The present invention relates to an ostomy appliance comprising an adhesive wafer for directly or indirectly securing an ostomy pouch to a person's skin, wherein the wafer comprises a starter hole surrounded by a plurality of cutting guidelines for enabling the person to cut the hole into a desired aperture size.
The adhesive wafer of an ostomy appliance is normally provided with a small starter hole and concentric cutting guidelines printed on the wafer or printed on a release liner on the body side of the wafer around the starter hole so that the user can prepare the aperture in the wafer to fit the actual size of the stoma by cutting the inlet opening into the desired aperture size. Examples of such concentric cutting guidelines are disclosed in EP 0 984 750 B1 or EP 1 832 256 A2.
By the invention it is realized that it advantageous to provide an ostomy appliance comprising an adhesive wafer for directly or indirectly securing an ostomy pouch to a person's skin, wherein the wafer comprises a starter hole surrounded by a plurality of cutting guidelines for enabling the person to cut the hole into a desired aperture size, wherein the cutting guidelines substantially converge with the starter hole at an upper region of the hole.
Hereby the head space of the pouch is decreased which in turn means that a larger degree of filling of the pouch is achievable since the inlet opening is moved towards the top of the pouch. This is advantageous from a user's perspective as this satisfies the user wish for discrete pouches which can be hidden under the clothing. A low head space and a relatively smaller pouch which can be located lower on the user's body are achievable by the pouch according to the invention. Furthermore, a low fit also means that opening the pouch may be easier and consequently the pouch will be easier to empty in relation to drainable pouches since the outlet opening will be closer to the toilet.
Another advantage of achieving this lower head space is that this also results in a less prolapse of the pouch, i.e. the pouch will not hang as much outwards from the body when weight is applied.
By the term “converge” should be understood that the annular cutting guidelines come close together to each other or to the hole at one region but do not necessarily unite in a common point.
In preferred embodiment, the cutting guidelines substantially converge with the starter hole at a radial corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the pouch. Hereby, the “dead” volume in the head space in the top of the pouch may be minimized.
In an embodiment of the invention, the adhesive wafer is provided with a release liner on the body side and that the cutting guidelines are printed on said release liner. This facilitates the manufacturing of the adhesive wafer.
By the invention, it is realized that the off-centered starter hole with converging cutting guidelines may be used for different types of ostomy appliances. Accordingly, in one embodiment the pouch may be coupled to the proximal side of adhesive wafer by a mechanical or adhesive coupling, i.e. a two-piece solution. In another embodiment, the pouch may be permanently secured to the proximal side of adhesive wafer, i.e. a one piece solution.
Furthermore, the pouch may be a disposable or reusable pouch and either a closed pouch, a drainable pouch or a flushable pouch.
In relation to a two piece ostomy appliance, wafers may be supplied separately. Accordingly, in a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an adhesive wafer for an ostomy appliance, said adhesive wafer being adapted for directly or indirectly securing an ostomy pouch to a person's skin, wherein the wafer comprises a starter hole surrounded by a plurality of cutting guidelines for enabling the person to cut the hole into a desired aperture size, wherein the at least two cutting guidelines substantially converge with the starter hole at an upper region of the hole.
In the following the invention is described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
With reference to
In
The pouch according to the embodiment of
By the embodiments according to the invention shown in
This is advantageous from a user's perspective as the user wants discrete pouches which can be hidden under the clothing. A low head space and a relatively smaller pouch which can be located lower on the user's body are achievable by the invention. Furthermore, a low fit also means that opening the pouch according to the first embodiment of
Another advantage of achieving this lower head space is that this also results in a less prolapse of the pouch, i.e. the pouch will not hang as much outwards from the body when weight is applied.
Although
The pouch according to this embodiment of
A regular size pouch with a 55 mm coupling ring was made with an 10 mm starter hole sitting 19 mm higher than if it was located in the center of the barrier. The pouch was attached to a plate in vertical position and water was filled in to the lower edge of a fictive 10 mm hole in the center. The volume was measured using a precision scale. Then more water was filled in order to reach the lower edge of the 10 mm off-centered hole and the volume was measured again. The difference between the two measurements was 56 g equal to 56 ml. The total volume of the pouch with off-centered starter hole was 569 ml. The increment was 10%.
In conclusion, the increment will depend on size and shape of the pouch and barrier, but it should be evident that an increase is obtainable on all constructions with off-centered starter hole sitting higher than the centre of the barrier.
As shown in
With reference to
The invention is described above with reference to some preferred embodiments. However, it is realised that other variants may be provided without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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09155337.0 | Mar 2009 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2010/053330 | 3/16/2010 | WO | 00 | 10/12/2011 |