FR2755604A1 - Cold compress stocking bandage - Google Patents

Abstract

The stocking bandage to give a local surface temperature reduction of a limb, forms a tubular body (1) with two walls (100,200). They form at least one compartment (300) to hold an inert thermal material. The bandage is shaped so that, when rolled in place, the centre section is convex identical to the convex profile of the calf. The inert thermal material is a polyurethane gel, contained in a sealed pocket of an expanding thermoplastic, and especially polyethylene hermetically sealed by heat welding.

Description

LOCAL BODY TEMPERATURE LOWERING DEVICE
AND ESPECIALLY MEMBERS
The present invention relates to the medical field and relates more particularly to the adaptations making it possible to surface and locally lower the temperature of the leg, within the framework of a treatment of venous insufficiency and thrombophlebitis.
Indeed, one of the appropriate treatments to reduce the pain due to venous insufficiency or superficial thrombophlebitis consists in locally lowering the part of the body affected (generally the legs).

These last years have seen the appearance of some devices for therapeutic applications of this type:
Thus, the compress described in European Patent No. 0 567 724 A1 consists of a plurality of linen or cotton pockets linked together by strips with "Velcro" closure and arranged between them so as to leave a space or a seam for give a flexible structure to the whole compress. Flexible sachets containing a cold storage material with high thermal inertia (by cold storage material we mean any type of material which can be cooled by freezing and which remains cold to the touch for a sufficiently long time and whose temperature is - C) are introduced into the pockets through an opening fitted with a "zipper" closure.

The compress, intended to be pressed against the area of the thrombosed body, has the non-negligible drawback of allowing only a cylindrical covering of the areas to be treated and therefore does not have a shape very suitable for a homogeneous application on an arm, a thigh or calf.

 Another device described in French patent No. 2,143,918 consists of a plastic bag retaining a hydrophilic gel which remains cold for a long time. This bag, in the form of a rectangular strip, is connected at its two ends by a elastic band ensuring the pocket is pressed against the area of the body to be treated, and the two walls of this cooling device are of different thickness and thermal conductivity in order to provide two temperatures depending on the direction of application to the body The gel and therefore the bag remain flexible even when the gel is frozen, thus allowing the bag to take any geometric shape. This device, like the pad of the previous European patent, has the disadvantage of being able to only offer one shape. cylindrical envelope and is therefore ill-suited to the natural fuselage of the members of the human body.

 Another device described in French Patent No. 2,063,258, for its part, offers a cooling belt comprising several independent compartments connected to each other but always having a rectangular deployed shape which only allows it to have a form of wrapping cylindrical still poorly adapted to the tapered contours of the thrombosed areas of the legs, arms, thighs of the human body.

 On the basis of this state of affairs, the applicants have therefore carried out research aimed at improving the principle of compress for applying cold, in particular that of compresses intended for the treatment of members of the human body. This research led to the design of an original form of device for local lowering of the temperature of the body and in particular of the limbs making it possible to obviate the aforementioned drawbacks of the cooling devices while adapting under the best possible conditions tapered shape of the members of the human body.

 According to the main provisions of the invention, this device for local lowering of the body temperature is remarkable in that it consists of two walls of different dimensions which, adopting the shape of an angular sector of a crown in deployed position and a frustoconical shape in the rolled position, are linked together so as to form at least one storage compartment for a material with thermal inertia.

 This preferred form adopted by the device of the invention has the advantage of forming, closed and wound around the part to be treated, a spindle, when its extreme edges are brought together to adapt as closely as possible to the natural fuselage of the lower limbs or higher. This is all the more important since superficial thrombophlebitis very often appears in the lower limbs of the patient.

 According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the walls of this device are linked together so as to form by means of their connecting zones, several compartments, sealed or not sealed together, which may contain a material with high thermal inertia. Thus, these compartments serve as supports for suitable forms of material with thermal inertia.

 According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the above-mentioned connecting zones are regularly distributed over the angular sector of the original crown so as to create compartments of the same dimension. In addition to the fact that they allow the same volume of cold preservation material, the compartments of the same dimension allow a homogeneous distribution of the cold over the part to be treated.

 Advantageously, the aforementioned connecting zones pass through the center of the original crown so as to create compartments of the same size and of substantially trapezoidal shape. This succession of equal trapezoids having their large base at the top and their small base at the bottom allows a tapered shape to the compress, when the latter is closed and wrapped around the part to be treated, particularly suitable for the natural fuselage of the members.

 The material of the aforesaid walls of the device can also be a thermoplastic and in this case the connection zones are formed by thermo-welds or, a fabric, and in this case the above connection zones are formed by seams.

 The fundamental concepts of the invention having just been exposed above in their most elementary form, other details and other characteristics of the present invention will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows giving, by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of a device for locally lowering the temperature of the body and in particular of the legs, respecting the concepts of the invention.

This description refers to the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a front view of the device according to the invention in the deployed configuration.

 Figure 2 is an isometric view of the device in closed and wound configuration.

