Special instrument covers

In an area where deadly diseases such as AIDs and similar diseases are common, the need for cleanness is obvious. This application provides covers made from latex and methods of using them that will be used to cover endoscopes and their parts to prevent such contaminations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The introduction of HIV to human life has made a tremendous impact in the 
way medicine is practiced. New concerns have been raised, and the need for 
perfect cleanness and sterilization has turned to be a very important 
demand. This deadly virus, which has claimed hundred thousands of lives, 
has set a fear among the people and doctors that is unbelievably 
deep-seated and extremely important. 
One very important issue exists. Since the period between contamination and 
the full-blown picture of the disease is a very long one, this prevents us 
from finding an easy cause and effect relation; therefore at times it gets 
very difficult, or in fact impossible, to find which caused which. Also 
this disease has taught everyone that small germs are truly important and 
should not be ignored by any means. This also brought the possibility that 
maybe there are other disease and problems that are caused by small yet 
unknown germs. Even a question has come up that maybe some sort of cancers 
are indeed caused by viruses that we simply have not identified. This 
background mandates the best possible prevention techniques be used. 
However, the technique of cleaning some medical instruments, such as 
endoscopes, is in my mind not perfect. In practice these units are used 
bare in patients and are subject to being contaminated by millions of many 
small ultramicroscopic materials, such as AIDs virus. They are cleaned 
manually and that is subject to human error. Please notice that these 
germs cannot be seen even by microscopes. The diagnosis of such occurrence 
will be very difficult since as mentioned earlier the period between the 
contamination and actual disease is a very long one and does not allow 
this to be recognized. These give grounds to some people to worry that the 
endoscopes or transducers used on them could be contaminated and start a 
nidus for a deep seated worry that cannot be relieved since there is no 
easy way for early diagnosis of diseases such as AIDs. 
So the answer to this problem is to prevent such contamination as best as 
possible. However in practice the means for such prevention from 
contaminations of endoscopes does not exist, or at least the inventor of 
this unit is not aware of them. Therefore this unit is introduced for such 
important purpose. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This technique uses a latex or plastic cover which is commonly used in the 
medical field for prevention of contamination from germs. This material, 
which is used in making surgical gloves, will be very useful in prevention 
of contamination of many medical instruments such as Gastroscopes, 
Colonoscopes, Sigmoidoscopes, Cholangioscopes, Trans Esophageal 
Echocardiogram probes, Cystoscopes and many similar units. This unit 
introduces a combination of covers that are made from latex that will be 
used to cover the body and shaft part of the endoscope as well as the 
other areas and pieces that are commonly contaminated by the user. So that 
putting all these together, the unit will be covered by a layer of latex 
all over, which will protect the unit from being contaminated. 
Understandably, when the units are less contaminated, then it would not be 
necessary to clean them as hard. The fact that these units will need less 
cleaning will cause less wear and tear and may prolong the life of these 
very expensive units. Also the potential contamination of patients with 
toxic cleaning materials used to disinfect these units will also be much 
less. These units will be made for all the similar types of endoscopes 
with minor modifications to allow them to be used safely.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a stethoscope having both diaphragms 1,2 covered by 
protective covers 3, 6. Each cover has gone over the edge of its diaphragm 
and is placed in the back of the unit and also has a stronger rim in the 
end to hold it in place tightly. The rim of the diaphragm is shown by 8. 
The end of the tube of the stethoscope connects to a base 5. The elastic 
rims are shown by 4 and 7. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a large diaphragm 1 covered by a cover 3 which has a 
tab, or tongue, 9 in its rim. This tab will allow easy placement of the 
cover on the diaphragm. The piece of base 5 connecting to diaphragm 1 is 
shown by 10. The outer rim of the cover is 11 and the elastic inner rim is 
4. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show a cover for the large diaphragm with two tabs 13 and a 
shorter rim 4 for the back. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show plastic pieces 14 that will help in placement of a cover 
when it does not have a tab. 
