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The present invention relates generally to medical devices and particularly to a device for securing intravenous needles, cannulas and tubing to treatment sites including arterial-venous fistula sites as used in dialysis treatment.
Intravenous needles and cannulas, also referred to as venous access devices, must be secured to patients to prevent dislodgment during medical treatment. The term needle will be used herein to refer to both needles and cannulas. The location of the needle insertion point or points on a patient vary with the type of medical treatment and the location of a suitable vein. Such locations include for example an upper arm, a surface on the outside surface of a hand, a wrist of a hand, a lower arm or an inside of an elbow of an arm. In dialysis treatment, a special site is typically created to provide for a strengthened vein, most commonly in the forearm and less frequently in the leg, to repeatedly accept two large needles and provide for sufficient flow of blood. The special site is created by joining a vein and an artery and is called a fistula and receives two arterial-venous (AV) fistula needles. In any of the above mentioned locations, it is very difficult to keep the needle secured to operate satisfactorily. In dialysis treatment, where the treatment is prolonged, repeated frequently, and two large needles are used, the problem of securing the needles is exasperated.
It is of the utmost importance that the needle or needles be kept under surveillance to check for proper operation and potential dislodgment or leaks of fluid. The most prevalent method to secure needles is to apply adhesive bandages and or tape to keep the needles in place. Unfortunately, bandages and tape can frequently obscure the view of the needle insertion point and needle assembly. Furthermore, many patients cannot tolerate prolonged or repeated applications of adhesive bandages and tape to their skin and have or develop an allergic reaction to adhesive bandages and tape. It has been known that patients who undergo dialysis treatments several times a week for a prolonged period of time can exhibit blue and black spots on their skin because of such an allergy to the adhesive and the continuous application thereof. Other solutions such as arm boards with straps around the location of the needle to keep it in place are not satisfactory because they severely restrict the movement of the patient. What is needed is a device that secures one or more intravenous needles, such as two arterial-venous fistula needles, securely in place, provides for observance of the treatment location, allows for some movement of the patient and does not require adhesive bandages.
The invention at hand solves the above noted problems. In the securement of the needles or a needle in either a dialysis or other intravenous (IV) procedure, no adhesives are used. Once a needle is placed within a vein, the needle is kept in place by straps that cross each other in that particular location. The straps are derived from and are fixed to a pad that is placed on an opposite side of the limb, hand or other part of the patient's body to which the needle is located. As the straps are moved around the location of the needle, they will cross that location and will return to their origin of the other side of the pad and will be fastened thereto. More than one strap will cross each other at the needle to thereby securely hold the needle in place at that location. A first strap can be used to apply a first pressure to secure the needle. A second strap can be used to apply a second pressure to further secure the needle.
a illustrates a needle secured to the inside wrist of a hand in an alternate location to that depicted in
The pad itself, in all of the above described installations, should be made of a semi-rigid material. That is, it should not give in any planar direction; yet, it should be bondable so that it can conform to any contours of an arm, hand, leg or other part of the body. The pad should not turn or flex with the different directions the straps may take. The grommets should allow the straps to turn relative to the pad. The application of two straps crossing over the needle assembly and tab thereof as described in the above installations, enables a first strap to apply a first pressure to initially secure and position said assembly, and a second strap to apply a second pressure further securing said assembly. As noted above, the pad can comprise hooks of the VELCRO™ fastening system, thereby allow the softer loops thereof to be used on the straps which face the patient. Patient comfort can be improved with this arrangement of the hooks and loops. Furthermore, the more compliant loops will better conform to the tabs of needle assemblies thereby providing for good retention thereof. Alternatively, the outer surface of the pad 11 could have the loops thereon so that the VELCRO™ system cannot snag on any outer garment. However, this arrangement would require the hooks to be applied to the straps and the previously mentioned patient comfort and tab retention may be lessened as a result. In an alternative embodiment, adhesives could be used to attach the straps to the pads after wrapping said straps around the patient. In this embodiment, the adhesive could be applied such that it would not come into contact with the patient. This embodiment may be preferable when the device is to be disposed of after a single use. However, the VELCRO™ system may provide a more secure attachment of the straps to the pad than an adhesive. Furthermore, as noted above, the soft and compliant loops of the VELCRO™ system may provide for improved patient comfort and improved retention of the tabs of the needle assemblies.
As mentioned earlier, needles and cannulas are also referred to as venous access devices. The present invention can also be used with venous access device assemblies which do not have tabs, or as they are also called, wings or butterflies. Generally there will be a firm portion between the base of the needle or cannula and the tubing which is suitable for gripping or holding the venous access device assembly near the insertion point. A wing, butterfly, tab or said firm portion can be referred to as a stabilizing feature of the needle.
Given the benefit of the above disclosure of the present invention, those skilled in the art may envision how the present invention could be practiced using variations to the disclosed embodiments. For example, the present invention can be practiced and used to secure venous access devices to other locations of the body such as locations on the legs, and alternative pad shapes and strap arrangements can be envisioned, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention can also be used to secure tubing and assemblies related to implanted venous catheters, which is yet another form of a venous access device. The foregoing detailed description should be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting and the appended claims, including all equivalents, are intended to define the scope of the invention.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040138623 A1 | Jul 2004 | US |