Abstract:
A medical gown has a neck opening entirely surrounded by continuous material of the gown, wherein the neck opening is round at a front side of the gown and extends to a point at a rear side of the gown. Another medical gown has a neck opening entirely surrounded by continuous material of the gown, and having a slit at a rear side extending from a bottom edge of the gown to a point short of the neck opening.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims benefit of United States Provisional Application No. 61/690,730 filed Jul. 5, 2012 by Tommarello et al. for “Passive compliant medical gown—PCMG, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Aspects of the present disclosure are in the technical field of medical gowns, and include a disposable medical gown and a method of making a medical gown. 
         [0003]    Gowns are commonly worn by medical personnel to protect themselves and their clothing from contamination by bodily fluids, pathogens, and the like when giving treatment to patients. There are two types of disposable medical gowns in common use. 
         [0004]    One type is an open-backed “step-in style” gown, which is easy to don, but must be secured with ties both at the waist and at the neck. Securing the tie at the back of the neck is not always easy without assistance, and if the neck is not properly covered then the wearer may not be adequately protected. Because the gown opens at the back, the waist tie is typically attached at the front. The waist tie may fasten in the back, which is not always easy without assistance. Alternatively, each end of the tie may pass right round the wearer&#39;s body and the ties are then fastened in the front, which requires long ties which present a tripping hazard if they are not fastened immediately after the gown is donned. 
         [0005]    The other type is a “poncho-style” gown that drops on over the wearer&#39;s head. That is not as easy to don, and in particular is not easy to remove, especially when the outside is contaminated. This style has the advantage that it does not need fastening in order to provide adequate neck coverage. A waist tie may be provided in order to gather the waist in when the gown is being worn by a person smaller than the maximum size that the gown can fit. 
         [0006]    It is desired to provide a gown that is easy to don and remove, reliably provides proper coverage for the wearer, and is easy and economical to manufacture in quantity. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    According to one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a medical gown having a neck opening entirely surrounded by continuous material of the gown, wherein the neck opening is round at a front side of the gown and extends to a point at a rear side of the gown. 
         [0008]    The gown may have a slit at a rear side extending from a bottom edge of gown to a position facing the point of the neck opening. 
         [0009]    According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a medical gown having a neck opening entirely surrounded by continuous material of the gown, and having a slit at a rear side extending from a bottom edge of the gown to a point short of the neck opening. 
         [0010]    The position to which the slit at the rear side extends may be not more than 6 inches from the neck opening. 
         [0011]    The gown may comprise a body panel and two sleeve panels, folded along a top edge, the sleeve panels being joined to the body panel by seams at bases of the sleeve panels, the sleeve panels being seamed at lower edges to form sleeves, and the body panel being seamed at side edges below the sleeves to form a body. 
         [0012]    According to a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of making a medical gown, comprising: forming a body panel with a central neck opening and with a slit extending from one end to a point short of the neck opening; attaching two sleeve panels to the body panel on either side of the neck opening; folding the sleeve and body panels across the middle to form a top edge of the gown; seaming edges of the sleeve panels opposite the top edge to form sleeves; and seaming side edges of the body panel to form a body. 
         [0013]    According to a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of removing a medical gown as mentioned above, comprising parting the material of the gown from the slit to the neck opening. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be more apparent from the following more particular description of embodiments thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings. In the drawings: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a gown according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the gown shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the gown shown in  FIG. 1  in a partly assembled state. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a rear view similar to  FIG. 2  of an alternative form of gown. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    A better understanding of various features and advantages of the present methods and devices may be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention and accompanying drawings. Although these drawings depict embodiments of the contemplated methods and devices, they should not be construed as foreclosing alternative or equivalent embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the subject art. 
         [0020]    Referring to the drawings, and initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , one form of disposable medical gown indicated generally by the reference numeral  10  comprises a body  12 , two sleeves  14 , and a waist tie  16 . The body  12  and sleeves  14  are made of any ultrasonically bondable medical grade nonwoven material selected to provide the level of protection required for the specific use. The material may be chosen to comply with United States Food &amp; Drug Administration or other applicable regulations or specifications. The material may be 11 gsm polypropylene or other suitable lightweight, impervious material, depending on the level of protection required for a specific use. 
         [0021]    The body  12  and sleeves  14  are folded at the top, bonded together at the seams  18  where the sleeves  14  meet the body  12 , and bonded closed along the undersides  20  of the sleeves  14  and down the sides  22  of the body  12  below the sleeves  14 . The sleeves may end in elastic cuffs  40 , formed by strips of elastic material bonded to the material of the sleeves  14 . At the center of the top of the body is a teardrop-shaped head opening  24 , formed by approximately a semicircle  26  to the front, and a triangle  28  to the rear. The rear of the gown is slit centrally. The slit  30  extends from the bottom hem  32  to a point  34  a short distance below the tip  36  of the triangular part  28  of the head opening  24 , leaving a tab  38  joining the two sides of the back of the gown between the points  34  and  36 . 
         [0022]    The waist tie  16  is bonded across the front of the body  12  of the gown  10 , and may be formed from a strip of the same material from which the gown body  12  is made. 
