Abstract:
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for medical structure embellishments. The apparatus includes a medical structure that facilitates the mobility or healing of a patient. The apparatus also includes a heat source that outwardly radiates heat. Further, the apparatus includes a shrink-film structure cover that shrinks around a surface of the medical structure when the shrink-film structure cover is exposed to heat radiated from the heat source and a marking instrument adapted to mark the shrink-film structure with an embellishment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/214,005 entitled “Cast Art” and filed on Jun. 16, 2008 for Tracie Diane Wood, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an embellishment for medical structures and more particularly relates to the embellishment of medical structures using a shrink-film material to decorate a medical structure. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     When people are injured, they frequently require the aid of medical structures that help them deal with daily life. For example, some people use wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and the like to improve mobility and stability. In another example, medical professionals have treated injured bones, joints, and surrounded soft tissue with orthopedic casts made in part of plaster based structural materials and more recent fiberglass based structural materials that harden to thereby substantially immobilize and support the injured area. Typically, medical professionals apply casts to limbs and torsos. Depending on the injury and injury treatment, the use of a medical structure can take a period of a few weeks to a lifetime. 
     In practice, when the medical structure is a cast, medical professionals apply a padding covering the injured area before applying the structural material. The padding is usually white in color and traditionally the structural material is white in color, but occasionally has a pigment in one of a few other select colors. 
     Because casts are temporary and are often replaced during the period of treatment, patients and their friends, relatives, and other individuals often decorate the cast with any number of drawings, sketches, slogans, hieroglyphics, phrases, comments, poetry, symbols, and the like. Children are particularly interested in decorating their casts and parents usually encourage this interest in that it creates an activity that is fun for them and may partly distract them from otherwise often traumatic issues associated with treatment. Psychologically, the decorations can become a badge of honor. 
     In the application of designs to the cast, individuals apply decorations directly to the cast&#39;s structural material using felt-pens, ballpoint pens, brushes, or other similar marking means that use ink, paint, or pencil lead. Once applied, the decorations are permanent and remain until cast removal. Sometimes these decorations are or become inappropriate. At other times, the decoration become marred as the cast becomes soiled. Sometimes the soiling of the cast and any inappropriate decorations may prevent people from keeping desired decorations on the cast as a memento. 
     Sometimes, the injury is more permanent and the patient will have to use a medical structure for a substantial portion of one&#39;s life. These medical structures, like wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and the like, come in standard colors and designs that fail to show the personality of the user. As the patient may use the medical structure for the rest of one&#39;s life, the patient may desire to augment the appearance of the medical structure. 
     SUMMARY 
     From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method for medical structure embellishments. The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available systems. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an apparatus, system, and method for embellishing the appearance of medical structures that overcome many or all of the above-discussed shortcomings in the art. 
     The apparatus, in one embodiment, is configured to include a medical structure that facilitates the mobility or healing of a patient and a heat source that radiates heat. The apparatus may further include a shrink-film structure cover that shrinks around a surface of the medical structure when the shrink-film structure cover is exposed to heat radiated from the heat source. Further, the apparatus may include a marking instrument adapted to mark the shrink-film structure with an embellishment. In certain embodiments, the medical structure may be a cast, a wheel chair, a walker, a crutch, a cane, and the like. 
     In further embodiments, the marking instrument may print the embellishment on the shrink-film structure cover. The shrink-film structure cover may be an individual sheet of shrink-film material, a roll of shrink-film material, and a pre-made sleeve of shrink-film material. Further, the apparatus may include a quantity of heat-shrinkable adhesive tape that secures the shrink-film structure cover around the medical structure. The heat-shrinkable adhesive tape and/or the shrink-film structure cover may have a surface gloss finish, a surface matte finish, a pigment, a transparent appearance, a translucent appearance, a clear appearance, an opaque appearance, and the like. 
