WO2005117775A1

WO2005117775A1 - Ostomy pouches

Info

Publication number: WO2005117775A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/001956
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rory Smith; Owen May; Paul Bird
Original assignee: Welland Medical Limited
Priority date: 2004-06-04
Filing date: 2005-05-19
Publication date: 2005-12-15
Also published as: EP1750628B2; EP1750628A1; EP1750628B1

Abstract

A drainable pouch (10) for an ostomy bag, having first and second side walls (12, 14) forming a cavity (16) the side walls defining a foldable neck portion (18) terminating in a discharge opening (20) for draining contents of the pouch from the cavity. The discharge opening being closed and opened by folding and unfolding the neck portion. The first wide wall of the neck portion has a first transversely-extending resiliently flexible member (26) adjacent the discharge opening and a second transversely-extending resiliently flexible member (32) adjacent the first flexible member.

Description

OSTOMY POUCHES

The present invention relates to ostomy pouches and like drainage pouches, and in particular to sealing mechanisms for such pouches which operate to retain the pouch contents during use allowing disposal of the contents more readily and hygienically after use.

By "pouch" it is meant the inner pouch of an ostomy bag, which receives and carries bodily waste.

Ostomy pouches for receiving bodily waste from colostomy or ileostomy patients are well known and a problem with such pouches is the opening/closing mechanism of the pouch. Such a mechanism must provide a good seal when the discharge opening is closed in use, to prevent leakage of the contents of the bag, while also ensuring an easy and efficient way of opening the discharge opening of the bag for disposal of the contents.

It is known, for example in WO 03/065944 Al, to provide ostomy bags with a neck portion which includes a discharge opening, the neck portion being closed by folding the neck portion upwardly and opened by unfolding the neck downwardly. The neck portion is made from, for example, a polymeric film.

WO 03/065944 Al also discusses transversely extending bias members formed of stiff but flexible material on each side wall of the neck portion. The discharge opening is opened by applying inwardly-directed finger pressure to the opposite ends of the bias members to cause them to bow outwardly away from each other.

The present applicant's have found several disadvantages with this, and other prior art mechanisms. Firstly, when the neck portion is closed by folding, the first fold (folding the bias member upwardly against the neck material) does not provide a tight seal as the fold provided by the neck material is not particularly sharp. As a result, the contents of the ostomy bag can often leak into and through the folds in the neck portion when the bag is closed.

The present invention sets out to provide an ostomy bag with an improved opening/closing mechanism that overcomes or at least alleviates the problems described above.

In one aspect, the invention provides a drainable pouch for inter alia, an ostomy bag, having first and second sidewalls forming a cavity therebetween, the side walls defining a foldable neck portion terminating in a discharge opening for draining contents of the pouch from the cavity, the discharge opening being closed and opened by folding and unfolding the neck portion respectively, the first side wall of the neck portion having a first transversely-extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the discharge opening and a second transversely-extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the first flexible member.

Preferably, during folding of the neck portion in use, the first and second members are initially folded with respect to each other such that the first and second members are located either side of the fold.

Preferably, the first and second members are of equal length.

In a first embodiment the second side wall of the neck portion has a tab attached thereto.

Preferably at least part of the tab is attached in conjunction with the second side wall of the neck portion. Preferably at least part of the tab extends outwardly from the second side wall at a point substantially equidistant from the ends of the neck portion.

Preferably, the discharge opening is openable by outwardly directed pressure applied to the tab of the neck portion.

In a second embodiment, the second side wall of the neck portion has a third transversely-extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the discharge opening.

Preferably the first and second members are of greater length than the third member.

