US3883991A

US3883991A - Passage for patients

Info

Publication number: US3883991A
Application number: US421610A
Authority: US
Inventors: Terje Adelhed
Original assignee: Siemens AG
Current assignee: Siemens AG
Priority date: 1972-12-04
Filing date: 1973-12-04
Publication date: 1975-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 1992-05-20
Also published as: DE2259347A1; IT1001955B; GB1429208A; SE393023B; DE2259347B2

Abstract

Means providing a patients'' passage between a sterile room and a non-sterile room with a wall separating the two rooms are characterized by a substantially horizontal table-like plate adapted to the width of the passage for moving preferably lying patients from one room to the other. The edges of the plate on both sides of the wall are adapted to the level of the bearing surface of the patient.

Description

United States Patent 1 Adelhed 1 1 PASSAGE FOR PATIENTS [75] Inventor: Terje Adelhed, Jakobsberg, Sweden [73] Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Munich,

Germany 22 Filed: Dec.4, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 421,610

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 4, 1972 Germany 2259347 [52] US. Cl 49/70; 5/81 R; 128/1 R [51] Int. Cl E06b 7/00 [58] Field of Search 128/1 R, 1 B; 312/1, 3; 49/70; 52/36, 32, 33, 29; 108/1, 7, 36, 50,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,830,331 4/1958 Oakes 49/70 [451 May 20, 1975 3,593,351 7/1971 Dove 5/81 R 3,678,921 7/1972 Brendgard et a1. 128/1 R 3,690,608 9/1972 Poizner 108/7 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,541,341 9/1969 Germany 5/81 R Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Richards & Geier [57] ABSTRACT Means providing a patients passage between a sterile room and a non-sterile room with a wall separating the two rooms are characterized by a substantially horizontal table-like plate adapted to the width of the passage for moving preferably lying patients from one room to the other. The edges of the plate on both sides of the wall are adapted to the level of the bearing surface of the patient.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures RHENTEU W2 01975 SHEET 1 BF 2 PASSAGE FOR PATIENTS This invention relates to means providing a patients passage in a wall separating a sterile room from a nonsterile room.

There is a usual procedure in hospitals to remove the supporting plate of the operational table and to move it upon a car frame to a so-called preparing room, so that a patient who is being transported upon a bed or a movable carrier can be shifted from bed to bed. The narcosis preparation mostly takes place in this preparing room. Thereafter, the supporting plate of the operational table with the patient is moved upon the car frame into the operational room and is there placed again upon the base of the operational table. This manner of work was found unsatisfactory, since it moves germs into the space of the sterile operational room.

In order to prevent the passage of germs by the car frames, it is known to provide a breakthrough in a wall separating the section of the sterile operational room from the non-sterile space and to provide in this breakthrough a supporting arm swingable in a horizontal plane from one room to the other and carrying holding means for grasping the supporting plate. According to this construction, the car frames for the supporting plate of the operational table remain in the sterile or in the non-sterile space. The drawback of this construction is that the supporting plate of the operational table, as before, must be moved into the non-sterile space, so that it loses its sterility and can carry germs from the non-sterile space into the sterile space.

An object of the present invention is to provide simple and patient-saving means for moving the patients into the sterile operational room while preventing the passage of the largest possible amount of germs into the operational room.

In accomplishing the objectives of the present invention, a substantially horizontal table-like plate is provided, adapted to the width of the breakthrough and used for transporting preferably lying patients from one room to the other one. The edges of the plate on both sides of the wall are adapted to the level of the bearing surface of the patients.

With this device, for example, a patient being transported upon a movable lying carrier can be shifted or pulled over the table-like plate adapted to the level of the carrier directly upon a supporting plate of an operational table prepared upon a car frame and located upon one other side of the passage. Due to this arrangement, the operational table, with its supporting frame and its car frame, remains within the range of the sterile operational room, while all the transporting and supporting means for the patient used in the non-sterile space remains in the non-sterile space. Thus, the transporting and supporting means for the patient cannot transport any more germs into the operational room. In this case, only the patient is moved into the sterile range of the operational room, so that only the surface of the supporting plate upon which the patient lies can be made non-sterile by the patient himself. All other parts of the supporting plate of the operational table, as well as its car frame, which must be grasped and shifted for the further transportation of the patient and his proper operational positioning, remain sterile. Thus, the moving of germs is prevented to a very great extent.

According to a further development of the present invention, the transmission of germs into the range of the sterile operational room is still further reduced by the use of a wall part constructed as a closure member, adapted to the width of the passage and supported so as to be shiftable vertically. In that case, when the passage is not used, the operational room can be closed relatively to the non-sterile preparing room by the corresponding shifting of the wall part.

