GB2181952A

GB2181952A - Orthopedic vests

Info

Publication number: GB2181952A
Application number: GB08604498A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mohammed Berrehail
Original assignee: MANUF BANDES PLATREES ADHESIA
Current assignee: MANUF BANDES PLATREES ADHESIA
Priority date: 1985-10-24
Filing date: 1986-02-24
Publication date: 1987-05-07
Also published as: IT8667484A1; GB2181952B; IT8667484A0; YU118186A; JPS62122658A; FI860780L; FI860780A7; ES552161A0; IL78446A0; NL8600402A; ES8706427A1; FR2589060A1; BE904438A; NO862440L; SE8604518D0; ATA44986A; FR2589060B1; NO862440D0; IT8653522V0; DK58286D0

Abstract

An orthopedic vest for positioning and immobilising an injured arm comprises: -a main rectangular panel (ABCD) of a length corresponding to the rib cage circumference; -an initial auxiliary panel (EFGH) on the lower edge of the main panel; -a second auxiliary panel (IKLM) on the lower edge of the main panel and at a distance from the first auxiliary panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb; -a third auxiliary panel (NOPQ) on the side of the second, facing the first auxiliary panel and at a distance from the lower edge of the main panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb. All these panels are of a material with at least one side allowing the attachment of a similar material along the outer edges of each panel to form a re-usable "self-adhesive" fastening system, e.g. VELCRO (Registered Trade Mark). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Orthopedic vests A large number of orthopedic vests have been proposed designed to enable an injured arm to be positioned and immobilised. The inventor of the vest described here has notably described in his French patent No. 81.08625 a vest designed for this use and comprising a thorax-adaptable main panel combined with auxiliary panels which includes means of fastening these auxiliary panels to each other and to the main panel.

However, whatever their type, these fasteners were always at set points on the panels to be joined, which made adjustment and adaption of the panel size and orientation with respect to each other practically impossible.

The main aim of this invention isto remedy this deficiency. It concerns an orthopedic vest of this type but whose panels are in a material enabling a wide variety of positions or even all relative positions, both in size and orientation to be adopted.

The present invention provides an orthopedic vest for positioning and immobilising an injured arm comprising elastic bandage panels adapted to wrap around the chest and a portion of said arm and which elastic bandage panels comprise at least on one face fastening patches of textile material providing a multitude of hook members and comprise extending over at least substantially the whole of the other face a surface to which said textile patches will releasably adhere.

The first characteristic of the invention in its preferred forms is therefore as follows: ~the so-called main panel is generally rectangular, of a length corresponding to approximately the rib cage circumference, and comprises a shoulder piece on its upper part.

~an initial auxiliary panel is situated on the lower edge of the main panel directly below this shoulder piece.

- a second auxiliary panel is situated on the lower edge of the main panel at a distance from the first panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb.

- a third auxiliary panel is situated on the side of the second auxiliary panel, facing the first and at a distance from the main panel lower edge approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb.

~all oftheseso-called panels are of a material which can both act as an elastic bandage and on at least one side allow the attachment of a similar material forming self-adhesive "VELCRO" type fastenings.

~the other material forming the fastening is situated on the outer edge of each panel such that the main and auxiliary panels can be fastened onto themselves or each other in any relative position.

A particular advantage of this vest, in view of facilitating movement of the shoulder corresponding to the non-injured limb, is that both sides of the main panel are sloped from the shoulder piece for the injured limb downwards to the opposite side of the vest, thus enabling it to pass under the armpit of the non-injured shoulder before being overlapped and fastened.

As the invention is mainly based on the use, as a means of fixing the vest panels together, of a selfadhesive "VELCRO" type system, which is generally formed by a velvet-type material base onto which a plastic surface comprising a multitude of small hooks is pressed, several variations can be designed assuming that the outer surface of the vest forms the material base.

With an initial variation, both sides of the vest are made of this material base and the vest is therefore produced in a single piece, practically flat and including the different panels. It is reversible and can therefore be instantly adapted for use with either a right or left limb. In this case, the second auxiliary panel is folded upwards so that its outer edge fastens to the facing surface of the main panel and at the appropriate height depending on the patient's stature and the position required for the injured limb. The first auxiliary panel then fastens to the fold area of the second panel and the third panel of the opposite lower edge of the main panel to fasten the whole. It is obvious that in this case the plastic fastening surfaces must also be double-sided for the vest to be reversible.