Preferably, the three members are biased flat such that the first and second members lie parallel against each other when the discharge opening is closed in use, the discharge opening being openable by the application of inwardly directed pressure to opposite ends of the first and second members causing the members to bow away from each other.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which :-

Figure 1 is a plan view showing one side of an ostomy pouch constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view showing the other side of the ostomy pouch of Figure 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 3 is an end view of the ostomy pouch of Figures 1 and 2 showing the discharge opening in a fully opened condition caused by outwardly directed pressure applied to a tab of the neck portion; and Figure 4 is a plan view showing the other side of the ostomy pouch of Figure 1 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 5 is an end view of the ostomy pouch of Figures 1 and 3 showing the discharge opening in a fully opened condition caused by the application of inwardly directed pressure to opposite ends of first and third members of the neck portion in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, a drainable ostomy pouch 10 has two generally parallel side walls 12, 14 of polymeric film or similar material suitable for an ostomy pouch or the like. The side walls 12, 14 are joined along their edges to provide a cavity 16 therebetween (best seen Figures 3 and 5) in which bodily waste can be contained. Part of the side walls 12, 14 define a neck portion 18 which terminates in a discharge opening 20 (also best seen in Figures 3 and 5) to allow drainage of the contents of the pouch 10 when the discharge opening 20 is in its open condition.

Figure 1 shows a first side wall 12 of the ostomy pouch 10. On this wall 12, a first transversely-extending elongate strip 26 is located at the end of the neck portion 18 of the pouch 10. The strip 26 is flat when the discharge opening 20 is in its closed condition. The strip 26 is made of a stiff but resiliently flexible plastics material.

The first strip 26 extends across the entire lateral length of the neck portion 18 between the side edges 28, 30 of the neck portion 18.

A second transversely-extending elongate strip 32 is located adjacent and parallel to the first strip 26. The second strip 32 is of the same material as the first strip 26 and is flat when the discharge opening 20 is in its closed condition. Like the first strip 26, the second strip 32 extends across the entire lateral length of the neck portion 18 between the side edges 28, 30 of the neck portion 18.

A plate 22 of a skin friendly adhesive barrier material is attached to the side wall 12. The plate 22 serves to attach the pouch 10 to the skin surface of a wearer of the ostomy pouch 10 in a manner well known in the art. Both the side wall 12 and the plate 22 have apertures 24 for receiving a stoma, in a manner which is also well known in the art.

Figure 2 shows a second side wall 14 of the ostomy pouch. A retaining strip 38 is provided on the side wall 14 at the base of the neck portion 18. The retaining strip 38 is designed to engage with a complimentary retaining strip 40 located on the other side wall 12 of the pouch (shown in Figure 1). The two retaining strips 38, 40 may, for example, be complimentary halves of a strip of VELCRO™ or the like. The way in which the strips 38, 40 engage each will be described later.

Figure 2 also shows a tab 42 on the second side wall 14 of the ostomy pouch. The tab 42 extends outwardly from the side wall 14 at a point generally equidistant from the ends of the neck portion 18. The tab 42 is made from a non-stiff material such as polymeric film. A first half of the tab 42a is attached to the sidewall and lies flat next to the first strip 26 when the discharge opening 20 is in its closed condition. This first half of the tab 42a is not resilient and simply acts to secure the second half of the tab 42b to the neck portion 18.

The initial folding of the neck portion 18 involves folding the first strip 26 and the tab 42 upwards against the second strip 32. In this way, the first and second strips 26, 32 lie against each other either side of the fold (with the tab 42 inside the fold). The fact that the fold has a strip 26, 32 either side of the fold ensures a sharp fold through which the contents cannot pass thus totally sealing the opening and preventing leakage. To close the neck, the rest of the neck portion 18 is continually folded upwardly until the first and second retaining strips 38, 40 on either side wall 12, 14 engage and attach to one another to retain the neck portion 18 in a folded position.

When the neck portion 18 is unfolded and the strips 26, 32 lie flat, the discharge opening 20 still needs to be opened fully before the contents of the pouch 10 can be drained. The discharge opening 20 is fully opened by applying outwardly directed pressure (away from the plane of the transversely extending strip) to the tab 42b of the neck portion. This can be seen clearly in Figure 3. The applied pressure will cause the side walls of the neck portion 12, 14 to be pulled apart, thereby allowing drainage of the contents of the pouch 10.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the second side wall 14 of the ostomy pouch 10 wherein a third transversely-extending elongate strip 34 is located at the end of the neck portion 18 of the pouch 10. The third strip 34 is of the same material as the first and second strips 26, 32. The strip 34 is flat when the discharge opening 20 is in its closed condition. The strip 34 does not extend across the entire lateral length of the neck portion 18 such that gaps 36 are provided between the ends of the strip 26 and the side edges 30, 32 of the neck portion 18.

