Nasal cannula

Abstract

To provide a nasal cannula which stabilizes a prong inserted in the nasal cavity, is less likely to come off from the nasal cavity, reduces physical irritation, and reduces skin troubles such as redness. [Solution] A nasal cannula 1 includes a prong 2 inserted into a patient's nasal cavity, a tube 4 connected to the prong 2 and placed above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad 9 attached to the patient's cheek, a holder 5 placed above the cheek pad 9 and holding the tube 4 so that it can slide in the tube length direction, and a joint joining the cheek pad 9 to the holder 5. The joint is, for example, a hook-and-loop fastener made up of a female surface 7 on the outside of the holder 5 and a male surface sheet 10 on the upper surface of the cheek pad 9. When a predetermined force is applied to the holder 5 of the tube 4 in a direction away from the cheek, the hook-and-loop fastener is released while the cheek pad 9 remains attached to the cheek, and the tube 4 is detached from the cheek pad 9 together with the holder 5.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nasal cannula. [Background technology]

[0002] One of the devices for administering oxygen to patients with poor respiratory conditions is the use of a nasal cannula. The basic structure of a nasal cannula is a so-called free type, which includes a prong inserted into the patient's nasal cavity and a tube connected to the prong, as described in Patent Document 1. Since the prong of the free type is easily removed from the nasal cavity, various means for fixing the nasal cannula to the patient have been considered.

[0003] For example, Figures 15 to 23 of Patent Document 2 disclose a nasal cannula equipped with a system for fixing it to the face of a patient (infant). This nasal cannula has a user interface on the back side of the tube. The fixing system releasably connects a user interface patch, which is fixed to the user interface, and a skin patch, which is adhered to the patient's skin, with a hook-and-loop fastener provided between them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3107787 [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 2013-540037 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The inventor performed nasal high-flow therapy on a hospitalized patient (child) using a nasal cannula manufactured by Fisher & Paykel, which is believed to be an embodiment of the product of Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG. 4(a), this nasal cannula 51 has a user interface patch 53 attached to a tube 52, and in the purchased state, the female surface of the hook-and-loop fastener on the user interface patch 53 and the male surface of the hook-and-loop fastener on the skin patch 54 are previously joined. The skin patch 54 was then attached to the skin of the patient's left and right cheeks with an adhesive, thereby fixing the entire nasal cannula 51. Since the skin patch 54 often peeled off from the cheek during treatment, the skin patch 54 was replaced each time. The skin patch 54 was commercially available under the product name "Wiggle Pad," and was a dedicated product, so it was expensive.

[0006] As the patient (child) recovered through the above treatment, we switched to regular oxygen administration at an early stage. Considering the skin roughness, a skin protection material (not shown) was attached to the cheek, and a tube 62 of a free-type nasal cannula 61 as shown in Figure 4(b) was fixed on top of the skin protection material with a mesh-like adhesive tape 63, but the following problem arose. (A) When the patient's cheek moves and the length between the attached adhesive tape 63 and the nasal cavity changes, in a free-type nasal cannula 61, the prong 64 is likely to come out of the nasal cavity and point toward the mouth, making the cannula unstable and requiring frequent replacement of the adhesive tape 63. (a) When the tube 62 is pulled when moving the baby, such as when picked up or when breastfeeding, the adhesive tape 63 may become displaced or peel off. (c) When oxygen is resumed after being withdrawn, the nasal cannula 61 is removed and then re-fixed, and each time this is done the adhesive tape 63 must be re-applied. (E) Repeated application and removal of the adhesive tape 63 causes physical irritation such as pulling on the skin, resulting in skin troubles such as redness.

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to stabilize the probe when inserted into the nasal cavity and make it less likely to fall out of the cavity, and more preferably, to reduce physical irritation such as skin pulling and reduce skin problems such as skin redness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] [1] A nasal cannula including a prong to be inserted into a patient's nasal cavity, a tube connected to the prong and positioned above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad to be attached to the patient's cheek, and a structure for holding the tube slidably in the tube length direction relative to the cheek pad.