A second variation is represented by a vest with two different surfaces. The outer surface forms the fastening material base, the internal surface is a non-allergenic, notably cotton, wool or silk material and the plastic fastening surfaces are one-sided. The advantage with this variation lies in the fact that the patient's skin is not put into contact with the fastening material base, which is synthetic and can cause allergies in certain cases.

Obviously, in this case, the vest is not immediately reversible. However, according to the invention and to allow the use of the vest either to the right or the left, the second panel is removable. It can be attached to the right or the left of the first auxiliary panel as required. The shoulder piece is such that the parts (ED) and (HC) of the main panel are approximately of the same length.

Finally, the invention also has the following supplementary characteristics:~ Avest according to the second variation described above can comprise a direct seam instead of the removable third panel fixation on the lower edge of the main panel on the other side of the first.

This enables the arm opening to be adjusted whilst eliminating extra thickness in one of the two configurations of the vest, which in this case is not flat but remains shaped.

Another means of increasing still further the comfort when wearing the vest consists in producing it in an aerated material, for example perforated, or a woven material.

There now follows a more detailed description of the invention with reference to the diagrams of the appendix.

Figure 1 shows the first type of the invention laid out flat; Figure 2 shows the second type also laid out flat; Figure 3 shows diagrammatically how the different parts of the vest fit together when fitted on the patient; Figure 4 is a variation of part of Figure 3 corresponding to use of the type shown in Figure 2.

With reference first of all to Figure 1, it can be seen that the vest according to the invention comprises a main panel (ABCD) of a generally rectangularform.

Its upper part comprises a reinforced triangular shaped piece (RST) and an initial auxiliary panel (EFGH) is situated on its lower edge (CD) directly under this shaped piece. A second auxiliary panel (IKLM) is situated at a distance from the first panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb, represented here symbolically by the circle 1.

Athird auxiliary panel (NOPO) is situated on the side (IK) of the second panel facing the first and at a distance from the main panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb 1.

According to the invention, all the panels are made of a material, which can act both as an elastic bandage and, on at least one surface, as the material base for attachment of corresponding self-adhesive fasteners of the type generally known by the tradename "VELCRO". The material base is of a velvet type or similar which allows the hooks in the press-on fastenings to form a close join.

These press-on fastenings are situated, as shown in the diagram, on one of the short sides of the rectangular panel (ABCD), for example the length of side (AD), and on the outer edges of the three auxiliary panels, i.e.: in area 3, the length (FG) of the first panel, in area 4, the length (KL) of the second panel and in area 5 the length (OP) of the third panel.

The exact shape of the panel (ABCD) is slightly different to the perfect rectangle (A'B'C'D') as the two sides (RA) and (SB) are slanting so that the sides (AD) and (BC) are increasingly shorter from the injured limb shoulder piece (RST) outwards towards the opposite side of the vest designed to pass under the armpit of the non-injured shoulder before fastening, i.e.: by (AD) pressed onto material base (BC).

This type of fastening enables the vest to be placed around the patient's rib cage whatever his stature with the fastener 2 attaching itself at an appropriate distance from the edge (BC) on the adjacent part of rectangle (ABCD).

Panel (IKLM) is designed for use as a rest or support for the injured limb by folding around the area (IM) so that the fastener 4 is attached to an area of rectangle (ABCD) situated at a suitable distance from the edge (HC) positioning the injured limb as appropriate.

It can therefore be noted that an initial advantage of the invention is that it allows for suitable tightening of rectangle (ABCD) around the patient's rib cage along with suitable positioning of the injured limb on its rest, both without the limitations imposed by earlier vests designed for this purpose.

Figure 3 illustrates fitting on the patient according to the above description. It shows the respective roles of the auxiliary panels (EFGH) and (NOPQ).

Panel (EFGH) designated by 6 in Figure 3 is attached by its fastener 3 to the curved part approximately the length of (IM) in such a way as to form an elbow protection for the injured limb placed in the rest. Finally, fastener 5 of panel (EFGH) is attached underneath panel (EFGH) already in place to hold the whole in a fixed position, i.e.: to prevent movement of the bottom of the rest which would be detrimental to the support of the injured limb.

It should be noted that the other limb and corresponding shoulder are not affected by the vest as these are above the upper vest edge. This makes wearing the vest more comfortable.