When the discharge opening 20 is closed, all the strips 26, 32, 34 lie flat. The first and third strips 26, 34 flat against each other with the sidewalls 12, 14 of the neck portion 18 of the pouch 10 sandwiched there between. The second strip 32 lies flat against the two side walls 12, 14 of the neck portion 18 of the pouch 10 directly adjacent and above the first strip 26. In this state, the neck portion 18 can be folded upwardly to prevent any leakage of the contents of the pouch 10 through the neck 18 and out of the discharge opening 20.

The initial folding of the neck portion 18 involves folding the first and third strips 26, 34 upwards against the second strip 32. As described with respect to the first embodiment, the first and second strips 26, 32 lie against each other either side of the fold (with the third strip 34 inside the fold). The fact that the fold has a strip 26, 32 either side of the fold ensures a sharp fold through which the contents cannot pass thus totally sealing the opening and preventing leakage. The rest of the neck portion 18 is continually folded upwardly until the first and second retaining strips 38, 40 on either side wall 12, 14 engage and attach to one another to retain the neck portion 18 in a folded position.

The discharge opening 20 cannot be opened, and the contents drained from the pouch until the neck portion 18 is unfolded downwardly and the discharge opening 20 is opened in the manner hereinafter described.

Again, when the neck portion 18 is unfolded and the strips 26, 32, 34 lie flat, the discharge opening 20 still needs to be opened fully before the contents of the pouch 10 can be drained. The discharge opening 20 is fully opened by applying inward finger pressure to ends of the first and third strips 26, 34 causing the strips to bow away from each other. This can be seen clearly in Figure 5. The fact that the length of the third strip 34 is less than that of the first strip 26 ensures that inward pressure will cause the strips 26, 34 to bow in different directions rather than possibly causing the strips 26, 34 to bow in the same direction and simply bend together without opening the discharge opening 20. Consequently, the discharge opening 20 can be opened easily and efficiently using the fingers of one hand without the need to direct the bowing of the strips 26, 34 with the other hand.

Bowing of the strips 26, 34 causes the side walls 12, 14 of the neck portion 18 to open (causing bowing of the second strip 32 in the same direction as the first strip 26) thereby allowing drainage of the contents of the pouch 10. The second embodiment of the present invention offers improved ease of opening over ostomy bags with two transversely extending bias members of equal length. With such bags, it is not at all easy to bow the bias members away from each other using simple inward finger pressure to the ends of the bias members. It has been found that the bias members are just as likely to bow together in a common direction, thus not providing an opening between the two bias members.

The above described embodiments have been given by way of example only, and the skilled reader will naturally appreciate that many variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drainable pouch for inter alia, an ostomy bag, having first and second side walls forming a cavity therebetween, the side walls defining a foldable neck portion terminating in a discharge opening for draining contents of the pouch from the cavity, the discharge opening being closed and opened by folding and unfolding the neck portion respectively, the first side wall of the neck portion having a first transversely-extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the discharge opening and a second transversely-extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the first flexible member.

2. A drainable pouch according to claim 1, wherein, during folding of the neck portion in use, the first and second members are initially folded with respect to each other such that the first and second members are located either side of the fold.

3. A drainable pouch according to claim 1 to claim 2, the first and second members are of equal length.

4. A drainable pouch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second side wall of the neck portion has a tab attached thereto.

5. A drainable pouch according to claim 4, wherein at least part of the tab is attached in conjunction with the second side wall of the neck portion.

6. A drainable pouch according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein at least part of the tab extends outwardly from the second side wall at a point substantially equidistant from the ends of the neck portion.

7. A drainable pouch according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the discharge opening is openable by outwardly directed pressure applied to the tab of the neck portion.

8. A drainable pouch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second side wall of the neck portion has a third transversely- extending resiliently flexible member adjacent the discharge opening.

9. A drainable pouch according to claim 8, wherein the first and second members are of greater length than the third member.

10. A drainable pouch according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the three members are biased flat such that the first and second members lie parallel against each other when the discharge opening is closed in use, the discharge opening being openable by the application of inwardly directed pressure to opposite ends of the first and second members causing the members to bow away from each other.

11. A drainable pouch substantially as hereinbefore described and referred to in the accompanying Figures.