Examination garment

A garment for use in patient examinations where particular examinable areas remain covered until they are individually accessed or until the patient is placed in an examining position. The garment comprises an upper portion for receiving and covering the patient's upper body, and a trouser portion for receiving and covering the patient's lower body. There is also provided upper access means located on the upper portion for exposing an upper examinable area, and lower access means located on the trouser portion for exposing a lower examinable area.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to the field of medical equipment and in particular, 
to an examination garment for use by patients for examination purposes. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Generally when a patient attends at their doctor's office or a medical 
clinic, they must undress at least partially in the examination room prior 
to being examined. This can be both a waste of time for the doctor waiting 
to examine the patient, as well as embarrassing for the patient disrobing 
in the presence of the doctor. The patient may also feel uncomfortable 
when required to maintain their state of undress throughout the 
examination. From the doctor's point of view, examinations may be 
accelerated if the patient is provided an examination gown to change into 
prior to meeting with the examining doctor. Unfortunately, from the 
patient's point of view, the conventional examination gown serves only to 
aggravate their discomfort. 
Conventional gowns tend to be awkward for the patient to put on, and 
embarrassing for the patient to be seen in. The conventional hospital gown 
wraps around the patient's front and ties at the patient's back. Typically 
the patient needs assistance in tying the rear ties. The rear of the gown 
remains substantially open and reveals at least a portion of the patient's 
posterior. The gown is consistently unflattering and many patients, 
particularly male patients, feel foolish wearing a gown or dress-like 
garment. Consequently, the patient feels foolish and inferior prior to 
their examination. 
The conventional gown does not alleviate any of the embarrassment a patient 
may feel during the examination. The conventional hospital gown has a 
solid front so that often the patient must still remove most of the gown 
in order that the doctor may examine particular areas. Breast examinations 
and gynecological examinations are examples of situations where the 
patient is required to remove or lift up a substantial portion of the 
examination gown. Consequently, the patient is forced to maintain a state 
of substantial undress during the examination. 
Medical garments, such as the one diclosed by F. E. Belcher in U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,759,083, provide a partial solution to the problem posed by the 
conventional gown. This garment provides panels and parts with releasable 
closures such that certain panels and parts are selectively separated for 
examination access while the garment is still being worn by the patient. 
Consequently, the patient is not inconvenienced by having to remove a 
substantial portion of the gown in order to be examined in one specific 
area. Nevertheless, for the purposes of certain examinations such as 
gynecological examinations, a substantial portion of the garment must 
still be lifted or pulled out of the way in order for the doctor to 
properly examine the patient Thus, the patient is placed in an inferior 
and embarrassing position by being forced to maintain a state of 
substantial undress during the examination. In addition, as stated 
earlier, patients, and male patients especially, feel uncomfortable when 
wearing a gown or dress-like garment. 
The practice of requiring a patient to wear such a gown for examination can 
be quite detrimental to the patient, and can affect the quality of the 
examination. The patient may develop a feeling of inferiority when placed 
in a poorly fitting gown that exposes a substantial portion of the 
patient's legs and posterior. Such a feeling of inferiority can build a 
sense of resentment against the doctor who ultimately will be examining 
the patient. The patient will remain tense during examination, and the 
examination itself consequently may be made more difficult. 
In addition, if a patient feels uncomfortable during their examination due 
to the outfit they are required to wear, and if ultimately the patient 
must lift or remove a substantial portion of the gown in order that they 
may be examined, the patient may leave the examination in an embarrassed 
state and may be hesitant to voluntarily attend at a future examination. 
Given recent technological developments leading to early detection of 
various illnesses including, for instance, certain forms of cancer, it is 
desirable that patients be encouraged to attend at regular examinations. 
Such attendance may be facilitated if the examination is carried out in a 
less objectionable way. 