An advantage of this vest is its simplicity. It is in one single piece, practically flat, apart from the piece (RST). Another advantage is the possibility of a vest of this type but totally reversible, i.e.: instantly usable withbut modifications for either a right or left limb. For this variation, the material of which the vest is made consists of two identical layers, each forming a material base for the fastenings 2,3,4 and 5, which in this case must also be double-sided.

However, in certain cases this can be considered to be a disadvantage as certain skins are allergic to contact with the synthetic material forming the base.

To avoid this, the invention also covers the second variation represented by Figure 2. It consists of two different surfaces, i.e.: an outer surface in synthetic material and an inner surface in a nonallergenic material for contact with the skin such as cotton, wool or silk.

In this last case, as the vest is no longer reversible, it can no longer be instantly used for both a right and left limb and the version in Figure 2 provides a solution to this problem.

The panel (IKLM) is fitted to the lower edge (CD) of the main panel and is removable. The other panels remain in the same configuration as for the previous version.

In this case, depending on whether the vest is to be used for a right or left limb, the auxiliary panel (IKLM) can be placed either to the right or the left of the first panel (EFGH). The distances (HC) and (ED) must be approximately equal, i.e.: the piece (RST) should be positioned practically in the centre of the panel (ABCD).

As shown in Figure 2, the removable panel (IKLM) comprises two fasteners 4 and 6. Fastener 6 attached the panel either along the edge (CH), or along the edge (ED). Obviusly, the orientation of panel (NOPQ) is also reversed so as to provide a passage to the right or the left depending on whether the injured limb is to the right or to the left.

An additional advantage of this removable panel (IKLM) is illustrated in Figure 4. When an injured limb has to be positioned at a slant and not simply rested horizontally on the fold (IM), it is possible to fix panel (IKLM) in a slanted position by way of fasteners 4 and 6 and without the need for other means of immobilising the limb in this position.

In both cases, the two layers forming the material in which the vest is made can be made even more comfortably by the insertion of an intermediate layer of mousse.

The invention also covers the fabrication of this material with perforations, either gauged or resulting simply from the material weave. This also increases comfort when wearing the vest.

Finally, another variation consists of replacing the removable fastener in the second vest type by the fastener 5 on the third auxiliary panel (NOPQ) on panel (EFGH) by a seam along edge (NQ) and the lower edge (ED) of the main panel. This enables the arm opening to be adjusted while eliminating any extra thickness in one of the vest configurations.

The vest in this case is no longer completely flat but remains slightly shaped in this area.

Among the other advantages of the second vest shown in Figure 2, it can be noted that the VELCRO type fasteners 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are one-sided, which also reduces the cost price of the vest.

Although it is clear from the above description, it is important to note that both vest types described have the major advantage of the possibility of attaching the fasteners 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to any point on the vest surface. This means it is possible to modify and adjust the tightness of the vest as required along with the relative orientation of the panels. This in turn means that the vest can be adapted for patients of any stature and to any position required for the treatment of an injured limb.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the two particular vest types described here. These represent particularly simple practical examples and could be adapted in terms of any medical requirements for the patient. The invention is therefore only limited according to the following

Claims

claims. CLAIMS

1. An orthopedic vest for positioning and immobilising an injured arm comprising elastic bandage panels adapted to wrap around the chest and a portion of said arm and which elastic bandage panels comprise at least on one face fastening patches of textile material providing a multitude of hook members and comprise extending over at least substantially the whole of the other face a surface to which said textile patches will releasably adhere.

2. A vest as claimed in Claim 1, comprising a main panel of generally rectangular elongate shape to wrap around a patient's chest, a first auxiliary panel extending from a longer edgbe of said main panel, a second auxiliary panel extending from said longer edge adjacent said first auxiliary panel but spaced therefrom and a third auxiliary panel extending from an edge of the second auxiliary panel facing said first auxiliary panel and spaced from said longer edge of the main panel.

3. A vest as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said textile patches are placed at least along the shorter edge of the main panel nearer to the first auxiliary panel, along an edge of the first auxiliary panel extending generally parallel to said longer edge of the main panel and spaced therefrom, along an edge of said third auxiliary panel running generally parallel to the edge of the second auxiliary panel from which the third auxiliary panel extends, and along an edge of the second auxiliary panel generally parallel to said longer edge of the main panel and spaced therefrom.

