Abstract:
The disclosure includes embodiments of an improved catheter bag comprising a bag portion, a top tab portion and a bottom tab portion with a one way entry valve extending through said top tab portion to permit fluid to enter the bag portion. A draining valve is provided in the bottom tab portion operable from an open to a closed position. The catheter bag is provided with pairs of parallel vertical slots sized and shaped to retain straps for retaining the bag against the body.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a harness for attachment to a catheter bag to maintain the catheter bag in a stable and more comfortable position. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When using a catheter, a collection bag for the urine is often placed along the leg of the patient. Numerous different types of devices have been developed to hold the urine or catheter bag. In most cases if the patient is mobile and active (walking) over time the bag has a tendency to slip down the leg putting stress on the catheter hose that is connected to the patient&#39;s bladder. 
     In addition when sleeping, if the patient is tossing and turning or moving around in their sleep, strain is again placed on the catheter hose. The bag often begins to rotate on the leg and ends up either around to the other side of the leg or works its way down the leg again, putting pressure on the catheter hose. 
     Another problem with many known catheter bags is the catheter bag will have a tendency to bunch up and when this happens it creates an area of chafing and discomfort for the wearer. The bag is long and in cases the bag is positioned close to the knee joint and as the bag slips slightly when sitting or moving around the edges of the bag catch the area where the knee bends, giving the wearer another chafing area. 
     There is a need for a better system of holding the catheter or urine bag on the leg of the patient so that it does not slip down the leg. There is also a need for improvements I the design of the catheter bags to provide better comfort to the patient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One embodiment of the present invention provides a harness for holding a catheter or urine bag against a patient&#39;s leg, the harness comprising a lower leg strap portion, an upper leg strap portion and a shoulder strap portion. 
     The lower leg strap portion is sized and shaped to feed through a pair of slots near a bottom edge of a catheter bag and go around a patient&#39;s leg. 
     The upper leg strap portion is sized and shaped to feed through a pair of slots near a top edge of a catheter bag and go around a patient&#39;s leg. 
     The shoulder strap portion is sized and shaped to have one end connect to one side of upper leg strap portion go over the patient&#39;s shoulder and the other end connect to another side of upper leg strap portion. 
     The shoulder strap portion has an means to adjust the length of the shoulder strap portion when in use to adjust the vertical positioning of the catheter bag on the patient&#39;s leg. 
     In another embodiment the present invention provides an improved catheter bag comprising a bag portion a top tab portion and a bottom tab portion with a one way entry valve extending through said top tab portion to permit fluid to enter the bag portion, a draining valve in the bottom tab portion operable from an open to a closed position. The catheter bag is provided with a first pair of parallel vertical slots sized and shaped to retain an upper leg strap located below a top edge of the catheter bag within the top tab portion with one of said first pair of slots is located on one side of the one way entry valve and the other of said first pair of slots located on the other side of the one way entry valve and spaced apart but close enough to avoid bunching of the top tab portion when in use. A second pair of parallel vertical slots, sized and shaped to retain a lower leg strap, are located above a bottom edge within the bottom tab portion and with one of said second pair of slots located on one side of the draining valve and the other of said second pair of slots located on the other side of the draining valve and spaced apart but close enough to avoid bunching of bottom tab portion when in use. 
     The draining valve is preferably a push-pull valve. 
     Two “O” rings may be placed on a stem of the one way entry valve to which a catheter hose is connected to reduce the risk of the hose disengaging from the entry valve. 
     The corners of the upper and lower tab portions may be rounded. 
     Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In drawings which illustrate by way of example only one embodiment of the invention: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an improved design for a catheter bag in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the catheter bag of  FIG. 1  in combination with one embodiment of a harness (schematically shown) in accordance with the present invention for maintaining the catheter bag in position. 
         FIG. 3  shows a front view of the catheter bag and harness of  FIG. 2  as worn by an individual. 
         FIG. 4  shows the back view of the individual shown in  FIG. 3  wearing the catheter bag and harness of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     Similar references are used in different figures to denote similar components. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the figures in detail  FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an improved design of a catheter or urine bag, generally indicated at  1 , in accordance with the present invention. 
     Known catheter or urine bags have a draining valve at the bottom of the bag. For security reasons the valve may be a twist valve that requires two hands to twist open. This may pose problems for some patients who are disabled or only have one arm or hand or suffer from arthritis. The prior art valves if not fully closed may open up at some of the most inconvenient times. Accordingly in the embodiment illustrated the draining valve  7 B shown in  FIG. 1  is a push-pull valve  7 C. Push to close and pull to open. Instead of a turning motion that requires two hands the valve  7 B is a push pull valve. This valve can be used easily by all, as you need only one hand to open the valve and to close the valve and all you have to do is bend the valve away from the leg and push it closed, making it easier to close. The valve cannot be opened by a twisting motion by the patient while he or she is moving. 
     Conventional catheter bag designs feature an entry valve at the top of the bag to which a hose from the patient&#39;s bladder is attached. As the patient moves around the strain on the hose may cause it to detach from the catheter bag. In the design according to the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 1 , where the hose  4  meets the catheter bag  1 , two “O” rings  5  have been placed on the stem  6  of one way entry valve  7  to reduce the risk of the hose  4  from disengaging from the valve  7  on catheter bag  1 . 
