GB2090742A

GB2090742A - Aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus

Info

Publication number: GB2090742A
Application number: GB8101054A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-01-10
Filing date: 1981-01-14
Publication date: 1982-07-21
Also published as: FR2473317B1; IT1169014B; DE3100600A1; IT8119086A0; FR2473317A1; GB2090742B; BE887010A; CH642264A5

Abstract

The apparatus comprises in combination: a system (1) capable of creating suction; a vacuum container (3) capable of collecting the mucus removed by aspiration, connected to the suction system by an appropriate means for transmitting the suction to said container; a pipe (5) associated with said vacuum container and adapted to bring the suction to the patient; and an element (8) connected to said pipe and adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient. The apparatus can be used particularly for removing nasal mucus from babies and small children. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus The present invention relates to apparatus for the aspiration of nasal mucus, particularly in babies and very young children.

In infantile otorhinolaryngology, the problem of clearing the nose of infants and very young children, who are not yet capable of blowing their nose alone to clear it, or of understanding an order for them to blow so as to clear their nose, constitutes a serious problem, for the presence of noneliminated nasal mucus is one of the principal factors causing otitis in infants and young children. The need to eliminate nasal mucus is then of prime importance in infantile otorhinolaryngology, so as to avoid otitis in very young children still unable to blow their noses alone orto cooperate in clearing their nostrils.

Solutions have already been proposed in the prior art for clearing the nostrils of obstructions : these are nasal aspirators formed by a rubber bulb connected to a glass nozzle orto a conical end-piece made from a sterilizable plastic material. These nasal aspirators, which can be used at home by the mother or the person who usually looks after the baby or the young child, have however as principal disadvantage a doubtful, if not inexistent efficiency: in fact, the depression created by exerting manual pressure, however vigorous it may be, on the bulb is generally insufficient to suck up the nasal mucus and clear the nostrils.

The present invention aims accordingly at providing aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus which answers better the requirements of practice than the devices having the same purpose proposed in the prior art, particularly in that it creates an efficient and sufficient depression to remove totally and rapidly the nasal mucus, in that it is an apparatus very simple to handle, easily usable by persons who bring up the babies, and in particular by their mother, in that the parts of the apparatus which are in contact with the nostrils, as well as those which collect the mucus, are easily sterilizable and in that the parts of the apparatus which are in contact with the nostrils are such that they generate no risk of injuring the nostrils.

The present invention provides aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus, characterized in that it comprises, in combination : - a system adapted to create a suitable depression; - a vacuum container adapted to collect the mucus removed, connected to the depression creation system, by an appropriate means transmitting the depression to said container; - a pipe associated with said vacuum container and adapted to convey the depression created to the patient; - an element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient, connected to said pipe.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the system adapted to create a depression in the aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the invention is an electric pump, a vacuum siphon or a pneumatic bellows.

In accordance with the invention, the depression created by the depression system is transmitted to the vacuum container by means of a tube which connects said system to the vacuum container.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is formed by a probe of small diameter, made from soft sterilizable rubber, of the type used in urology, advantageously connected to the pipe for transmitting the depression to the patient, by means of a suitable connection.

According to yet another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is formed by an end-piece of appropriate shape, particularly conical, made from a rigid sterilizable material.

Also in accordance with the invention, the system for creating a depression is fitted with a starting and stopping means such as an electric switch, preferably with a telltale lamp, particularly in the case where the motor element for creating a depression is an electric pump, or an actuation pedal, in the case of a pneumatic bellows or else a cock in the case of a vacuum siphon.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the invention is provided with means for adjusting the value of the depression created in said apparatus, which means are adapted to regulate the depression between 0 and 1000 millibars.

In addition to the above-mentioned arrangements, the invention comprises still other arrangements which will become clear from the following description.

The invention relates more particularly to aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus, in accordance with the above-mentioned arrangements, as well as the means adapted for their implementation.

The invention will be better understood from the description which follows, which refers to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematical representation of one embodiment of an aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a top view of a detail of the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a partial view of another embodiment of the element adapted to be introduced into the nostrils of the patient.

It should of course be understood however that these drawings and the corresponding descriptive parts are given solely by way of illustration of the object of the invention, of which they form in no wise a limitation.

The aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus shown in the drawings comprises a motor element 1 which creates a depression in the apparatus.

In the embodiment shown, this motor element is formed by an electric pump 1 contained in a housing la.

The depression created by the pump is transmitted by means of a pipe 2 to a vacuum container 3 which is closed by a sealed lid 4 in which is fitted pipe 2. The depression created in container 3 is transmitted to the patient by means of a pipe 5 to which is connected an element adapted to be introduced into the nostrils of the patient.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said element is formed by a probe 6 made from soft sterilizable rubber, of a small diameter, of the type used particularly in urology, one of whose ends is introduced into a nostril of the patient so as to remove the mucus. This probe 6 is advantageously connected to pipe 5 by means of a connection 7 of appropriate design, preferably also made from a sterilizable material such as a sterilizable plastic material.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is advantageously formed by an end-piece 8 directly fitted to the free end of pipe 5. This end-piece 8 is made from a sterilizable material, preferably rigid, such as a plastic material for example able to withstand sterilization temperatures.

