Patent Application
20200323293
The present disclosure generally relates to hospital patient gowns.
Hospitals provide patients staying in a hospital with a gown to be worn during their stay or their procedure. The gown given to the patient are built for few sizes that can be then snapped and ties to fit a wide range of body types and weight. The gowns have multiple snaps and ties to allow for opening or removed without having to get the patient out of the bed. Usually this is done with rolling the person over on the side and removing the ties or snaps to allow for cleaning the patient and removal of the stained or older garment. These gowns have the disadvantage that the patient finds it difficult to tie and untie the gown with the ties in the rear and sometimes needs the assistance of a nurse to tie and untie the gown. The gown if tied in the back makes it possible for skin damage and irritation with longer periods of recumbency.
The gown has been designed in some situations with so many ties and snaps that there is often difficulty putting the garment on correctly. If a patient or nurse has not seen the gowns previously, there is sometimes difficulty understanding how to apply it because there is not an obviousness about the way it is donned until several of the initial snaps are applied in the right way.
The closure mechanisms are usually metal or plastic snaps, ties, or Velcro. These are usually in areas that provide some ability to have utilitarian closure over areas like the shoulder or the back of the gown. Despite closure in the back, often with motions or walking patients find themselves instinctively reaching backwards to close the gown in case of inadvertent and often eventual visualization of their buttocks in between the material that does not overlap behind them. This motion of using their hands to close the gown can be difficult in cases of use of IV lines, Foley (urinary) catheter, or in cases of patient mobility issues which can even lead to falling.
Additional gowns have been used with the ties in the front. This allows for examination of the abdomen, genital areas, or the front of the chest. With either the gown in front or back closing, the respective area of the body that is covered is not able to be examined without pulling the gown completely up to the area that requires evaluation. Otherwise the gown has to be untied and often in a clumsy exchange pulled around the patient for physical exam.
These patient gowns do not simultaneously provide for both patient modesty and patient examination nor are they built to easily place them on the body without prior experience or evaluation of the design. The cloths used for the gowns are also mostly for the ease of cleaning and often are poly blends for ease of laundering. Usually the gowns do not allow for additional alteration for comfort or for body type changes as they are more utilitarian in design.
Clothing for the hospital should allow for maximum ability to be worn for the purpose of patient care while still preserving modesty and additionally allowing for changes to suit the personality and body type of the patient. Additionally, the cloth provided should be able to provide for textures that are more appealing as well as ability to provide functionality including odor control, microbiologic defense and better ease of cleaning without heavy use of detergent or chemicals.
The description of the illustrative embodiments can be read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the figures presented herein, in which:
The present innovation relates to a gown that can be used in the hospital and the office setting. The design of the gown allows for patient wear with functional openings to allow for examination by the health care professional. The design of the gown allows for the patient to have ties to adjust to their body type for cosmetic changes to their comfort. Additionally, modesty is maximized while allowing for an ability to rest in bed without discomfort, move functionally, and allow for procedures to be done particularly, the present invention relates to a front tying gown with or examinations without removing the entire garment. The same garment can be configured to be opened from either the left or right side of the patient yet without having fastening components on the back panel. Instead, a fastening strap can be accessed through a front panel in both configurations. The back panel presents a smooth surface to the patient, avoiding skin irritation during extended periods in a hospital bed.
In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, specific exemplary embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosed embodiments. For example, specific details such as specific method orders, structures, elements, and connections have been presented herein. However, it is to be understood that the specific details presented need not be utilized to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. It is also to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, architectural, programmatic, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from general scope of the disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
References within the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “embodiments”, or “one or more embodiments” are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases in various places within the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.
It is understood that the use of specific component, device and/or parameter names and/or corresponding acronyms thereof, such as those of the executing utility, logic, and/or firmware described herein, are for example only and not meant to imply any limitations on the described embodiments. The embodiments may thus be described with different nomenclature and/or terminology utilized to describe the components, devices, parameters, methods and/or functions herein, without limitation. References to any specific protocol or proprietary name in describing one or more elements, features or concepts of the embodiments are provided solely as examples of one implementation, and such references do not limit the extension of the claimed embodiments to embodiments in which different element, feature, protocol, or concept names are utilized. Thus, each term utilized herein is to be given its broadest interpretation given the context in which that terms is utilized.
From a top edge of the first sleeve 114, first and second halves 122, 124 of a neck opening 126 extend outwardly along a top edge respectively of the front and back fabric panels 108, 110. A front sleeve panel 128 of a second sleeve 130 extends further outward from the first half 122 of the neck opening 126 and is part of the front fabric panel 108. A back sleeve panel 132 of the second sleeve 130 extends further outward from the second half 124 of the neck opening 126 and is part of the back fabric panel 110. Holes 134 along a top shoulder edge of the front and back sleeve panels 128, 132 are attachable to form a closed shoulder seam 136 of the second sleeve 130. Open lateral sides 106 of the front and back fabric panels 108, 110 below the second sleeve 130 include corresponding openings such as slots 138 for receiving a fastener (not shown) or a free end of an attachment strap 118 to bring together the open lateral side 106.