     The corners of known catheter or urine bags are typically square and thereby can be a little sharp creating chafing and discomfort. In the design of the catheter bag  1  shown in  FIG. 1  the upper  2  and lower  3  corners of the bag  1  have been rounded to help avoid problems encountered with known designs. In addition the design of the catheter bag  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is shorter than known bags so that the bag doesn&#39;t interfere with the knee joint and the risk of chafing is reduced. The bag  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is also wider than known bags, to give the bag  1  a similar volume of liquid that can be retained. In the embodiment illustrated intended for use with adult patients bag  1  is about 20 cm long and about 14 cm wide when empty of fluid. The presented invention is not restricted to bags having these dimensions and bags having different sizes can be provided according to the present invention. 
     In order to work with the embodiment of the harness shown in  FIG. 2 , catheter bag  1  is provided with a pair of parallel vertical slots  8 , 9  sized and shaped to retain an upper leg strap of the harness according to the present invention shown in  FIG. 2 . Slots  8 , 9  are located below the top edge  10  of bag  1 . The top edge  10  is preferably part of a top tab portion  11  of bag  1  that is not designed to retain any fluid. In the embodiment illustrated one of said slots  8  is located on one side of one way entry valve  7  and the other of said slots  9  is located on the other side of valve  7 . The slots  8 ,  9  are spaced apart but close enough to avoid bunching of tab portion  11  when in use. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , catheter bag  1  is further provided with a pair of parallel vertical slots  12 , 13  sized and shaped to retain a lower leg strap of the harness according to the present invention shown in  FIG. 2 . Slots  12 , 13  are located above the bottom edge  14  of bag  1 . The bottom edge  14  is preferably part of a bottom tab portion  15  of bag  1  that is not designed to retain any fluid. In the embodiment illustrated one of said slots  12  is located on one side of draining valve  7 B and the other of said slots  13  is located on the other side of valve  7 B. The slots  12 ,  13  are spaced apart but close enough to avoid bunching of tab portion  15  when in use. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , one embodiment of a harness according to the present invention, generally indicated at  16 , is schematically illustrated in combination with catheter bag  1 . Harness  16  comprises a lower leg strap portion  17 , an upper leg strap portion  18  and a shoulder strap portion  19 . 
     Lower leg strap portion  17  is sized and shaped to feed through slots  12 , 13  near the bottom edge  14  of catheter bag  1  and go around the patient&#39;s leg. Lower leg strap portion  17  can be made from an elastic material to adapt to different leg sizes or can be provided with a connection at each end to permit the length of the strap  17  when in use to be adjusted. 
     Upper leg strap portion  18  is sized and shaped to feed through slots  8 , 9  near the bottom edge  10  of catheter bag and go around the patient&#39;s leg. Upper leg strap portion  18  can be made from an elastic material to adapt to different leg sizes or can be provided with a connection at each end to permit the length of the strap  18  when in use to be adjusted. 
     When the straps  17 , 18  are attached the straps  17 , 18  go under the bag  1  to the slots  12 , 13  or  8 , 9  up into the slots  12  or  8  over the valves  7  or  7 B and down through the other slot  13  or  9  respectively for the lower leg strap portion  17  and upper leg strap portion  18 . This improvement makes the bag  1  sit firmly against the patient&#39;s leg. Bunching of the bag  1  is greatly reduced or eliminated. The bag valves  7  and  7 B sit flat on the patient&#39;s leg. 
     Shoulder strap portion  19  is sized and shaped to have one end  20  connect to one side  21  of upper leg strap portion  18  and the other end  22  connect to the other side  23  of upper leg strap portion  18 . The upper leg strap portion  18  encircles the leg front and back. Without the harness, even if the patient over tightens the straps  17 ,  18  the bag  1  still has a tendency to move down the leg. The straps  17 , 18  also pinch the leg. 
     Shoulder strap portion  19  is intended to go over the shoulder of the patient, left or right (for catheter bag placed against left leg the shoulder strap  19  goes over the right shoulder and vice versa). In the embodiment illustrated the shoulder strap  19  is about 3 cm wide and the thickness is ¼ mm clear pliable plastic which is 1.8 m to 2 m in length. 
     The shoulder strap portion  19  has an area  24  at the one end  20  that is made to go over the shoulder and down the back of the patient and then attached to the rear side  21  upper leg strap  18 . The area  24 , about 6″ long in the embodiment illustrated has a sticky surface. The patient peels off the protective cover (not shown) over area  24  and takes the sticky area which goes under the strap  18  and folds it over the strap  18  to the required line on the shoulder strap portion  19 . 
     The other end  22  of shoulder strap portion  19  is intended to go over the patient&#39;s shoulder, down the chest and then attached to the front side  23  upper leg strap  18 . The other end  22  has an area  25  that is also sticky with a pressure sensitive release backing paper. The patient peels off the protective cover (not shown) over area  25  and takes the sticky area which goes under the strap  18  and folds it over the strap  18  to position the bag  1  at the most comfortable position on the leg. The patient leaves a little slack in shoulder strap  19  for movement while the patient is moving. This makes it comfortable for the wearer. 
     This new and improved catheter bag and harness reduces the strain on the catheter hose, reduces the risk of the catheter bag slipping down the leg and reducing the risk of chafing. The patient is able to run, jog, walk, do chores and even ride a bicycle. Life improves immensely with the harness of the present invention by holding the catheter bag in place with no or very little movement of the bag. 
     It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the broader aspects of the present invention. 
     Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.