Patent Publication Number: US-6212808-B1

Title: Safety identification assembly and method

Description:
This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/839,078, filed Apr. 23, 1997 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a safety identification assembly and an identification method and, more particularly refers to an identification system for identification of persons, such as two or more persons pertaining to a group and, even more particularly to be used in neonatology for identifying a newborn and his/her mother immediately after the mother is delivered of the baby, by practically simultaneously attaching the system to the newborn and the mother to identify them in an unalterable and in a violation-proof manner. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     It is well known to provide several means to identify a newborn after his/her mother is delivered of. The obstetrician is at the delivery room in a maternity hospital the responsible person for all the facts carried out in the room and for the certification of the newborn identification. At the deliverance the newborn and the mother remain joined through the umbilical cord which is to be cut or divided into sections, one section remaining attached to the newborn and the other section remaining with the mother&#39;s placenta. A metal clamp is clamped at each end of the cord section so that the cord section where the clamp is placed becomes strangulated. With the umbilical cord end closed with such clamps, the baby is then taken to a child care room adjacent to the delivery room wherein the baby is subjected to the first cares, washed, identified by taking the plantar print, and the information is recorded for control purposes. A bracelet containing the baby&#39;s name and other data thereof is generally placed in a wrist of the newborn. The metal clamps closing the umbilical cord are then removed and replaced by plastic disposable clamps which may remain in the umbilical cord until the cord is naturally reduced, strangulated and cut. 
     Regarding the means for the identification of the baby, the bracelet is the only one identifying device attached to the baby, the bracelet containing the data corresponding to the records entered in the control forms of the maternity hospital. If the data entered into the forms is not the correct one or, if one baby is mistakenly assigned to a mother a situation may arise where two or more babies become interchanged. In this situation the bracelet is not a guarantee that the maternity personnel will become aware of the mistake and the error is to be corrected. Thus, there is not a way to reconcile the information contained in the baby&#39;s bracelet other than against the forms filled out after the deliverance. That is, there is not a link between the baby and his/her mother that could be checked or reconciled to confirm that the baby is the correct one or that an error has been committed. 
     As stated above, the obstetrician is the person who is responsible for most of the cares to the baby and the identification thereof, however, after the deliverance, once the umbilical cord has been cut and the baby taken out of the deliverance room the obstetrician remains in the room taking care of the mother and the baby is attended out of the obstetrician&#39;s sight. Even when any error could have been committed with the baby&#39;s identification the obstetrician is the responsible for certifying his identity which act may be also certified by the maternity hospital. Such error may be committed involuntarily due to the numerous childbirths occurring in a hospital, particularly in specialized maternity hospitals where so many deliveries are practically simultaneous and handling and control thereof may be an overburden to the nurses and medical personnel. 
     It would be therefore very convenient to count on a safety system for identifying the baby in a way that the baby and his/her mother are linked by an ID system under the obstetrician&#39;s sight, whereby the above mistakes and the disastrous consequences thereof are prevented from being committed either involuntarily or intentionally. 
     3. Summary of the Invention 
     It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a safety identification assembly to be preferably used in neonatology for identifying one or more newborns and his/her mother in a way that an identification link is formed between the baby or babies and the mother, the assembly comprising as many identification sub-assemblies as persons are to be identified, that is the mother and her baby or babies, the sub-assemblies being firmly placed in the mother&#39;s body and the baby&#39;s body practically simultaneously and immediately after the delivery upon the obstetrician sight. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a safety identification assembly for use in neonatology comprising identifying sub-assemblies detachably connected to each other and capable of being easily and manually detached in the deliverance room immediately upon the baby delivery, wherein the sub-assemblies are used for identifying the mother and her baby or babies and for closing the umbilical cord ends when the cord is cut, as usual, in two sections, one section of the cord remaining joined to the baby and the other section remaining joined to the placenta&#39;s mother. 
     It is even a further object of the present invention to provide a safety identification assembly of the type used for identifying individuals, particularly in neonatology to be applied to a newborn and his/her mother in a childbirth, wherein the identification assembly comprises at least two sub-assemblies connected to each other by at least one detachable connection, each sub-assembly comprising a closing clamp to be clamped at one side of a splitting section of a umbilical cord and a sealing device comprising a bracelet strap and violation-proof locking means for sealing the bracelet strap around the wrist of one of the newborn and his/her mother, each of the clamps and the sealing devices including an identification portion containing an identification code. 
