CUTTING DEVICE FOR CUTTING OPENINGS IN OSTOMY POUCHES

The present invention relates to a cutting device for cutting a wider opening in an ostomy wafer, which device comprises a cutting table, on which the wafer provided with an opening is placed.

The present invention also relates to a method wherein a wider opening is cut in an ostomy wafer provided with an opening while the wafer lies on a cutting table.

Such a cutting device and method are known from WO- 00/10493. From said document there is known a cutting device which cuts an opening in a flat outer side of an ostomy wafer placed on the housing of the device, using a radially adjustable knife. An internally co-rotating base part functioning as a cutting table extends through the opening in the wafer, with the rotating knife, which cuts through the material from outside, being supported on said base part.

A drawback of the known device and method is the complexity both of the device and of the manipulations to be carried out with the device and the ostomy pouch for cutting a larger diameter opening in the collar of the pouch .

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved cutting device and method for cutting a wider opening in the collar or wafer of the ostomy pouch.

In order to accomplish that object, the cutting

device according to the invention is characterised in that the device further comprises a knife to be inserted through the opening, being rotatable and axially movable therein.

Accordingly, the method according to the invention is characterised in that a knife inserted through the opening, being rotatable and axially movable therein, holds the wafer down on the table while cutting.

The advantage of the device and method according to the invention is that the device is arranged for having the knife cut the wider opening whilst pressing the wafer onto the cutting table in axial direction. As a result, there is no longer a need for an internal cutting table on which the knife is supported, let alone an internally co-rotating cutting table. Furthermore, the device is less complicated and the operations required for cutting the wafer material are simpler and can be carried out without complex instructions being needed.

One embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that the device is provided with centring means for centring the wafer round the opening . The advantage of the use of centring means is that said centring means will automatically keep the wafer placed thereon centred for cutting out a correctly positioned, concentric, wider opening in various possible variants .

Another embodiment of the device according to the invention, which is easy to operate manually, is

characterised in that the device comprises a telescoping assembly connected to the knife, which may be under spring pressure, thus rendering the knife axially or vertically adjustable.

The device is preferably characterised in that it comprises an arm that can be detached therefrom, on which arm the knife is mounted.

The provision of arms of varying width makes it possible to cut wider openings of varying diameter.

Another embodiment is advantageously characterised in that the cutting table of the device is detachable to enable easy cleaning thereof, for example in a dishwasher.

A preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterised in that the wafer lies on the cutting table with the side that is to face the stoma. This side of the wafer, which is to be attached to the body, thus remains clean, not making any previous contact with the environment and not causing any skin irritation, therefore, because impurities cannot deposit thereon before the wafer is attached to the skin. Furthermore, no serrations or sharp, frayed or uneven cutting edges will be formed on the side in question, especially not if the wafer material is not entirely cut through.

Another preferred embodiment is characterised in that the ostomy wafer forms part of an ostomy pouch. In this way, the knife will be positioned inside the pouch during the cutting operation, with cutting taking place from the inside to the outside.

Another embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterised in that the side that is to face the stoma is provided with an adhesive strip. The protective adhesive strip can remain in place until the ostomy pouch is attached to the skin, so that no residual material produced during cutting will remain behind on the wafer material protected by the adhesive strip. If the wafer material is moreover not entirely cut through, as mentioned above, the cut-out ring of wafer material remains stuck to the adhesive strip upon removal thereof, so that it can subsequently be easily removed from the cut-out opening and be disposed of.

The cutting device and method according to the present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the figures below, in which corresponding parts are indicated by the same numerals. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a cutting device according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows the knife of the cutting device of figure 1, which, inserted through an opening in an ostomy pouch, cuts through the ostomy wafer on the inside; and

Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E show successive steps of the method for cutting an opening in an ostomy pouch by means of the device of figure 1.

