DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] A vacuum therapy system 10 is provided for use with a wound on a patient 14, as shown in FIGS. 1-4. System 10 comprises a vacuum bandage 16, a waste container or receptacle 18 coupled to the bandage 16, and a housing 20 coupled to the receptacle 18. Housing 20 includes a vacuum source 21 (shown in FIG. 5) for applying negative pressure to the wound to draw exudate from the wound in order to facilitate healing. Receptacle 18 is provided to collect the exudate drawn from the wound and is placed below the wound to facilitate the drainage of exudate from the wound by gravity as well as suction. Housing 20, which includes the vacuum source 21, is spaced apart from receptacle 18 in order to allow a caregiver to place the housing 20 in any convenient location while still benefiting from the gravitational effects gained by maintaining the receptacle 18 at a level below the wound.

[0025] Illustrative vacuum bandages and vacuum and irrigation systems are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/725,352 to Lockwood, et al. titled “VACUUM THERAPY AND CLEANSING DRESSING FOR WOUNDS”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/725,666 to Risk et al. titled “WOUND TREATMENT APPARATUS”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/369,113 to Henley et al. titled “WOUND TREATMENT APPARATUS”. Each of these applications are assigned to the same assignee as the present application and are specifically incorporated herein by reference.

[0026] Vacuum bandage 16 includes a cover 22 to seal about the wound. The bandage 16 operates to define a space above the wound to which negative pressure can be applied to form a vacuum. The bandage 16 further includes a port 23 in communication with the space above the wound. The port 23 is coupled to receptacle 18 by a first tube 24 of the system 10. First tube 24 includes a first end 26 coupled to the port 23 and a second end 28 coupled to the receptacle 18. System 10 further includes a second tube 30 coupled at a first end 32 to the receptacle 18 and coupled at a second end 34 to the vacuum source 21 which may be contained within housing 20.

[0027] Illustrative receptacle 18 of the vacuum therapy system 10 includes a body 40 which forms an interior cavity 42 for collecting exudate 62 (shown in FIG. 5) and fluid drawn from the wound therein. Although receptacle 18 is illustratively shown in FIG. 5, the height, width, and shape of receptacle 18 may take various forms. Body 40 includes an upper portion 44 and a lower portion 46 coupled to the upper portion 44. Upper portion 44 defines an inlet port 48 coupled to the first tube 24, and an outlet port 50 coupled to the second tube 26. In illustrative embodiments, upper portion 44 of the receptacle 18 is formed from a rigid material and the lower portion 46 of the receptacle 18 is also formed from a rigid material and is integral with the upper portion 44, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 5-7. However, it is within the scope of this disclosure to include a receptacle having a lower portion 46 made from a flexible material as well. For example, lower portion 46 may be a flexible bag removably coupled to the upper portion 44 of receptacle 18.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5, receptacle 18 further includes a hydrophobic filter 60 in communication with second tube 30 and thus the vacuum source 21. Illustratively, filter 60 is a 0.2-micron hydrophobic anti-microbial filter. Upper portion 44 of receptacle 18 further defines an air vent 64 to provide communication between interior cavity 42 of receptacle 18 and the outside atmosphere. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, hydrophobic filter 60 is positioned over air vent 64 to prevent bacteria, etc. in the surrounding atmosphere from entering receptacle 18.

[0029] As mentioned above, first end 32 of second tube 30 is coupled to outlet port 50 of receptacle 18 and second end 34 of second tube 30 is coupled to vacuum source 21. Vacuum source 21 may be contained within housing 20 or may be external to the housing 20. For example, most medical facilities have vacuum ports near where patients are treated, such as in-wall vacuum ports, for example. Each port is served by a system vacuum pump to provide negative pressure. Vacuum source 21 is also defined to include any type of mechanism for providing negative pressure such as an electrically operated or manual pump, for example. Housing 20 is configured to be a portable unit allowing a caregiver to move housing 20 to wherever the patient is located within close proximity to the wound or wounds. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1-4, the housing 20 is shown to be coupled to a mobile IV pole 70, positioned on a bedside cabinet 72, coupled to an on-bed IV pole 74, and coupled to a footboard 76 of the hospital bed 78. Each of the mobile IV pole 70, cabinet 72, in-bed IV pole 74, and footboard 76 illustrate an example of a means for supporting the housing 20 and vacuum source 21 away from receptacle 18. The housing 20 and its vacuum source 21 may be placed above, at generally the same level, or below the receptacle 18. Preferably, the receptacle 18 will be placed below the wound.

[0030] In addition to the vacuum source 21, it is also within the scope of the disclosure for housing 20 to include a controller (not shown) for controlling the amount and rate of negative pressure to be applied to the wound, for example. Housing 20 may also include an irrigation system and such other devices and components as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/725,666, referenced above and incorporated herein.

