Patent Publication Number: US-2019183672-A1

Title: Medical cooling pad

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/068581, filed on Aug. 3, 2016. The International Application was published in German on Feb. 8, 2018 as WO 2018/024329 A1 under PCT Article 21(2). 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a medical cooling pad for cooling human skin or an injury on and/or under the skin. 
     BACKGROUND 
     State-of-the-art medical cooling pads consist of a cushion with a liquid, gel-like, sand-like or earth-like filling that has a relatively high heat capacity and is applied to the skin in a cooled state and is fixed by a separate bandaging. It is cumbersome to apply the cushion-like cooling pad to the skin. 
     DE 102 60 872 A1 and DE 10 2010 038 312 describe cooling pads which are self-adhesive so that no further means and working steps are necessary for fixation on the skin after the application thereof on the skin. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present invention is to provide a medical cooling pad that can also be used for external skin injuries. 
     In an embodiment, the present invention provides a medical cooling pad for cooling skin which includes a distal flexible pad support, a flexible cooling gel layer arranged on a proximal side of the distal flexible pad support, and a medical wound dressing arranged on a proximal side of the flexible cooling gel layer. The medical wound dressing has an area which is smaller than an area of the flexible cooling gel layer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is described in greater detail below on the basis of embodiments and of the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a longitudinal section of a medical cooling pad packed in a protective bag; 
         FIG. 2  shows the medical cooling pad without a protective bag; 
         FIG. 3  shows the medical cooling pad after removing the cooling pad protective strip; 
         FIG. 4  shows the medical cooling pad after removing the wound dressing protective strips; 
         FIG. 5  shows the medical cooling pad of  FIG. 4  applied to the skin; 
         FIG. 6  shows the medical cooling pad of  FIG. 5  after the pad support has been removed from the skin together with the cooling gel layer so that the adhesive tape with the wound dressing remains attached to the skin; and 
         FIG. 7  shows the proximal side of the cooling pad of  FIG. 3  in a plan view. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The medical cooling pad for cooling the skin comprises a distal flexible pad support with a flexible cooling gel layer applied to its proximal side. The term “proximal” generally refers to the side facing the skin after application, whereas the term “distal” refers to the side facing away from the skin after application. Both the pad support and the cooling gel layer are flexible to the extent that the cooling pad can adapt to the spatial shape of the skin surface. A cooling gel layer is any type of coating that allows a passive or active cooling of the skin. A cooling gel layer is not necessarily a gel in the narrower sense, but any substance that can have a cooling effect and has a certain stability, i.e., is non-fluidic at body temperature. 
     “Passive cooling” is defined as cooling by a pre-cooled layer, for example, in a refrigerator, of a cooling gel having a relatively high heat capacity. Passive cooling can, however, also be defined by cooling via storing a liquid in the cooling gel layer, whereby the liquid evaporates after being applied to the skin and thus produces evaporative cooling. Suitable liquids are water and/or volatile liquids such as menthol, methyl paraben, essential oils etc. 
     Typical product examples are known under the names “SOS Kinder-Fieber-Pflaster” from Dr. Kleine Pharma GmbH, Germany, “Perskindol Cool Patch” or “Sportusal Cool Patch”. 
     A medical wound dressing is provided on the proximal side of the cooling gel layer having a smaller area than the cooling gel layer. The wound dressing therefore only covers a part of the cooling gel layer and is therefore smaller than the cooling gel layer. The wound dressing can be directly or indirectly connected with the cooling gel layer. The medical wound dressing consists of an absorbent material that can absorb moisture, in particular wound secretions and blood. The wound dressing may also contain substances which have a disinfectant and/or other medical effect on the wound. 
     A medical cooling pad is therefore provided that can also be used for skin injuries. The cooling pad is placed on the skin wound in such a way that the wound dressing comes to rest over or on the skin injury. The cooling gel layer of the cooling pad at the same time cools the entire zone around the skin injury. The cooling gel layer does not, however, lie directly on the skin wound. The skin injury can be treated and a skin coolant can be applied with one single action. 
