WO1998051243A1

WO1998051243A1 - Urine collector for pediatric practice

Info

Publication number: WO1998051243A1
Application number: PCT/IB1997/000538
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raffaele Pedrozzi; Nicola Pedrozzi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-05-13
Filing date: 1997-05-13
Publication date: 1998-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1999-11-13
Also published as: AU2648097A

Abstract

A urine collector (1) for pediatric practice includes: a) a concave waterproof container body whose shape, volume, and surface are suitable for holding in opening (2a) of its concave part (2) the external genitals of the small patient and is equipped over at least a portion of its outer edge (2c) with a basically flat cuff (3) which is connected to its walls according to predetermined slopes (α, β) and is shaped in such a way as to fit ergonomically between the inside joints of the thighs, thus being secured in place; b) a filler made of sterile absorbent material (4) that can tamp said concave part to a predetermined extent.

Description

Urine Collector for Pediatric Practice

This invention pertains to the field of pediatric medicine and relates in particular to a urine collector that can be used to take specimens for laboratory analysis.

Aside from painful and invasive methods such as suprapubic puncture and catheterization, obtaining urine specimens from children who are not yet able to urinate is currently done by attaching waterproof adhesive bags around the genitals.

In order to be effective, this kind of attachment requires considerable skill on the part of the person doing the work, such that only specialized personnel are able to perform this task, whereas other people in general, e.g., parents, find it very difficult to attach said adhesive bags in such a way as to allow the bags to perform their function without leakage or other problems such as premature detachment of the bag, resulting in spillage of the contents.

The inventors of this invention have been able to eliminate said problems and difficulties and, for this purpose, have conceived of a urine collector for pediatric practice which can be used by anyone and which, by virtue of its design, proves to be reliable and easy to use. Said urine collector for pediatric practice is characterized by the contents of the characterizing part of attached Claim 1.

A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred embodiment of the collector according to the invention, also making reference to the attached drawings relating to this embodiment, which is neither limiting nor binding with regard to other possible embodiments, and where:

- Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of this embodiment of a urine collector according to the invention;

- Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of the collector of Fig. 1, whereby it is also equipped with a pestle that is able to compress the absorbent material contained therein in order to squeeze out the urine held therein.

If Figs. 1 and 2 are examined, it is clear that urine collector 1 is composed of a concave waterproof container whose shape, volume, and surface are suitable for holding in opening 2a of its concave part 2 the external genitals of the small patient.

Clearly, said collector 1 can be made for several sizes, depending on the patient's age and degree of physical development, and can also be designed with a different outline and different proportions depending on the patient's sex.

Along its outer edge 2c, collector 1 can also be equipped with a cuff 3 that is connected to its walls according to predetermined slopes , β , which should properly be selected based on the shapes of the anatomical parts in question. Both collector 1 and said cuff 3 which, when present, can extend along all of said outer edge 2c or along only a portion of it are designed and shaped in such a way as to fit ergonomically between the inside joints of the thighs, thus being secured in place.

Inside concave part 2 of the container is sterile absorbent material 4, for example, cotton-wool, in sufficient quantity to tamp it to a predetermined extent.

The inventors suggest that enough material be inserted to completely fill the volume of said concave part, but, depending on the situation, this amount of material can be reduced or increased by appropriately tamping the cottonwool .

The opening of the concave part can also be partly blocked by a septum (this solution is not shown) that is appropriately designed and positioned, in such a way as to act as a barrier to the potential entry of fecal matter.

To fabricate the urine collector in question, the inventors envision said opening 2a of concave part 2 tamped with cotton-wool 4 being closed with a waterproof membrane 5 that is basically sealed, sized, and manufactured in such a way that it is able to adhere against the outer surface of said flat cuff 3 and to be removed before collector 1 is attached to the patient's body.

In order to ensure a reliable seal between said membrane 5 and cuff 3, the invention envisions applying to the outer surface of said cuff a thin layer of one of the many adhesive substances that are suitable to this kind of purpose and are known to one skilled in the art and making membrane 5 out of a suitable material of limited adhesiveness.