FIG. 9 shows a shaft 20 of a scope unit that has a cover 22 on it. Close to 
the tip 21 of shaft 20 is a rim of thicker latex 23 in order to hold this 
cover in place tightly and prevent it from being pulled back with 
manipulation which can be destructive in imaging. 
FIG. 10 is like FIG. 9 except that the tip 21 is covered by the cover 
itself at 25. This version is to be used with units, such as Trans 
Esophageal Echocardiogram, or rectal and vaginal ultrasound transducer 
units, that do not need an opening in the end. 
FIG. 11 shows a unit that is to be used with the tip of the transducers. 
This cover has a matching shape and will be rolled on the transducer, and 
it has a layer of gel on it. The tip of the transducer is shown by 32, the 
body of the transducer by 37, the base of the transducer by 31, the body 
of the cover by 36, and the tip by 34. The rim of this cover is shown by 
35 and importantly it is round and thick and elastic to facilitate the 
movement of the cover in and out from the transducer. The gel is shown by 
33. 
FIGS. 12 and 13 show a unit that is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 
11 except this unit has tabs 40, 42, 43 that will allow the unit to be 
pulled over the tip of the transducer easily. The rim of this cover is 
shown by 39 and it is soft and not as thick as the previous model. 
FIG. 14 shows a unit that is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 11 
except this unit has small raised spots S of latex on its surface that 
will give a better traction for the unit when it needs to be rolled away 
and also will give a better grip for the user and better feeling to the 
technician. 
FIGS. 15 and 16 show combinations of covers that are covering the body of a 
Gastroscope or a Colonoscope unit or a similar type of endoscope. The body 
of the unit is shown by 44, its rear part by 46, and the base of the shaft 
by 40b. This unit connects to a computer compartment by a cable 45. The 
direction of the tip of the shaft of this scope is usually done by control 
knobs here shown by three knobs 50, 51, and 52. The knob 51 is connected 
by an axle 49 to the body of the scope. Numerals 41a and 41 show the base 
of the two common buttons on the top surface of the body of the scope 
which are for suctioning and similar function. Please be advised that the 
walls and parts of this unit are shown by a solid line, while the cover is 
shown by a dotted line that is covering the body of the scope and its 
components. Here the cover comes from the base 40b of the shaft and 
continues its way (55, 56, 76, 67) to come and go around the cable at 57 
and then to cover the rear part 46 at 58 and also it covers the base of 
the control knobs (59, 60). In the place of the control knobs the cover 
goes around the knobs and covers the sides that are likely to be 
contaminated. In FIG. 15 the piece 68 covers the knob 50, the piece 69 
covers the knob 51, and the piece 70 covers the knob 52. The no. 60 shows 
a thickened piece of cover which stands on the body of unit at the base of 
the knobs. 
FIG. 16 shows the top of the unit by 44, the bottom part by 94, and edges 
that come and stand next to each other along lines 73 and 74. 
FIGS. 17 and 18 show control knob 50 that is covered by cover 68. In the 
lower side, one of the sides of the control knob is shown by 82 with cover 
part 83 covering it. The cover also has parts shown by dotted lines 80, 
68, and 81 in the top. 
FIGS. 19-21 show control knob 52, covered by cover 70, which will be fitted 
on its outer surface. A small layer of glue 92 holds them together, as 
well as the shape of the cover which fits the knob right. 
FIG. 22 shows the part of the body of the scope that is located between the 
body itself and the shaft 40. In this part and in some models few knobs 
and openings and some control handles are located. Here a small cover 100, 
101 shown with a dash and dot line goes and stands on the base of these 
pieces to cover the intended spots and places, such as 104. This cover may 
be made from hard clear thin plastic, with openings such as around 102, 
106 to let the handles 107, 105 be left out to be covered by small covers 
of their own. These small covers will match the handle's shape and will be 
pulled or pushed on the handles to do the job. 