[0031] As described above, the components of system 10 (vacuum bandage 16, first tube 24, receptacle 18, second tube 30, and vacuum source 21) are coupled to each other in series. The port of vacuum bandage 16 is coupled to the receptacle 18 by first tube 24. First tube 24 is coupled to inlet port 48 of receptacle 18 and receptacle 18 is coupled to the housing 20, or more specifically, to the vacuum source 21, by second tube 30. First end 32 of second tube 30 is coupled to outlet port 50 of receptacle 18 and second end 34 of second tube 30 is coupled to vacuum source 21. By this series configuration, the vacuum source 21 is thus in fluid communication with the receptacle 18 through the second tube 3, and the space above the wound created by vacuum bandage 16 is in fluid communication with receptacle 18 through first tube 24. Therefore, the vacuum source 21 operates to create negative pressure, or a vacuum, in the space above the wound, in the first tube 24, in receptacle 18, and in second tube 30.

[0032] Illustratively, a flow sensor (not shown) may be coupled to second tube 30 between receptacle 18 and vacuum source 21 for monitoring the fluid flow from receptacle 18 to vacuum source 21. The flow sensor may then provide feedback to the controller, for example, located within housing 20. If, for example, the flow sensor detects no fluid flow, the feedback sent to the controller would signal the vacuum source 21 to turn off or cease running.

[0033] In operation, it is possible that at a period of time after negative pressure is created above the wound, system 10 may become relatively static due to a lack of fluid flow through system 10. As mentioned above, this lack of fluid flow could cause the vacuum source 21 to be turned off. However, it may still be beneficial to provide a vacuum above the wound in order to draw blood up to the surface of the wound. Air vent 64 is provided in receptacle 18 in order to maintain a small amount of fluid flow to prevent the flow sensor from detecting a static system. Once system 10 has become relatively static and there is little to no fluid flow from bandage 16 through first tube 24 and to receptacle 18, vacuum source 21 is still able to pull air through air vent 64 thus allowing the flow sensor to detect a fluid flow in order to keep the vacuum source 21 running. Once the level of exudate 62 collected within receptacle 18 reaches air vent 64 and/or outlet port 50, hydrophobic filter 60 will prevent liquid to pass therethrough and the flow sensor will sense that the flow has become static. The flow sensor will send a signal to the controller which will, in turn, tell the vacuum source 21 to turn off.

[0034] In use, receptacle 18 is positioned below the vacuum bandage 16 and the patient's wound to which the vacuum bandage 16 is attached. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, placing receptacle 18 below the wound facilitates the drainage of exudate from the wound through gravity. Therefore, exudate is drawn from the wound through the use of a negative pressure supplied by vacuum source 21 and through the use of gravity. Receptacle 18 is also spaced apart from vacuum source 21 and/or the housing 20, as shown in FIGS. 1-4. As stated above, vacuum source 21 is often provided within housing 20. Therefore, spacing receptacle 18 apart from the vacuum source 21 allows the housing 20 to be placed at any desired location or level while still maintaining use of gravity for the collection of exudate within receptacle 18.

[0035] In illustrative embodiments, receptacle 18 includes a mounting portion 80 coupled to the body 40, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Mounting portion 80 is provided to allow a caregiver to mount the receptacle 18 to hospital bed 78 below the patient 14 and thus below the wound in order to facilitate the drainage of the exudate from the wound by gravity. Hospital beds 78 often to include a hook (not shown) or a type of mount or support coupled to a bed frame 82 of the bed 78. Urine bags, for example, are often hung by the caregiver from these hooks to facilitate drainage through the use of gravity alone.

[0036] Mounting portion 80 of receptacle 18, as shown in FIG. 6, is in the shape of a handle to define an aperture 84 for receiving the hook or mount coupled to bed frame 82. Mounting portion 80 is coupled to a top wall 86 of body 40 to cooperate with body 40 and form aperture 84. Mounting portion 80 includes a first generally vertical member 88 coupled to top wall 86, a second generally vertical member 90 coupled to top wall 86, and a generally horizontal member 92 spaced-apart from top wall 86 and coupled to and positioned to extend between each of the first and second generally vertical members 88, 90.

[0037] Another illustrative mounting portion 180 is shown in FIG. 7. Alternate mounting portion 180 is hook-shaped and includes a single curved member coupled to the top wall 86 of the receptacle 18 to define a hook-receiving space 182 for receiving a hook or mount of the bed frame 82. Although mounting portion 80 and alternate mounting portion 180 are disclosed and described herein, it is within the scope of this disclosure to include a receptacle having a mounting portion adapted to cooperate with the bed frame of the hospital bed in order to support the receptacle below the wound of the patient being treated.

[0038] Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention.