Medical professionals, such as nurses and doctors, routinely treat patients having surface wounds of varying size, shape, and severity. It is known that controlling the topical atmosphere adjacent a wound can enhance the healing process. For example, by applying medicinal agents or even water over a wound, dirt and bacteria are either killed or washed away, thereby promoting healing. In addition, applying a negative pressure or vacuum to a wound draws out exudate, which might contain dirt and bacteria, from the wound to further promote healing.
Conventional treatment of a surface wound involves placement of a packing or dressing material, such as cotton, gauze, or other bandage-like material directly in contact with the patient's wound. Often there is a need to change the dressing material frequently because it becomes saturated with exudate discharged from the wound. Some dressings include an apparatus attached thereto for applying a vacuum through the bandage to the wound to draw exudate and promote healing.
According to the present disclosure, a control unit is adapted for use with a vacuum wound bandage. The control unit comprises a control module to provide a negative pressure through the vacuum wound bandage and a canister having an interior region to collect waste material from the vacuum wound bandage and a latch to couple the canister to the control module. The latch extends through the interior region. Illustratively, the latch is operable to move the canister into sealing engagement with the control module. Further illustratively, the canister has a sleeve positioned within the interior region, and a portion of the latch is positioned within the sleeve.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the control unit comprises a vacuum source to provide a desired negative pressure through the vacuum wound bandage to treat the wound, a pressure sensor, and a canister. The canister has a chamber to collect waste material from the vacuum bandage, an inlet port to introduce waste material from the vacuum bandage into the chamber, an outlet port to communicate with the chamber and the vacuum source, and a pressure port to communicate with the chamber and the pressure sensor. The pressure port is positioned to allow the pressure sensor to sense the pressure within the chamber when the waste material within the chamber at least partially occludes the outlet port so as to prohibit the vacuum source from providing the desired negative pressure within the chamber.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the control unit comprises a fluid source to irrigate the wound, a housing carrying the vacuum source and the fluid source, and a door movable relative to the housing between an opened position uncovering the fluid source and a closed position at least partially covering the fluid source. The control unit further comprises a latch coupled to the door for movement relative to the door between a latched position blocking movement of the door from its closed position to its opened position and a release position allowing the door to move between its closed position and its opened position. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the door has a mount supporting the fluid source.
Additional features and advantages of the apparatus will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed descriptions exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the apparatus as presently perceived.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates several embodiments of the apparatus, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure in any manner.
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USPTO Backgrounds