     In at least one embodiment, the shrink-film structure cover may be a pre-made sleeve of shrink-film material having a cross-section with a circumference that approximates a peripheral distance around the medical structure. Further, the marking instrument may be a plurality of marking instruments each adapted to mark the shrink-film structure cover in a different color. Alternatively, the marking instrument may be a felt-pen like instrument. In certain embodiments, the heat source may be a hot-air hairdryer, a shrink wrap heat gun, a hot-air heater, a heating element, and the like. 
     A method of the present invention is also presented for embellishing the appearance of medical structures. The method in the disclosed embodiments substantially includes the steps necessary to carry out the functions presented above with respect to the operation of the described apparatus and system. In one embodiment, the method includes identifying a portion of a medical structure to be embellished and selecting a portion of a shrink-film structure cover to cover the portion of the medical structure. The method also may include surrounding a portion of the medical structure with the shrink-film structure cover and applying sufficient heat to cause the shrink-film structure cover to contract around the portion of the medical structure, wherein the shrink-film structure cover establishes a conforming circumferential relationship with the portion of the medical structure. 
     In a further embodiment, the method includes applying an embellishment to the shrink-film structure cover with a marking instrument before applying sufficient heat to cause the shrink-film structure cover to contract. Also the method may further include applying a heat-shrinkable adhesive tape to the shrink-film structure cover, where the shrink-film structure cover is a sheet of shrink-film material having an overall surface, an edge, and a surface-area adjacent to the edge and applying the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape to the surface-area adjacent to the edge and a portion of the overall surface and another surface-area adjacent to another edge to fashion a joint thereby establishing a substantially sleeve like configuration of the shrink-film structure cover for surrounding the portion of the medical structure. 
     In at least one embodiment, the method includes applying sufficient heat with a handheld hot-air hairdryer like device. Further, the method may include applying an additional layer of the shrink-film structure cover over a first layer of the shrink-film structure cover. Also, the method may include marking the heat-shrink structure cover with an embellishment before surrounding the portion of the medical structure with the shrink-film structure cover. The method may also include marking the heat-shrink structure cover with an embellishment after applying sufficient heat. 
     Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention. 
     These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of an orthopedic cast having a shrink film embellishment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the orthopedic cast with a roll of shrink film material in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the roll of shrink film material with a decoration in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a sheet of shrink film material being applied to the orthopedic cast in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 4  illustrating an embodiment where edges of the shrink-film material are substantially adjacent to each other in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the orthopedic cast with the shrink-film material around the cast before an application of heat energy in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a pre-made sleeve embodiment of the shrink-film material in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 3  illustrating an embodiment where the decoration is a printing on the shrink-film material in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a walker having shrink film embellishments in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
     Packagers have used shrink-film polymers for many years to wrap products. Common films use polyolefin polymer, such as, polypropylene or polyethylene, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymer. Other shrink-film polymers include polystyrene and glycol-modified polyester. Recently, packagers have begun to consider biodegradable polymers, such as film based on polylactic acid. The shrink-film helps protect products from damage and contamination during handling and shipment, prevent loss of bundled components from theft, or to indicate product tampering. A distinguishing characteristic of shrink-film is its ability upon exposure to a level of heat energy to shrink or create shrink-tension within the film if it is restrained. Examples of wrapped items include: cans, jars, bottles, compact disk recordings, toys, food products, gift baskets, household items, hardware components, windows, and the like. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a typical orthopedic cast  10  for an arm  11  of a human. Medical professionals treat many injuries with medical structures. The phrase “medical structure,” as used herein, refers to any structure that a person uses to heal from an injury, increase mobility, or ease the rigors of life for a patient. For example, medical professionals treat injured bones, joints, and surrounding soft tissue of humans and animals using the orthopedic cast  10  made in part of plaster based structural materials and fiberglass based structural materials that harden to thereby substantially immobilize and support the injured area. While  FIG. 1  illustrates the arm  11 , medical professionals use casts  10  for immobilizing other limbs as well as other body parts. 