         [0023]    In order to put the gown  10  on, the wearer opens the back slit  30 , and passes the tab  38  over his or her head, and puts his or her head through the head opening  24  and puts his or her arms through the sleeves  14 . Because of the back slit  30  and the teardrop head opening  24 , the gown is much easier to put on than a conventional poncho-style gown. Because of the teardrop shape of the head opening  24 , higher at the front than at the back, the wearer&#39;s front is well protected against contamination, without the wearer having to manually fasten a neck tie. The teardrop head opening  24  allows a larger aperture than a conventional poncho gown with the same frontal neck coverage. The frontal coverage of the gown is more critical than the back, both by function and regulation, so the larger exposure at the back of the neck form the triangular part  28  of the opening  24  is acceptable. 
         [0024]    The wearer then stretches the ends of the waist tie  16  bonded to the back panel of the gown round the waist, and ties them at the front. 
         [0025]    In order to remove the gown  10 , the wearer unties the waist tie  16 , breaks the tab  38 , and removes the gown to the front, like a conventional step-in style gown. 
         [0026]    As an example of suitable dimensions, for an “adult large” size gown  10 , which will in practice fit normal human adults at least from medium through XL, the body  12  may be 31″ wide and 48″ long when laid flat. The sleeves  14  may be 20″ long (giving the garment a span of 71″ from wrist to wrist) and may be tapered from 12″ wide at the base  18  to 4″ wide at the wrist openings. The circular part  26  of the neck opening  24  may be 6″ in diameter, and the triangular part  28  may extend to 9″ below the top of the body  12 . The tab should be formed so as to be strong enough to maintain an attachment of the upper portions of the body panels  12  when the gown is pulled onto the user, yet weak enough that it can be readily torn or severed when removing the gown. In one embodiment, the tab  38  may be about 2″ wide between the points  34  and  36  in  FIG. 2 , although that width can vary depending on the material used for the gown  10 . 
         [0027]    Referring now also to  FIG. 3 , in one method of manufacturing the gown  10 , a panel of material  50  twice as long as the body  12 , and as wide as the body or slightly wider, is provided for the body  12 . The panel  50  may be rectangular, and may be provided from a roll. The roll may be wider than the body  12 , for example, a standard 36″ wide roll, in which case a 1″ strip may be cut from one side to form the waist tie  16 . The teardrop-shaped head opening  24  and the back slit  30  are cut through the strip  50 . In large volume production, all these cuts may be made in a single pass from the roll through a rotary cutter. 
         [0028]    Two separate panels  52  are provided for the sleeves  14 , and are attached to the body panel  50  at the seams  18 . For large volume production, the sleeve panels  52  may be fed in sideways from another roll of material. The seams  18  may be formed by ultrasonic bonding. The waist tie  16  is bonded across the front of the body panel  50 . Strips of elastic  56  may be ultrasonically bonded or otherwise attached along outer edges of the sleeve panels  54  to form elastic cuffs  40 . 
         [0029]    The assembled panels  50  and  52  are then folded so that the front lies on top of the back. The underarm seams  20  and body side seams  22  are then bonded. The underarm seams  20  are positioned to form the tapered shape of the finished sleeves  14  and the waste material outside the seams is cut away. The sides of the gown body  12  can similarly be tapered at seams  22 . 
         [0030]    All the offcuts are then collected and sent back to the supplier of the material, to be melted down and recycled. 
         [0031]    The completed gowns  10  are then packaged for delivery to the customer. In an embodiment, the gowns are folded, interleaved, and packed in a shrink-wrapped package with a perforated line that can be torn open, similarly to facial tissue. Thus, when one gown is removed from the package, the first fold of the next gown is drawn out, ready to be taken quickly when it is needed, but the rest of the gowns remain clean within the package. 
         [0032]    Referring now also to  FIG. 4 , a second form of gown indicated generally by the reference numeral  60  is similar to the gown shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , except that the waist tie  16  is replaced by a waist tie  62  of elastic material. One suitable material is a tubular knitted elastic manufactured of polyester and spandex, normally used for surgical face mask ear loops. Such a material is commercially available from Rhode Island Textiles and other suppliers. The tie  62  is ultrasonically bonded to one back panel of the gown so that the relaxed length is shorter than the gown and eliminates or greatly reduces the above-mentioned tripping hazard. The stretched length is long enough to tie around an extra-large size person. 
         [0033]    As an example of suitable dimensions for an “adult large” size gown  60 , the waist tie  62  has an unstretched length of 26 inches, with a middle section  64  approximately 1″ long bonded to the body of the gown  60  and sections  66 ,  68 , each approximately 12½″ long hanging free at each side of the bonded section  64 . The middle section  64  may be bonded to the gown approximately midway between the back slit  30  and one side seam  22 , and approximately 21″ below the top fold  54 , so that the loose ends are about 14″ above the bottom hem  32  of the gown  60 . The suggested polyester/spandex material can be stretched from 26″ to at least 58″ with a tension of less than 1.5 pounds. That is sufficient to pass round an Extra Large waist (42″ to 44″) with sufficient extra length to tie a knot in without difficulty. 
         [0034]    The gown  60  may be made, donned, and removed by processes generally similar to those described above for the gown  10  of  FIGS. 1 to 3 . 
         [0035]    While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
         [0036]    Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.