Wound and infection care bath systems and devices
View Patent ↗Systems, devices, and methods for treating wounds and infections by immersion therapy are provided along with methods for the use thereof. The systems and devices may include a basin and a heater-blower apparatus. The systems and devices aerate, agitate, and slow the cooling of a liquid in the basin to aid the blood-flow, debridement, and medication of a wound or infection.
1. A device for treating wounds and skin infections and for promoting hygiene, comprising:
a heater-blower apparatus having a housing comprising an impeller-assembly and a heating-element, wherein the impeller-assembly comprises an intake pipe and an output pipe coupled thereto and is configured to move air into the intake pipe, across the heating-element, and out of the output pipe, wherein the heating-element is configured to heat air that moves across the heating-element;
a basin having a floor, a sidewall, a bottom surface, and an air-channel configured to receive the output pipe;
a stopper proximate the output pipe and configured to substantially stop liquid from moving out of the basin and into the heater-blower apparatus when the heater-blower apparatus is off, wherein the stopper is a rubber sphere configured to move up under the force of air-pressure when the heater-blower apparatus is on and to move down under the force of gravity when the heater-blower apparatus is off; and
at least one nozzle-strip having one or more nozzle-holes and configured to attach to the floor of the basin and to substantially cover the air-channel.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the basin has two air-channels and each air-channel has an output-pipe hole.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the floor of the basin is shaped as a horseshoe and has a left-shank area and a right-shank area; and wherein the basin has a plateau substantially between the left-shank area and the right-shank area.
4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the basin has a handle.
5. The device of claim 3 , further comprising a switch positioned on the plateau of the basin.
6. The device of claim 3 , further comprising a left nozzle-strip and a right nozzle-strip, wherein the basin has a left air-channel in the left-shank area and right air-channel in the right-shank area, and wherein the left nozzle-strip substantially covers the left air-channel and the right nozzle-strip substantially covers the right nozzle-strip.
7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the heater-blower apparatus is configured to maintain a warmth of liquid in the basin for a desired duration.
8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the heater-blower apparatus is configured to maintain a warmth of liquid in the basin of between 40 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius for a desired duration of at least 15 minutes.
9. The device of claim 6 , wherein the heater-blower apparatus is configured to create an output air-pressure at the output pipe of between 2.0 pounds per square inch gauge and 10 pounds per square inch gauge.
10. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature-indicator configured to indicate a warmth of the liquid.
11. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid-level-mark on the sidewall of the basin at a liquid-height from the floor of the basin, wherein the liquid-height corresponds to a desired depth of liquid in the basin.
12. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a bottom-cover having an intake-pipe hole, wherein the bottom-cover is attached to the basin and to substantially contain the heater-blower apparatus, and wherein the intake-pipe hole is configured to receive the intake pipe.
13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the bottom-cover attaches to the basin by a snap-fit attachment between basin-fittings on the bottom surface of the basin and cover-fittings on the bottom-cover.
14. A device for treating wounds and skin infections and for promoting hygiene, comprising:
a heater-blower apparatus for heating air and for moving air, wherein the heater-blower apparatus has a heater-blower housing comprising a heating-element and an impeller-assembly, the impeller-assembly having an intake pipe and an output pipe coupled thereto, wherein the impeller-assembly is configured to move air into the intake pipe, across the heating-element, and out of the output pipe, wherein the heating-element is configured to heat air that moves across the heating-element;
a switch coupled to the heater-blower apparatus and configured to turn the heater-blower apparatus on and off;
a basin for holding a liquid, the basin comprising a floor, a sidewall, a bottom surface, and at least one air-channel, wherein the air-channel is a recess in the floor and has an output-pipe hole coupled to the output pipe;
a stopper proximate the output pipe and configured to substantially stop liquid from moving out of the basin and into the heater-blower apparatus when the heater-blower apparatus is off, wherein the stopper is a rubber sphere configured to move up under the force of air-pressure when the heater-blower apparatus is on and to move down under the force of gravity when the heater-blower apparatus is off;
at least one nozzle-strip having one or more nozzle-holes and that is coupled to the floor of the basin and substantially covers the at least one air-channel; and
a bottom-cover having an intake-pipe hole, wherein the bottom-cover is coupled to the basin and substantially contains the heater-blower apparatus, and wherein the intake-pipe hole is coupled to the intake pipe.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the floor of the basin is shaped as a horseshoe and has a left-shank area and a right-shank area; and wherein the basin has a plateau substantially between the left-shank area and the right-shank area.
16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the at least one nozzle-strip comprises a left nozzle-strip and a right nozzle-strip; wherein the basin has a left air-channel in the left-shank area and having a left output-pipe hole; wherein the basin has a right air-channel in the right-shank area and having a right output-pipe hole; wherein the left nozzle-strip substantially covers the left air-channel and the right nozzle-strip substantially covers the right nozzle-strip; and
wherein the stopper comprises a left stopper proximate the left output-pipe hole and a right stopper proximate the right output-pipe hole.
17. The device of claim 16 , configured to maintain a warmth of liquid in the basin of between 40 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius for a desired duration of at least 15 minutes.