FIGS. 23 and 24 show a shaft 20 of a unit that has a cover 140 that is 
being pulled on it. The cover has special raised areas 141 that will give 
better and more traction to the cover and will facilitate the placement in 
and out of the unit. Also importantly, this unit has a soft but solid 
piece of elastic 142 inside that is like a doughnut, and this is to make 
the job of rolling the cover much easier since very importantly it will 
give a much better grip especially when the person has a touch of 
arthritis in the hand and in conditions where the surface can be slippery 
due to secretions and contaminations and a small piece may not be as 
helpful and functional to be moved without significant difficulty and 
causing significant contamination. The tip of shaft 20 is shown by 21 and 
the thicker tip of the cover by 23. The rolled cover is shown by 143. This 
fig. shows how the cover can be rolled back and forth easily and the 
thicker part of the cover is to prevent motion of the tip of the cover 
back and forth. 
FIG. 25 shows a shaft of a unit that has a cover pulled on it, very similar 
to the one shown in previous two figures except the tip of this cover has 
special shape shown by A so that its edge has turned to go over the corner 
of the tip of the shaft shown by 21. This special construction will 
prevent the cover to be pulled back and forth. This piece is fortified and 
may be made from harder plastic or elastic piece. 
FIGS. 26 and 27 show a delivery system that is to facilitate the placement 
of the cover on the shaft. This unit has a central piece that is made from 
a rigid or semi-rigid center tube 150 that is slightly larger than the 
shaft of the unit with which it is to be used so that it can be pulled 
over the shaft easily without scratching the surface of the shaft. The 
inner cover of this piece will be also soft enough not to scratch the 
outer layer of the shaft. The cover 162 will be pulled over this center 
piece and will be compressed on it and stay there until it is released. 
The tip of this cover 169 is shown and the thicker piece 164 may be also 
held on the tip of this central tube. The base of this central tube has a 
raised wall 157 that will allow the placement and connection of the base 
of two control pieces 154 and 153. These pieces each has a front end with 
soft teeth 168, 167 that will press the cover and can hold it tight 
against the wall of the central tube in that area so that the cover cannot 
be released when these pieces are pressed. This method will provide a 
means of controlling the release of the cover, which can be intermittent, 
so that the person will pull this unit and can keep the cover released to 
allow it to be moved and to cause tension when it is pulled without 
releasing the cover. The outside surface of these handles may have a shape 
and surface to allow holding them easily by the hand. When the cover is 
pulled on the shaft at the end, these handles can be separated from the 
unit by removing them from the base of the central tube. Some spring type 
function may be given to these handles to allow a better function. The 
shaft cover will have appropriate markings or coloring on its surface to 
indicate the length of the released parts. 
This method will prevent the cover from being pulled more or less than the 
right amount and causing possible problem with weakening the wall of the 
cover, since if the cover is pulled hard, it will weaken the wall and 
cause microscopic tears. If it is not pulled enough, it has to be pulled 
more later to compensate for the length. 
FIGS. 28 and 29 show an elastic piece 181 that is to be stuck over the 
cover in order to allow it to be rolled back easily. FIG. 28 shows this 
unit wrapped over a cover shown by dot and dash line 180. The ends of 
piece 181 are shown by 182, 183, stuck to each other. 
One surface of piece 181 contains an adhesive layer 184 that is protected 
by a removable clear plastic layer 185 that is to be stuck around the 
cover around the shaft and give the means of letting it to be rolled away. 
At the time of use the clear plastic cover will be removed, then the 
adhesive surface will be stuck on the surface of the cover all around to 
let a ring or doughnut to be made similar to FIG. 28. Then the cover is 
rolled away. The adhesive layer 184 extends to one end 186 so that, that 
end will be stuck to the other end 187. 
FIGS. 30 and 31 show a piece of latex 200 that has a cover of adhesive 
paper 201 on it. This adhesive paper is sticking along one side to the 
latex layer and along its other side 202 has a layer of adhesive 250 on 
its surface that is covered by a plastic layer 251 that is removed to 
allow it (202) to stick to the surface of the other latex layer. This 
piece has a thread 203 that will tear its overlaying paper when it is 
pulled to allow it to be removed easily. At the time of use, the plastic 
cover layer 251 will be removed to allow the adhesive piece to stick to 
the other side of the latex. 