Figure 1 essentially shows a cross-sectional view of a cutting device 1, by means of which a wider opening can be cut in a material, for example an ostomy pouch collar or wafer 2. The wafer 2 is usually made of an elastic material containing plastics, rubber or a silicone substance. The

device 1 comprises a cutting table 3, on which the wafer 2 provided with an opening 4 is placed. The wafer 2 lies on the cutting table 3 with the side that is to face the skin surrounding the stoma, so that said side will remain unaffected by dust, dirt or cutting edges. A pouch Z may be attached to the wafer 2 and form part thereof, so that a one-part ostomy pouch as partially shown in figure 2 is formed, but this is not necessary. In a two-part version, only the wafer 2 is cut out, and said wafer is subsequently attached, for example affixed or snapped, to an opening in the pouch Z. In the illustrated embodiment, the device comprises centring means, in this case in the form of one or more deepened parts or recesses 5, surrounded by circumferential edges 6 within which the wafer 2 is retained. Centring means 5 may be provided in the wafer, for example in the form of recesses or elevated parts, which are to fit in corresponding elevated parts or recesses provided on in the table 3.

The device 1 further comprises a knife 7 which is to be inserted through the opening 4 before the wafer is placed on the cutting table 3 and which is rotatably and axially movable therein. The device 1 comprises a telescoping assembly 8-1, 8-2 connected to the knife 7. The assembly, to be indicated by numeral 8 hereinafter for the sake of brevity, which is preferably made of plastic material, is made up of two parts 8-1 and 8-2, which can be rotatably and axially moved relative to each other, which can preferably be effected manually in a simple manner. The part 8-1 may be in one piece with the cutting table 3 or be detachable therefrom, and the part 8-2 houses a shaft 9, on the end of which the knife 7 is detachably mounted. It is furthermore advantageously possible to use the shaft 9 -

possibly as well - as the aforesaid centring means 5 for the wafer 2.

Disposed between said parts is a spring 10, so that the knife 7 will move out of an opening in the cutting table 3 and have a certain bias in the direction of the cutting table 3 when the parts 8 are pressed together with some force. The device 1 further comprises an arm 11 which can be detached from the end of the shaft 9, to which arm the knife 7 is attached. The knife 7 may be configured as a fixed knife, or, as illustrated, as a wheel or rotary knife 7. For safety reasons, the knife 7 is exchangeable together with the bent arm 11.

Figure 2 shows the knife 7 of the cutting device 1, which, inserted through the opening 4 in the one-part ostomy pouch Z (partially shown) in this figure, cuts through the wafer 2 on the inner side so as to cut a new, concentric, wider opening in the wafer 2. The side of the wafer 2 that is to face the stoma, which lies on the cutting table 3 (not shown in figure 2) , is provided with an adhesive strip 12, which covers the side in question until the moment of actual use of the pouch Z.

Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E show successive steps of the method for cutting the widened opening in the ostomy pouch Z by means of the device 1. In the case of figure 3A, the two parts 8-1 and 8-2 have been telescoped together - against spring pressure - and this situation is retained by means of a bayonet catch comprising an interlocking groove- cam assembly 13-1, 13-2, which is locked in position by turning. As a result, the shaft 9 and the arm 11 mounted thereon project therefrom, and the knife can be inserted through the opening 4, in this case in the pouch Z (see figure 3B) , whereupon the wafer 2 of the pouch Z is locked

in position in the centring means 5 on the cutting table 3. Upon being turned, the parts 8-1 and 8-2 are partially released and the parts are urged apart by the spring 10, with the cam 13-2 moving through the groove 13-1 (see figure 3C) . In figure 3D, the parts 8, which have been further released as a result of said turning and axial movement, are urged apart even further, as a result of which the knife 7, as figure 2 shows in detail, cuts a concentric, circular, widened opening in the wafer 2 upon being rotated in the opening 4. Following this, the parts 8 can be urged together again (see figure 3E) , after which the knife can be pulled through the opening. If the knife 7 is for example adjusted so that - or the spring pressure is selected so that - the knife will only cut through the wafer material and not through the adhesive strip 12, the part cut off round the opening will remain connected thereto and will not fall on the ground or into the pouch Z. The cut-off part adhering to the adhesive strip 12 will be removed simultaneously with said adhesive strip, therefore, to be subsequently disposed of.