     In certain embodiments, orthopedic casts  10  are temporary and often replaced during the period of treatment. Patients and their friends, relatives, and other individuals often directly adorn the cast  10  with a number of drawings, sketches, slogans, hieroglyphics, phrases, comments, poetry, symbols, and the like (not illustrated).  FIG. 1  shows an apparatus for adorning the cast  10  without necessarily marking or creating renderings on the cast  10  directly. For example, a user may cover a portion of the cast  10  with a shrink-film structure cover  12  having a decoration  14  and the user may cause the shrink-film structure cover  12  and its decoration  14  to establish a circumferentially conforming relationship  15  with the cast  10 . Manufacturers of the shrink-film structure cover  12  sometimes refer to the shrink-film structure cover  12  as shrink wrap and occasionally as stretch film or stretch wrap. 
     In at least one embodiment, the cast  10  may have a circumference or a peripheral distance of some dimension that is slightly different for each specific orthopedic treatment application. Moreover, the circumference or peripheral distance may be different at one end of the cast  10  from another end.  FIG. 2  illustrates cutting along a line  18  a quantity of shrink-film structure cover  12  from a roll  16  sufficient to wrap around the cast  10  somewhat snugly thereby substantially shaping the shrink-film structure cover  12  into a sleeve  19  configuration (see  FIG. 4 ). This quantity of shrink-film structure cover  12 , when substantially flat, may form a sheet  20  (see  FIG. 3 ) having an overall surface  26 , at least one edge  24 , and a surface-area  28  adjacent to the edge  24 . In a preferred embodiment, using a marking instrument  22 , patients and their friends, relatives, and other individuals can create or render the shrink-film decoration  14  with relative ease directly onto the overall surface  26  of shrink-film structure cover  12  while it remains flat. 
     In  FIG. 4 , edges  24 , in certain embodiments, may slightly overlap at vicinity  29 . The patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may cut shrink-film structure cover  12  along line  18  such that the shrink-film structure cover  12  approximates the peripheral distance around the cast  10 . A strip of a heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may engage with one surface-area  28  adjacent to the edge  24  with a portion of the overall surface  26  to fashion an overlapping-joint  30  thereby completing construction of sleeve  19  around cast  10 . Construction of sleeve  19  with overlapping-joint  30  may allow minor fit adjustments to the shrink-film structure cover  12  around the cast  10  to easily accommodate the cast  10  at places having different peripheral distance dimensions without making additional cuts to the shrink-film structure cover  12  in order to fine-tune its size. Furthermore, allowing easy snug construction of the sleeve  19  may speed the approach for adorning or embellishing the cast  10  while minimizing the shrink-film structure cover  12  contraction to thereby establish the conforming relationship  15  with the cast  10 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an alternative approach to that shown in  FIG. 4 . In this alternative embodiment, the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may cut the shrink-film structure cover  12  so that edges  24  establish a bridge joint  31  without overlap. The strip of the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may engage two surface-areas  28  adjacent to the respective edges  24  to fashion the bridge joint  31  between the two edges  24 . Portion  33  shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  of the heat-shrinkable tape  32  may be in full contact with the shrink-film structure cover  12 .  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  shows the strip of heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  as partially engaged at portion  33  with the shrink-film structure cover  12  to respectively illustrate features of overlapping joint  30  and bridge joint  31 . The heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may be a quantity in a shape of a roll (not illustrated) from which the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may cut strips and/or a quantity in a shape of pre-cut strips. 
     In certain embodiments, the application of heat energy from a heat source  34  in  FIG. 6  may cause the shrink-film structure cover  12  to establish the circumferentially conforming relationship  15  with the cast  10 . While shrink-film structure cover  12  may have tailored performance parameters, such as a greater degree of shrinkage in one direction over another or reduced shrinkage in all directions, general-purpose material suitable for embellishing cast  10  may contract in uniaxial substantially perpendicular directions typically up to approximately 60% of its original size, perhaps more for some polymers. Nonetheless, using a tailored shrink-film polymer that shrinks mostly in a transverse direction than in an axial direction may be useful in certain cast  10  adornment applications. 