FIG. 32 shows a scope that is being covered by a cover unit where the body 
of the cover for the shaft is rolled up at the base of the shaft ready to 
be pulled over the shaft. The body of the unit is shown by 44, with its 
rear part covered by 58 and the base of the cable by 45 and the cable 
cover by 57. The control knobs are shown at 50, 51, and 52. The rolled-up 
cover for the shaft 20 is shown by 205. This cover will be then rolled on 
the shaft to cover it to the end. At times when the unit is long, it will 
be cut to size and a band of tight latex will be used to hold it in place 
at the tip. 
FIG. 33 shows a scope whose body has been covered by a body cover 56, 57. 
And the shaft cover is in place at the tip and ready to be pulled back to 
the base of the shaft by the delivery system of FIG. 26. The body of the 
unit is shown by 44, and the base of cable that goes to the computer 
compartment by 45. The control knobs are shown 50, 51, and 52, the shaft 
is marked by 20, and the cover 162 for the shaft is shown ready to be 
placed by the delivery system whose control pieces are unit shown by 154 
and 153. The delivery system will be pulled toward the body of the unit to 
cover the shaft all along, and then the handles will be removed. 
FIGS. 34-36 show a cover that is designed to cover the knobs 50, 51. This 
cover will be also made from latex and will have a shape that will be 
slightly tight (in order to stay in place) on the surface of the knob. 
This piece will be pulled over the knob to come in one point and to stick 
on the outer surface of the other end. The rim of this unit is shown by 
220. Please notice that in practice this rim will be in circle shape. The 
piece that goes on the raised part of the knob 50 is shown by 221, the 
piece in-between those is shown by 222. The end of this cover which does 
not have adhesive surface is shown by 224; the other end that has a 
surface covered by small area of glue by 223. The adhesive is shown by 225 
with a removable plastic cover shown by 226. 
FIG. 35 shows the side view of a cover. The piece that goes to the raised 
part of the knob is shown by 221, one side of this piece by 228, and 
another side of it by 227. The rim of the side that goes to the base of 
the knob is shown by 220 and its sides by 229 and 230. 
FIG. 36 shows the side view of one end of the cover that has the adhesive 
on its inner surface. The outside surface of this part is shown by 223, 
then one side by 239, and the other side by 240. The adhesive is shown by 
a dotted line 225, and the removable protective plastic cover by 226. 
DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THIS INVENTION 
The need for complete sterility of the instruments used in medicine is now 
more obvious and many times mandatory. This issue has a physical as well 
as psychological aspect. There are many people who live a clean life and 
do not want to have a unit that was used in the other patients to be 
inserted bare inside their body even after cleaning. The reason is that 
germs such as AIDs virus are extremely small and cannot be seen even by 
microscopes and the cleaning of these instruments by humans is subject to 
human error and cannot be controlled by human eye. So prevention of such 
psychological concern is of significant importance in the inventor's mind. 
It is always better to avoid and prevent psychological worries and fears 
than to use medications afterward to control them. In this case one bottle 
of nerve medications to suppress the worries of patients will cost many 
times more than the price of a cover. Considering these facts this unit is 
introduced for usage in scopes such as gastroscope, colonoscopes, or 
similar ultrasound units. 
Stethoscopes 
In the same subject let's also consider stethoscopes and their function. As 
we can imagine, stethoscopes are used in many conditions in patients who 
have cuts, bleeding and wet secretions from different areas of their body, 
and body fluids of any kind on them. While they may not be seen when they 
are wiped off by patients or medical staff, millions or uncountable 
numbers of microscopic germs remain in place. So the user will be unaware 
that many times his or her stethoscope touches dirty skins of such 
patients and then carries them from one patient to another. Even if 
someone notes this in general, stethoscopes are not made to be washed and 
be washed routinely, and even the facilities for washing and soap and 
towels are not available every time, and washing would be very expensive 
if were available. Therefore in my opinion at very least in certain areas 
such as Emergency Room and certain patients such as AIDs patients, or 
patients with wet surfaces especially, the diaphragm of stethoscopes 
should be covered and cover be changed, similar to the gloves of the 
examiners. Ideally it will be part of best practice to change from one 
patient to another for the same reason we change the cover of the exam 
tables and pillows. The same consideration is also true about use of 
transducers of the ultrasound and the scopes that are being entered into 
the body of a person. It will be very wise and a very valuable service to 
patients to use in all such cases disposable covers that will prevent 
contamination to a great degree. 
