WO2006048619A1

WO2006048619A1 - Compression devices

Info

Publication number: WO2006048619A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/004203
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nathan Webster; David Mark Hampson
Original assignee: Huntleigh Technology Plc
Priority date: 2004-11-05
Filing date: 2005-11-01
Publication date: 2006-05-11
Also published as: GB0424562D0; CN101048117A; AU2005302747A1

Abstract

The garment (1) consists of separate, overlapping inflatable air chambers (12) enclosed in flexible inner (8) and outer (9) panels designed to fit the full length of the limb in question to provide sequential compression therapy. For the leg garment, there are separate chambers (12) surrounding the foot and encompassing the ankle to ensure to provide true sequential compression. The garment (1) is secured around the limb by a closure mechanism (14), the chambers (12) extending underneath the fastener to give all round circumferential compression. An inflatable insert (16) is provided to extend the circumference of the garment for use with larger limbs. The insert (16) matches the chambers (12) of the garment (1) longitudinally and laterally so that it truly forms an extension of the garment (1), thereby providing a continuation of the compression therapy all round the circumference and length of the limb enclosed.

Description

Compression Device

The present invention relates to an inflatable apparatus, in particular a compression garment for use in the treatment of vascular disorders and oedema.

It has been found that beneficial results can be obtained in treating lymphatic disorders, varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, and in preventing deep vein thrombosis by sequentially compressing successive portions of the body part to be treated to produce a massaging or pumping action on the lymphatic and vascular system.

The use of sequential compression garments is well known in the medical field but the garments are not able to provide true sequential compression to all of the body parts to be treated or to accommodate different sizes of body parts.

The invention accordingly provides an inflatable garment for applying compressive pressure to a patient' s leg, the garment including a plurality of chambers spaced longitudinally along the garment in overlapping relationship, conduits for supplying fluid under pressure to the chambers, means for connecting the conduits to a pressure source and a closure mechanism to secure the garment around a body part, wherein the garment further provides overlapping chambers for the foot and ankle of the leg such that the garment provides sequential compression therapy from the thigh to .the toe of a patient. Normally, there is either a single chamber that covers the entire foot section or one chamber for the ankle and one for the foot. That means that whilst there is sequential therapy applied to the rest of the leg, the foot section is treated less well so the garment does not provide true sequential therapy from the toe to the thigh.

In another aspect of the invention, the inflatable garment includes an inflatable insert to combine with the inflatable garment of the invention to extend the circumference of the garment, the insert comprising a corresponding number of chambers spaced longitudinally along the insert in overlapping relationship, the chambers coinciding laterally with the chambers of the garment, conduits for supplying fluid under pressure to the chambers, means for connecting the conduits to a pressure source and a closure mechanism to secure the insert to the garment so as to coincide longitudinally and laterally with the chambers of the garment in order to provide continuous sequential compression along the length and circumference of the extended garment. Therefore, true sequential compression of a body part both in length and circumference is provided when using an insert to extend a garment's usable circumference. Existing inserts extend the usable circumference of a garment but the area under the insert is not compressed, therefore therapy is not applied in that location. The invention also includes an insert for extending the circumference of an inflatable garment. Preferably, each of the chambers in the garment and the insert extend laterally under the closure mechanism so as to provide complete circumferential compression. In this way the area under the closure mechanism, say for example a Zip fastening is also subject to compression eliminating the pressure voids found in existing garments where the area under the closure mechanism is never treated. The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of an inflatable garment according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a part perspective view of the garment of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-section view of one of the chambers in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a part perspective view of the foot section of the garment in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a chamber in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a schematic view of a second preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of one of the chambers in Figure 6.

Referring to Figure 1 the present invention includes an inflatable garment 1 suitable for location over a leg and foot. The present invention includes an inflatable garment also suitable for location over an arm.

The garment 1 comprises separate inflatable air chambers 12 enclosed in flexible inner 8 and outer 9 panels that are wrapped around the limbs . The chambers 12 are manufactured by high frequency welding two layers of a suitable material to form an air tight bladder. For ease of construction the overlapping chambers 12 are permanently connected together prior to being enclosed into the inner and outer panels 8, 9 of the garment. Starting with the first chamber at the toe or wrist end of the garment, the first chamber is placed on top of its adjacent chamber such that the correct level of overlap and alignment is achieved depending on the length of the garment being manufactured. This overlap is achieved by lining up the top of each chamber to either pre-cut alignment notches, or permanently welded overlap guide marks with the top of each adjacent chamber. Once the first two chambers have been aligned correctly they are sewn together along one of the edges of each chamber. Then the previously completed chambers are placed on top of the third chamber and after the correct overlap and alignment has been achieved the third chamber is sewn to the previously completed chambers. This process is repeated for all twelve chambers along one edge and then along the other edge. This assembly method guarantees that misalignment of chambers is eliminated during the manufacturing process and also guarantees that the correct level of chamber to chamber overlap is achieved to ensure there are no gaps between the chambers during compression along the body part. Lastly, the outer layer 9, the inner layer 8 and the chambers 12 are high frequency welded to form a single assembly. The leg and arm garments are designed to fit the full length of the limb in question.

An air inlet grommet 11 is also high frequency welded into the chambers to allow air to be delivered from an external source, for example a pump by air conduits 13 connected to each inlet grommet 11.

The garment 1 is secured around the body part by a closure mechanism, for example a zip fastener 14 running the entire length of the garment. Other suitable fasteners may also be used. As the chambers 12 span the entire width of the inner 8 and outer 9 layers, when the two mating halves of the zip are brought together the inflatable chamber 12 extends underneath the zip fastener area as shown in Figures 2 and 3 thus giving true all round circumferential compression. Therefore there are no gaps in compression under the fastener.

