Patent Application
20200315681
The present disclosure generally relates to a swab and a coolant dispenser that may be releasably coupled to the swab and configured to control swab saturation. In certain embodiments, a saturated swab may be used for dental cold sensitivity testing.
A common method for testing oral nerve health involves analyzing a patient's reaction to cold. A healthy tooth nerve transmits a cold stimulus. No resulting sense of cold or an intense cold pain, lasting beyond the actual stimulus, can mean the patient has nerve damage. If further testing confirms damage, or devitalization, root treatment may be necessary.
Dentists may test nerve damage by performing a dental cold sensitivity test. Currently, dentists may perform a dental cold sensitivity test by saturating a swab with a coolant, and applying the coolant to a patient's tooth. Spraying the coolant directly at a patient's tooth or teeth can cause undesirable pain and damage. Dentists, therefore, may perform a dental cold sensitivity test by holding a cotton ball or swab with tweezers in one hand, actuating a coolant dispenser with the other hand to dispense coolant until the cotton ball or swab is saturated with coolant, and then applying the saturated cotton ball or swab to the patient's tooth. This process requires dentists to hold a cotton ball or tweezers with one hand and a coolant dispenser with another hand.
Further, because conventional coolant dispensers do not implement any type of flow control valve, they dispense coolant at a rate proportionate to their level of actuation. Without a flow control valve, the user may oversaturate the swab and waste coolant. Further, a straw or tube coupled to the actuator may be “blown out” of (ejected from) the actuator due to excess force when a standard valve is fully actuated.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method for dental cold sensitivity testing that allows a swab to be saturated with coolant (using one hand) without needing to additionally use a pair of tweezers (using another hand) to hold the swab. Further, there is a need for an improved coolant dispenser that, among other things, avoids oversaturation of swabs and inadvertent ejection of straws and tubes.
In addition, current commonly-used coolants can be environmentally unsafe, with relatively high Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) or Global Warming Potential (GWP) values. For example, each of the cryogenic agents specified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,745 have high ODP and GWP values that mean such agents may cause harmful effects in terms of depleting the ozone layer or enhancing global warming.
Thus, there is also a need for coolants that have lower ODP and GWP values.
The present disclosure relates generally to a swab and coolant dispenser comprising a mechanism to control swab saturation for performing a dental cold sensitivity test.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a swab for performing a dental cold sensitivity test comprises a hollow tube and an absorbent tip. The hollow tube extends from a proximal end to a distal end and defines an internal coolant channel. The absorbent tip is fixedly attached to the distal end of the hollow tube such that the absorbent tip impedes the internal coolant channel at the distal end to prevent coolant from entering or exiting the internal coolant channel without first passing through the absorbent tip. The internal coolant channel is open at the proximal end such that coolant is able to enter or exit the proximal end.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a dental cold sensitivity testing apparatus comprises a pressurized container and a swab. The pressurized container contains a coolant. The pressurized container comprises an actuator and an outlet. The swab may be as described above in the previous paragraph. The proximal end of the swab may be releasably coupled to the outlet (for example, by inserting the proximal end of the swab into the outlet). When a user actuates the actuator, a volume of coolant may be dispensed such that it passes through the outlet, the proximal end, and the internal coolant channel to reach the absorbent tip fixedly attached to the distal end of the swab. The absorbent tip may be at least substantially saturated with the volume of coolant.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user may use the swab and dental cold sensitivity testing apparatus described in the above paragraphs to perform a dental cold sensitivity test. The user may releasably couple the proximal end of the swab to the outlet. Next, the user may actuate the actuator to cause a volume of coolant to pass through the outlet, the proximal end, and the internal coolant channel to reach the absorbent tip fixedly attached to the distal end of the swab. The user may thus at least substantially saturate the absorbent tip with the volume of coolant.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description describe various embodiments and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed subject matter. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the various embodiments, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate the various embodiments described herein, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the claimed subject matter.
The following is a description of the examples depicted in the accompanying drawings. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic in the interest of clarity or conciseness.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the figures. It should be understood that the claims are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the figures. Furthermore, the appearance shown in the figures is one of many ornamental appearances that can be employed to achieve the stated functions of the apparatus.
In the following detailed description, specific details may be set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be clear to one skilled in the art when disclosed examples may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. For the sake of brevity, well-known features or processes may not be described in detail. In addition, like or identical reference numerals may be used to identify common or similar elements.
One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
The hollow tube 102 may be made of any suitable material, including plastics such as polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or polypropylene (PP), or metal such as aluminum. The hollow tube 102 may be transparent or opaque. The absorbent tip 104 may be made of any suitable material, including fibrous materials such as synthetic fibers and natural fibers (including loosely woven cotton), foam materials, or a combination thereof. The absorbent tip 104 may be attached to the hollow tube 102 by any suitable method, including heat sealing, ultrasound, radio frequency (RF), thermally, adhesive, and solvent bonding. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user may use the swab 100 to test dental sensitivity by first saturating or substantially saturating the absorbent tip 104 with a coolant and then applying the at least substantially saturated absorbent tip 104 to an exposed area in an oral cavity, including a tooth or gum line. In certain embodiments, the swab 100 may be reusable. In other embodiments, the swab 100 may be disposable. According to the present disclosure, a saturated absorbent tip may be defined as an absorbent tip that is unable to absorb any more coolant. For example, one may be able to infer that a swab is saturated if the swab visibly appears to be saturated with coolant or if coolant begins to drip from the swab. A substantially saturated absorbent tip may be defined as an absorbent tip that is approaching saturation. Depending on the coolant being absorbed, a substantially saturated absorbent tip may be, for example, at least 80% saturated, at least 90% saturated, at least 95% saturated with coolant. According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the coolant may be a cryogenic agent. According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the coolant may be any fluid, including water, acid, or a chemical solution.
