SUPPORT PAD

Abstract: A support pad (10) for medical, surgical and therapeutic use comprises a closed bag (11) of flexible waterproof material containing a soft filling material (12) moveable within the bag (11) and at least one air release valve (13) to enable air to escape from the bag (11) when pressure is exerted on the surface of the bag (11) whereby the filling material (12) within the bag (11) can mould itself to the shape causing the pressure. The material is preferably a plurality of layers of synthetic fibre wadding, having a fine, soft, open and raised structure such as polyester wadding. Alternatively, the filling material (12) may be carded polyester. In a further alternative, the filling material (12) may be discrete open-fill material as polystyrene beads or feathers. The air release valve (13) is a grid valve which permits free movement of air therethrough in both directions and an air release valve (13) is located on opposed faces of the bag (11) preferably at a corner and preferably co-axial.

Description: SUPPORT_PAD. This invention relates to a support pad for medical, surgical and therapeutic use. In the field of long-distance travel, it is known to provide support pads in the form of small pillows to support the traveller's head and neck, particularly airline passengers. However, ordinary pillows used in such situations tend to go out of shape and 'sag' after a certain amount of use. Similarly in the medical and therapeutic fields, known pillows which give support to the bed-ridden or chair-bound suffer from the same disadvantage as do seat and back cushions. In animal surgery, for instance difficulty arises in positioning the animal on its back; unlike humans, an animal's back is not flat, so the animal cannot in its natural manner lie flat on its back. A bed of sand has been used previously to support the animal and as an advance on sand, air bags and water bags have been used. While these bags give support during an operation, they cannot readily be used for lifting the animal from the table for transport to a post operative care location. An object of the invention is to obviate or mitigate the aforementioned disadvantages. According to the present invention, there is provided a support pad comprising a closed bag of flex - ible waterproof material containing a soft filling material moveable within the bag, and at least one air release valve to enable air to escape from the bag when pressure is exerted on the surface of the bag, whereby the filling material within the bag can mould itself to the shape causing the pressure. The material is preferably a plurality of layers of synthetic fibre wadding, having a fine, soft, open and raised structure preferably polyester wadding. Alternatively, the filling material may be carded synthetic fibre having a fine, soft, open and raised structure, preferably carded polyester. In a further alternative, the filling material may be discrete open-fill material such -as polystyrene beads or feathers. The air release valve is preferably a grid valve which permits free movement of air therethrough in both directions. Preferably, an air release valve is located on opposed faces of the bag preferably at a corner and preferably co-axial. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is an elevation of a support pad according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale on the line II-II of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail. The support pad 10 is formed of a closed bag 11 of flexible waterproof material with a filling material 12 moveable within the bag 11 and with two small air re- lease valves 13 on opposed faces of the bag. The bag 11 is formed of two rectangular sheets of a plastics material, the edges of which are sealed by any known method. An air valve 13 is similarly located on each sheet near one corner so that when the bag 10 is formed the valves 13 are located one behind the other, i.e. co-axial. Only one valve is shown in the drawings. The valves 13 are grid valves, i.e. small perfor¬ ated plastics discs 14 held in a plastics annular flange 15 which is welded to circular openings provided in each sheet of the bag 11. The bag material is a bacterostatic P.V.C laminate and incorporates an antimicrobial agent. The material is known commercially as 'Rectaleen'. It is a stronghighly flexible fabric, fully waterproof and therefore washable and it is resistant to tearing and abrasion. It has excellent stretchability up to 150% with swift recovery, and a 'burst' strength of 85 lbs/ sq_ in. The antimicrobial agent used is Ciba-Geigy's Irgasan DP.300. The filling 12 in this preferred embodiment is made up of three layers 16 of wadding of synthetic fibre having a fine soft open and raised structure, such as polyester wadding known commercially as Luxbond. For a head/neck rest pillow measuring 38 cm x 25.4 cm (15" x 10") three layers of wadding 4 cm thick ( lh n ) can be compressed to a total thickness of 8 cm (3 n ). The wadding material has excellent recovery properties so that when pressure is released the pillow will 'lift' to its_ normal state, hen pressure is applied, i.e. when a person's head or neck rests against it, the air valves will enable air trapped in the wadding to escape and so the pillow will more readily distort to the users contours to give a comfortable support. For larger pillows such as back rests, or seat cushions three or more layers of the wadding may be used. As an alternative to polyester wadding, balls of carded polyester can be used. As an alternative to carded fibres or wadding, the filling may be discrete open-fill material such as polystyrene beads or feathers, preferably duck feathers. Different fillings may be used for different purposes; for example, for head and neck support three layers of polyester wadding; for medical use, poly- styrene beads provide a certain heat reflective quality and are preferred for wheel chair cushions and for back, arm and leg support pads; for surgical use particularlyvet¬ erinary surgery, the polystrene beads most easily mould to the contours of an animal. As an alternative to the grid valves, non-return valves can be used; these require air to be released manually, but with such a valve only a selected amount of air need be released so that air within the bag can be used in conjunction with the filling to give the required cushioning effect. Before use, the bag contains the filling material and air, but when pressure is applied to a surface of the bag, air is forced out through the air release valves and the filling material moulds itself to the contours of the shape causing the pressure. The filling material thereafter retains its moulded form to give a constant support to the shape causing the pressure. The support pad has many uses - - ι As a head and/or neck rest for travellers on aircraft, trains, long-distance buses and private cars. ' 2« Use as a pillow for bed-ridden or chair-confined person. Ordinary pillows used in such situations tend to go out of shape and 'sag' after a while - the support pad with its filling can be inflated or deflated to give the necessary support where required and will 'hold' the shape for a considerable length of time. 3 - Use as a Limb Support. By the very nature of its construction, the support pad is for -limb support - when air is extracted by way of the valve, it assumes the outline of the limb being supported. Coupled with this, the heat reflective quality of the polystyrene bead filling if provided reflects back to the limb and ambient body temperature of the patient. The applic- ations possible are many and varied. 4. Wheel-Chair Support. Again, by virtue of its construction, the support pad can be of assistance - alleviating sores caused by confinement to wheel-chair or other forms of seating used by invalids and handi¬ capped persons. The patient's weight can be supported on a 'pocket' of air with no contact either with the chair or the filling of the support pad. The easy to use non return valve allows for inflation or deflation as required. 5 - l2_ . -_- . _-- . _iEE2-_ . -_ . • Many invalid and handicapped persons have limited muscular control with the result that normal sitting postures are not attainable without some form of support. Currently, such support is normally 'built-in' to the chair at considerable expense and with doubtful comfort to the patient. By using the support pad selectively, better posture and comfort can be obtained. 6 • Veterinary Surgery. An animal to be operated on can be positioned on the support pad which moulds itself to the contour of the animal's body. After surgery is complete, the pad with the animal still on it can be lifted and carried to a post-operative location where the pad can be set down still with the animal on it. The bag material hereinbefore described may be reinforced with a high tenacity nylon; such as reinforced material; such a reinforced material is known commercially as Wavelock NF1/103TS. In the preferred embodiment, three layers of 4 cm thick wadding was used, but for wadding of different thickness more or less layers can be provided. It is also possible to use a single layer of a suitably thick wadding but it is preferred to have a plurality of layers, and preferably at least three.

