ACCESS APPLICATIONS

Technical Field

This invention relates to an apparatus which prevent the patient or the items in the surrounding to be contaminated with blood by protecting the vessel access point in peripheral venous catheter and injector applications for blood drawing, intravenous drug applications and fluid treatment.

State of the Art

Peripheral venous catheter and injector applications for blood drawing, intravenous drug applications and fluid treatment are applied to the most of the admitted or hospitalized patients. During this application, it is very important that the blood coming out of the vessel does not touch any surface in terms of preventing infections. However, blood coming out of the vein during the application has the risk of contaminating sometimes the patient's own skin, sometimes the skin of the practicing health care personnel, sometimes the patient's clothing, the chair armrest, or the floor.

Living surfaces contaminated with blood are cleaned with skin antiseptic and thereby, growth of microorganisms is prevented. Nonliving surfaces, on the other hand, are often wiped out with only water or only disinfected with disinfectants. Although applications may vary according to the policies of the institutions, only disinfection can be provided in most of the institutions. Similar to the skin antiseptics, the disinfection process only stops the growth of microorganisms. Since blood is both a source for growth and reproduction of microorganisms and one of the most important ways of carrying microorganisms, preventing the risk of blood contamination in peripheral venous access is of critical importance especially for preventing infections.

Patients who have to come into contact with surfaces contaminated with else's blood may experience psychosocial problems such as disgust and anxiety, and patient comfort may be impaired. Furthermore, the difficulty of eliminating traces of blood on patient beds, bed sheets, mattresses and pillows means an extra workforce and creates a serious economic burden.

In the literature, use of treatment fabric and cloth is recommended in peripheral venous access applications to prevent blood contamination, but unfortunately, in practical applications in health care settings, it is observed that the use of these protective equipment materials is not preferred. As a result, traces of blood can be found on many surfaces. This condition is too frequent to follow and poses a serious risk for infection. It is reported that infections related to peripheral venous catheters and injectors constitute approximately 80 - 90 % of the blood circulation - related infections that develop in the hospital environment.

More than one documents can be found in the technique on finding and eliminating the causes of these infections.

In one of them, the patent document CN108324291 A; an injector connected to a valve system that prevents the blood flowing back from the injector is mentioned. With the invention, it is prevented that the blood drawn from the patient and possibly contaminated with bacteria contact to flow backward into the patient's body when drawing a blood sample. It has been thereby stated that the costs regarding the sterilization of blood sample tubes may be reduced.

Another document of in technique, the utility model document number CN203446618A describes a hospital gown. There are openings in certain areas of the dress such as neck, waist, chest that can be opened when necessary. These openings can be opened or closed in case of blood expulsion, patient vomiting, or any kind of fluid overflow, preventing contamination.

When the current technique was examined, no apparatus which prevent the bleeding to contaminate the points other than the point of application when still in the point that they are developed are found.

When the studies and improvements to prevent infections due to contamination are considered, a protection apparatus that can be applied directly to the patient's skin on the related limb, allowing catheter / injector access while at the same time preventing blood to flow outside the application point, is still needed. Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a containment apparatus suitable for use in peripheral venous access applications that meets the aforementioned requirements, eliminates all disadvantages, and brings some additional advantages.

The primary purpose of the invention is to provide a protection apparatus used by adhering onto the patient's skin.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a protection apparatus made of waterproof material.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a protection apparatus that prevents blood circulation infections due to catheter and injector access and reduces health costs.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a protection apparatus that increases the comfort of both the patient with whom the peripheral venous access application is performed and the following patients.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a protection apparatus designed in the form of a disposable, thus preventing re - use.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a biocompatible protection apparatus that does not cause skin irritation.

In order to achieve the aforementioned purposes, the invention is a protection apparatus suitable for use in peripheral venous catheter and injector applications for blood drawing, intravenous drug administration or fluid therapy; comprising at least one strip structure that allows the apparatus to hold onto the patient's related limb and is configured to be in direct contact with the patient's skin,

at least one fastener that allows the strip structure to be joined by fully wrapping around the limb as needed,

at least one band that can be attached to and removed from the patient's skin, allowing the catheter or the injector to be detected by maintaining the angle of entry into the skin, at least one pocket introduced on the strip structure, allowing the blood, which may come out through the skin after the peripheral access of the catheter or the injector, to be filled inside.

The structure and characteristics and all advantages of the invention will be understood more clearly through the following figure and the detailed explanation written with reference to the figure. Therefore, the evaluation should be based on these figures and the detailed description.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure 1 A front view of an embodiment of the protection apparatus of the invention.

Figure 2 - A back view of an embodiment of the protection apparatus of the invention.

Figure 3 - A top view of an embodiment of the protection apparatus of the invention. Figure 4 - A top view of an embodiment of the protection apparatus of the invention when it is attached to a patient.

Description of References

1. Protection apparatus

2. Strip structure

3. Fastener

31. Flook structure

32. Piled structure

4. Band

5. Pocket Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the protection apparatus for peripheral venous catheter and injector applications are provided for a better understanding of the subject without imposing any limitations.

The invention is a protection apparatus (1 ) suitable for use in peripheral venous catheter and injector applications for blood drawing, intravenous drug administrations and fluid therapy; comprising

at least one strip structure (2) that allows the apparatus (1 ) to hold onto the patient's related limb and is configured to be in direct contact with the patient's skin,

at least one fastener (3) that allows the strip structure (2) to be joined by fully wrapping around the limb as needed,

at least one band (4) that can be attached to and removed from the patient's skin, allowing the catheter or the injector to be detected by maintaining the angle of entry into the skin,

at least one pocket (5) introduced on the strip structure (2), allowing the blood, which may come out through the skin after the peripheral access of the catheter or the injector, to be filled inside.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the mentioned strip structure (2) is made of waterproof and biocompatible material, most preferably nonwoven (PE - nonwoven) material with liquid absorption property. The material in question is laminated in such a way as not to constitute a thickness. It does not cause skin rash and irritation due to its biocompatible and elastic structure.

At least one fastener (3) is introduced on the strip structure (2) in order to provide two ends to be attached to each other and to ensure that the apparatus (1 ) is secured more strongly when it is applied to limbs such as legs and arms (Figure 4). The mentioned fastener (3) in the preferred embodiment of the invention has the form of an opening and closing hook and pile fastener comprising at least one hook structure (31 ) and at least one pile structure (32) (Figure 1 and Figure 2). In the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one band (4) is introduced above the strip structure (2), in order to allow the catheter or injector entry while providing hygiene by covering the area of peripheral venous access. The band (4) is insulated with adhesion properties, compatible with non - woven polyethylene material.

Since the band (4) is also located on the face of the pocket (5) facing the strip (2), it prevents the blood entering the pocket (5) from touching the patient's skin.

The pocket (5) has the shape of a collection vessel in which the blood from the patient's vein and flowing through the skin after the application of peripheral venous entry is collected. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is introduced on the strip structure (2) with a circular and convex structure is. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the pocket (5) is made of non - woven polyethylene material.

The protection apparatus (1 ) of the invention prevents blood contaminating both the skin of the patient and nonliving surfaces such as clothes, sheets, mattresses, and chair armrests. Due to the reduced infection risk and its biocompatible structure that does not cause irritation, it improves both the patient comfort and patients' confidence in the healthcare institution.

With the protection apparatus (1 ) of the invention, it is also possible to reduce health costs by preventing blood circulation infections due to peripheral venous catheter and injector access.

Furthermore, the protection apparatus (1 ) with disposable design due to being made of inexpensive materials prevents repeated use of the apparatus (1 ) which has been previously used on another patient.