Isolation apparatus

• US 4,367,728 A
• Filed: 09/05/1980
• Issued: 01/11/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Coopersurgical Incorporated (The Cooper Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hans G. Mutke
• Inventors: Mutke, Hans G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Recla, Henry J.
• Application Number:
  US06/184,299
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 128/205.26, 128/202.12, 128/1 B, 128/1 R, 128/132 D, 128/1.3, 128/298, 128/299
• US Class Current: 600/21
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 46/00 Surgical drapes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 46/10 specially adapted for instruments, e.g. microscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/40 Apparatus fixed or close to patients specially adapted for providing an aseptic surgical environment
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 10/005 Isolators, i.e. enclosures generally comprising flexible walls for maintaining a germ-free environment

Abstract

The disclosure concerns an isolation apparatus useful for medical, biological, chemical, physical, or the like experiments and treatments. A flexible envelope in the form of an elongated sack is divided lengthwise into a plurality of sealed sections. The envelope is a transparent material and also includes a viewing window into the interior. At least one glove is formed in the envelope. Exit and entrance tubes for liquids and gases enable pressurizing of the sections and inlet and outlet of fluids from the sections. There is a sealable lock at one end of the envelope. Sealable openings along the length of the envelope allow an object within the envelope to have portions thereof, e.g. arms of a body, project out of the envelope.

Claims

1. Isolation apparatus useful for medical, biological, chemical, physical or the like experiments and treatments in a sealed surrounding, comprising a flexible envelope in the form of an elongated sack;

the sack being divided at spaced intervals along its length into at least two sections;

a transparent window defined in the sack at at least one section of the sack for permitting viewing into the sack therethrough;

a glove secured in sealed manner to the sack at at least said one section of the sack for enabling an operator to have access to an object connected to the sack at least said one section from the outside thereof;

ventilation means in the sack for ventilating and inflating the sack with controllable pressure;

a sealable passage opening into a side of the sack in said other section for through passage and holding therein of articles in the sack;

at least one access opening into said one section for passing an object therethrough and into the sack wherein said object is adapted to be held in said access opening;

said at least one access opening having means for airtight engagement of the periphery thereof about an object adapted to project and be held therein;

selectively openable and closable sealing means at said spaced intervals along the length of and intermediate the length of the sack for dividing the sack into the at least two sections whereby the sections are separate from and selectively sealable from each other and are sealed from the environment.

2. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sack comprises a substantially transparent envelope for permitting viewing of the interior of the sack.

3. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sack has at least one narrow side and a second sealable passage opening at the one narrow side;

said selectively openable and closable sealing means being disposed away from the one narrow side for defining said other section of the sack including the one narrow side therein.

4. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lock disposed away from the passage opening and provided in the sack for permitting introduction and removal of articles in said other section used for carrying out experiments and treatments;

the lock comprising said other section of the sack with said passage opening providing entry from outside the sack, and selectively openable and closable sealing means in the sack between the lock and the next adjacent section of the sack.

5. The isolation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sack has at least one narrow side and the sealable passage opening being at the one narrow side;

the selectively openable and closable sealing means being disposed away from the one narrow side for defining said other section of the sack including the one narrow side therein;

the sack having a second narrow side opposite the one narrow side and the access opening being at the second narrow side.

6. The isolation apparatus of either of claim 1 or 4, further comprising wherein ventilation means for ventilating the sack include separate respective connection means for each of the sections of the sack for connecting each of the sections to the ventilation means;

the connection means being sealable in an air tight manner when no ventilation is to occur through the ventilation means.

7. The isolation apparatus of claim 6, further comprising suction means communicating with at least said one of the sections of the sack for suctioning liquids or gases.

8. The isolation apparatus of claim 6, further comprising control means in said ventilation means for producing a respective predetermined pressure within the sections of the sack.

9. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising suction means communicating with at least said one of the sections of the sack for suctioning liquids or gases.

10. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one section includes further access openings with said airtight engagement means so placed that one portion of an object adapted to be inserted inside the sack may project through the first mentioned access openings and other portions of that object may project through the further access openings, so that the projecting portions of that object may thereby project out of the sack.

11. The isolation apparatus of either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the entire sack is made integrally from transparent plastic material and wherein the transparent window comprises sections of the transparent plastic material which are tensioned, and tensioning means being provided for tensioning the plastic material at the window.

12. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pocket in the sack having magnetic adhesion means therein for enabling adherence thereto of metallic instruments by magnetic attraction for retaining the instruments in position.

13. The isolation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ventilation means for ventilating the sack include separate respective connection means for each of the sections of the sack for connecting each of the sections to the ventilation means.

14. The isolation apparatus of claim 13, wherein the ventilation means comprises ports communicating to at least some of the sections of the sack for selectively communicating increased or decreased pressure to that section of the sack through the ports.

15. The isolation apparatus of claim 14, further comprising pressurizing means connected to one of the respective ports communicating to at least some of the sections of the sack and suction means connected to another one of the respective ports communicating to at least some of the sections of the sack for selectively pressurizing or suctioning materials out of the respective section of the sack to which the pressurizing means and suction means are connected.