In the embodiment shown, in which the motor element is formed by an electric pump, the aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the present invention is connected to the mains supply by means of an electric flex 9, and starting and stopping thereof are controlled by a switch 10, having preferably a telltale lamp.

It will of course be readily understood that the choice of the motor element is not critical and that any other motor element capable of creating a depression in the vacuum container 3 may also be used. In particular, the motor element may be formed by a vacuum siphon connected to a water inlet, for example, starting and stopping of the motor elementthen being controlled by means of a cock; the motor element capable of creating a depression in the apparatus in accordance with the invention may also be formed by a pneumatic system such, for example, as a bellows whose actuation is controlled by exerting a pressure on a pedal associated with said bellows. Of course, any other motor element capable of creating a depression may be used within the scope of the invention.

The vacuum container, which is preferably made from a transparent material such as glass, plastic material, etc..., is advantageously placed in a support base 11 preferably integral with the housing 1 a of the motor element.

The sealed lid 4 is removable and supports an integrated pressure gauge with the scale 12, which allows the depression to be created to be regulated depending, in particular, on the age of the patient treated.

The regulation of the depression is provided by means of a regulating knob 13 integral with the sealed lid 4.

In accordance with the invention, the depression may be regulated between 0 and 1000 millibars.

Preferably, in the usual cases, the regulation of the depression will be provided so as to create a depression between 0 and 300 millibars,the optimum depression for clearing the nostrils of an infant being generally of the order of 200 millibars.

In accordance with the embodiment shown in the drawing, pipe 2 is connected to the sealed lid 4, and more particularly to the input of the pressure gauge 12, as well as pipe 5 which is connected to the output of pressure gauge 12.

In accordance with the invention, in the case where the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is a probe, probes are used made from soft sterilizable rubber of different diameters depending on the age and the size of the patient to be treated. For example, for the treatment of children whose age is between that of the infant and that of a young child, No. 8, No. 10, No. 12 and No. 14 probes are preferably used which correspond respectively to inner diameters of about 2.66 - 3.33 4 and 4.66 mm. The probes used all have appropriate lengths, and in particular a length of about 15 cm and are connected to pipe 5 for example by means of an intermediate connection 7.

In the case where the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is a rigid material end-piece, it is preferable that it has a conical shape adapted to the shape of the nostril.

The aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the present invention, because of the depression which it is able to create, allows efficient aspiration of the nasal mucus contained in the nostrils of the patient, which mucus is forced into the vacuum container 3 in which it is collected to be thrown away by appropriate cleaning of said vacuum container 3, or collected with a view to the analysis thereof.

The cleaning of the nasal mucus aspiration apparatus, particularly of the vacuum container 3 and pipe 5, is very easy. As for the element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient such as a probe 6 or an end-piece 8, sterilization thereof may be achieved in any appropriate known way (boiling, chemical means, ultraviolet radiation, etc...).

The aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus in accordance with the present invention is particularly suitable for removing obstructions from the nostrils of infants and very young children, as well as for removing obstructions from the nostrils of patients under reanimation whose condition makes them unable to remove the obstruction themselves.

It follows from the preceding description that, whatever the embodiments and modes of appiication adopted, aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus is obtained which presents, with respect to devices proposed in the prior art, considerable advantages and in particular the advantage of efficiently removing obstructions from the nostrils of patients treated, without any risk of injuring these latter because of the special shape of the means used, while still being capable of providing a sufficiently powerful depression for the obstruction to be removed rapidly and completely. Furthermore, the simplicity and the ease of cleaning and sterilizing the apparatus in accordance with the invention allow its use by untrained persons, so that the apparatus may be placed at the disposal of mothers and in general of all persons who look after young children, in the form of a small apparatus for family use, available commercially.

As it follows from what has gone before, the invention is in no wise limited to those of its embodiments and modes of application which have been more explicitly described; it embraces on the contrary all variations thereof which may come to the mind of a man skilled in the art, without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. Aspiration apparatus for removing nasal mucus, comprising in combination : - a system adapted to create a pressure depression; - a vacuum container adapted to collect the mucus removed by aspiration, connected to the depression creation system, by means of an appropriate means for transmitting the depression to said container; - a pipe associated with said vacuum container and adapted to bring the depression created to the patient; - an element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient, connected to said pipe.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system adapted to create a depression is an electric pump.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system adapted to create a depression is a vacuum siphon.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system adapted to create a depression is a pneumatic bellows.

5. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the depression created by said depression system is transmitted to the vacuum container by means of a tube which connects said system to said vacuum container.

6. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is formed by a small-diameter probe, made from a soft sterilizable rubber, advantageously connected to the pipe for transmitting the depression to the patient by means of a suitable connection.

7. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said element adapted to be introduced into a nostril of the patient is formed by an end-piece of appropriate shape, particularly conical, made from a rigid sterilizable material.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein starting and stopping of the electric pump is provided by means of an electric switch, having preferably a telltale lamp.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the starting and stopping of the vacuum siphon are controlled by means of a cock.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the actuation of said pneumatic bellows is controlled by means of a pedal associated with said bellows.

11. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein there is further provided means for regulating the value of the depression created in said apparatus, said means being capable of regulating the depression between 0 and 1000 millibars.

12. Aspiration apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as herein described and shown in the drawing.