It is therefore desirable that an examination garment be developed that 
more closely resembles an article of clothing that may be worn by both men 
and women. The garment should ensure the maintenance of the patient's 
dignity and sense of well being by substantially covering the patient's 
body and preventing undesired exposure of the patient's private areas 
while providing proper access to examinable areas for the examining 
doctor. In addition, the garment should be inexpensive, durable, and fit a 
wide variety of sizes. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a garment for use in patient examinations 
where particular examinable areas remain covered until they are 
individually accessed or until the patient is placed in an examining 
position. The garment comprises an upper portion for receiving and 
covering the patient's upper body, and a trouser portion for receiving and 
covering the patient's lower body. There is also provided upper access 
means located on, the upper portion for exposing an upper examinable area 
of the patients front and back, and lower access means located on the 
trouser portion for exposing a lower examinable area. The lower access 
means located on the trouser portion includes a crotch slit for exposing 
the groin area of the patient. The crotch slit extends from the inside 
thigh portion of one leg of the trouser portion, through the crotch of the 
trouser portion to the inside thigh portion of the other leg of the 
trouser portion. Excess fabric surrounds the crotch slit and contacts to 
cover the crotch slit until the patient is placed in an examining 
position. 
Therefore, what is provided is a preferably one piece garment that 
substantially covers the patient's entire body. The garment resembles a 
jump suit or coveralls such that both male and female patients, including 
infants, may feel comfortable wearing it. The garment features means for 
accessing various examinable areas in a discreet fashion. Substantial 
portions of the patient remain covered while any one examinable area is 
exposed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
An examination garment which is a preferred embodiment of the present 
invention is illustrated at 10 in FIGS. 1 through 5. The upper portion for 
receiving and covering the patient's upper body is generally indicated at 
12 and the trouser portion for receiving and covering the patient's lower 
body is generally indicated at 14. Since the preferred embodiment features 
the examination garment 10 as a one piece outfit, it should be appreciated 
that the upper portion 12 and the trouser portion 14 are in fact regions 
of a single piece and are not separable pieces. Nevertheless, it is 
conceivable that the examination garment 10 may be provided in separate 
upper and trouser portions. An example of a separate trouser portion 14 is 
shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 
The examination garment 10 may be inexpensively constructed using a durable 
fabric made of a cotton and polyester blend as is known in the trade. 
Alternative fabrics including disposable fabric blends constructed 
substantially of paper may also be used. 
Due to its nature as a loose fitting, full length garment where sleeves 
need not be provided and where the trouser legs may be rolled to a desired 
height, the garment may be constructed as a "one size fits all" outfit. In 
cases where the garment is used on infants or young adults, it is of 
course conceivable that the garment be available in a variety of sizes. 
The upper portion 12 has a neck opening 16 and arm openings 18. The 
preferred embodiment 10 is sleeveless, however the upper portion 12 could 
be constructed with sleeves. 
The upper portion 12 has means for accessing various examinable areas 
located on the patient's front and back. Typical examinable areas may 
include the patient's breasts, lymph nodes, or general back area. The 
upper access means may then be selectively opened to reveal the desired 
examinable area while the remainder of the patient's body remains 
unexposed. 
In the preferred embodiment, the access means for exposing the patient's 
front consists of a flap 20. The flap 20 hinges at the uppermost edge 22 
of the flap opening 24 such that the flap 20 may be lifted or rolled 
upwards to expose the examinable area as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, 
the flap 20 may hinge at the lowermost portion of the flap opening 24, in 
which case the flap 20 would drop downwards to expose the examinable area. 
The former flap embodiment is preferred to the latter because of the 
tendency for the former flap 20 to hang in a closed position due to 
natural gravitational forces. Consequently, the examinable areas remain 
covered until they are selected to be accessed. 
A releaseable fastener 26 may be provided to retain the flap 20 in a closed 
position. In the preferred embodiment, the releasable fastener 26 consists 
of a hook-and-loop fastening mechanism such as the type sold under the 
trademark "VELCRO". A simple button fastener would also be quite adequate. 
Clearly, a wide range of releasable fasteners may be suitable for the 
intended purpose. 
The access means for exposing the patient's back consists of a back slit 
28. The back slit 28 runs from the neck opening 16 along the patient's 
spine to the waist region 30 of the examination garment 10. The back slit 
28 is maintained in a closed position by means of a releasable fastener 27 
located at the neck opening 16. The releasable fastener 27 may consist of 
a hook-and-loop fastening mechanism, a button, or any of a wide range of 
releasable fasteners as discussed above. When the releasable fastener 27 
is disengaged, the back slit 28 may be opened to reveal the central 
portion of the patient's back from their neck to their waist. 
The back slit 28 further provides an opening to allow the patient to don 
the examination garment 10. The one piece construction of the preferred 
embodiment necessitates the provision of a suitable entry for the patient. 