Having this background in mind this application is about covers used for 
medical instruments particularly the stethoscopes and transducers and 
endoscopes. The basic cover will be made from latex or similar material to 
be used for covering such medical instruments that touch patients and can 
be contaminated. This cover will have a shape and size and construction to 
allow it to be pulled and to cover the areas that turn out to be 
contaminated at the time of use with a patient. 
In its simplest form this unit has a shape of a diaphragm of a stethoscope, 
and will be pulled over both the small and larger diaphragms. It will be 
made from latex that has a front part that will fit the diaphragm and a 
rim that will be pulled over the edge of the diaphragm area of the 
stethoscopes and to stay in its back. In order to make this job easier the 
cover may have a piece in shape of a tab or tongue to facilitate pulling 
the cover on the diaphragm. The rim of this cover will be a thicker part 
to act like a rubber band. Importantly some models may be made to go over 
the metal part of the tip of stethoscopes so that the need for diaphragm 
will be eliminated and the unit will be cheaper to produce. So these units 
will use disposable covers that are thick enough to go over the tip of 
stethoscopes and be used and then to be thrown away. 
Importantly another model may be made that is longer and has a bigger piece 
that will fit the large diaphragm and a smaller piece in the other end to 
be pulled and go on the smaller diaphragm so that only one piece covers 
both of them and makes the function of pulling easier and simpler if 
someone intends to use both diaphragms. 
Cover for the Tip of Transducers 
In the case of ultrasonic transducers it is also wise to consider that in 
practice these are to be pressed and rubbed against skin when the skin is 
covered by the gels. This is an unsafe practice, at least it may bring a 
question to mind of many patients that maybe they will get AIDs or other 
diseases by rubbing a probe that is used on thousands of other unknown 
patients and can be contaminated by many unknown germs. For prevention of 
such very annoying and disturbing thoughts and problems, the tip of such 
transducers of ultrasounds will be covered by utilizing the same 
technique. And basically this will be a cover made from latex layer or a 
thin plastic that has a matching shape to fit and be pulled or rolled over 
the transducers of the ultrasounds. This piece also may have tabs or 
tongues in its end to allow the unit to be pulled over the tip of the 
ultrasound transducer units. If this is made from clear plastic rather 
than latex then it is usually best to be pulled. However the latex units 
are to be pulled and rolled as well. In the case of ultrasound 
transducers, the inside surface of the tip of these covers may have a 
layer of gel covered by a protective plastic to be removed before being 
placed on the transducer. Also sometimes it may be helpful to use gel in 
order to facilitate the pulling of the cover on the shaft. 
The Cover for Endoscopes and Similar Units 
The technique for covering the scopes also uses covers made from latex or 
plastic or their combinations, which will be shaped to make a cover for 
many of the medical instruments such as Gastroscope, Colonoscopes, 
Sigmoidoscopes, Cholangioscopes, Trans Esophageal Echocardiogram probes, 
Trans rectal and trans vaginal ultrasound probes and Cystoscopes and the 
other similar units. These instruments basically have a long tubular shaft 
that is inserted inside the body, to be then turned or bent to different 
directions by using control knobs located on the body of the unit. 
The long piece of these units here referred to as "shafts" has means of 
lighting the tip of the shaft and it also has a flushing system as well as 
a hole inside that is for snares to be inserted to cut and remove small 
particles through them. The body of the unit has in some models a small 
viewing window to look through the shaft, however in larger models the 
body does not have the viewing window since it is connected to the light 
source or a computer compartment by a thick cable. So in order to cover 
the whole unit this application introduces a cover that has three basic 
components to cover different parts, and these are as follows: 
1. A piece to cover the body. 
This will be made from a layer of latex that will have a shape to match the 
outside of the body of the scope and allow it to be pulled easily over the 
body to fit comfortably on the body and to be pulled against its wall. The 
latex may have raised lines or spots so as to give a nice grip to the 
cover. When this unit is pulled at some opening it will go over smaller 
pieces that are placed to cover opening of some buttons or other openings. 