4. A vest as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said textile patches are present at similar locations on both faces of the panels.

5. A vest as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the main panel comprises a shoulder piece, the first auxiliary panel is situated on the lower part of the main panel directly below this shoulder piece the second auxiliary panel is situated on the lower part of the main panel at a distance from the first panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb and the third auxiliary panel is situated on the side of the second panel, facing the first and at a distance from the lower edge of the main panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb.

6. A vest as claimed in Claim 5, wherein on both sides of the shoulder piece the main panel narrows on going outwards.

7. A vest as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the material of the panels comprises two layers, one outer and one inner in use, with at least the external layer providing said surface to which the patches will adhere.

8. A vest as claimed in Claim 7 wherein between said two layers there is a third layer which is of foam.

9. A vest as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein both surfaces of the panels are adapted to adhere to said patches and the vest is therefore reversible with the patches also being double-sided.

10. Avest as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein only the layer outermost in use forms the attachment surface for the patches and the layer innermost in use is of a non-allergenic material, the patches being present only on said innermost layer.

11. Avest as claimed in Claim 10, wherein to enable use of the vest both to the left and the right, the second auxiliary panel is removable so that it can be attached to the right orthe left of the first auxiliary panel as desired and the shoulder piece is positioned midway along the main panel.

12. A vest as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the third auxiliary panel is sewn directly onto the lower edge of the main panel on the other side of the first auxiliary panel from the attachment to the main panel of the second auxiliary panel.

13. A vest as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the second auxiliary panel comprises an press-on fastening strip on its edge opposite the edge by which it joins the main panel.

14. A vest as claimed in any preceding claim made of a material which is aerated by gauged perforations or by the nature of the material weave.

15. A vest substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, or Figures 2 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

16. An orthopedic vest for positioning and immobilising an injured arm and of the type comprising a main panel adapted to the rib cage and auxiliary panels combined with this main panel for this purpose. These auxiliary panels are fastened to each other and to the main panel by incorporated fixations. The vest is characterised in that the main panel (ABCD) is generally of rectangular shape and of length corresponding approximately to the rib cage circumference and comprises a shoulder piece (RST). An initial auxiliary panel (EFGH) is situated on the lower part of the main panel directly below this shoulder piece. A second auxiliary panel (IKLM) is situated on the lower part of the main panel at a distance from the first panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb.A third auxiliary panel (NOPO) is situated on the side of the second panel, facing the first and at a distance from the lower edge of the main panel approximately equal to the diameter of the injured limb. These panels are all made of a material which can act as an elastic bandange and, on at least one surface, as a material base for self-adhesive "VELCRO" type fastening systems. The outer edge of each panel comprises the other material forming the fastener such that the main and auxiliary panels can be fastened onto themselves and/or each other in any relative position.

17. Avest according to Claim 16, characterised in that both sides of the main panel slant downwards from the injured limb shoulder piece outwards towards the opposite sides of the vest designed to pass under the armpit of the "non-injured" limb before fastening by overlapping of the two ends.

18. A vest according to Claims 16 or 17, characterised in that the material consists of two layers, one outer and one inner, with at least the external layerforming the material base for the selfadhesive fastening. These two layers can be separated with the fasteners also double-sized.

19. A vest according to Claim 18, characterised in that both the material surfaces form a material base for the self-adhesive fastening and the vest is therefore reversible with the fasteners also doublesided.

20. Avest according to Claim 18, characterised in that only the external layer forms the material base for the self-adhesive fastenings and the internal layer is of non-allergenic material, notably cotton, wool or silk, with one sided fasteners.

21. A vest according to Claim 20, characterised in that to enable use of the vest both to the left or the right, the second panel (IKLM) is removable so that it can be attached to the right or the left depending on the case of the first auxiliary panel. The shoulder piece (RST) is then positioned so that sections (ED) and (HC) of the main panel are of approximately equal length.

22. A vest according to any one of Claims 16 to 21, characterised in that the third auxiliary panel is sewn directly onto the lower edge of the main panel on the other side of the first.

23. A vest according to Claim 21, characterised in that the second auxiliary panel (IKLM) comprises a press-on fastening strip on its edge (IM) opposite the outer edge (KL).

24. A vest according to any one of Claims 16 to 23, characterised in that it is made of a material which is aerated by gauged perforations or by the nature of the material weave.