     Shrink-film structure cover  12  may be a thermoplastic polymer such as polyolefin (that is, polyethylene, polypropylene) or polyvinyl chloride or other polymer materials. Manufacturers produce shrink-film structure cover  12  by a number methods generally involving biaxially stretching or orientating the polymer&#39;s molecular structure quickly followed by a rapid cooling while restrained in its stretched condition to substantially freeze the polymer&#39;s molecular structure in the stretched state. Heat energy from the heat source  34  may cause the shrink-film structure cover  12 , that is, its stretched or oriented molecular structure, to release thereby generally return the polymer to substantially to its original un-stretched state. 
     Releasing this frozen molecular structure of common shrink-film structure cover  12  requires relatively little heat energy. Accordingly, the heat source  34  is likely a handheld heat gun specifically for use with shrink-film material; however, the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may also use a common handheld hot-air hairdryer, other heat source, or the like Likewise, the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may be a form of shrink-film structure cover  12  adapted with a pressure sensitive rubber resin coating applied to one side. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an alternative configuration of shrink-film structure cover  12  as a pre-made sleeve  36 . The pre-made sleeve  36  can be a tube without a seam. Alternately, pre-made sleeve  36  may have a joined structure wherein two ends of the shrink-film material in the sheet  20  form are pre-attached by some means perhaps similar to the overlapping joint  30  or the bridge joint  31  using an adhesive or pre-attached with a polymer welding process. In certain embodiments, the circumference of the pre-made sleeve  36  may approximate the peripheral distance of the cast  10 . If the circumference is too large, the shrink-film structure cover  12  in the pre-made sleeve  36  may not contract sufficiently to establish the necessary circumferential conforming relationship  15  with the orthopedic cast  10 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an alternative embodiment where the shrink-film decoration  14  may be a printing  38 . Generally, others may apply this printing  38  to the shrink-film structure cover  12  beforehand by a number of common processes including digital-printing processes. While the specific decoration  14  illustrated in  FIG. 8  may be a “checker board” rendering, the shrink-film decoration  14  can be of any rendering limited only by imagination. Examples of shrink-film decorations  14 , without limiting scope, can include: heart configurations for Valentine&#39;s Day, happy faces, stripes to simulate a candy cane at Christmas time, plaids similar to those Scots use to distinguish clans, typical tattoo art, famous logos (with appropriate license) such as those of, COCA COLA, HARLEY DAVIDSON, FORD, CHEVROLET, WALT DISNEY, and the like. 
     Furthermore, decoration or shrink-film decoration  14  is not limited solely to markings or renderings on the shrink-film materials  12 , but also may include adornments or embellishments that alter the surface texture of the cast  10  via use of shrink-film materials  12 , such as, alterations in surface gloss and color. While the polymers of many shrink-film materials  12  and heat-shrinkable adhesive tapes  32  are water-clear transparent with high glossy surface finish, modifications to these polymers during manufacture may allow other alternatives. The shrink-film structure cover  12  and the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may have a surface gloss finish, a surface matte finish, and a pigment. The pigment may be a light tint that maintains a transparent or a translucent character to the shrink-film structure cover  12 . Alternatively, the pigment in certain polymer formulations may cause the shrink-film structure cover  12  and the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  to become opaque. Opaque shrink-film materials  12  may be useful to conceal markings previously applied directly to the cast  10 . The shrink-film decoration  14  may be a combination of one or more: printings  38 , renderings with the marking instrument  22 , changes in transparency, changes in surface gloss, and changes in color. 
