Abstract:
A cover for preventing wetness or contamination of an intravenous site is disclosed. The cover is manufactured in a variety of sizes and can fit on any extremity of the human body.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/618,351, which was filed on Oct. 14, 2004. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to intravenous (IV) sites, and more specifically to a cover which can assist in preventing such a site from getting wet or contaminated. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Withdrawing and re-inserting an intravenous needle is both time-consuming and expensive. However, patients must also be bathed, and/or showered, including potentially in the area of the IV site. At present, bathing a patient&#39;s wound area can necessitate withdrawing and re-inserting an intravenous needle. 
   Patients also frequently have intermittent infusions for IV medications and the nurse converts the IV infusion to a heparin lock or saline lock for intermittent infusion. Like the above, it is desired to avoid having to re-stick the heparin lock or saline lock. Consequently, a means for addressing these problems is desired. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide an easily-installable means for protecting an IV site. It is another object of the present invention to achieve the above in multiple sizes so that it may fit the various sizes of human extremities. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows an IV site on a forearm of a patient; 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show an exemplary embodiment of the present invention protecting the IV site of  FIG. 1  both disconnected ( FIG. 2A ) and connected ( FIG. 2B ) from a main IV line; 
       FIG. 3  shows an IV site on the wrist of a patient; and 
       FIG. 4  shows a second embodiment of the present invention protecting the IV site of  FIG. 3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
   The present invention is directed toward a cover for protecting intravenous (IV) sites. It&#39;s expensive to restart an IV in terms of nurse time and also equipment. It can also be painful for the patient. Sometimes it takes multiple sticks to get it into a patient&#39;s arm or extremity and find the correct vein. Some hospitals have an intravenous starter kit that might use tape or gauze. However, these kits can be expensive. The entire kit includes a dressing which is sterilized and requires a nurse to wear non-latex gloves. 
   To continually reapply intravenous units requires a lot of nursing time. Also, if the injury or the wound, or the entry point of the IV is exposed, the sterility of the dressing may be at risk. This could lead to nosocomial infection, otherwise known as a hospital-acquired hospital-induced infection. Also, IV infections are much more serious than other types of infections, and can more quickly lead to septicimia. Sterile dressings can be either gauze, tegaderm, or other mechanisms. 
     FIG. 1  shows an IV site on an upper right arm of a patient with a sterile dressing such as one of those discussed above.  FIG. 2A  shows an exemplary embodiment of the cover  100  of the present invention, positioned about the IV site of  FIG. 1 , where the IV site is disconnected from the main IV line.  FIG. 2B  shows the cover positioned about the IV site of  FIG. 1 , where the IV site remains connected to the main IV line. 
   The body  104  of the cover  100  can be made of the same type of plastic as shower caps, and is also waterproof. An exemplary embodiment could be made of low- or high-density polyethlene, although the present invention should not be considered as limited exclusively thereto. 
   It is important that the cover  104  be non-irritating to human skin. The cover  100  also comes equipped with elastic bands  108  molded or embedded within the cover  100 , to assist in protecting the IV site. However, the elastic bands  108  do not grip so tightly that they interfere with the I.V. tubing. Thus, some water seepage is possible, so that even while using the present invention, it would still be necessary for a nurse and patient to exercise care with the showerhead. However, in the  FIG. 2A  embodiment where the IV tubing is temporarily disconnected, water seepage would be less of a problem, and potentially could be avoided altogether. 
   The cover  100  is only meant to reasonably prevent water or other substances from reaching the IV site. It is possible that under enough pressure or volume of water from a showerhead or other cleansing mechanism, some water could seep into the IV site. In such a case, the cover  100  could be removed, discarded, and replaced. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the present invention wraps around the arm or other extremity of a wearer and is cylindrical in shape with elastic or clinging bands  108  at either end thereof. The cylinder of the body  104  is open-ended and slides over an IV site. 
     FIG. 3  shows another common location of an IV site, at the top of the right hand of a patient.  FIG. 4  shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a cover  400  is not entirely cylindrical in shape, but has an extra hole for admitting a thumb so as to protect the IV site of  FIG. 3 . The cover  400  has a finger band  404 , wrist band  408 , and thumb band  412 . 
   The present invention also contemplates other embodiments of the cover which could be adapted to fit other extremities where application of an IV is also suitable. One example of such an area is the upper leg. Additionally, the present invention could also be applied to peripheral intercannula catheters (PICs). Furthermore, the present invention could also be applied to other types of non-IV sites that need protection, such as stitches or sutures. 
   The body  104  of the cover  100  can also be made of nitrile latex, although other compositions are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Other substances could include a durable semi-permeable membrane in which the molecules are 3 or 4 nanometers apart, such as Gore-Tex™. 
   Such a product could be manufactured by positioning a membrane gel, such as but not limited to a latex membrane, between slices of a loose-weave nylon formation layer and inserted in a baking or ceramic oven. The resulting combination of gel and nylon could then be heated to a specific temperature such as 300 F, with certain areas embedded with a heat-sensitive stripe of sealant that will bind all materials touching the sealant into a type of seam. However, the present invention should not be considered as limited thereto. 
   After returning to room temperature, the product could be chopped into grids, with the sealant-areas providing what will eventually be the seams of the product. The chopping process could also include perforations which would be useful for a tear-off packaging implementation, but could also be completely separated by some other type of cutting process. The printed chopped sheets could then be gamma-radiated for sterilization purposes, because gamma rays have proven to be effective at killing existing bacteria, and discouraging their further growth. It is not required that the cover be manufactured with seams. Instead, it could also be fabricated with a high-stress elasticizing process. 
   The cover  100  could be manufactured like a trash-bag that comes printed flat on a roll, where the user then tears off a single unit, and then fingers it open, before inserting the extremity. The cover  100  could also come in a disposable, sanitary single use package. 
   It is anticipated that various changes may be made in the arrangement and operation of the system of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.