 As illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 1, the device for local lowering of the temperature of the body referenced as a whole I comprises two walls 100 and 200 of thermoplastic of different dimensions which have the shape of the angular sector of a crown . These two walls 100 and 200 are linked together so as to form, by means of their connecting zones 310, three compartments 300 which are sealed between them and which can each receive material with high thermal inertia for conserving the cold (in any form whether it be). The application of these compartments 300 to the area to be treated will make it possible to lower the temperature therein and therefore to treat it.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the central compartment 300 is of larger dimension in order to ensure optimal wrapping of the calf in the case of an application to the leg. Advantageously, the wall 200 has a surface greater than that of the wall 100 so that the heat seals allow the creation of compartments 300 having a certain thickness in order to serve as a storage area for the material with thermal inertia.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the above-mentioned connecting zones 310 are heat-welds between the two walls 100 and 200 and are regularly distributed over the angular sector of the original crown so as to create compartments 300 likewise dimension which facilitates uniform contact of the device on the area to be treated.

 The heat-sealing lines constituting the connection zones 310 between the two walls 100 and 200 pass through the center of the original crown and thus create compartments 300 of the same size and of substantially trapezoidal shape.

 As illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 2, the trapezoidal shape that the compartments adopt has the advantage of giving the device in the closed and rolled-up position, a tapered truncated cone shape particularly suitable for the uniformly distributed application of the device on a leg. .

 Advantageously, the material with high thermal inertia is in the form of a right prism with a trapezoidal section so that it can be placed in the compartments 300 of the same section. The fact that the device I is compartmentalized makes it possible to use any material for preserving the cold, whether it is solid or flexible at the time of freezing.

 Advantageously, the device I comprises a clamping assembly 400 used to close the latter on the member to be treated. Thus, in the case of an application to the leg, this tightening assembly will allow the patient to walk.

Another advantage of this clamping assembly is that it allows the containment of the treated area. Thus, this local temperature lowering device simultaneously cools and restricts the area to be treated, thereby improving the results of the treatment.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the two lateral compartments 300 is less than the thickness of the central compartment 300 so that they can overlap without reducing the effectiveness of the clamping assembly 400 so to allow a better application of the device I on the area to be treated.

 According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tightening assembly 400 of the device I consists of four tongues 410, 420, 430, 440, the first two 410 and 420 being arranged parallel to each other on one side of the device and the other two 430 and 440 being arranged parallel to each other and so as to meet opposite the first two 410 and 420. The tabs 430 and 440 advantageously each have a loop 431 and 441 in which the tongues 410 and 420 pass respectively so that the latter can be fixed on themselves by "Velcro" fixing or by magnetization. This embodiment is particularly advantageous because it makes it possible to adjust the tightening of the device and therefore to ensure an adapted compression by passing more or less length of the tongues 410 and 420 in the loops 431 and 441 before fixing them on them. even.

 Advantageously, the connection zones 310 can be widened so as to integrate therein elastic zones facilitating the containment of the zone to be treated and giving a more flexible structure to the device.

 The device I can either be directly placed in the freezer before application in a version where the compartments will be without openings or it will only be the elements of prismatic cold-storage material which will be placed in the freezer and then placed in the compartments provided for this purpose. effect on the device and forming pockets with access openings.

It will be understood that the device for local lowering of the body temperature which has just been described and shown above has been for the purpose of disclosure rather than limitation. Of course, various arrangements, modifications and improvements could be made to the above example, without going beyond the ambit of
The invention taken in its broadest aspects and spirit.

Thus, for example, terry cloth could be attached to the interior wall 100 of the device I in order to improve its comfort.

 In order to allow a better understanding of the drawings, a list of references with their legends is listed below.

100 ... First wall of the device
200 .. Second wall of the device
300 ... Compartments
310. Thermo-welds
400 .. Clamping set
410, 420 ... Clamping tabs
430, 440 ... Loop tabs
431, 441 ... Clamping loops
I ... Device for local lowering of the
temperature

Claims (10)

 1. Device (I) for local lowering of body temperature, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT it is constituted by two walls (100 and 200) of different dimensions which, adopting the shape of an angular sector of a crown in the deployed position and a frustoconical shape in the wound position, are linked to one another so as to form at least one storage compartment (300) for a material with thermal inertia.  2. Device (I) according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT said walls (100 and 200) are linked together so as to form, by means of their connecting zones (310), several compartments (300) which may or may not be sealed together, which may contain a material with high thermal inertia.  3. Device (I) according to claims 1 and 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid connecting zones (310) are regularly distributed over the angular sector of the original crown so as to create compartments (300) of the same dimension.  4. Device (I) according to claims 1 and 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the outer wall (200) is larger than the surface of the inner wall (100) so that it can form compartments (300) to contain the thermal inertial material.  5. Device (I) according to claims 1, 2 and 3, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid connecting zones (310) pass through the center of the original crown so as to create compartments (300) of the same dimension and of substantially trapezoidal shape.  6. Device (I) according to claims 1 to 5 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the material with high thermal inertia is in the form of a right prism with trapezoidal section so that it can be placed in the compartments (300) of the same section.  7. Device (I) according to claims 1 to 6 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the material of said walls (100 and 200) constituting said device (I) is a thermoplastic and the above-mentioned connecting zones (310) are formed by thermo-welds.  8. Device (I) according to claims 1 to 6 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the material of said walls (100 and 200) constituting said device (I) is fabric and the above-mentioned connecting zones (310) are formed by seams.  9. Device (I) according to claims l to 8 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the above-mentioned connecting zones (310) ensuring the compartments are elastic allowing constant pressure on the zone to be treated.  10. Device (I) according to claims 1 to 9 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT it comprises an adjustable clamping assembly (400) ensuring its maintenance on the area to be treated.