Abstract:
A cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument, having storage means with a hollow interior for holding between periods of non-use, the body cavity aspirator instrument. The system also includes a disposable insert shaped to be received within the interior of the storage means. The disposable insert is removably inserted within the hollow interior of said storage means.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention relates in general to a cleaning and storage system for an aspirator instrument. The present invention more particularly relates to a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument which facilitates the storage of a body cavity aspirator instrument when not in use and which further facilitates the cleaning of the body cavity aspirator instrument prior to its use by a patient as well as sanitary storage of the instrument after its use.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     For many patient care applications, bodily fluids, such as mucus fluids and meconium fluids, as well as other potentially harmful bodily fluids must be removed from a patient and disposed of in a safe and efficient manner. In this regard, there have been many different types and kinds of aspirator instruments, devices and tools for moving bodily fluids by suction or vacuum processes. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,333,607; 5,183,467; 5,062,835; 5,038,766; 5,002,534;and 4,921,488, each of said patents being incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0003]     As disclosed in the foregoing mentioned patents, various aspirator instruments are configured for removing certain types of bodily fluids from specific body cavities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,467 discloses an aspirator instrument which is used to dislodge and remove secretions, mucus and debris from a nasal passageway of a user or patient, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,835 discloses an aspirator device which can remove meconium or mucus fluids from a stomach or lung cavity during delivery of an infant.  
         [0004]     Aspirator instruments then, are configured in various shapes depending upon their intended use and more specifically depending upon the shape of the body cavity holding the bodily fluids to be removed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,534 discloses a very common type of oral aspirator device for removing fluids from the mouth and throat cavities of a user or patient.  
         [0005]     Because the removal of mucus fluids from the mouth and throat of patients confined in a primary care facility, such as a hospital facility, is such a common requirement in patient care, most, if not all, primary care facilities are equipped with bedside access control consoles. Such access control consoles provide primary care givers immediate access to gases, monitoring equipment and suction/vacuum/water sources for patient care and treatment.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,534 describes in detail the typical use of such an oral aspirator instrument indicating the aspirator instrument is attached to the neck of a user/patient using a cord so that a mouthpiece or Yankauer tip instrument can be easily inserted into the mouth of the patient for drawing mucus and other fluids from the body cavity of the patient.  
         [0007]     While such an arrangement may have been satisfactory for some applications, it has proven to be less than satisfactory in that a health care provider when not using the aspirator is compelled to either remove the aspirator instrument from the aspirator or lay the instrument with the vacuum tube attached thereon on the patient or the bed of the patient. Thus, if the instrument has been in use, residual body fluids may contaminate the patient or the bed of the patient creating an unwanted and undesired health risk due to the presence of undesirable bacteria and harmful bodily fluids.  
         [0008]     Conversely, if the user desires to maintain a safe, clean environment, the aspirator must be utilized promptly so that the Yankauer instrument can be removed and immediately disposed of or alternately removed and placed in a proper container for cleaning and sterilization purposes.  
         [0009]     While such a procedure can be followed for minimizing the creation of unwanted and undesired health risks, it is very expensive and time consuming, particularly, where a patient must have his or her mouth and throat cleared on a regular and short term or elapsed time basis.  
         [0010]     Another problem associated with prior known aspirator systems when utilized on a regular short elapsed time basis is associated with the accumulation of residual mucus fluids in and on the Yankauer tip when the vacuum or suction is terminated. In this regard, in many aspirator systems, when the body cavity aspirator instrument is removed from the mouth of the patient, the suction operation is substantially diminished permitting any fluids remaining in the body cavity instrument to be trapped within the tip or end of the instrument and tubing connected to the aspirator.  
         [0011]     Some of these problems have been considered and addressed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,286 (“the &#39;286 patent”), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The &#39;286 patent describes a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument. The system includes a holder for receiving an aspirator instrument for temporary storage purposes between periods of non-use. A wiper cap disposed over the mouth of the holder helps wipe the instrument of residual fluids when being inserted and removed from the holder. An inlet near the bottom of the holder permits the admittance of a cleaning agent to periodically clean the instrument.  