A small portion of the patient's back may be visible when the back slit 28 
is held in a closed position by the releasable fastener 26. Generally 
patients do not tend to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed when their back 
is partially exposed. Nevertheless, alternative embodiments where the 
means for exposing the patient's back consists of a flap similar to flap 
20 which covers the patient's front. In case a flap is provided as access 
means for exposing the patient's back, an alternative method of entering 
the examination garment 10 would be necessary. For example, the garment 
may be of two pieces consisting of an upper portion and a trouser portion. 
Alternatively, a releasably fastened slit located along one side of the 
upper portion of the examination garment, or releasably fastened shoulder 
slits located along the length of each shoulder of the upper portion may 
be used. 
The trouser portion 14 has leg openings 32 located at the lowermost portion 
of each trouser leg 34. A separate trouser portion 14 as shown in FIGS. 6 
and 7 is an alternative to the one-piece examination garment 10. The 
seperate trouser portion 14 includes fastening means 35 for fastening the 
trouser portion 14 about the patient's waist. The fastening means are 
known in the trade and may include a draw-string belt or an elasticized 
waist band. 
The trouser portion 14 has means for accessing various examinable areas 
located on the patient's lower body. Typical examinable areas may include 
the patient's groin area, or buttocks. The lower access means may then be 
selectively opened to reveal the desired examinable area while the 
remainder of the patient's body remains unexposed. 
In the preferred embodiment, the access means for exposing the patient's 
groin area consists of a crotch slit 36 that runs in place of what would 
be part of the seam 37 of the trouser portion 14. The crotch slit 36 
passes from a point 38 on the inside thigh portion 39 of one leg 34 of the 
trouser portion 14, through the crotch 40 to a point 38 on the inside 
thigh portion 39 of the other leg 34. A greater area of the patient's 
groin will be exposed during examination the further down the thigh the 
crotch slit 36 begins Accordingly, the length of the crotch slit 36 may be 
selected to suit the desired amount of exposure. 
The crotch slit 36 should remain closed so that the groin area remains 
unexposed until the patient is placed in what is commonly known as the 
examining position. There are a number of known forms of the examining 
position, one of which is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and which may be referred 
to as the reclined examining position. Basically, the reclined examining 
position requires the patient to lay on their back with their back either 
flat or in a slightly raised position. The patient's legs are bent at the 
knee and typically the feet are placed on supports referred to as stirrups 
in order to assist the patient in maintaining the examining position. The 
patient's legs are spread and sometimes raised slightly to expose the 
groin area. The reclined examining position is typically used by 
gynecologists who have specialized apparatus for placing the patient in 
such a position. A general practitioner may similarly place their patient 
in a reclined examining position on a regular examination table. 
In order that the patient's groin area remains unexposed until the patient 
is placed in an examining position, excess fabric 41 may be provided in 
the region of the trouser portion 14 immediately surrounding the crotch 
slit 36. When provided with the excess fabric 41, the trouser portion 14 
would somewhat resemble a standard jodhpur design except that the excess 
fabric 41 is located at the inside thigh portion 39 rather than the 
outside thigh portion of the garment. When the garment 10 is laid flat, 
the excess fabric 41 located at the inside thigh portion 39 of one leg 34 
will at least partially overlap the excess fabric 41 located at the inside 
thigh portion 39 of the other leg 34 as may be seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 
7. When the garment is being worn by the patient the excess fabric 41 
tends to contact and overlap to substantially cover the crotch slit 36 and 
consequently the patient's groin area. By placing the patient in an 
examining position the excess fabric 41 surrounding the crotch slit 36 is 
drawn apart to expose the patient's groin area, as may be seen in FIG. 4. 
To provide a sufficient amount of excess fabric 41 to allow a suitable 
overlap in order to cover the patient's groin area, it may be necessary to 
construct the garment 10 from four separate fabric blanks. 
Alternatively, releasable fasteners as described earlier may be provided to 
ensure that the crotch slit remains closed until it is desired to reveal 
the examinable area. 
Other embodiments of lower access means are conceivable where the means for 
exposing examinable areas located on the patient's lower body may consist 
of a flap or flaps similar to flap 20 which covers the patient's front. 
It is to be understood that what has been described are preferred 
embodiments of the invention. The invention nonetheless is susceptable to 
certain changes and alternative embodiments fully comprehended by the 
spirit of the invention as described above and the scope of the claims set 
out below.