     In at least one embodiment, the marking instrument  22  that the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may use is a felt-pen like instrument. The felt-pen may have a point made of felt or a similar compressed fiber that allows ink to flow as the point travels across the overall surface  26  of the shrink-film structure cover  12 . Moreover, felt-pens may be available in a number of different colors and point sizes that allow for unique renderings. In an alternative embodiment, the marking instruments  22  may include a ballpoint configuration or use a graphite polymer pencil lead, paint, or the like may be appropriate. The marking or rendering may be relatively permanent readily adhering to the shrink-film structure cover  12  and withstanding contraction during the application of heat energy with the heat source  34 . Adornments applied to the shrink-film structure cover  12  may slightly distort from subsequent contraction that establishes the conforming relationship  15  of the shrink-film structure cover  12  with the cast  10 . 
     In certain embodiments, shrink-film materials  12  may have two sides with a topside surface and an underside surface (not illustrated). Printings  38  that are part of the decoration  14  may be on the underside in direct contact with the cast  10 . In this way, the shrink-film structure cover  12 , particularly if transparent, allows viewing while it provides a layer of protection to the decoration  14  from possible damage from normal wear and tear. Printings  38  on the underside of the shrink-film structure cover  12  may help when using the pre-made sleeve  36  in a narrow band width, for example, tattoo art or famous logo renderings. 
     In a further embodiment, markings made with the marking instrument  22  may be on the topside surface of the shrink-film structure cover  12  as the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may not be able to create markings in reverse that become part of the decoration  14 . Accordingly, markings or renderings on the topside surface of the shrink-film structure cover  12  may be more prone to damage. Consequently, the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may add or overlay a second sleeve  19  or pre-made sleeve  36  that is transparent or translucent for additional protection of topside renderings. 
     In certain embodiments, the ability to remove the decoration  14  may allow the patient to reapply the decoration  14  to another cast  10  if medical professionals replace the cast  10  during treatment. Shrink-film structure cover  12  may have, within limits, the capability to further shrink and re-establish the conforming relationship  15 . Moreover, the synthetic rubber resin adhesive located on the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may remain sufficiently active to permit re-establishment of the overlapping joint  30  and bridge joint  31 . Further, the heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may be removable allowing reapplication of a fresh strip of heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32 . Removal of the decoration  14  may allow the patient to retain the decoration  14  as a memento once treatment ends. 
       FIG. 9  shows the application of the shrink-film structure cover  12  to a walker  40 . The shrink-film structure cover  12  may be applied to several different medical structures. For example, a patient may use the aforementioned methods for applying the shrink-film structure cover  12  to a cast  10  for applying the shrink-film structure cover  12  to the walker  40 . Further, a patient, friends, and medical practitioners may also apply the shrink-film structure cover  12  to wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, canes, crutches, bed frames, and the like. Further, the patient and friends may also embellish the appearance of the shrink-film structure cover  12  as was explained with the cast  10 . 
     In at least one embodiment, sales and marketing of products to embellish the orthopedic cast  10  and other medical structures may involve establishing a collection or portfolio of embellishing components from which the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals can select specific items or restock portfolio items previously used. The portfolio may include the shrink-film structure cover  12  and the marking instrument  22  to allow the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals to create renderings that add to and become part of the decoration  14  on the shrink-film structure cover  12  and/or other shrink-film decorations  14  involving printings  38  and/or changes in color, tint, and/or surface texture. The shrink-film structure cover  12  may be in individual sheets  20  that are precut into typical sizes that are suitable for common medical treatments, in roll  16  form allowing the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals to custom size a number of the sheets  20 , and/or pre-made sleeves  36  also in suitable sizes for common medical treatments. The portfolio may further include heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  to allow the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals to construct a sleeve  19  from the sheets  20 . The heat-shrinkable adhesive tape  32  may be in a roll form (not illustrated) from which the patient and their friends, relatives, and other individuals may cut individual strips and/or pre-cut strips of corresponding size to the shrink-film structure cover  12  that is part of the portfolio. Further, the portfolio may include a storage container, such as a box or the like (not illustrated) having specialized compartments for various embellishing components. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.