A first sleeve 514 is formed of front and back sleeve panels 517, 519 that are separated from one another along the sleeve. Front sleeve panel 517 of the first sleeve 514 is part of the front fabric panel 108. Back sleeve panel 519 of the first sleeve 514 is part of the back fabric panel 110. String ties 521 are used to stitch together a closed shoulder seam 523 of the first sleeve 514.
The present innovation relates to a new design ergonomic patient gown for improving patient modesty and while allowing for patient care. The present innovation relates to a patient gown that opens and closes on one side with closures on one or both shoulders. There is a central strapping system in of the gown that can be closed on one or both sides for additional adjustment of the clothing for less amorphous appearance of the gown.
The gown is designed to be reversible in the iteration of a closed single shoulder sewn gown to allow for use on either side of the body. This would allow for use in a patient that has a right or left arm/leg, incision respectively.
The patient will always have a smooth back side of the gown as there is no straps or knots in this area.
The gown can be removed with rolling maneuvers without having to get them out of the bed.
In situations of both sides of the body having to be examined for examples breast, the gown iteration of bilateral shoulder straps can be used. In this case the gown does not have to be alternatively worn to allow front opening as access is possible without having to alter the normal use of the gown i.e., it does not have to be worn backwards.
Modesty is always maintained to a maximum level posteriorly. Additionally, because there is support on one side of the body, access can be excellent with continued coverage of body parts that do not have to be exposed.
Because of the center straps, adjustments of the gown can be done for additional comfortable cloth adherence to the body which can be comforting in a relatively fear inducing area like the hospital or before a procedure.
In one embodiment, a multi-purpose modesty gown for a patient is provided having two panels front and back with one side sewn together along the side of the body with straps at both shoulders with an opening in the center for the head.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for fasteners on the opposite shoulder allowing for a closed cylinder of sleeve and seam on one side of this arm closed.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for a center belt at the waist with central portion sewn to the midportion of the front of the gown. These straps can be pushed to the opposite side of the front panel for reversibility of the gown or to hide the straps for convenience.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for side straps on closed and open gown sides attached to the back panel of the gown and allowing attachment individually or both tied for cinching the waist portion of the gown.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for an additional strap in the lower portion of the gown for attachment of catheter.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for pockets on front and back of the front panel for additional convenience to the patient.
In another embodiment, the gown provides for reversibility in design to be reversed for use on the opposite side of the body with seam turned to the other side of the body.
The panels on the opposite shoulder may comprise at least one fastener on either the front or back portion or both. The fasteners may be located near the loose edge of each first and second segment or proximate the patient's neck and at or above the patient's chest, so that the fastener may be located at upper sections of the front and back overlapping portions. The fasteners may releasably connect the first and second segments at the upper sections of the front and back overlapping panels. Fasteners may comprise Velcro® (or Velcro type fastener), hook, snap, button, tie, loop and eye fasteners, nylon snaps, or a zipper. Further, fasteners may each comprise two fastener portions, one fastener portion located on the front portion of one segment and the other fastener portion located on the back portion of the other segment. For example, fasteners may comprise a snap button component on the inside surface of a first segment and a mating or corresponding snap button component on the outside surface of second segment. In other embodiments, the fasteners may each comprise more than one fastening mechanism.
The hospital/patient gowns of the present invention may be fabricated from any suitable drapable cloth-like material, including without limitation, textiles or fabrics made from any one or more materials including, but not limited to, plastics, paper, natural and synthetic fibers, and the like. Gowns may preferably be fashioned from flame-retardant materials, such as 100% polyester fabrics, and may also be fashioned from a durable material, which may be laundered one or more times for subsequent re-use. Such gowns may be individually or bulk-packaged and may optionally be contained in suitable packaging means that permit the gown to be sterilized subsequent to manufacture, and/or prior to patient use. The fabrics utilized for construction of the gown may also optionally comprise one or more stain-resistant chemicals, or one or more antimicrobial treatments (e.g., MicroBan™), or one or more flame-retardants, or such like. For example, in some embodiments a post-surgical undergarment is provided which incorporates LIFE® products, fabrics, coatings, and/or materials. Preferably, an antimicrobial substance is topically applied or inherently available in the fabric.
Depending upon the thickness or “ply” of the fabric used for fabricating the garments, the gown may be manufactured of a single ply of fabric or may optionally be formed for two or more sheets of fabrics. In all such cases, the more desirable fabric thickness will be one that provides appropriate coverage and patient modesty, as well as durability of the gown itself. Alternatively, the gown may be fashioned out of a material that may be employed for one-time use prior to disposal, incineration, or decontamination. These “one-time use” gowns may be fabricated from a lightweight or inexpensive fabric, from one or more plies of a paper or suitable paper/fabric composite. They may be individually or bulk-packaged and may optionally be contained in suitable packaging means that permit the gown to be sterilized subsequent to manufacture, and/or prior to patient use.
The gowns of the present invention may be fashioned from one or more fabrics having substantially one color and/or substantially one pattern or design, or alternatively, may be constructed from textiles having a plurality of colors and/or patterns. The hospital gowns described herein may also be designed using fabric colors, textile patterns and/or prints that are aesthetically-pleasing or that provide both physical and emotional comfort during wearing. Particularly desirable are fabrics that are pleasing and/or calming to a juvenile or adolescent patient.