Figure 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention with the foot section of the leg garment comprising overlapping air chambers 12, specifically shaped to follow the contours of the foot and ankle. There are five separate air chambers 12 starting from the toe surrounding the foot and encompassing the ankle. Each chamber 12 is permanently connected to the pump by an air conduit 13. As shown in Figure 5, each of the chambers 12 overlaps the next chamber to ensure that no area of the foot and ankle is left without being compressed when in use. The fifth chamber at the upper ankle blends into the rest of the regularly shaped chambers and overlaps the first of these chambers thereby eliminating any risk of compression not being applied between the ankle and the rest of the leg section.

As with the rest of the garment 1, the chambers 12 circle the entire foot thus giving true all round circumferential compression. Therefore there are no gaps in compression around the foot.

An additional benefit ^'is that by having multiple chambers 12 in the foot section, as opposed to one large chamber or at most two chambers with existing systems, the air compressor needed to inflate the garment is reduced in size, thereby promoting portability of the entire system which is of a benefit to both the prescriber, and the user (especially when used in the home) . For the foot section, each of the five air chambers 12 consist of two layers of the high frequency weldable materials, pre-cut to a specific shape. A suitable air inlet 11 grommet is high frequency welded to one of the layers to allow air to be pumped into the chambers 12. The chambers 12 are placed on top of each other and overlapping each other along the foot section, starting from the toe chamber through to the ankle chamber, and then blended into the rest of the garment. The chambers are then enclosed between the inner 8 and outer 9 layers of the garment to form one single assembly.

Additionally, the garment is provided with an inflatable insert 16 to extend its circumference for use with larger body parts, for example bariatric patients. The insert 16 as shown in Figures 6 and 7 provides sequential compression of the body part both in length and circumference hereto not possible with existing inserts which are non-inflatable. Existing inserts extend the usable circumference of a garment but the area under the insert is not compressed, therefore therapy is not applied in that location.

The insert 16 has the same number of separate overlapping chambers 12 as the garment 1 and is of the same length as the garment so that the insert 16 truly forms an extension of the garment 1, thereby providing compression along the entire length of the body part enclosed.

As shown in Figure 6, the chambers 17 in the insert (for the leg or arm) laterally match the chambers 12 on the corresponding garment (for the leg or arm) that they are connected to. The insert chambers 17 inflate to exactly the same pressure and administer the same therapy as the garments 1 they are connected to, thereby providing a continuation of the compression therapy all round the circumference and length of the body part enclosed.

The construction of the insert 16 is the same as the garment with separate inflatable air chambers 17 enclosed in inner 8 and outer 9 panels that are attached to the zip fasteners 14 of the appropriate leg or arm garments. As the leg and arm garments are designed to fit the full length of the limb in question, the insert lengths are the same as the lengths of the garments they are attached to.

An air inlet grommet 11 is high frequency welded into the chambers to allow air to be delivered from an external source, for example a pump.

The insert 16 secured to the garment by means of a zip fastener 14 running the entire length. As with the garment 1, the chambers 17 of the insert 16 span the entire width of the inner 8 and outer 9 layers, so that when the two mating halves of the zip fastener are brought together the inflatable chamber extends underneath the zip fastener area.

Thus it can be seen that the garment 1 is suitable for use for a leg and foot or arm of a patient for the treatment of oedema and vascular disorders and is able to compress the body part sequentially without leaving any part untouched by means of the overlapping chambers, the chambers extending underneath the closure fastening mechanism. The garment for a leg and foot also provides sequential compression of the foot, with the same beneficial features of uninterrupted compression circumferentially and along the entire length of the foot and ankle. The invention also includes an inflatable insert to extend the circumference of a garment so as to provide therapy to a range of body part widths, the insert matching the garment in performance in terms of uninterrupted circumferential compression along its length.

Claims

1. An inflatable garment for applying compressive pressure to a patient's leg and foot, the garment including a plurality of chambers spaced longitudinally along the garment in overlapping relationship, conduits for supplying fluid under pressure to the chambers, means for connecting the conduits to a pressure source and a closure mechanism to secure the garment around a body part, wherein the garment further provides overlapping chambers for the foot and ankle of the leg whereby the garment provides sequential compression therapy from the thigh to the toes of a patient.

2. An inflatable garment as claimed in claim 1 in combination with an inflatable insert to extend the circumference of the garment, the insert comprising a corresponding number of chambers spaced longitudinally along the insert in overlapping relationship, the insert chambers laterally coinciding with the chambers of the garment, conduits for supplying fluid under pressure to the insert chambers, means for connecting the conduits to a pressure source and a closure mechanism to secure the insert to the garment so that the insert chambers coincide longitudinally and laterally with the chambers of the garment in order to provide continuous sequential compression along the length and circumference of the extended garment.

3. An inflatable insert in combination with an inflatable garment to extend the circumference of the garment, the insert comprising a corresponding number of chambers spaced longitudinally along the insert in overlapping relationship, the chambers laterally coinciding with the chambers of the garment, conduits for supplying fluid under pressure to the chambers, means for connecting the conduits to a pressure source and a closure mechanism to secure the insert to the garment, wherein the chambers of the garment and insert coincide longitudinally and laterally to provide continuous sequential compression along the length and circumference of the extended garment.

4. An inflatable garment as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein each of the chambers extends laterally under the closure mechanism so as to provide complete circumferential compression.

5. An inflatable insert as claimed in claim 3 wherein the chambers extend laterally under the closure mechanism securing the insert to the garment.