Then the cover will be pulled all along and in its way one side of it will 
stand in the base of the control knobs and then to be pulled to the rear 
end of the body of the instrument to wrap around it and to come together 
in the other side. The edges of this cover will overlap and will be closed 
by use of glues or adhesive tapes or a special adhesive tape, to leave no 
place for contamination. Considering the fact that the unit may have an 
object window for viewing or be connected to the computer technique, then 
two kinds of body cover will be made as follows: 
a. The kind that has an objective piece like the eye piece of a binocular, 
in which case the cover of the body will have a separate piece that will 
fit easily on this piece and then the rear end of body cover itself will 
end at the base of this part, and its rim will have a thick part that will 
function like an elastic band to hold the end of the cover tight and 
secure in place and to prevent tearing of the rim of the cover as well. 
b. The kind that is a larger, more expensive unit that utilizes the 
computer compartment for viewing. This unit shown in FIG. 15 has a cable 
that is connected to the left side of the body. In such cases the cover 
will be made to go around it and to turn and come around the cable and to 
be stuck to each other. The cable itself will be covered either by 
wrapping a suitable cover or rolling a unit coming from its connection 
plug toward the base, or vice versa, using a unit similar to the model 
which is explained for the shaft. 
Each of these covers may have a connection to the piece that is to cover 
the shaft, and importantly the body cover may use bands or rings of 
elastic or thickened latex or rubber that are to hold the cover in place. 
The body of this unit may have small spots or lines of different shapes of 
raised areas of latex to give a better traction to the unit which is to 
function like the treads of tires. Importantly the unit will have 
markings, and shapes and figures outside, as well as different coloring 
and printings of directions and signals, etc. to allow the person to 
identify the underlying covered areas and to make the use as much easier 
and likeable as possible. 
Importantly the latex may have different thickness in different areas in 
order to serve different purposes; for example in the base, in the edges 
and in connection areas, it may have a thicker layer. 
Also importantly combinations of latex and clear plastic will be also used 
to allow the visibility to be maintained in some areas where it is 
necessary or will be helpful to recognize the underlying pieces. So in 
such cases the visibility will be provided by the clear plastic and the 
coverage and elasticity to be delivered by the latex layer. The importance 
of function of such windows is clear since it will allow precise 
functioning. 
Also importantly pieces of rigid plastic in shape of lines or surfaces may 
be used whenever there is a need for a firm frame or surface to make or 
maintain a shape so as to allow making the placement and use of such units 
the best and most convenient. 
Alternatively a body cover also made from somewhat rigid clear plastic 
holds the body of the unit inside itself like a case which may be easy to 
be placed in some models of the scopes. 
2. The piece for covering the shaft. 
This piece will be made from a tubular latex with a shape and size to match 
the size of the shaft in order to go over the shaft of the scope. This 
piece will have an open end for units that are to use light source as well 
as open end for the snare and flushing system. In these models the cover 
will have an open end; however importantly the tip of this cover will have 
a circular piece made from hard plastic or thick latex or rubber that is 
to match and stand tight and secure on the tip of shaft of scopes and 
prevent its displacement back and forth either way. 
In cases where the end does not need to be open, such as ultrasonic scopes, 
then the end of the cover will be closed and may have a layer of gel in 
its tip to prevent pockets of air from standing between the inner surface 
of the tip of the cover and the tip of the transducer in the shaft. These 
cover units will have a tight fitting around the tip of transducer to 
prevent presence of air pockets in that area. And they may have a tight 
band of latex above the transducer tip to hold the gel in place. 
Importantly the connection areas between the cover of the shaft and the 
body and other connection areas will be done skillfully so that these 
areas will match each other's size and shape and they may also have areas 
of adhesive to allow a secure and stable connection to be done as well as 
to make them waterproof when needed. Adhesive tapes and bands may also be 
used for this purpose. 
