Foam Applicator for Uniform Surgical Drape Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical incise drapes often experience separation or lifting from the skin surface during surgery, leading to increased infection rates, as they fail to maintain a consistent thickness of liquid coating and lack effective antimicrobial protection.
Innovation Solution
An applicator with a thin layer of liquid-permeable foam and frangible containers ensures a uniform thickness of liquid coating by controlling the dispensing of liquid through specific passages, using a movable fixture to rupture the containers and focus the rupture force, allowing for consistent application of cyanoacrylate prepolymers that form a strong, antimicrobial surgical incise drape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional surgical incise drapes are applied to the skin surface, then antimicrobial protection is provided, but the drape separates or lifts from the skin during surgery due to inconsistent liquid coating thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous foam applicator head that uniformly distributes liquid prepolymer across the skin surface. The porous structure allows controlled capillary action to deliver consistent amounts of liquid throughout the application area, ensuring uniform coating thickness and reliable drape adherence without lifting during surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam applicator serves as an intermediary device between the liquid prepolymer container and the skin surface. It mediates the distribution of the liquid, transforming it from an inconsistent direct application into a uniform coated layer, thereby resolving the adherence problem.
2Ease of operation
If liquid prepolymer is applied manually to form a surgical drape, then the application process is simple, but the liquid coating thickness varies and does not provide consistent antimicrobial protection
Solution Approach 1:
The foam applicator is designed to self-regulate liquid distribution through its porous structure. As the applicator is moved across the skin, the foam automatically absorbs and releases liquid at a controlled rate, providing consistent coating thickness without requiring precise manual control from the operator.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous foam material inherently controls liquid flow through capillary forces, ensuring uniform distribution across the application area while maintaining ease of use. The operator simply needs to apply the applicator to the skin, and the porous structure handles the precision of distribution.
3Ease of operation
If conventional drapes are removed from the skin after surgery, then the surgical site can be accessed, but skin trauma occurs due to adhesive residue and forceful removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the phase change and chemical transformation of the cyanoacrylate prepolymer. The liquid applied to the skin polymerizes to form a flexible drape that adheres gently to the skin. After surgery, the drape naturally detaches as the polymerized film loses adhesion over time, eliminating the need for forceful removal and preventing skin trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical drape is designed as a temporary, single-use covering that provides protection during surgery and then naturally sheds afterward. The cyanoacrylate-based drape forms a disposable barrier that serves its purpose and then detaches without requiring active removal, avoiding skin damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a consistent and strong surgical incise drape that adheres to the skin, reducing the risk of lifting and infection, with antimicrobial protection and the ability to naturally shed after use, eliminating the need for removal and associated skin trauma.
Implementation Method 1
a thin layer of liquid-permeable foam conformed over the exterior of the generally flat widened region
Implementation Method 2
The liquid material is then spread over the surgical site to a uniform thickness by moving the applicator across the surgical site in a direction perpendicular to the wide dimension of the generally flat widened region of the applicator head
Implementation Method 3
a frangible-container-breaking force is applied to the containers by the pair of opposing fingers
Implementation Method 4
allowing for consistent application of cyanoacrylate prepolymers that form a strong, antimicrobial surgical incise drape
Data Source
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AI summary
An applicator for dispensing uniform thickness layers of liquid to surfaces and especially surgical sealants to surgical sites to create, in situ, a surgical incise drape is disclosed. The applicator employs a supported thin layer of foam which achieves layer thickness which are substantially independent of the pressure applied to the applicator during use. Methods of using the applicator are also disclosed.