Abstract:
A chemical or biological containment apparatus having a seal to contain contaminants in an inside thereof from passing to an outside, including an outer envelope; a port disposed in the envelope, the port including an outer portion having a circumferential portion extending away from the envelope and a flange extending from the circumferential portion and attached to the envelope, and an inner portion. The inner portion includes a circumferential surface corresponding to the circumferential portion, a plurality of grooves formed in the circumferential surface, and a plurality of O-rings respectively received in the grooves to form the seal with the outer portion.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     In medical situations, it is sometimes necessary to isolate a patient to prevent medical personnel or the environment at large from being contaminated by the patient. For example, victims of chemical or biological attacks, and certain infectious diseases require isolation. This isolation system may be in the form of a pod, with gloves provided therein to allow access by the medical worker without risk of contamination. However, these gloves may require replacement due to failure or contamination. A related replacement operation is illustrated in  FIGS. 9A and 9B . During normal operation, a glove  102  is provided in a wall  100  of an isolation device, and is disposed on the inside of the isolation device, where a patient is located. The glove  102  is attached to a flap  104 , which is made of a flexible material. During replacement, the glove  102  is pulled to the outside, and portions of the flaps  104  are pulled together below the glove  102  and tied with a rubber band or other sealing member, so that contaminants within the isolation system do not escape to the outside. The glove  102  is separated from the flap  104 , and a new glove  102  is attached to the flap  104 .  
         [0002]     There are several disadvantages to this operation. First, the glove  102  and the flap  104  may contain contaminants, yet these elements are exposed to the outside during replacement. Thus, workers must be extremely careful to avoid contamination. This may require protective clothing or modified breathing. However, such preventative measures may not be sufficient. Furthermore, the seal formed by tying the flaps  104  may not be sufficient to prevent contaminants from escaping, especially in light of the small size of biological microorganisms and chemical molecules. Also, this operation is cumbersome and time consuming because it requires several steps (tying and untying seals  104 , removing and replacing gloves  102 ). In life and death situations, when time is of the essence, patient safety is compromised. Finally, a thick glove is required, degrading the tactile feel sensed by the worker.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     To possibly address the above concerns and/or different concerns, the inventors propose an apparatus to interface between an inside and an outside of a sealed environment, including an outer port, and an inner port, disposed in the outer port to provide a seal between the inside and the outside. The inner port is replaceable by a replacement inner port while maintaining the seal during a replacement operation.  
         [0004]     To possibly address the above concerns and/or different concerns, the inventors also propose a chemical or biological containment apparatus having a seal to contain contaminants in an inside thereof from passing to an outside. The apparatus includes an outer envelope, a port disposed in the envelope, the port including an outer portion having a circumferential portion extending away from the envelope and a flange extending from the circumferential portion and attached to the envelope, and an inner portion. The inner portion includes a circumferential surface corresponding to the circumferential portion, a plurality of grooves formed in the circumferential surface, and a plurality of O-rings respectively received in the grooves to form the seal with the outer portion.  
         [0005]     To possibly address the above concerns and/or different concerns, the inventors also propose a method including providing a first inner port to create a first seal between an inside and an outside of a biological or chemical containment device, and replacing the first inner port with a second inner port. The replacing includes pressing the first inner port with the second inner port while maintaining the first seal, and creating a second seal with the second inner port while maintaining the first seal. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of an isolation device including the port system according to one aspect of the invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an outer port shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an inner port shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view illustrating the port/glove arrangement of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective side view of another embodiment of the inner port according to the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 6A  is a bottom view of a lower half of the inner port according to still another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 6B  is a top view of the lower half of  FIG. 6A .  
         [0014]      FIG. 7A  is a bottom view of an upper half of the inner port according to the embodiment of  FIG. 6A .  
         [0015]      FIG. 7B  is a top view of the upper half of  FIG. 7A .  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a bag which may be used in the isolation device of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  illustrate a glove replacement operation according to the related art. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of an isolation system  1  including the port system according to one aspect of the invention. The isolation system  1  includes a plurality of access holes  9  to allow access between an inside and outside thereof. Port systems  10  are in the holes  9  and provide for the insertion of devices such as glove  35 , which allows a medical worker to operate on a patient. In  FIG. 1 , the isolation system  1  is shown as having the glove  35  inserted therein. However, as will be discussed below, a bag, motor, or medical evaluation apparatus may also be inserted in the port systems  10 . Furthermore, other devices to allow communication between the inside and outside of the isolation system  1  may be inserted, as well as other devices which allow for the operation of the isolation system  1 . Furthermore, the structure of the isolation system  1  is for illustrative purposes only, and the present embodiments of the port systems  10  may be applied to isolation systems  1  having different designs, or other devices which maintain a sealed environment. For example, although the bottom of the isolation system  1  is shown as being formed of different pieces material, it is certainly possible that a single piece of material could function as both the top and bottom.  
         [0020]     A patient is placed within the isolation system  1  in order to prevent the spread of an infectious disease or other hazard. Although the isolation system  1  is shown as being open, the system  1  is closed during actual operation. A positive or a negative pressure may be maintained, depending on the nature of the isolation. The outer port may be made of PVC, polyurethane or similar materials.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an outer port  12  of the port systems  10 . The outer port  12  includes a flange  14  which is in contact with the holes  9 , and a wall  16  extending outward from the holes  9 . Although the holes  9  and outer port  12  are illustrated as having a substantially circular shape, it is noted that different shapes are also possible, provided the integrity of the seal between the inside and outside is maintained. Disposed in the wall  16  are alignment holes  20  which allow for alignment as discussed below. Also in the wall  16  are threaded holes  18  which provide for connection, as discussed below. Slots  22  are also in the wall  16  for alignment, as discussed below.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an inner port  24  of the port systems  10  of  FIG. 1 . The inner port  24  has an external circumference generally corresponding to the inner circumference of the wall  16  of the outer port  12 , to be inserted therein. The inner port  24  includes a retaining stop  26  in the form of a step, which allows the lock unit  34  to rest against and seal the glove  35  between the lock unit  34  and the inner port  24  at all times.  
