11, the chamber 40 is even larger and extends approximately over the entire length of the nipple 1. The partition wall 14 is in the bottom region of the base body 11, i. in the area far from the mouthpiece 12, arranged. The cavity 10 is practically formed only by the depth of the passage opening 22 in the plate 2. The capacity of this chamber 40 is preferably 1 to 5 ml.

In the examples according to FIGS. 10 and 11, small suction openings 13, analogous to the variant according to FIG. 9, are shown. However, the central suction openings 13 may also be larger, in particular as large as in the first example. Furthermore, the variant according to FIGS. 5 to 7 can also be provided with a small central mammalian opening 13. FIGS. 12 and 13 show a further exemplary embodiment. Here, the chamber 40 is again formed relatively small and the central suction port 13 is also small. Distributed over the circumference of the tip of the mouthpiece 12 further suction openings 15 are present. These lateral suction openings 15 additionally connect the chamber 40 to the outside of the nipple. These lateral suction openings 15 preferably have the same or a smaller diameter than the central suction opening. Alternatively, instead of the small central suction opening 13, the previously mentioned large suction opening may also be present. In addition, only lateral suction openings 15 and no central suction opening 13 may be present. In Figs. 14 and 15 an embodiment is shown which combines the grooves 41 and the small central suction port 13 with further suction ports 16, these peripheral suction ports 16 forming the upper ends of the grooves 41 and providing communication between the chamber 40 and the outside of the mouthpiece , Here too can be instead of the small central mammal opening 13 forming a large central suction port in a sucker or the peripheral suction ports 15 can be realized only with the grooves 41, but without central suction port in a sucker. FIGS. 16 and 17 show an embodiment without a chamber 40 and a central suction opening 13. Here, a plurality of blind holes 42 are distributed over the tip or the free end of the mouthpiece 12, which form the cavities and the suction openings. Similar to the embodiments with the grooves 41, these holes 42 form the reservoir for the liquid. They can be filled by immersing the tip in a liquid, in particular pumped breast milk.

In FIGS. 18 and 19, instead of this multiplicity of blind holes 42, a porous end piece 5 or a porous tip is present. This end piece 5 may be formed integrally with the remaining mouthpiece 12 or welded or glued to it. The pores form the cavities and suction openings. Preferably, the porous end piece is a sponge.

In Figures 20 and 21, a sponge 5 or other porous element is also present. However, the sponge 5 or the porous material is inserted into the chamber 40. Preferably, it is firmly anchored in the chamber 40, e.g. glued or welded. In addition, it can be held in the chamber 40 by the tapering towards the central suction port 13 tip of the mouthpiece 12.

The inventive training sucker unit allows a motivation-based and optimal training of the sucking behavior of a premature baby.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

I sucker 22 passage opening

10 interior

I I Basic body 3 Grab handle

12 mouthpiece

13 central suction opening 40 cavity

14 partition wall 41 groove

15 lateral suction opening 42 blind hole

16 peripheral suction opening

5 porous tail

sign

Emergency ventilation holes L longitudinal central axis recess

Claims

1. training sucking unit for premature babies, wherein the training sucker unit has a shield (2) and connected to the shield (2) sucker (1) with a mouthpiece (12),

characterized,

in that the teat (1) has a base body (11) which forms a mouth support, wherein the mouthpiece (12) adjoins the base body (11) and tapers with respect to the base body (11), and

in that at least one cavity (40, 41, 42) with at least one suction opening (13, 14, 15, 41, 42) is present in the mouthpiece (12) for providing a feeding or rewarding drop, the cavity (40, 41, 42) to on the at least one suction opening (13, 14, 15, 41, 42) is formed closed.

2. training sucking unit according to claim 1, wherein the sucker (1) is hollow.

3. training sucker unit according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the at least one cavity (40, 41, 42) in a free end region of the mouthpiece (12) is arranged.

4. training sucker unit according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the sucker (1) a closed partition (14) is present, which is approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal central axis (L) of the sucker (1) and which at least one cavity (40). closes fluid-tight.

5. training sucking unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the suction openings (13) in a free end of the mouthpiece (12) is arranged centrally to a longitudinal central axis (L) of the mouthpiece (12) and wherein a first of the at least one cavity (40) is designed to be open towards this free end and ends in this at least one suction opening (13).

6. training sucker unit according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality Suction openings and cavities are present, wherein at least part of these suction openings and cavities are formed by grooves (41) which are formed in an outer side of the mouthpiece (12).

7. training suction unit according to claim 6, wherein the grooves (41) extend at least approximately parallel to a longitudinal central axis (L) of the mouthpiece (12).

8. training sucking unit according to one of claims 6 or 7, wherein the grooves (41) are distributed uniformly over a circumference of the mouthpiece (12).

The exercise suction unit of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the grooves (41) are spaced from the free end of the mouthpiece (12).

The exercise suction unit of claim 5 and one of claims 6 to 9, wherein each groove (41) has a peripheral suction opening (16) leading outwardly from the first cavity (40).

11. training sucking unit according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein at least a portion of the suction openings (15, 16) distributed over the circumference of the mouthpiece (12) are arranged and of at least one inside the mouthpiece (12) arranged cavity (40) after lead outside.

12. training suction unit according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein exactly one suction opening (13) is present.

13. A training suction unit according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the mouthpiece (12) has a solidly formed free end and wherein an outer side of the free end has a plurality of blind holes (42) which form the cavities and the suction openings.

14. training sucking unit according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the mouthpiece (12) has a free end (5), which is porous and thus forms the cavities and suction openings.

15. Training sucker unit according to one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the shield (2) has a passage opening (22) which is surrounded by the sucker (1), wherein the sucker (1) is hollow and formed thereby a cavity (10). opposite to this passage opening (22) is open and wherein the at least one cavity (40, 41, 42) from the cavity (10) is fluid-tightly separated.