The Methods of Placement of the Covers on the Shafts 
At the time of use, the end piece of these units will be placed at the end 
of the shaft to stay there securely due to its size and construction as 
mentioned (which matches the size and will fit the tip tight and stay 
there). Then the rest of the shaft cover is to be pulled or rolled over 
the shaft. This will be done by two methods: 
1. The pulling method. 
In this method the cover of the shaft will be pulled over on the shaft with 
use of a specially designed delivery system to make the pulling job more 
easily possible, accurate and comfortable. This delivery system consists 
of a rigid or semi-rigid center tube that is slightly larger than the 
shaft of the scope so that it can be pulled over the shaft easily without 
scratching the surface of the shaft of the unit. The cover will be made 
and pulled on this part to stand compressed on the surface of the center 
tube and to stay there until it is released. At the time of use, this unit 
will be pulled over the shaft after first the end piece of the cover is 
placed and secured on the tip of the shaft of the scope and then the shaft 
cover will be pulled toward the base of the scope while the handles or 
forks are released to permit slow and even release of the cover to stand 
on the shaft under it. The shaft cover has markings on its surface showing 
the length. Sometimes it may be helpful to use gel in order to facilitate 
the pulling of the cover on the shaft. As mentioned earlier this is 
important since otherwise the cover will be pulled more or less than it 
should be to cause possible problem with the cover, since if the cover is 
pulled hard, it will weaken the wall, and if it is not pulled enough, it 
has to compensate later to eventually cause some other part to be pulled 
more to compensate for the loss. 
2. The rolling method. 
In this model the shaft cover is designed to be rolled up toward the base 
of the scope after the tip of the cover is placed appropriately, and the 
end tip which will be similar to the kind mentioned earlier to be placed 
and secured at the tip of the scope. Importantly the cover of shaft in 
this case may also have small spots or different shaped lines (in one or 
both in and out surfaces) of raised latex in order to give a better grip 
and traction to the cover for better use: placement as well as removal; 
again something similar to function of the treads of tires. The rolling 
will be continued until the whole shaft is covered. 
It is to be mentioned that the contact areas between the body cover and the 
shaft cover will be tight and the contact between these parts will leave 
no openings, and if necessary then, a piece of adhesive tape or latex will 
be used to make this connection area strong and fully covered. 
The Cover for the Cable 
The cable that connects the body of the scope to the electronic computer 
piece and plugs into the computer, is usually much less contaminated. This 
piece may be also covered by a cover that can be rolled on it. Or 
alternatively, this cover may be made from a piece to be wrapped on the 
cable and to have an adhesive tape to hold the sides together. In order to 
allow this wrapping to be removed easily after use, then the adhesive tape 
will be made from a piece of stronger paper, with a thread in its wall 
that has a part that has adhesive layer protected by a removable plastic 
cover that will be removed at the time of use to expose the adhesive part 
to stick to the surface of the other side of the wrap (FIGS. 30 and 31). 
At the time of removal, the thread will be pulled to tear the cover and 
allow the cover to be easily removed. 
The System for Covering the Knobs 
The technique designed for covering different knobs of this unit are as 
follows. First from my observation basically there are following groups of 
buttons: 
1. The knobs and buttons on the top surface of the body that are to be used 
for suctioning, flushing, and snaring, etc. These buttons will be covered 
first by a small cap made from a hard clear thin plastic that will have a 
matching size to allow the piece to be situated on the place easily. Then 
after placement these can be held in place with use of latex, although 
they may have a thin band of elastic of their own to go around the body to 
be held in place. The cover of the body will be pulled on this part to 
hold it in place. 
Alternatively and importantly the cover piece for these buttons may be made 
from combinations of latex or clear plastic in the center and hard plastic 
around it so that the latex or clear plastic part can be pressed to allow 
the underlying button to function; if there is a hole on the button then a 
hole also will be made in this cover as well. 
