Adhesive-Free Breathing Tube Securing Strip for Infants
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for securing medical tubes, particularly breathing tubes on premature infants, are inefficient and labor-intensive, often using adhesive tapes that can cause skin infections, and lack effective adhesive-free alternatives that meet ergonomic and design requirements for newborns.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a strip of material with attachment members, including hooks and loops, designed to securely wrap around tubes and strap members, providing 360-degree retention without adhesives, using stretchable and flexible materials to accommodate infant head movements while minimizing head molding risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive tape is used to secure breathing tubes to premature infants, then the tube can be securely held in position, but the infant's skin is at high risk of infection and damage from adhesive application and removal
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the adhesive component from the tube securement system entirely. The device uses a non-adhesive strip of material with attachment members that secure the tube through mechanical means (wrapping around the tube and engaging with headgear) rather than chemical adhesion to the skin, thereby eliminating the source of skin damage and infection risk while maintaining tube securement reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary strip device that acts as a mediator between the breathing tube and the headgear. This strip wraps around the tube and engages with attachment members on the headgear, providing securement without direct skin contact or adhesive application, thus protecting the infant's skin while maintaining tube position
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional headgear with straps is used to secure breathing tubes, then the tubes can move with infant's head movements, but the manufacturing and attachment process is tedious and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the tube securement function and the headgear attachment function into a single integrated strip device. The strip combines the tube-wrapping capability with attachment members that engage directly to the headgear, eliminating the need for separate manual attachment steps and reducing the labor-intensive nature of traditional methods while maintaining adaptability to head movements
Solution Approach 2:
The strip is pre-configured with attachment members positioned at specific locations along its length. This preliminary arrangement of attachment members allows for quick and efficient engagement with the headgear without requiring complex manual positioning or adjustment during the securement process, thereby improving productivity while maintaining the ability to accommodate head movements
3Reliability
If multiple attachment members are distributed along the strip, then the tube can be securely retained in position, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the securement function into multiple discrete attachment members distributed along the strip length. Each attachment member independently engages with the headgear at different positions, providing redundant securement points that enhance tube retention security. The segmentation allows for simple, modular attachment rather than a complex integrated mechanism
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 enables efficient, ergonomic, and secure tube positioning with reduced risk of skin infections, facilitating quicker and more effective securement of medical tubes, particularly breathing tubes, on infants, while simplifying manufacturing processes.
Implementation Method 1
The first, second, and third attachment members releasably engage a strap member to secure a tube in position relative to the strap member
Implementation Method 2
The strip of material is formed from a foam and/or at least one of a stretchable, flexible, malleable, and elastomeric material
Data Source
AI summary
A device for securing a tube includes a strip defining upper and lower surfaces and an attachment array on the lower surface thereof. First and second attachment members are coupled to the strip adjacent end portions thereof and define attachment arrays facing in the same direction as the upper surface of the strip. A third attachment member defines opposed surfaces having respective attachment arrays. A first of the attachment arrays is releasably engaged with the attachment array of the strip. The strip is configured to wrap around a tube with the attachment arrays of the attachment members and a second attachment array of the third attachment member releasably engaged with a strap member for securing the tube therebetween. The first and second attachment arrays of the third attachment member are configured such that the first attachment array defines a greater holding force than the second attachment array.