In accordance with a further very important development of the present invention, the table-like plate can be fixed upon the upper edge of the movable wall part. In that case, when a patient is moved to the operational room, it is merely necessary to move his bed to the closed passage, then lower the wall part with the tablelike plate to the supporting plane of the patient, and then pull the patient over the table-like plate upon the supporting plate of the operational table readily located on the other side of the passage upon its car frame.

According to a still further advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the movement of patients from a nonsterile room to a sterile room and back again is facilitated when the edges of the tablelike plate extend on both sides of the wall, have longitudinal thicknesses of only a few millimeters and are bent downwardly. Due to this construction, the table-like plate does not have to be lowered any more between the supporting means for the patient upon the sterile and non-sterile sides, but can be lowered with its outstanding bent edge directly upon the bed of the patient or the supporting plate of the operating table. When the patient is shifted, the bent edges of the table-like plate hold firmly his bed as well as the supporting plate of the operational table. The edges, due to their small thickness and their bending, cannot form any hanging holder for the patient.

A further particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention is provided when the table-like plate is arranged along its extending edges so as to be tiltable. Then the table-like plate can lie in its lowered position with its two longitudinal edges upon patients supporting plates of different heights. Then it is not necessary to have a special adjustment of the supporting height of the means transporting the patients.

According to a further advantageous development of the present invention, a second wall part can be arranged over the first wall part so as to be movable vertically relatively thereto. This makes it possible to select at will the height of the passage opening. This cannot be attained with the first wall part alone, which must be lowered for the taking over of a patient to his bearing plane.

Yet another preferable embodiment of the present invention provides a particularly convenient handling of the passage by making the second wall element optically transparent. Then the operator can see quickly and prior to the opening of the passage whether the supporting plate of the operating table or the bed of the patient are ready upon the other side of the passage. Furthermore, such a large optically transparent window is of advantage also during an operation since it provides continuous optical contact between persons in the sterile operational room and the preparatory room.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings showing, by way of example only, preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a patients passage with two wall parts movable independently from each other.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a patients passage with a single movable wall part.

FIG. 1 shows in sections a wall 4 separating a sterile space 1 from a non-sterile space 2 and provided with a patients passage 3. This wall consists of two shells extending above and below the patients passage which has a width of about 2 meters. Thus the wall has hollow spaces 5 and 6 above and below the passage. A wall part 8 is located in the upper space 5 and a wall part 7 is located in the lower space 6. The wall parts 7 and 8 are movable in height between sealing lips 9 to 16. The lower wall part 7 is movable vertically by a spindle 18 driven by a motor 17. The upper wall part 8 hangs upon ropes 19, one of which is shown in the drawing. The ropes are wound upon drums 21 (only one shown) which are drawn by a further motor 20. Upon the upper edge of the lower part 7 is fixed a table-like plate 22 which extends over the entire width of the passage 3 and on both sides of the wall 4. This table-like plate consists of a plate of non-rusting steel of only a few millimeters thickness and has longitudinal edges 23 and 24 which are both bent downwardly. The upper wall part 8 consists of a frame 25 carrying a glass disc 26. The drawing shows a patient 28 lying upon a movable carrier 27 which has been moved to the passage 3. In the sterile room 1 is located a supporting plate 30 mounted upon a car frame 29 and constituting a part of an operating table. The lower wall part 7 is lowered to such an extent that the table-like plate 22 lies with its downwardly bent edges upon the mattress 31 of the movable patient carrier 27 as well as upon the lying surface 32 of the supporting plate 30 of the operating table. In order to balance the different levels of the mattress 31 of the patient carrier 27 or of the patients bed on the one hand and the bearing plate 30 of the operational table located on the other side of the passage on the other hand, the table-like plate is fixed by a guide piece 33, an anchor 34 and a pressure spring 35 upon the lower wall part 7.

When not in use. the passage 3 is closed by raising the lower wall part 7 and lowering the upper wall part 8 until they engage each other substantially in the middle of the passage 3. A sealing closure of the passage 3 is provided in this position by the

sealing lips

36 and 37, provided upon the lower side of the upper wall part 8 and by sealing lips 9 to 16, located between the wall parts 7 and 8 and the wall 4. Since the upper wall part 8 is transparent, a person can easily observe what is taking place in the other room.