The swab 100 for performing a dental cold sensitivity test may be any suitable length. Similarly, the absorbent tip 104 may be any suitable size. For example, the length of the absorbent tip 104 may vary upon the size of a tooth being tested for dental sensitivity. According to certain embodiments, approximately 1/3 of a tooth's surface may be exposed to the absorbent tip 104. According to certain embodiments, the absorbent tip 104 may be between ¼ and ½ inches long.
A suitable length of time needed to dispense coolant in order to saturate or substantially saturate an absorbent tip 214 may vary depending on such factors as the coolant that is used, the level of actuation of the actuator 222, the typical flow rate of coolant being dispense by the actuator, and the size of the absorbent tips. For the majority of coolants, actuators, and absorbent tips that may be used according to the present disclosure, dispensing the coolant for between 1 and 15 (or between 3 and 10) seconds will saturate or substantially saturate an absorbent tip 214.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the actuator 222 may be configured to dispense coolant at a maximum flow rate. For example, the actuator 222 may comprise a flow control valve configured to dispense coolant at a flow rate no greater than a specified limit. For example, this limit could be no greater than 100 microliters per second (μL/s). By limiting the maximum flow rate, one can prevent a swab 210 from being “blown out” or ejected from an outlet 224 during actuation of the actuator 222.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the actuator 222 may be configured to dispense coolant at a constant flow rate regardless of the level of actuation. For example, the actuator 222 may comprise a flow control valve configured to dispense coolant at a given flow rate once the actuator 222 is actuated beyond a threshold level of actuation.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the actuator 222 may be configured to dispense coolant at a variable flow rate, where the flow rate depends on the actuator's level of actuation. For example, the actuator 222 may comprise a valve configured to dispense coolant at a greater flow rate as the actuator 222 is further actuated (e.g., as more pressure is applied to the actuator 222, coolant is dispensed at a greater flow rate). When the user actuates the actuator 222, the coolant dispenses. When the user stops actuating the actuator 222, the coolant stops dispensing.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the actuator 222 may be configured to dispense a metered dose (i.e., a specific volume) of coolant regardless of the level of actuation. For example, the actuator 222 may comprise a valve configured to dispense a specific volume of coolant once the actuator 222 is actuated beyond a threshold level of actuation. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, this metered dose or specific volume may be between 25 and 1000 microliters (μL), between 30 and 300 μL, or between 40 and 180 μL. For example, this metered dose may be 50 μL, 60 μL, 75 μL, 80 μL, 90 μL, 95 μL, 100 μL, 110 μL, 120 μL, or 125 μL.
According to the present disclosure, a dental cold sensitivity testing apparatus 200 may be used to test dental sensitivity. To do so, a user may first releasably couple the proximal end 216 of the swab 210 to the outlet 224. Next, the user may actuate the actuator 222 to cause a volume of coolant to pass through the outlet 224, the proximal end 216, and the internal coolant channel to reach the absorbent tip 214 fixedly attached to the distal end 218 of the swab 210. In doing so, the user may saturate or substantially saturate the absorbent tip 214 with the volume of coolant. The saturation or near-saturation of the absorbent tip 214 may occur due to the level of actuation (e.g., from the user actuating the actuator 222 for a sufficiently long time at a sufficient pressure to reach saturation or near-saturation). In embodiments where the dental cold sensitivity testing apparatus 200 comprises a flow control valve, the level of saturation may be controlled by the flow control valve (independent of the level of actuation beyond a threshold amount needed to commence actuation). In certain scenarios, a user may need to actuate the actuator 222 more than once (for example, two or three separate times) in order to achieve full or substantial saturation. After fully or substantially saturating the absorbent tip 214, the user may decouple the swab 210 from the outlet 224 and, holding the swab 210 away from the distal end 218, apply the saturated absorbent tip 214 to a particular site (such as an exposed area of an oral cavity to test dental sensitivity). For example, the exposed area of the oral cavity may be a tooth, gum, or dental pulp. In other scenarios, the particular site may be away from an oral cavity and may be, for example, a skin lesion (for example, the saturated absorbent tip 214 could be applied to a wart in order to remove the wart).
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure,
According to the present disclosure, the coolant used may be selected from the following: R-1234yf (HFO-1234yf) 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoropropene, R-1234ze (HFO 1234ze) trans-1,3,3,3-Tetrafluoroprop-1-ene CF3CH═CHF, cis-1,3,3,3-Tetrafluoroprop-1-ene, CF3CH═CHF R-32 1,1,1-Chlorodifluoromethane, R-744 CO2, R-514A, (HFO-1336mzzZ) trans-1,1,1,4,4,4-Hexafluoro-2-butene/trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, and R-1233zd(E) trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, (HFC 134a) 1,1,1,2 Tertrafluoroethane, (HFC 152a) 1,1 difluoroethane, or a mixture thereof. These coolants are also shown in Table 1. The coolants disclosed herein are more environmentally sustainable when compared to other coolants conventionally in use. The relative environmental suitability of a coolant may be quantified by its Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP). GWP is a relative measurement of the amount of heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere as compared to a similar mass of carbon dioxide over a specific time interval. GWP is expressed as a factor of the standardized GWP of carbon dioxide (1.0). A high GWP correlates with large infrared absorption and long atmospheric life, and as such represents the potential of a substance to contribute to global warming. ODP is a relative measurement of the amount of ozone layer degradation a coolant can cause as compared to the standardized ODP of trichlorofluoromethane (R-11 or CFC-11), where trichlorofluoromethane has an ODP of 1.0. A higher ODP correlates with a substance expected to cause greater ozone layer degradation. The coolants disclosed herein in the present disclosure have low GWP and no ODP.
The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.