Claims: CLAIMS . 1. A support pad comprising a closed bag of flex¬ ible waterproof material containing a soft filling material moveable within the bag characterised in that at least one air release valve (13) is provided in the bag (11) to enable air to escape from the bag when pressure is exerted on the surface of the bag, whereby the filling material (12) within the bag can mould itself to the shape causing the pressure. 2. A support pad as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the filling material (12) ' is a plurality of layers (16) of a synthetic fibre wadding having a fine soft open and raised structure. 3. A support pad as claimed in claim 2, character- ised in that the wadding is formed of polyester fibres. 4. A support pad as claimed in claim 1, character¬ ised in that the filling material (12) is balls of carded synthetic fibres. 5. A support pad as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the filling material (12) is carded polyester fibres. 6. A support pad as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the air release valve (13) is a grid valve which permits free movement of air therethrough in both directions. 7. A support pad as claimed in claim 6, characteris¬ ed in that the grid valve (13) comprises a perforated plastics disc (14) held in a flexible plastics annular flange (15) welded to an opening provided in the bag (11) 8. A support pad as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that an air release valve (13) is provided on each side of the bag (11). 9. A support pad as claimed in claim 8, characteris¬ ed in that each valve (13) is located at a corner of the bag (11). 10. A support pad as claimed in claim 1, character¬ ised in that the filling material (12) is discrete particles of foam plastics. 11. A support pad as claimed in claim 1 in which the filling material (12) is feathers.

Inventors: WATSON ALLAN MENZIES STEWART, WATSON, ALLAN, MENZIES, STEWART
Applicants: SARS BAGS LTD, SARS BAGS LIMITED
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A61G7
IPC codes: A47G9, A61D3, A61G7