         [0012]     While such an arrangement has solved many of the problems associated with the use of aspirator instruments in clean-room environments, increased concern about hospital sterilization in conjunction with the rising costs of healthcare and healthcare equipment has necessitated further improvements. The &#39;286 patent requires that the holder be cleaned periodically in order to maintain sanitary conditions for its continued use. That notwithstanding, it has been found that after a certain period of time, depending on the frequency of use, cleaning is insufficient to maintain sanitary conditions and the entire holder must be replaced. Given the costs associated with replacing the entire holder, it would be desirable to find a solution that would obviate the need to replace the holder while maintaining sanitary conditions that are appropriate for hospital and clinical use.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0013]     The present inventor recognized a need for a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument that is easily sanitized and has means to prolong its useful life. In one embodiment, a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument includes storage means having a hollow interior for holding between periods of non-use, the body cavity aspirator instrument. The system also includes a disposable insert shaped to be received within the interior of the storage means. Furthermore, the disposable insert can be removably inserted within the hollow interior of said storage means.  
         [0014]     In another embodiment, an insert for a body cavity aspirator instrument cleaning and storage system includes a disposable hollow tube having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end forms a lip that folds down a distance toward the distal end of the hollow tube. The proximal end of the hollow tube can be at an angle θ relative to the distal end. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     These and other features and advantages will be apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  depicts a three-dimensional view of a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument in accordance with one embodiment.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the cleaning and storage system depicted in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is longitudinal view of a disposable insert for a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument in accordance with one embodiment.  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a three-dimensional view of the disposable insert depicted in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional three-dimensional view of the disposable insert depicted in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIGS. 1 and 2  thereof, there is illustrated a cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument. The system includes a hollow holder  30  that can be formed of a moldable plastic material. The system further includes a removable and disposable insert  20  that fits within the hollow section of the hollow holder  30 . The holder  30  and disposable insert  20  make up the cleaning and storage system for a body cavity aspirator instrument  10 , which is also depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0022]     The holder  30  has three regions or ends: a proximal region  35 ; a medial region  40 ; and a distal region  45 . The proximal region  35  forms an opening  37  that receives the disposable insert  20 . The medial region  40  forms a transition between the proximal and distal regions. The medial region  40  can form a bend that results in the proximal region  35  being at an angle θ relative to the distal region  45 . In other words, a longitudinal axis of the proximal region  35  is at an angle θ relative to the longitudinal axis of the distal region  45 . The angle θ can be designed to be substantially complementary to a given type of aspirator instrument, such as the Yankauer tip mouthpiece instrument  10 . In one embodiment, the angle θ is between about 0 degrees and about 12 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ is between about 12 degrees and about 16 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ is between about 13 degrees and about 15 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ is about 14 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ is greater than 16 degrees.  
         [0023]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3, 4  and  5 , the removable and disposable insert  20 , like the holder  30 , has three regions or ends: a proximal region  50 , a medial region  60 , and a distal region  70 . The insert  20  forms a hollow tube that is closed at its distal region  70 . The proximal region  50  of the insert  20  forms an opening  57  through which the aspirator instrument  10  can be inserted into the insert  20 . The medial region  60  forms a transition between the proximal and distal regions. The medial region  60  can form a bend that results in the proximal region  50  being at an angle θ relative to the distal region  70 . In other words, a longitudinal axis of the proximal region  50  is at an angle θ relative to the longitudinal axis of the distal region  70 . The angle θ can be designed to be substantially complementary to a given type of aspirator instrument, such as the Yankauer tip mouthpiece instrument  10 . In one embodiment, the angle θ 1  is between about 0 degrees and about 12 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ 1  is between about 12 degrees and about 16 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ 1  is between about 13 degrees and about 15 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ 1  is about 14 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle θ 1  is greater than 16 degrees. Furthermore, the angle θ 1  can be substantially complementary to the θ formed by the medial region  40  of the holder  30 .  
         [0024]     The proximal region  50  of the removable and disposable insert  20  has a proximal end that forms a lip  55 . The lip  55  folds down a distance toward the medial and distal regions or ends of the insert  20 . The lip can have a circumference and shape that is complementary to the proximal region or end  35  of the holder  30 . The inset  20  can be supported by the interface between the top edge  38  of the holder  30  and the bottom surface  58  of the lip  55 . Accordingly, the insert  20  can be easily removed by pulling or pushing up on the top lip  55  of the insert.  
         [0025]     The insert  20  also has one or more accordion pleats  65  defined along a portion of the distal end or region  70  of the insert  20 . The insert  20  can have one, two, three, four, five, or more accordion pleats  65  in its distal region  70 . The accordion pleats  65  allow the distal region of the insert  20  to bend as needed to accommodate the size and shape of the aspirator instrument  10  being used.  
         [0026]     Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.