With urine collector 1 attached around the patient's external genitals as described above, said collector will automatically remain secured in the proper position between the various anatomical parts, and within it a certain quantity of urine, held by said cotton-wool 4, will accumulate that can then be extracted for analysis.

In order to facilitate said extraction operation, the inventors of this urine collector 1 have conceived of providing a hole 6 at the tip of said concave part 2 and blocking it with a waterproof adhesive membrane 7 that can be removed, preferably with the aid of a non-adhesive flap 7e.

With this expedient it is clearly easier to effect the extraction of the urine specimen from a well-defined point in container 1 by compressing cotton-wool 4 enough to squeeze out the liquid held therein.

In order to further facilitate this operation and avoid any contact between the hand and urine-soaked cottonwool 4, the inventors also make provision for the possibility of equipping collector 1 according to the invention with a pestle 8 that has a shape which mates with that of concave part 2 and is preferably provided with a grip 8i.

Said pestle 8 is clearly suitable for being inserted into concave part 2 itself; it is sufficient to compress cotton-wool 4 with pestle 8 in the direction of arrow A to ensure the discharge of the urine from said hole 6 and its direct transfer into a test tube or other laboratory implement for the analysis of said urine. Collector 1 can be advantageously manufactured of a synthetic resin (e.g., polyethylene teraphthalate P.E.T., etc.) that has predetermined levels of strength and flexibility, while for pestle 8 it is possible to use basically any material that is sufficiently rigid.

As already mentioned, it is possible to implement many embodiments of the urine collector according to the invention that are different from the example described here, but such embodiments, if derived from the substance of the attached claims, will still fall within the framework of the protection conferred by this patent application.

In the case where, as mentioned, a layer of adhesive is applied to the outer surface of cuff 3, urine collector 1 according to the invention, particularly if both cuff 3 and said concave part 2 are made of sufficiently soft and flexible materials, can be folded along its mid-line, causing the two resulting halves of cuff 3 to fold together in order to make them to stick to one another under the action of the adhesive.

Therefore, if waterproof adhesive membrane 7 is not removed, urine collector 1 is sealed closed and can easily be transported to the place where the analyses are to be performed.

By then removing said membrane 7, it is possible to squeeze collector 1 manually, causing the urine to discharge via hole 6.

Claims

1. Urine collector (1) for pediatric practice, characterized by the fact that it includes: a) a concave waterproof container body whose shape, volume, and surface are suitable for holding in opening (2a) of its concave part (2) the external genitals of the small patient, preferably being equipped over at least a portion of its outer edge (2c) with a cuff (3) which is connected to its walls according to predetermined slopes (a , β) , with concave part (2) and cuff (3) being shaped in such a way as to fit ergonomically between the inside joints of the thighs, thus being secured in place; b) a filler made of sterile absorbent material (4) that can tamp said concave part to a predetermined extent .

2. Urine collector according to Claim 1, wherein said opening (2a) of concave part (2) is partly blocked by a septum that is preferably located toward the perineal area.

3. Urine collector according to one of Claims 1 or 2, wherein said opening (2a) of concave part (2) is closed by a basically sealed waterproof membrane (5) that it is able to adhere to the outer surface of said flat cuff (3) and to be removed before collector (1) is attached.

4. Urine collector according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a layer of adhesive is applied to the surface of said flat cuff (3) .

5. Urine collector according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a hole (6) is provided at the tip of said concave part (2) that is sealed with a removable waterproof adhesive membrane (7) .

6. Urine collector according to Claim 5, wherein it is equipped with a pestle (8) that has a shape which essentially mates with that of concave part (2) and can be inserted into the latter, causing the compression of said sterile absorbent material (4) and the resultant discharge of the urine via said hole (6) after said waterproof adhesive membrane (7) has been removed.

7. Urine collector according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said collector is made of a synthetic resin that has predetermined levels of strength and flexibility.