In certain embodiments, the fabric may be permanently or semi-permanently identified with one or more distinguishing mark(s) or logo(s) of the laundry/linen service or hospital that owns the garments or may be alternatively identified with one or more distinguishing mark(s) or logo(s) of the medical facility in which the gown is issued or used.
In certain embodiments, the fabric may be more “kid-friendly” for young patients by designing and manufacturing the gowns disclosed herein from textiles and fabrics with patterns, colors, logos, and/or ornamentations that are particularly appealing or soothing to juveniles or adolescents. For example, the gowns may be manufactured from textiles that incorporate, illustrate, or otherwise depict recognizable commercial symbology (e.g., professional sports team logos, comic strip characters, cartoon characters, action figures, animae, or such like.
Because in certain circumstances, a patient may wear a telemetry device, an external pacemaker, a data recorder, dosimeter, pump, or other external medical device, instrumentation, or appliance, it is also desirable in certain embodiment to provide a means for containing such devices in the patient's hospital gown. In such instances, one or more device pockets may be fashioned into the design of gown to hold such devices. These pockets may be sized to accommodate typical patient monitoring devices and, may also be optionally provided with a horizontal slit in the rear portion of the pocket through which one or more wires, sensors, electrical leads, or tubes may be passed underneath the garment and into proximity with the patient's body. Such pockets are preferably located in the upper torso region of the patient, similar to the breast pocket on a conventional dress shirt.
While the concept of fabricating pockets is well-known in the garment industry, in an overall and general sense, a pocket may be formed by sewing a substantially square or substantially rectangular portion of fabric along three of its edges, such that the fabric is attached to the body portion of the garment.
In another embodiment of this invention, a patient record or patient identification pocket is fabricated into the garment to provide means for storing patient records or data. Because patients often undergo procedures in various areas or departments of a medical facility, they are often being moved from one location to another, or from one facility to another. In such situations, there is a desire in certain embodiments to provide a means for securing medical records, identification papers, test results, patient data, or other paperwork such as doctor's orders to the patient's garment.
To minimize the potential for separating a patient and such paperwork, the gowns of the present invention may also optionally comprise one or more pockets, which may be fabricated into any suitable area of the garment (but preferably on the front surface of the garment, and in the approximate lower half of the garment) such that the material placed into the data pocket is readily accessible to both patient and attendant medical personnel. The fabrication and design of the data pocket is similar to the telemetry pocket disclosed above, however, the data pocket is preferably sized larger than a convention shirt pocket in order to accommodate larger items and paperwork.
The use of bar coding, and more recently, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, has become widespread in recent years in a number of disciplines from tracking inventory to monitoring military troop movements. In the medical arts, biocompatible implantable RFID devices have long been used for the identification and monitoring of laboratory animals. Recently, commercialization of RFID technology has been extended to the use of RFID chip devices implanted into corpses to facilitate processing of large numbers of deceased following natural disasters.
Likewise, RFID devices have also been employed by the United States military for identification of medical patients in field hospitals and the like. More recently, hospitals have begun replacing the traditional patient I.D. bracelet with RFID-enabled wristband technology. Such identification devices represent an improved means for patient identification and data compared to conventional patient ID methodology. As such, the inventors contemplate that the patient gowns of the present invention may be readily configured to employ one or more RFID devices for patient identification. To that end, the patient gowns of the present invention may be adapted or fabricated to provide a means for securing one or more RFID devices to the garment. Such devices could be used to transmit pertinent information and/or data to attendant medical personnel. Because of the miniaturized configuration of contemporary RFID devices, such an identification means could be placed in one or more data pockets, coupled to the garment by suitable anchoring means (clips, hooks, adhesives, etc.), or the device could be fabricated directly into the garment either during manufacture, or secured to the gown prior to patient use.
In some embodiments, customization of the garments can incorporate one or more methods known in the art of textile manufacture and personalization, including for example, screen printing, embroidery, stitching, monogramming, lithography, dry transfer, dye sublimation, and/or ink transfer of one or more selected designs to the fabric of a patient gown.
Personalization and/or customization of the patient gowns may also be desirable to provide advertising and/or name recognition for a particular medical facility or even, for example, a selected service within a given facility.
In one or more embodiments, the patient gown 600 includes left and right waist cinch ties 630, 632 attached to the back fabric panel 604 in alignment with the waist portion 610 and spaced apart respectively from waist lateral sides 607, 608. The patient gown 600 has left and right waist cinch ties 634, 636 attached to the front fabric panel 602 in alignment respectively with the waist portion 610 that tie respectively to the left and right waist cinch ties 630, 632 of the back fabric panel 604 to reduce a waist circumference of the waist portion 610.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular system, device or component thereof to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc., are used to distinguish one element from another.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The described embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Patent Application Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/831,456, entitled “MULTIPURPOSE MODESTY GOWN”, filed Apr. 9, 2019, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for any purpose.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62831456 | Apr 2019 | US |