         [0023]     The inner port  24  further includes a plurality of grooves  32 , each of which receives an O-ring  33 . The O-rings  33  contact the inner circumference of the wall  16  and the inner port  24 , forming a seal therebetween. As discussed below with respect to the replacement operation, the O-rings  33  are spaced such that this seal is not broken during a replacement operation. The inner port  24  further includes a slot  30  which aligns with one of the threaded holes  18  to receive a screw, bolt, or other threaded fastening unit passing through the threaded holes  18 . An alignment hole  28  is aligned with one of the alignment holes  20  of the outer port  12 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view illustrating the arrangement of the outer port  12 , inner port  24  and the glove  35 . The glove  35  fits between the inner port  24  and a lock unit  34 , illustrated herein as a locking ring. The lock unit  34  rests against the stop  26  and there is a very tight fit creating a seal between the glove  35  and the inside wall of the inner port  24 . Although  FIGS. 1 and 4  illustrate the glove  35  disposed between the lock unit  34  and the inner port  24 , other flexible elements may also be inserted therein, possibly to provide communication between the inside and the outside of the isolation system. Another example of such a flexible element is a bag  48 , as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The bag  48  includes first and second seals  50 ,  52 . The function of the bag  48  will be discussed below.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of an inner port  36 , which may be inserted into the outer port  12 . The inner port  36  is in the form of a solid plug. Thus, a solid face  45  spans a circumferential wall  37 . The solid plug  36  may be used to seal any of the holes  9  which are not in use. Alternately, as shown in  FIG. 5 , medical monitoring equipment (i.e., to measure pulse rate or body temperature) may pass through or be mounted on the face. Similarly, other devices which allow for communication between the inside and the outside (i.e., IV, O 2 , suction or blood sample lines, or defibrillation lines) may also be mounted on or pass through the inner port  36 .  
         [0026]     The solid plug may be modified to include two motors in the bottom wall thereof to pressurize/depressurize the isolation system  1 . As shown in  FIGS. 6A, 6B ,  7 A and  7 B, a motor and filter port  38  corresponds to the shape of the outer port  12  and includes a similar arrangement of grooves and O-rings on an outside thereof to maintain the seal. The motor and filter port  38  includes an upper half  41  and a lower half  39 . Holes  40  pass through the lower half  39  and the upper half  41  to receive a bolt or other fastening unit. The lower half  39  includes a motor cavity  46 , wherein a fan motor (not shown) or other type of air-driving unit is disposed. Holes  44  receive a battery (not shown) which drives the fan motor. The battery may have a stepped outer circumference, thus a pill bottle or other cup-shaped element may be inserted into the holes  44  so that the overall shape of the holes  44  and cup conform with the battery, thereby preventing the battery from being inserted backwards. A pressure release valve (not shown) fits into a hole  47  to maintain relative pressure between the inside and the outside of the system  1 , for example, in the event of airplane cabin depressurization, or simply to maintain the desired positive or negative pressure under normal circumstances.  
         [0027]     As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the upper half  41  also includes the holes  40  and  44 , and an airflow cavity  42  to receive air driven by the fan motor. A filter hole  43  is provided with a filter (not shown), which filters the air driven by the fan motor. The filter may be either an intake or an exhaust filter. The filter may be a standard HEPA filter or other biological or chemical filter. As shown more clearly in  FIG. 7B , the filter hole  43  may be threaded, so that the filter may be screwed therein with a seal on the bottom surface of the filter. The seal may be rubber or a similar material. The top half may also have grooves and O-rings.  
         [0028]     A replacement operation according to the embodiments of the present invention will now be described. As an illustrative example, the replacement of the inner port  24 /glove  35  combination will be discussed. However, the replacement of the other embodiments is similar. The operation begins with the state illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in which the glove  35  is already inserted into the isolation system  1 , with a seal already existing. It may become necessary to replace the glove  35  with another glove  35 , for example, if the old glove  35  becomes worn. In such a case, a replacement module is provided, which includes the inner port  24 , the lock unit  34  and the replacement glove  35  all assembled in one unit. The replacement inner port  24  is simply pressed against the inner port  24  that is already in place until the original inner port  24  drops inside of the isolation system  1 . The spacing of the O-rings  33  is such that at some point during the replacement operation, O-rings  33  of both inner ports  24  are providing seals. Thus, when the seal created by the original inner port  24  is lost, the replacement seal has already been established. Thus, the glove  35  can be replaced without compromising the seal, or exposing the original glove  35  to the outside environment. Thus, any contaminants on the original glove  35  are not exposed to the outside. Finally, a thinner glove may be used, thereby improving the tactile feel.  
         [0029]     With respect to the bag  48 , a similar pressing operation takes place. After the bag  48  is in place, an object (not shown) may be passed to the inside of the system  1  therethrough. The seal  52  is opened from the outside, and the object is placed between the seals  50  and  52 . Then, the seal  52  is re-sealed, and the seal  50  is opened from the inside (with the glove  35 ) to introduce the object to the inside.  
         [0030]     The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.  
         [0031]     For example, similar continuous seal replacement methods may be employed in connection with glove boxes in nuclear, chemical or biological laboratories, portable laboratories for chemical analysis, incubators, or when working behind protective glass for explosives or lasers.