In order to transport a patient from a non-sterile room 2 into a sterile room, the patient with his bed or movable car frame 27 is moved to the wall 4 along the closed passage 3. In the sterile operational room, the supporting plate 30 of the operational table is removed from its base (not shown) and is also placed along the other side of the passage by a movable support 29. When this is accomplished, which can be easily determined by the transparency of the upper wall part. the lower wall part is moved downwardly by actuating the motor 17 with its spindle 18, until the horizontal tablelike plate 22 of the lower wall part 7 will lie on the one hand upon the mattress 31 of the bed or patients support and upon the other side of the wall upon the supporting surface 32 of the supporting plate 30 of the operational table. Due to the provision of the downwardly bent edges 23 and 24 of the horizontal plate, the patient carrying frame 27 or bed as well as the supporting plate 30 of the operational table are firmly held in this position. Since the table-like plate 22 is fixed upon the lower wall part 7 by a spring-engaged armature 34, it can assume, in case of different levels of the supporting planes, an included position on both sides of the passage, as indicated by broken lines on the drawing.

Thereupon, the upper wall part 8 is raised by actuating the motor 20 and the cords 19 to an extent which would appear necessary for a convenient transmitting of the patient from one room to the other one. The patient 28 can be pushed or pulled for that purpose. With the exception of the patient. no non-sterile parts are moved from the non-sterile room 2 into the sterile room 1. Consequently, only the lying surface 32 of the supporting plate 30 of the operational table upon which the patient lies, as well as the surface of the horizontal plate 22, become non-sterile by the patient. All other parts of the supporting plate, the operational table and the car frame 29, which are important for further treatment within the sterile operational room, remain sterile.

After the patient has been moved into the sterile room, the lower wall part 7 can be raised by its motor and the upper part 8 lowered until the passage 7 is again closed. The moving of a newly operated patient from the operational room into the non-sterile room can take place in the corresponding manner.

FIG. 2 illustrates a different. more simple construction, wherein a passage 38 for the patient is provided in a wall 39 between a sterile space 40 and a non-sterile space 41, the wall having a single wall part 42 adjustable in height. This adjustable wall part 42 is also provided at its upper edge with a table-like plate 43 which extends over the entire width of the passage 38 in the wall 39. The table-like plate 43 extends with its two

longitudinal edges

44 and 45 which are bent downwardly into the

spaces

40 and 41 on both sides of the wall 39. In this case, in order to close the wall passage, this wall part, with its table-like plate 43, must be raised to the upper edge of the passage 38. In the lowered portion shown in FIG. 2, the table-like plate 43 is located on one side upon the edge of a mattress 46 of a patients bed 47, and on the other side, upon the edge of the lying surface 48 of a supporting plate 49 of an operational table which was moved by a car frame 50 to the wall for receiving a patient. The movement of a patient from one room to the other one takes place in the same manner as was described in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 1; merely the actuation of the upper wall part is eliminated. In this case, an air-tight connection of the sterile space sealing lips (not shown) must be provided at the upper end of the passage which, when the wall part 42 is moved upwardly, can engage the table-like plate 43.

Instead of the electromotorically driven spindle 18 shown in FIG. 1, any suitable hydraulic device can be used for the shifting of the wall parts. Furthermore, the anchor 34 shown in FIG. 1 can be connected with a switch which will interrupt the downward movement of the table-like plate 22 when its edges 23 and 24 engage an obstruction; for example. the supporting plate of the operational table, so that it is raised relatively to the wall part 7 by a predetermined maximum stretch.

I claim:

1. A passage for patients formed in a wall separating a sterile room from a non-sterile room, comprising a substantially horizontal table-like plate for transferring the patients from one room to the other one, said plate being adapted to the width of the passage and having longitudinal sides extending on both sides of the wall, the edges of said longitudinal sides being adaptable each one to the bearing surface of the patients on its side of the wall, a lower wall part constructed as a closure member adapted to the width of the passage, means supporting said lower wall part upon the wall for vertical movement and for partially closing the passage,

said first wall part.

Claims

1. A passage for patients formed in a wall separating a sterile room from a non-sterile room, comprising a substantially horizontal table-like plate for transferring the patients from one room to the other one, said plate being adapted to the width of the passage and having longitudinal sides extending on both sides of the wall, the edges of said longitudinal sides being adaptable each one to the bearing surface of the patients on its side of the wall, a lower wall part constructed as a closure member adapted to the width of the passage, means supporting said lower wall part upon the wall for vertical movement and for partially closing the passage, said table-like plate being mounted upon the top of said lower movable wall part for swinging movement relative to its edges, said edges being bent downwardly and having a thickness of a few millimeters, a second wall part situated above said first-mentioned wall part, and means supporting said secoNd wall part upon the wall for vertical movement against said first wall part for closing the passage, the second wall part being optically transparent, the means supporting said second wall part operating it independently from the means supporting said first wall part.