[0009] [2] A nasal cannula as described in [1] above, in which, when a predetermined force is applied to the tube, the tube is released from the cheek while the cheek pad remains attached to the cheek, and the tube is detached from the cheek.

[0010] [3] A device comprising: a prong inserted into a patient's nasal cavity; a tube connected to the prong and placed above the patient's cheek; a cheek pad attached to the patient's cheek; a holder placed above the cheek pad and holding the tube so that the tube can slide in the tube length direction; and a joint for joining the cheek pad and the holder; The nasal cannula is set so that when a predetermined force is applied to the tube, the connection between the holding body and the cheek pad is released or the holding of the tube by the holding body is released while the cheek pad remains stuck to the cheek, and the tube is released from the cheek.

[0011] [4] A nasal cannula as described in [3] above, wherein the joint is a hook-and-loop fastener that can be attached and detached.

[0012] [5] A nasal cannula as described in [3] or [4] above, wherein the holder is a strip of hook-and-loop fastener tape rolled into a cylindrical shape.

[0013] [6] A nasal cannula as described in [4] above, in which the male surface of the hook-and-loop fastener is exposed only in a position that cannot be touched by humans.

[0014] [7] A nasal cannula according to any one of the above [1] to [6], wherein the cheek pad is a bandage.

[0015] [8] A nasal cannula according to any one of the above [1] to [3], in which the cheek pads and the slit ring serving as a holder are integrally formed from resin. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to this invention, the tube can be slidably held, so that the prongs can be stably inserted in the nasal cavity and are less likely to fall out of the nasal cavity. Furthermore, by setting the cheek pads to remain attached to the cheeks and the tubes to be detached from the cheeks, there is no need to reattach the cheek pads when resuming oxygen intake after withdrawal, which reduces physical irritation such as skin tension and reduces skin troubles such as redness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nasal cannula according to a first embodiment attached to a patient. [Diagram 2] 2(a) and (b) are perspective views of the case where a holder is formed from a hook-and-loop fastener tape in the first embodiment, and (c) and (d) are perspective views of the case where a male face sheet is bonded to a cheek pad in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of a nasal cannula of the second embodiment attached to a patient, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of a holding body and a cheek pad in the second embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4(a) is a perspective view of a conventional nasal cannula attached to a patient, and (b) is a perspective view of another conventional nasal cannula attached to a patient. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] <1> Blongs and tubes The prongs and tubes are not particularly limited, and various commercially available ones can be used.

[0019] <2> Cheek pads The cheek pad is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include adhesive bandages and the above-mentioned "wiggle pads," with adhesive bandages being preferred in terms of low cost. The adhesive bandage is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include general adhesive bandages (with a breathable or moisture-permeable base), infiltration therapy type adhesive bandages (containing hydrophilic polymers such as hydrocolloids and absorbing moisture), and liquid type adhesive bandages (which are liquid when applied but dry to form a film). The shape of the cheek pads is not particularly limited, but examples include a circle, an ellipse, an oval, a rectangle, and a rectangle with rounded corners. The dimensions of the cheek pads are not particularly limited, but an example of a size is a diameter of 10 to 30 mm if circular, and a size where the outline of the cheek pads fits between concentric circles of 8 mm and 40 mm in diameter if non-circular.

[0020] <3> holding body The holder is not particularly limited as long as it holds the tube slidably in the tube length direction. For example, the holder may be formed into a cylindrical or ring shape so that its inner periphery is lightly in contact with or slightly separated from the outer periphery of the tube, thereby easily holding the tube slidably.

[0021] <4> joint The joining portion includes a portion that joins the cheek pad and the holding body in a detachable manner and a portion that joins the cheek pad and the holding body in a non-detachable manner. Examples of a portion that joins the cheek pad and the holding body in a detachable manner include, but are not limited to, a hook-and-loop fastener and a mechanism that mechanically engages in a releasable manner. EXAMPLES

[0022] The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the structures, materials, values, shapes and dimensions described in the embodiments are merely examples and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0023] [Example 1] The nasal cannula 1 of Example 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a prong 2 to be inserted into the patient's nasal cavity, a tube 4 connected to the prong 2 and positioned above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad 9 to be attached to the patient's cheek, a holder 5 positioned above the cheek pad 9 to hold the tube 4 so that it can slide in the tube length direction, and a joint that joins the cheek pad 9 and the holder 5.