     The medical wound dressing can, for example, be completely surrounded laterally by the cooling gel layer, thus virtually forming an island floating on the cooling gel layer. This provides that the skin injury zone in question is cooled over its entire circumference by the cooling gel layer after the application of the cooling pad. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the wound dressing can, for example, be supported by a separate adhesive tape whose area is smaller than the area of the cooling gel layer and is larger than the area of the wound dressing. The adhesive tape has an adhesive layer on its proximal side which is partially covered by the medical wound dressing. The wound dressing adheres directly to the adhesive tape in this area. The medical wound dressing and the adhesive tape thus form a classic adhesive plaster, the distal side of which is attached to the cooling gel layer. 
     The cooling gel layer can, for example, be self-adhesive with respect to human skin. The medical cooling pad can therefore be easily applied to the skin injury in question and adheres there without a bandage or additional adhesive. 
     Typical product examples therefor are known under the names “SOS Kinder-Fiber-Pflaster” from Dr. Kleine Pharma GmbH, Germany, “Perskindol Cool Patch” or “Sportusal Cool Patch”. 
     The adhesive layer of the adhesive tape on the skin can, for example, have a greater adhesive force than the cooling gel layer on the distal side of the tape. After the cooling effect of the cooling gel layer has been exhausted, the pad support including the cooling gel layer non-detachably attached thereto can be removed from the skin. Since the adhesive force of the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape on the skin is greater than the adhesive force between the cooling gel layer and the adhesive tape, the applied adhesive tape including the wound dressing remains on the skin during and after removal of the pad support from the skin. The adhesive plaster therefore remains on the wound after removal of the part responsible for the cooling effect so that the wound does not then need to be newly treated. 
     At least one removable cooling pad protective strip can, for example, be provided proximal to the wound dressing which directly covers and protects the entire exposed cooling gel layer. The cooling pad protective strip protects the cooling gel layer from drying out and protects the medical wound dressing from contamination. The cooling pad protective strip is completely removed from the proximal side of the cooling pad immediately before application of the medical cooling pad. 
     A cooling pad with a protective strip is also known from the above mentioned product examples. 
     A wound dressing protective strip may be provided as an alternative or in addition to the cooling pad protective strip directly covering and protecting only the wound dressing and, if present, the adhesive layer side of the adhesive tape. The wound dressing protective strip does not, however, cover the cooling gel layer lateral to the wound dressing or the adhesive tape. The wound dressing protective strip in particular protects the wound dressing and, if present, the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape against contamination. 
     The protective strips are characterized by the fact that they define only a relatively weak adhesive force between them and the cooling gel layer and the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape, so that the cooling pad protective strip and/or the wound dressing protective strip can be easily removed. 
     The cooling gel layer can, for example, be designed for passive cooling. The cooling gel layer contains substances with a high heat capacity and/or substances which can generate a certain evaporative cooling therefor. Particularly suitable therefor are water-binding substances that bind water or moisture. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the pad support can, for example, be provided with a layer of a carrier fabric. The function of the pad support is mainly the mechanical fixation of the cooling gel layer. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the pad support can, for example, be provided with a waterproof coating distally. This in particular prevents the cooling gel layer from drying out before and during use. 
     The medical cooling pad can also be individually and sterilely packaged in a bag to provide sterility until the bag is opened. 
     An example of the present invention is explained in greater detail below under reference to the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows a longitudinal section of a medical cooling pad  10  packed in a protective bag  100 . The medical cooling pad  10  is used for wound care and cooling of a minor skin injury. 
     The medical cooling pad  10  has a multi-layered structure. From distal to proximal, the medical cooling pad  10  comprises a flexible pad support  20 , which captively carries a flexible cooling gel layer  30 , on which a smaller adhesive tape  50  with respect to its area adheres in the middle with the adhesive-free side, which holds a wound dressing  40  approximately in the middle of its proximal adhesive side, wherein the adhesive layer  54  of the adhesive tape  50  and the wound dressing  40  are covered by two centrally overlapping peelable wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71 , and wherein the proximal side of the flexible cooling gel layer  30  and the wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  are covered by a single large-area cooling pad protective strip  60 . 
     The flexible pad support  20  essentially consists of a fleece-like carrier fabric  22  which is covered distally by a waterproof coating  24 . The waterproof coating  24  consists, for example, of a suitable plastic film. 
