WO2011157947A1

WO2011157947A1 - Cold or heat treatment device comprising a container

Info

Publication number: WO2011157947A1
Application number: PCT/FR2011/051354
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fabrice Skowronek
Original assignee: Fabrice Skowronek
Priority date: 2010-06-18
Filing date: 2011-06-15
Publication date: 2011-12-22
Also published as: FR2961388B1; FR2961388A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a cold or heat treatment device (2) comprising a container (4) for a substance forming a source of cold or heat. The container has at least one main face (8) and two longitudinal sides (10) on each side of said face. The receptacle can be held by hand by means of the longitudinal sides (10) and has the appearance of a casing, in particular a telephone casing.

Description

An article of cold or heat therapy comprising a receptacle

The invention relates to cold or heat therapy articles and in particular articles for post-surgical oral and maxillofacial cryotherapy.

After an oral or maxillofacial surgical procedure, it is known to perform a cryotherapy step in which the bruised area is cooled on the patient's head in order to slow down the installation of the inflammatory process. after the operative act and to limit its intensity and extension. There are articles in the form of cushions that contain a substance capable of delivering cold through the wall of the cushion. In use, the patient holds the cooling bag, for example on his cheek, to cool the area to be treated.

Such procedures are frequently performed in the dental office of the city so that the patient leaves the office to reach his home or workplace by keeping the cooling bag against his face. But walking in the street holding the pocket this way embarrasses many patients who find it unpleasant to meet in this state the eyes of passersby. This is why some patients prefer to interrupt or delay the application of cold rather than suffer from this inconvenience. However, cryotherapy is all the more effective because it closely and prolonged the surgical procedure. Delaying or interrupting the application of cold therefore greatly affects the effectiveness of the treatment, the comfort of the patient and the consequences of the procedure.

An object of the invention is to improve the effectiveness of treatments by cold or heat.

For this purpose, there is provided according to the invention a cold or heat therapy article comprising a receptacle for a substance forming a source of cold or heat, the receptacle having at least one main face and two longitudinal sides of part and other of the latter, the receptacle being able to be held in hand by the longitudinal sides and having the appearance of a housing, including a telephone housing.

Indeed, it is commonplace today to maintain against his face a portable electronic device such as a phone or a personal digital assistant when walking in the street. The therapy item looks like a case, the fact of holding it against the face does not attract the eyes of passersby. A patient leaving a practice after surgery may therefore hold the article against the intervention area without attracting the attention of passers-by or fearing it. cross. The abovementioned psychological obstacle being abolished, the patient can immediately and uninterruptedly carry out the cryotherapy phase throughout the period in which it is prescribed.

Preferably, the receptacle forms a dummy telephone.

The maintenance of the article of therapy against the face therefore goes particularly unnoticed.

Advantageously, the receptacle is able to be held in hand by the sides without deforming in the direction of the width extending from one side to the other.

Thus, the article can be held in hand naturally, as would be a mobile communication device.

Preferably, the receptacle comprises a flexible wall.

This flexibility allows the wall to deform to better fit the area of the patient to cool or reheat and place more effectively at the desired temperature.

Advantageously, the receptacle has a width of less than 8 centimeters.

This range of width is that of mobile phone or personal assistant boxes and thus allows to better confuse the item with one of these devices.

Advantageously, the receptacle contains at least one substance capable of serving as a source of cold or heat.

In one embodiment, the receptacle contains a substance capable of remaining non-solid at a temperature below 0 ° C.

In another embodiment, the receptacle contains at least two substances capable of cooperating in the receptacle to cause an endothermic reaction.

Advantageously, the receptacle has a filling orifice and a shutter for the orifice.

The receptacle can therefore be filled with the desired substance, for example shortly before use. It can previously be transported and stored easily and with a reduced weight. It can also be reused, for example by renewing the substance or replacing it with a substance of another type.

Advantageously, the receptacle has at least one zone delimiting at least one of a dummy keyboard and a dummy screen.

Preferably, the receptacle has a velvety outer surface.

It is also provided according to the invention a method of administering cold or heat in which a patient holds against his head an article according to the invention, the receptacle containing a substance forming a source of cold or heat.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following description of several embodiments given as non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an article according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the article of Figure 1 according to its thickness;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an article according to another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view showing a patient using an article according to the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of the article according to the invention, which is used for cryotherapy in the present example. Article 2 comprises a receptacle 4 forming a pocket for receiving a substance 6 forming a source of cold.

The receptacle 4 has in this case the appearance of a mobile phone housing. It has a general rectangular parallelepiped shape and has two main faces 8 opposite to one another, of generally flat shape and parallel to each other. It has two longitudinal sides 10 extending on either side of the two faces, from one to the other of their respective longitudinal edges. It also comprises two end faces 12. The faces 8 form the largest faces of the receptacle. Each of these faces has a generally rectangular shape, the longitudinal direction of the rectangle being parallel to the longitudinal lateral sides 10. The distance between the two main faces defines the thickness of the receptacle. The receptacle has from one to the other of the longitudinal sides a width l which is also the width of the main faces 8, and is less than 8 centimeters and preferably less than 6 centimeters. The receptacle 4 comprises a flexible waterproof wall made here of synthetic material, for example vinyl or polyethylene. We can give the wall a dark color, for example black, or gray, or even metallized, to better imitate the appearance of a mobile phone case.

The receptacle is adapted to be held in the hand, for example as shown in Figure 4, by its longitudinal sides 10, and without deforming in the direction of the width f. For this purpose, he presents, in this direction, a rigidity high enough to allow him to be grasped and held against the face of a patient. It can be expected that the receptacle alone does not have such rigidity but that it once filled with the substance 6.

