Abstract:
An arm board for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand during IV therapy which includes a contoured brace with removable straps for securing the forearm and middle two fingers of the patient&#39;s hand to the support, allowing some limited movement of the middle two fingers, and free movement of the little finger, thumb and index finger to reduce fatigue without altering the position of the IV tubing.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/444,945, filed on Feb. 5, 2003. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates generally to an arm board or arm rest for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand of a patient during intravenous therapy.  
           [0004]    2. Discussion of the Related Art  
           [0005]    In intravenous (IV) therapy, a needle attached to a tube connected to an IV bag is typically placed in a vein of the patient proximate a limb joint such as the elbow where the veins are closer to the skin and more accessible, and infusion, transfusion, phlebotomy or other procedures or therapies are performed by drawing or passing fluids through the tube. It is desirable in many instances to support the limb proximal its joint at the IV site.  
           [0006]    Previously, this was accomplished by simply placing a short board or splint along the limb, and then securing the limb to the splint board as with tape, and the IV tubing might either be simply taped down along a portion of the patient&#39;s arm or otherwise made fast to the splint in order to prevent any movement of the IV needle in the vein or possible displacement of the IV needle from the vein. Such techniques often resulted in discomfort to the patient due to the non-conformability of the splint board with the patient&#39;s forearm and hand.  
           [0007]    Various types of prior art supports, immobilizers and restraints have been proposed for use in association with IV therapy in lieu of the splint board, some of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,794 and U.S. Design Patent No. 170,885 to Nevill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,456 to Waxman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,508 to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,851 to Rodriguez, U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,526 to Saylors and U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,477 to Lewis, each of which had disadvantages, either due to the discomfort to the patient or the difficulty and expense in manufacture.  
           [0008]    An improvement to the prior art devices is seen in my prior patent No. 5,025,801 which included a contoured support having adjoined forearm, wrist and hand support surfaces for conformally supporting the ventral surfaces of the forearm, wrist and palm of a patient. A hand grip was provided adjoining the palm support surface, and thumb recesses were provided on each side of the hand support to enable the patient to grip the support. A tubing support member was pivotally mounted at the hand grip to provide support for IV tubing, the tubing support being pivotable about its hand grip mounting, as well as vertically adjustable with respect to the hand grip, with locking or clamping mechanisms manually operable for fixing the tubing support in place. While this device had certain advantages over prior art IV arm supports, it was somewhat cumbersome and difficult to use and never received widespread acceptance.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is a primary object of this invention to provide a universal IV arm support which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, yet adapted to accommodate both right and left forearms and hands in a comfortable and secure manner.  
           [0010]    Another object of this invention is to provide an IV arm support which permits free movement of the little finger and of the thumb and index finger of the immobilized hand, allowing grasping between the latter two digits.  
           [0011]    A further object of this invention is the provision of an arm board for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand during IV therapy which includes a contoured brace with removable straps for securing the forearm and middle two fingers of the patient&#39;s hand to the support, allowing some limited movement of the middle two fingers, and free movement of the little finger, thumb and index finger to reduce fatigue without altering the position of the IV tubing.  
           [0012]    A still further object of this invention is the provision of an inexpensive, one piece, molded plastic, universal IV arm support, with readily attachable and detachable forearm and finger straps, enabling the support to be reused, if desired, or disposed of after use if contaminated.  
           [0013]    Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing description and claims read in conjunction with the attached drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is side elevational view of a universal IV arm support member according to the instant inventive concepts;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partially broken away for illustrative convenience, illustrating a flexible strap for use in conjunction with the arm support member of this invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the strap of FIG. 5;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the arm support member of this invention showing the manner in which a strap is inserted to secure the middle and ring fingers of a patient thereto;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8 is a similar view showing the manner in which a strap is installed for securing the forearm of a patient to the arm support member of this invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 9 is a top plan view showing a patient&#39;s forearm and hand fixed to an arm support according to this invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 10 is a side elevational view thereof; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 9, but schematically showing the manner in which the needle and tubing from an IV fluid bag would be taped to a patient&#39;s hand attached to an arm support according to this invention. 