     The carrier fabric  22  can be a fleece material which gives sufficient mechanical stability to the composite of flexible pad support  20  and flexible cooling gel layer  30 , but which can adapt to the surface shape of the skin area in question. 
     The flexible cooling gel layer  30  consists of a cooling gel body  32  which is provided, for example, by a medical cooling gel. The flexible cooling gel layer  30  is relatively thick and can, for example, have a thickness of up to several millimeters. Water, methanol or moisture can be stored in a corresponding matrix within the cooling gel body  32 , and other volatile liquids can also be stored alternatively or additionally. 
     The flexible cooling gel layer  30  is self-adhesive, i.e., it has an adhesive coating or a self-adhesive property that provides a certain adhesion of the flexible cooling gel layer  30  or the medical cooling pad  10  to the skin. The adhesive property of the flexible cooling gel layer  30  also provides that the adhesive tape  50  is held in position centrally. 
     The adhesive tape  50  can be a standard medical adhesive tape made of a suitable plastic film or fabric, the distal side of which is non-adhesive and the proximal side of which has the adhesive layer  54 . The longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the adhesive tape  50  are smaller than the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the flexible cooling gel layer  30 . 
     The wound dressing  40 , which is provided by an absorbent, i.e., a moisture-absorbing medical fleece  42  or tissue containing aseptic substances, is glued centrally onto the adhesive tape  50 . The adhesive tape  50  along with the wound dressing  40  provide a conventional adhesive plaster  55 , as it is known, for example, under the name “Hansaplast Universal Pflaster Strips”. 
     The proximal side of the adhesive tape  50  and/or its adhesive layer  54  as well as the wound dressing  40  are covered by two overlapping wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  made of plastic film, the two overlapping wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  developing only a relatively small adhesive force with the adhesive layer  54 , i.e., the two overlapping wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  are easily removable from the adhesive layer  54 . 
     The medical cooling pad  10  lastly comprises a full-surface cooling pad protective strip  60  made of plastic film at its proximal end, the cooling pad protective strip  60  directly covering the full surface of the flexible cooling gel layer  30  and protecting it and directly covering the two wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  centrally. 
     The composite of the flexible pad support  20 , the self-adhesive flexible cooling gel layer  30  and the cooling pad protective strip  60  can be obtained without adhesive plaster under the product names “SOS Kinder-Fieber-Pflaster” from Dr. Kleine Pharma GmbH, Germany, “Perskindol Cool Patch” or “Sportusal Cool Patch”. 
     The preparation or application of the medical cooling pad  10  is shown sequentially in the  FIGS. 1-6 . 
     The protective bag  100 , which provides the sterility of the medical cooling pad  10 , is first torn open and the medical cooling pad  10  is removed from the torn protective bag  100  so that the medical cooling pad  10  is in the initial condition shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the cooling pad protective strip  60  is then completely removed from the medical cooling pad  10 . Finally, the now accessible two wound dressing protective strips  70 ,  71  are completely removed from the adhesive tape  50  so that, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the medical cooling pad  10 ′ is now ready for application to the skin. 
     The condition of the medical cooling pad  10 ′ when applied to the skin  8  is shown in  FIG. 5 . It is here already recognizable that, in the area of the adhesive tape  50 , the adhesive layer  54  of the adhesive tape  50  adheres directly to the skin  8 . The self-adhesive flexible cooling gel layer  30  adheres directly to the skin  8  in all areas not directly covered by the adhesive tape  50 . 
     As soon as the cooling effect of the flexible cooling gel layer  30  is exhausted, the flexible pad support  20  including the flexible cooling gel layer  30  fixed thereto can be removed from the skin  8 . Since the adhesive force between the flexible cooling gel layer  30  and the distal non-adhesive side of the adhesive tape  50  is relatively small, the adhesive force between the adhesive layer  54  and the skin  8  is sufficient for the adhesive tape  50 , including the wound dressing  40 , to remain attached to the skin  8  when the composite of flexible pad support  20  and flexible cooling gel layer  30  is removed. More air reaches the skin  8  after removal of the flexible cooling gel layer  30 , which promotes the healing process. 
     The present invention is not limited to embodiments described herein; reference should be had to the appended claims.