2. The control knobs on the right side are to be covered by a special latex 
or clear plastic covers that will be pulled on them to be held on place, 
securely due to their shape and elasticity of the latex. Small tabs on the 
surface of this cover will help in their placement. Alternatively the 
cover for each one can be totally separate to allow piece-by-piece 
placement of these units to be done. So the first two knobs 50 and 51 will 
be covered by covers that are shown in FIGS. 17-18. 
The pieces for the knobs may also be made from a layer of plastic that is 
like a cradle for them and will be placed on one side to go around them 
and to come and stick to its end from the other end (FIGS. 34-36). Or they 
can be like a matching cover that will be pushed against the outer surface 
of the knob to stand in outer side of it, due to its shape and slightly 
tight size, as well as use of small removable adhesive to help in this 
purpose. 
3. The very external control knob 52 which is in the center of right side 
control knobs will have a special cover of its own shown in FIGS. 19-21. 
This cover will be made from a hard plastic that will fit this knob 
tightly and be kept in place by the shape of this piece that will fit on 
the knob tightly. Also a small spot of removable glue (similar to the one 
in back of some note pads) may be used to keep it in place. Also 
combinations of soft and hard cover will be used to hold it in place with 
or without use of adhesive. 
4. There are small knobs specified in units as lever f which is a small 
flat knob of 4-5 mm width by 1 mm thickness that can be covered easily by 
a small latex cover or a hard plastic cover that will be pushed to go over 
it; a small piece of latex may also be placed on it by help of a piece of 
hard plastic that will be fitted in place. 
5. Cover for the ocular pieces. 
As mentioned earlier some of the scopes have an ocular pieces for 
observation, that will be covered by a piece that will be pulled on the 
surface of the ocular piece easily. This will be made either from latex or 
a hard plastic piece, and would match its shape and would be easily placed 
on it. Since this is a separate piece it would allow the ocular piece to 
be easily rotated. 
Importantly a piece of clear plastic in center surrounded by latex layer 
may be used to cover the buttons or other pieces of these covers, so that 
the clear plastic will allow visualization of the underlying pieces to be 
done with benefit from the latex layer to pull the cover and hold it in 
place. 
Combinations of these units will allow the total coverage of the body of a 
scope, its shaft and the cable and knobs to be done that although not 
100%, will truly be the best cover in the inventor's mind to cover the 
whole area which in practice comes in contact with user and there has 
reasonable chance to be contaminated, and although the exact details of 
different covers for every model are not explained in this application. 
However, since these units, scopes, etc. are very similar, it is sincerely 
believed that the method mentioned here with only minor modification can 
be used in other models as well. Benefit of use of such unit should be 
compared with the units that are cleaned by nurses, and subject to human 
error many times. 
The Advantages of these Covers 
In order to emphasize the advantages of such covers, they will be mentioned 
here. 
1. The most important role of these units is to prevent transmission of 
germs from one person to another. I do not know of any unit or system that 
can be this much protection. 
2. The other important role of these covers is to prevent contamination of 
the units when they are used on human beings. 
3. Another very important role of these units is to give the sense of 
security to those patients that are aware of problems with the present 
methods, so that very importantly, the group of people who suffer from 
problems and do not want those scopes to be used on them will feel safe 
enough to accept the procedure. 
4. These units may decrease the time used by nursing staff for cleaning of 
the units. 
5. These units may decrease the use and expense of the chemicals used for 
cleaning of such units. 
6. These units will eliminate the contact of potentially toxic materials 
that may remain on the surface of the scopes after washing. 
7. These units may practically eliminate the chance of legal problems that 
may arise from use of bare equipments in certain cases. 
8. These units may decrease the chance of wear and tear in these expensive 
equipments. 
At the time of use these covers will be delivered in sterile condition so 
that they can be pulled over the units in sterile fashion. The body cover 
will be pulled and the shaft cover and the other covers will be placed. 
The connection points will be covered by pieces of adhesive tapes with 
thread or pieces of appropriate latex pieces, so that the whole scope will 
be covered safely. After the time of use, the unit can be washed to have 
the visible contaminated materials removed, and then to be dried by paper 
towels, and then to have the covers removed one by one, so that the chance 
of contamination can be very significantly diminished.