     
    
       [0026]    Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]    In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.  
         [0028]    Referring particularly to FIGS.  1 - 4 , an integral universal IV arm support member according to this invention is designated generally by the reference numeral  20  and comprises basically a single molded plastic element contoured to fit the forearm, wrist and middle fingers of a patient. The member  20  may be formed of any conventional plastic according to well known molding techniques. Perforations  22  through the arm support member  20  may be provided to permit the free flow of air therethrough in use.  
         [0029]    As seen in FIGS.  9 - 11 , when a patient&#39;s arm  50  is placed on the support  20 , the forearm  52  of a patient rests in an arcuate portion  24  of the arm support member  20  (see, particularly, FIG. 4), the wrist  54  and palm  56  resting on a gently, upwardly inclined portion  26  which rises from the arcuate portion  24  of the arm support  20  at an angle in the range of approximately 20-40°, and preferably at an angle of approximately 30°. The middle and ring fingers  58 ,  60  rest on a flat plateau  27  extending parallel to the portion  24  and continue onto a downwardly inclined portion  28  of the support member  20 . The downwardly inclined portion extends from the plateau  27  at an angle in the range of approximately 40-50′, and preferably a tan angle of approximately 45°. The little finger  62  is freely movable on one side of the inclined portion  28  and the thumb  64  and index finger  66  are freely movable on the other side of the inclined portion  28  of the support member  20 , allowing grasping by these members as seen in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.  
         [0030]    The support member  20  is contoured to fit the forearm, wrist and fingers of either the right arm and hand or the left arm and hand of most patients in a comfortable and secure manner, while permitting maximum flexibility and movement of the patient&#39;s hand and fingers to reduce fatigue, increase comfort and decrease nursing time required to administer IV fluids.  
         [0031]    In order to secure the patient&#39;s arm to the support member  20 , a pair of flexible straps of any conventional material may be provided. One such strap is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 at  40  as including a heat-welded loop  42  at one end. A first section  44  may be of standard hook or loop construction with a cooperating loop or hook section  46  heat-welded at  48  to the opposite end.  
         [0032]    A relatively shorter strap element  40  is shown in FIG. 7 as having the loop  42  removably engaged in a first H-shaped cutout  30  in the support member  20 , with the opposite end of the strap  40  looped through a second H-shaped cutout  32  and adjustably secured over the middle and ring fingers  58 ,  60  of a patient&#39;s hand by the hook and loop attachment  44 ,  46  as seen in FIGS.  9 - 11 . A longer strap, designated as  40 ′, is engaged through T-shaped cutouts  34 ,  36  in the support arm  20  as seen in FIG. 8 to secure the patient&#39;s forearm  54  to the support arm  20 .  
         [0033]    Referring now to particularly FIG. 11, it will be seen how the tubing  70 ,  79  from an IV fluid bag (not shown) may be looped around at  72  and taped at  74  to the strap  40 , and taped again at 75, 76 adjacent the entry of the IV needle  78  into the patient&#39;s vein.  
         [0034]    It will now be seen that the present invention provides a simply unitary molded plastic support member that is contoured to comfortably underly the forearm, wrist and middle fingers of a patient&#39;s arm with removable, adjustable, flexible straps to secure the patient&#39;s forearm and two middle fingers to the support providing free movement of the little and index fingers and the thumb and limited movement of the middle and ring fingers, while enabling a needle and tubing attached to an IV fluid bag to be taped securely to the patient. The IV arm support of this invention is universal and simple and inexpensive to manufacture and use.  
         [0035]    The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. As noted, the invention may be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is not limited by the dimensions of the preferred embodiment. Numerous applications of the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the invention to the preferred embodiments or the exact construction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents maybe resorted to as falling within the scope of the invention.