The receptacle 4 here has the appearance of a box of nomadic electronic device, in this case a mobile phone. On one of its main faces, it thus has reliefs, or even cavities, delimiting a dummy keyboard 14 and a dummy screen 16. The keyboard may look like a keyboard intended for entry of numbers, letters or both. It may for example be a keyboard comprising keys with a key for each letter, in the so-called "azerty" configuration.

The receptacle 4 forms a sealed receiving pocket for a substance such as a liquid or a gel. It has on its upper end face 12 a through hole 18 communicating the outside and the inside of the receptacle and comprises a removable cap 20 adapted to extend into the orifice by closing it. In this case, the plug, in the closed position, protrudes from the upper end face 12 and has an elongated cylindrical shape giving it the appearance of a receiving antenna for the mobile phone.

The article is used as follows.

The practitioner, such as the dental surgeon, fills the receptacle with a liquid, in this case water, through the orifice 18, then closes it with the stopper 20. It puts the article thus filled in the refrigerator to cool the liquid 6 or, better, freeze it so that the water forms a block of ice in the receptacle.

It is assumed that the practitioner performs an oral or maxillofacial procedure on a patient.

At the end of the procedure, he extracts the article 2 from the refrigerator and tells the patient to apply it against his face, for example his cheek, in order to administer cold to the area of the intervention.

The patient grasps the article between his fingers in his hand as shown in Figure 4 and applies it on the area to cool against his cheek. The cold of the substance diffuses through the wall of the receptacle and the skin of the patient into the area of the procedure. In this position, the article provides a cooling of the bruised territory to slow down the installation of the inflammatory process after the surgical procedure and to limit the intensity and extension.

Given the location of this area, the article is more or less similar to that of a phone when in conversation. The patient can walk down the street holding the article in this position without attracting the attention of passersby.

It is preferably provided that the outer face of the receptacle 4 has a velvety appearance, obtained for example by means of a flocking of this face. Indeed, it may happen that atmospheric water vapor condenses on the outer face of the article. The velvety appearance reduces this condensation and avoids making the contact of the article against the skin too unpleasant in such a case.

Alternatively, the receptacle can be filled by means of a substance able to remain non-solid at a temperature below 0 ° C. It may be a liquid or a gel. It may be for example a non-toxic gel which remains flexible down to -18 ° C, such as a silica gel.

In such a case, it can be expected that the article is reusable as is. The orifice can be dispensed with so that the substance is permanently enclosed in the receptacle. It is sufficient to cool the assembly prior to use by a patient.

In another embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the receptacle 4 contains two substances 6a and 6b, in particular in liquid form, and able to cause an endothermic chemical reaction when they are brought into contact with each other. For this purpose, provision is made in the receptacle for a triggering device such as a breakable member 22, the rupture of which, deliberately carried out through the receptacle by the practitioner before use, causes the two substances to come into contact with one another and thus trigger the reaction for the administration of cold. The article can thus for example deliver cold at -10 ° C for about 30 minutes.

It can also be provided that the capsule contains a liquid such as water and is surrounded by a suitable salt such that, when the capsule is broken, the liquid is brought into contact with the salt, which dissolves the salt and produces the endothermic reaction.

Thanks to the invention, the operated patient can cool the tissues surrounding the operated area discreetly, even in the street. It is not bothered by the eyes of others and can therefore perform more effectively, faster and longer post-operative care that will have less painful or oedematous consequences.

Of course, we can bring to the invention many changes without departing from the scope thereof.

The receptacle can be given the appearance of a PDA-type personal assistant box, a walkman forming a decoder of MP3 format music files or other portable consumer electronics devices. The receptacle can mimic a phone case without a keyboard in the manner of a phone with a touch screen. The receptacle could also have the configuration of a flip phone, that is to say a telephone whose housing is formed in two parts articulated to one another, one of the parts forming a lid protecting the other.

Although applications of the invention have been described for cryotherapy, the invention is also applicable to heat therapy for the relief of rheumatic pain, lumbago, torticollis, etc. The receptacle may thus contain a substance capable of delivering heat to the patient.

Also provided, independently of the invention, a cold or hot therapy article comprising a receptacle for a substance forming a source of cold or heat and having the appearance of a housing, particularly a housing of phone.

Claims

1. An article (2) for cold or heat therapy, comprising a receptacle (4) for a substance (6; 6a, 6b) forming a source of cold or heat, the receptacle having at least one main face (8) and two longitudinal sides (10) on either side of the latter, the receptacle being adapted to be held in hand by the longitudinal sides (10) and having the appearance of a housing, including a telephone housing.

2. Article according to the preceding claim wherein the receptacle (4) is adapted to be held in hand by the sides (10) without deforming in the direction of the width (i) extending from one to the other sides.

3. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) comprises a flexible wall.

4. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) has a width (i) less than 8 centimeters.

5. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) contains at least one substance (6; 6a, 6b) adapted to serve as a source of cold or heat.

6. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) contains a substance capable of remaining non-solid at a temperature below 0 ° C.

7. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) contains at least two substances (6a, 6b) adapted to cooperate in the receptacle to cause an endothermic reaction.

8. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle has a filling orifice (18) and a shutter

(20) for the orifice.

9. Article according to at least one of the preceding claims wherein the receptacle (4) has at least one zone delimiting at least one of a dummy keyboard (14) and a dummy screen (16).

10. A method of administering cold or heat, characterized in that a patient holds against his head an article (2) according to at least one of the preceding claims, the receptacle containing a substance (6; 6a, 6b ) forming a source of cold or heat.