BLEEDING TRACKING PAD
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bleeding tracking pad, which detects the amount of bleeding in the mother who is followed-up for bleeding in the prenatal, delivery, and the postpartum period, or in cases such as an operation or injury that requires measuring the amount of bleeding, and warns the authorized health personnel when the bleeding level exceeds the threshold value to be determined.
State of the Art
More than half of maternal mortality occur within 24 hours after childbirth. Postpartum Bleeding (PPB) is the most important cause of maternal death in the postpartum period. Proper measurement of blood loss and early diagnosis of postpartum bleeding play an important role in preventing maternal deaths due to hemorrhage. Correct blood loss estimation can significantly change the timing of interventions so as to control bleeding. Overestimating bleeding can lead to unnecessary use of laboratory tests, drugs or blood products. On the contrary, underestimation can lead to delays in evaluation and treatment.
Furthermore, bleeding is one of the most important causes of death in cases such as injuries that disrupt body integrity. Accurate estimation of blood loss before vital functions change, careful monitoring of vital functionals, early diagnosis of coagulation disorders and timely initiation of treatment regarding the cause are required so as to prevent deaths due to bleeding after childbirth or injury.
The most commonly used method of assessing blood loss is the visual estimation method, in which the amount of blood is estimated by considering the blood loss in the state of the art. The amount of blood accumulated in the mattress protector, adult diaper or pad placed under the hip of the woman is estimated in the postpartum period. This method gives false results, especially in large amounts of bleeding.
Another available application is the usage of a material such as a pad, slider, calibrated collection bag, etc., placed under the hip of the mother. Accumulated blood can be weighed by gravimetric methods or evaluated visually from calibrated bags. Accumulation and weighing of materials such as pad, adult diaper etc. creates problems and causes limited use of the method in the current application.
Another existing application is known as Saphe Mat, and each square is designed to absorb 50 ml of blood, consisting of a plastic layer at the bottom that prevents the passage of liquid, a super absorbent polymer layer in the middle, and a fabric layer on the top. The amount of bleeding in the blood-filled squares is estimated. However, before one square is completely filled with liquid, liquid can pass into the other square, and the amount of blood loss can be estimated incorrectly. There is no development in informing health personnel in case of critical blood loss if blood loss reaches a critical level again in this application.
As a result of the researches made on the subject, document No WO2014066547 is encountered. The application presents a system for collecting and quantifying blood lost through the vagina during a surgical procedure and warning healthcare personnel regarding post-critical levels. In the said application, the device that detects blood loss is placed in the vaginal canal and is not suitable for use as it may disturb the patient or the mother.
As a result of the research made on the subject, a similar application is the application numbered US 2015/0087935. The application is a system created to detect and report the presence of bleeding that may occur during menstruation or in case of deterioration of body integrity; it does not have a feature to detect the amount of bleeding.
As a result due to the abovementioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, a development is required to be made in the relevant technical field.
Aim of the Invention
The invention aims to solve the abovementioned disadvantages by being inspired from the current conditions.
The main aim of the invention is to accurately determine the amount of bleeding within hygienic conditions, without the need to accumulate materials such as pads and diapers for weighing and to prevent complications and deaths that may occur due to blood loss. Another aim of the invention is to prevent complications and deaths that may occur with early intervention by warning healthcare personnel with the warning system in case of acute bleeding that may occur.
Another aim of the invention is to reduce the cost of patient treatment and the loss of labor by reducing the interventions such as examination, blood transfusion and drug administration that may occur as a result of overestimating the amount of bleeding.
In order to fulfill the above-described purposes, the present invention is bleeding tracking pad that contains at least one lower layer, detects the amount of bleeding of the patient and warns the authorized health personnel when the bleeding level exceeds the determined threshold value, comprising of the following;
• at least one porous outer layer and at least one inner layer, which are intertwined, trapping blood,
• at least one barrier layer that is placed between circular absorber sections, prevents the passage of blood to the outer section without filling the inner section,
• at least one sensor that detects the amount of bleeding and transmits a warning signal when the bleeding level exceeds the specified threshold critical limit
The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.
Figures Clarifying the Invention
Figure 1, is a sectional view of the inventive bleeding tracking pad.
Description of the Part References
1. Porous outer layer
2. Inner layer
3. Barrier layer 4. Sensor
5. Lower layer
Detailed Description of the Invention
In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the inventive bleeding tracking pad are described by means of examples only for clarifying the subject matter.
As seen in Figure 1 , bleeding tracking pad comprises the following; at least one porous outer layer (1) and at least one inner layer (2) positioned on at least one lower layer (5), intertwined, trapping a certain amount of blood, at least one barrier layer (3) separating the circular absorber sections composed of the porous outer layer (1) and the inner layer (2), at least one sensor (4).
Circular absorber sections are formed from a porous outer layer (1) and inner layers (2) that traps blood. Each of the sections is designed to trap a certain amount of blood. Therefore, an accurate bleeding estimation is made when the porous outer layer (1 ) and the inner layer (2), whose blood-holding capacity is known before is considered. When each circle exceeds its blood holding capacity starting from the innermost circle, the blood moves to the next circle. The sections can be circular, or they can be nested geometric shapes, side-by-side geometric shapes, gradient shapes.
A barrier layer (3) made of hydrophobic material is placed between the sections, which prevents the passage of blood to the outer section without filling the inner section. Blood loss estimation of the patient is made accurately by considering the occupancy status of the circular sections with known blood-holding capacity with the help of the barrier layer (3).
The porous outer layer (1) has a structure on its upper surface that will transmit the liquid to the inner layer (2). The inner layer (2), which is under the porous outer layer (1), is made of super absorbent polymer and cellulosic material.
The sensor (4) is placed at the points that coincide with the critical threshold value points determined according to the purpose of use and detects the amount of bleeding. For example, the location of the sensor (4) for the postpartum period can be 500 cc, which is the critical limit, or 200 cc for the wound site, and the sensor (4) is placed at the points corresponding to these levels. The electrical signal received from the sensor (4) is processed by an electronic circuit and continuously displays the status information with sound and light. When the blood loss information read on the sensor (4) reaches a critical level, a warning is sent to the health personnel's mobile phone, to the hospital automation system or to the point where notification is requested, by giving light and audible warnings. Therefore, health professionals are provided with information about the amount of bleeding.
Fast, practical and accurate blood loss estimation is made by using both visual estimation method and measurement data by means of the circular absorber sections and sensors (4), thus patient/mother complication and death rates are prevented with early diagnosis and treatment.
The lower layer (5) is made of a nylon material that prevents the passage of liquid.
Its length and width can vary according to the purpose of use, so it can be produced in different sizes.