[0024] The sleeve 3 and the pair of protruding ...

[0025] For the holder 5, a hook-and-loop fastener tape 6 (widely used for organizing electric cords, etc.) with a width of about 10 mm, which is commercially available in a roll, was cut to a length of about 30 mm as shown in FIG. 2(a), and rolled into a cylindrical shape so that the inner peripheral portion lightly contacts or is slightly separated from the outer peripheral surface of the tube 4 as shown in FIG. 2(b) to form the holder 5. This hook-and-loop fastener tape 6 has a female surface 7 on one side and a male surface 8 on the other side, and is rolled up within a range of more than one turn and not more than three turns so that the female surface 7 is on the outer peripheral side and the male surface 8 is on the inner peripheral side, and the female surface 7 and the male surface 8 are engaged when they overlap each other more than once to form a cylindrical holder 5. In this embodiment, the small protrusions of the male surface 8 on the inner peripheral portion of the holder 5 come into point contact with the tube 4 at multiple points, so that the tube 4 slides more easily than in the case of surface contact.

[0026] A commercially available hydrocolloid adhesive bandage was used for the cheek pad 9. The cheek pad 9 has an adhesive (not shown) on its lower surface. As shown in Figures 2(c) and (d), in order to form the joint described below, a hook-and-loop male surface sheet 10 was attached to the upper surface of the cheek pad 9 with a medical double-sided tape 11. Both were cut into circles with a diameter of 13 to 15 mm, but the shape and dimensions can be changed as appropriate. The male surface sheet 10 is preferably soft and not too rough so that it does not hurt the person when touching it.

[0027] The joint is composed of a female surface 7 on the outer periphery of the holding body 5 and a male surface sheet 10 on the upper surface of the cheek pad 9, and functions as a hook-and-loop fastener that removably joins these together (see the arrow between Figures 2(b) and (d)). The fastening strength of the hook-and-loop fasteners (7, 10) is sufficient to hold the tube 4, but is set to be weaker than the adhesive strength of the cheek pads 9. Therefore, when a predetermined force is applied to the holder 5 of the tube 4 in a direction away from the cheek, the hook-and-loop fasteners (7, 10) are released while the cheek pad 9 remains attached to the cheek, and the tube 4 comes off from the cheek pad 9 together with the holder 5.

[0028] This nasal cannula 1 is attached to a patient and used as follows. (1) The cheek pad 9 having the male surface sheet 10 adhered to its upper surface is attached to the patient's cheek next to the nasal cavity (a location suitable for the patient to fix the nasal cannula 1) using the adhesive on its lower surface. (2) A hook-and-loop tape 6 is loosely wound around a tube 4 to form a cylindrical holder 5. (3) The probe 2 is inserted into the patient's nasal cavity. (4) The female surface 7 of the holder 5 is pressed against and joined to the male surface sheet 10 of the cheek pad 9, thereby holding the tube 4 slidably. (5) Oxygen is supplied from an oxygen source (not shown). (6) When actively withdrawing oxygen (for example, for 30 minutes to several hours during the day), the tube 4 is detached from the cheek pad 9 together with the support body 5 by applying a specified force as described above while keeping the cheek pad 9 attached to the cheek, and the prong 2 is removed from the nasal cavity.

[0029] This nasal cannula 1 provides the following functions and effects. (F) Even if the patient's cheek moves and the length between the holding body 5 and the nasal cavity changes, the tube 4 slides inside the holding body 5, so even with a free type cannula, the prong 2 remains stable when inserted into the nasal cavity and is unlikely to come off from the nasal cavity. Therefore, there is no restriction on cheek movement and the cheek pad 9 does not need to be replaced as often. (g) In addition, even if the tube 4 is pulled when moving around such as picking up the baby or breastfeeding, the cheek pads 9 are unlikely to shift or peel off. (h) When resuming oxygen use after being weaned off, the nasal cannula 1 is detached and then reattached. In doing so, the hook-and-loop fasteners (7, 10) are released and then reattached, making it easy to put on and take off, and there is no need to reattach the cheek pads 9. (I) Since the cheek pads 9 do not need to be repeatedly attached and removed, physical irritation such as pulling on the skin is reduced, and skin troubles such as redness are also reduced. (J) The cheek pads 9 are commercially available hydrocolloid bandages and are not dedicated products, so they are low cost.

[0030] [Example 2] The nasal cannula 21 of Example 2-1 shown in Figure 3 also includes a prong 2 to be inserted into the patient's nasal cavity, a tube 4 connected to the prong 2 and positioned above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad 22 to be attached to the patient's cheek, a holder 23 positioned above the cheek pad 22 to hold the tube 4 so that it can slide in the tube length direction, and a joint 26 to join the cheek pad 22 and the holder 23, but differs from Example 1 in the following respects.

[0031] The cheek pads 22 are resin plates having an adhesive (not shown) on the lower surface. The holding body 23 is a slit ring made of resin and formed integrally with the upper surface of the resin plate of the cheek pad 22. The slit ring consists of a ring 24 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tube 4, and a slit 25 formed in the upper part of the ring. The slit 25 can be elastically opened and closed to allow the tube 4 to be inserted and removed from the ring 24. The joint 26 is a resin part that joins the cheek pad 22 and the holding body 23 together. When a predetermined force is applied to the tube 4, the slit 25 opens and the tube 4 comes out of the ring 24 while the cheek pad 22 remains attached to the cheek, whereby the tube 4 is released from the holding body 23 and the tube 4 is detached from the cheek pad 22.

[0032] With this nasal cannula 21 as well, basically the same effects (f) to (j) as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, the only difference being that the tube 4 is inserted into and removed from the ring 24 in (h).

[0033] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as necessary without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, for example, as follows. (1) The hook-and-loop fasteners (7, 10) can be modified, for example, so that the upper surface of the cheek pad is a female surface and only the outer periphery of the holding body that faces the cheek pad is a male surface, so that the male surface, which is likely to cause pain when touched, is exposed only in a position that cannot be touched by people (patient, parent, caregiver, etc.). [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 Nasal cannula 2. Blong 3 Sleeve 4 Tubes 5 Holding body 6 Hook and Loop Tape 7 Female side 8 Male surface 9 Cheek pads 10 Male face sheet 11 Medical double-sided tape 21 Nasal cannula 22 Cheek pads 23 Holding body 24 Ring 25 Break 26 Joint

Claims

1. The nasal cannula includes a prong inserted into the patient's nasal cavity, a tube connected to the prong and placed above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad attached to the patient's cheek, and a structure for holding the tube slidably in the tube length direction relative to the cheek pad.

2. 2. A nasal cannula according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined force is applied to the tube, the tube is released from the cheek while the cheek pad remains attached to the cheek, and the tube is released from the cheek.

3. The device includes a prong inserted into a patient's nasal cavity, a tube connected to the prong and placed above the patient's cheek, a cheek pad attached to the patient's cheek, a holder placed above the cheek pad and holding the tube so as to be slidable in the tube length direction, and a joint for joining the cheek pad and the holder; The nasal cannula is set so that when a predetermined force is applied to the tube, the connection between the holding body and the cheek pad is released or the holding of the tube by the holding body is released while the cheek pad remains stuck to the cheek, and the tube is released from the cheek.

4. 4. The nasal cannula according to claim 3, wherein the connecting portion is a hook-and-loop fastener for detachable connection.

5. 5. A nasal cannula according to claim 4, wherein the holder is a strip of hook-and-loop fastener tape rolled into a cylindrical shape.

6. 5. A nasal cannula according to claim 4, wherein the hook-and-loop fastener has a male surface exposed only at a position inaccessible to humans.

7. 7. The nasal cannula according to claim 1, wherein the cheek pad is a bandage.

8. 4. The nasal cannula according to claim 1, wherein the cheek pads and the slit ring serving as a holder are integrally formed from resin.

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