     It is still a further object of the invention to provide a method for identifying a newborn and his/her mother in a delivery at a delivery room, with the above mentioned identification assembly, the method comprising the steps of: 
     arranging the two sub-assemblies relative the umbilical cord so as to locate each clamp at both sides of the splitting section of the cord; 
     closing each clamp so as to strangulate the umbilical cord at the both sides of the splitting section; 
     cutting said splitting section of the cord while separating said sub-assemblies from each other, the clamps remaining clamped in respective divided lengths of the umbilical cord; 
     separating said sealing devices from the clamps and putting the bracelet straps around the mother and baby&#39;s wrist respectively; and 
     sealing the locking means to safely retain the bracelets in the mother and baby&#39;s wrists. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be better understood when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention is illustrated by way of example in the following drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a safety identification assembly comprising two identification sub-assemblies according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the identification assembly of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of the identification assembly similar to FIG. 2 but with the sub-assemblies detached and spaced apart from each other; 
     FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the identification assembly similar to FIG. 3 with the closing clamp and the bracelet strap of each sub-assembly in turn detached from each other; 
     FIG. 5 shows a baby&#39;s hand wearing an identification bracelet according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 6 shows a mother&#39;s hand wearing an identification bracelet according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of safety identification assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention, with the clamps open to be placed around an umbilical cord; 
     FIG. 8 shows a top plan view of the identification assembly of FIG. 7, with the clamps closed as if they were applied around an umbilical cord and the violation-proof locking means also closed to lock two ends of the bracelet strap; 
     FIG. 9 shows a side elevation view of the violation-proof locking means in a close mode to lock two ends of the bracelet strap; and 
     FIG. 10 shows a slide elevation view of a clamp and locking means according to arrow IV of FIG.  7   
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Now referring in detail to the drawings it may be seen from FIGS. 1,  2  that the safety identification assembly of the invention is generally indicated by reference number  1 , including two clamps  2 ,  3  of the type used in neonatology to be applied to an umbilical cord C to strangulate the same at both sides of a splitting section S located between both clamps  2 ,  3  when the clamps are closed around cord C as it is shown in FIG.  2 . As it is well known, the umbilical cord is divided at section S into two lengths or sections, each length remaining attached with the mother and the newborn, respectively. Clamps  2 ,  3  are joined to a plate  4  comprising four tags  5 - 8 , i.e. two peripheral tags  5 ,  8  and two central tags  6 ,  7  each tag  5 - 8  including an identification portion  5 , therefore four identification portions  5  being provided in the assembly. Identification portion  5  may contain any kind of data codes, numbers, letters or alphanumeric codes, engraved, or printed by any process in tags  5 - 8 . 
     Each central tag  6 ,  7  has at one end thereof a locking notch  9 ,  10 , respectively and, at the opposite end, a bracelet strap  11 ,  12 , respectively. Straps  11 ,  12  defined respective saw-edged bracelet portions with the purposes of inserting respective ends  18 ,  19  through notches  9 ,  10  respectively. Once the straps have been inserted into notches  9 ,  10  the strap can only be moved in the insertion direction while any reverse moving is prevented by the saw profile of the straps the teethed edges of which are interlocked within the respective notch  9 ,  10 . Thus, if the bracelet is intentionally removed from the wrist of one baby to be put in another baby enough evidence of this removal will call the maternity personnel attention. 
     Two sub-assemblies  13 ,  14  are thus formed, sub-assembly  13  being comprised by clamp  2 , tags  5 ,  6  and bracelet strap  11 , and sub-assembly  14  comprising clamp  3 , tags  7 ,  8  and bracelet strap  12 . The sub-assemblies are connected to each other through a detachably connection indicated by line  15 . Assembly  1  is preferably made from a plastic material and, more preferably from plastic by an injection process. Connection line  15  is preferably a weakened section wherein the thickness of the plastic along connection line  15  is thinner than the adjacent and associated tags  6 ,  7 , and preferably severely thinner so as to provide a section capable of being manually and easily torn out to separate both sub-assemblies as it is shown in FIG. 3. A plurality of aligned cuts or perforations (not shown) can also be provided in line  15  by a stamping process, for example. 
     Within each sub-assembly  13 ,  14 , tags  5 ,  6  and  7 ,  8  are also detachably connected to each other through detachably connecting lines  16 ,  17 , respectively. The same features above disclosed in relation to connecting line  15  are applied to lines  16 ,  17  except that line  15  may be thinner than lines  16 ,  17  as far as line  15  is to be torn out first while lines  16 ,  17  should keep tags  5 ,  6  and tags  7 ,  8  joined together when line  15  is being manually broken. FIG. 4 shows all four tags  5 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8  separated from each other to be used for identification purposes according to the invention. 
     Immediately after the newborn is delivered, the assembly of the invention is arranged with the clamps placed around umbilical cord C as shown in FIG.  2 . Once the clamps have been closed onto the umbilical cord the cord is cut through section S and sub-assemblies  13 ,  14  are separated by tearing out along connection line  15 . Then tag  6  is separated from tag  5  and tag  7  is separated from tag  8  as it is shown in FIG. 4, bracelet straps  11 ,  12  being put in the mother&#39;s wrist and the baby&#39;s wrist as it is shown in FIGS. 6,  5  respectively, whereby the mother and the baby are identified immediately after the delivery, under the obstetrician&#39;s sight, not only by a bracelet but also by the clamps in the baby&#39;s body and in the mother&#39;s cord section. Due to the saw-edged strap the bracelet can not be removed from the wrist except by breaking the bracelet. 
     In FIGS. 7-10 a second embodiment of the invention is depicted. A safety identification assembly is generally indicated by reference number  20  and comprises at least two sub-assemblies  21 ,  22  detachably connected to each other through a connecting holding portion  23  having a central cut section  24  arranged between, preferable equidistant from, identifying sub-assemblies  21 ,  22 . 
     Each sub-assembly  21 ,  22  comprises a closing or strangulating clamp  25  having a resilient hinge  26  by means of which the clamps remains normally open as shown in FIG. 7 while it may be closed to a position shown in FIG. 8 wherein the umbilical cord may be strangulated under the jaws of the clamp as it is well known in the art. To obtain a complete sealing of the free cut ends of the umbilical cord in order to prevent any fluid communication between the interior of the cord and the baby or mother&#39;s body and any contaminated environment the clamp is provided with a protecting finger  28 . Finger  28  form a barrier to prevent any cord portion from entering into the resilient hinge  26  in which event such portion of the cord would be out of the sealing jaws of the clamp and, therefore, the cord would remain open defining a communication between the outer environment and the interior of the baby or mother&#39;s body with the risks of any contamination for the patients. 
     Clamp  25  is joined to an end of connecting holding  23  and at one side thereof while at the opposite side a sealing device  28  is provided, the device comprising a violation-proof locking means  29  consisting of a short strip  30  including at opposite ends thereof respective first  31  and second  32  parts of a locking snap button. Sealing device  28  includes an identification tag  33  firmly joined to device  28  and clamp  25  include in like manner an identification tag  34  also firmly joined to the clamp. Tags  33 ,  34  contains an identification code engraved or printed in any reliable way in the tags, the identification code consisting of letters, numbers or any alphanumeric code fixed in an unalterable way. The code contained in tags  33 ,  34  are the same with the purpose of identifying simultaneously, as it was disclosed above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, the mother and her baby or babies. 
     Connected to one  32  of the snap button parts there is a relatively long bracelet strap  35  including a plurality of through orifices  36  arranged along most of the length of the strap. Although bracelet strap  35  is retained in button part  32  the strap can move freely to accommodate to any handling situation of the identification assembly during use or packaging. To form a close bracelet around the mother and or baby&#39;s wrist one of the orifices  36 , selected depending of the wrist size, is connected to snap button part  32  and snap button part  31  is snapped onto part  32  (FIG. 9) to keep strap  35  trapped into button  31 ,  32  to form a close loop around the wrist. Snap button  31 ,  32  is a violation-proof locking button, therefore, the bracelet, once closed, can not be opened unless by breaking or cutting the same leaving enough violation evidence. 
     Both sub-assemblies  21 ,  22  each one formed by one half holding portion  23 , one clamp  25  and one sealing device  28  are configured by only one integral piece obtained from a plastic bio-compatible material by injection, for example. Generally, straps  35  are made also from a plastic material but separately from clamps  25 , portion  23  and devices  28  and the straps are thinner and more flexible than clamps  25 , portion  23  and devices  28 . Clamps  25  are preferably connected to portion  23  in a detachably manner through tearing bridges  37  formed by a weakened section in the material or any other means such as cuts (not shown). In like manner, sealing devices  28  are connected to portion  23  by means of tearing bridges  38 . 
     Like in the procedure carried out with the assembly shown in FIGS. 1-6, once the newborn is delivered the assembly  20  is arranged so as to close each clamp  25  at both sides of a section of the umbilical cord to be cut into a portion remaining with the baby and a portion remaining attached to the mother&#39;s placenta. The umbilical cord and section  24  of the holding portion are cut simultaneously. Then clamps  25  and sealing devices are torn off the holding piece  23 . Immediately after the clamps are separated from the sealing devices bracelets  35  are put around the mother and baby&#39;s wrists and sealed with snap button  31 ,  32  to remain fixed to the baby and the mother. All these steps are carried out immediately after the delivery, in a simultaneous mode and at the obstetrician&#39;s sight, to be under his control. In this way the mother and her baby are simultaneously identified with the clamps remaining fixed to their bodies and having the same code identification, without running any risk of a mistaken assigning of the baby to a mother other than the authentic one. 
     In addition to the identification and safety advantages provided by the assembly of the invention, there are other benefits obtained by using conventional and cost effective processes to obtain the product in a mass production way, such as by injection of plastic materials. As stated above, the clamps, holding piece  23  and sealing devices  28  may be obtained from injected plastic into one integral piece, while the straps can be obtained separately also by injection of plastic with different physical properties.