HANDLING AND ASEPTIC DISPENSING OF ROLLS OF PLASTER OR GAUZE AS WELL AS TOURNIQUETS FOR THE HEALTHCARE FIELD kkkkkkk This invention pertains to an assemblable, multifunctional device, fitted to the back of a hand for refilling, handling and dispensing - even simultaneously - rolls of plaster and/or gauze as well as tourniquets in a safe way, avoiding contact with external agents.

What's more, the possibility of replacing the handle so as to adapt to any hand renders the device universal, for limitless usability.

Indeed, with this device, constant contact between the plasters/gauzes/tourniquets with the surrounding environment is prevented thanks to the possibility of utilising these products in a completely safe and hygienic manner. This is due to the products being contained within the device, for example, during blood sampling, when fitting venous catheters or when applying dressings in general.

As is well known to those who work in the field in Italy and around the world, on a daily basis nurses and healthcare professionals find themselves having to apply plasters on patients, for example, to secure bandages, to hold an intravenous needle in place, or to insert and secure a venous catheter or post- surgical bandage.

Whilst unrolling plasters or using tourniquets, the nursing technique does not follow precise specifications, with the result being an incorrect method that can affect a complex and multi professional task for which the healthcare worker is responsible, even as a result of a single misstep.

In fact, one of the most common habits of healthcare workers is to keep rolls of plaster in the pockets of their uniforms or to "prepare" a certain number of strips that - for convenience - are affixed to gowns or to surfaces closest to the area of intervention. The same goes with the use of tourniquets that can be stored in places that are not always completely sanitised.

For these reasons, despite the fact that the hygiene and sterility of the products and medical equipment utilised should be guaranteed in healthcare facilities in general, dangerous contaminations are all too often detected on products such as plasters or tourniquets . Indeed, recent studies show that infections within healthcare facilities due to improper practices are constant and even on the rise (+30% between 2015 and 2016).

Amongst healthcare practices, venous sampling is often considered simple and infection-free. That is not the case, however.

Indeed, it has been found that, with the incorrect application of hygiene regulations, dressing with plasters that are not sterile actually increases the rate of skin infections, which can also give rise to septic consequences for the patient. Furthermore, bacterial contamination also impacts the tourniquets commonly utilised in venous sampling, proving to be an additional problem arising due to a lack of compliance with the most logical asepsis regulations during certain nursing procedures.

A study conducted in Italy demonstrated that strict compliance with the procedures aimed at preventing the access of microorganisms during dressings in general and in particular, during the insertion of needles, can lead to a considerable reduction in infection rates.

To date, there are a number of systems that have focused on the simple dispensing of plasters held by supports that are not always suitable and which are never aimed at a combination of criteria that allows the operations of extracting or utilising needles in a safe and aseptic way.

In order to manage rolls of plaster, adhesive gauze and tourniquets in a more hygienic and simple way, various solutions have been developed over time, many of which have already been subject to patent rights.

Found in patent literature, for example, is Patent US7178707B1 that involves a simple multi-roll dispenser of medical bandages, affixed to a wall. Of course, not only is this device limited to the sole use of tapes, it is also inconvenient to use given that it is not transportable.

Patent US7683235B2 also describes a plaster dispenser availing of a device that is quite complex, expensive to manufacture as well as also being limited to the single and exclusive dispensing of a sole product (the classic plasters). What's more, it is not even hygienic given that it must be positioned on surfaces such as, for example, desks in an office or clinic and thus cannot be used during normal nursing control operations between patients.

Patent US2862676A again concerns an adhesive tape dispenser, simply equipped in the upper part with a sharp tooth suitable for cutting a predetermined length of dispensed tape. However, this dispenser needs to be used by being held in one hand whilst pulling the tape with the other hand then, with the thumb of the gripping hand, the operator has to raise the tooth using a lever located on the upper side of the dispenser then lower it back to the chosen cutting point. With this invention, both of the operator's hands are involved and engaged in the operation of holding and cutting the dispenser, nullifying any sterilisation of the tape when in use.

Patent US3993230A also regards an adhesive tape dispenser equipped with a dedicated ring handle that allows the dispenser to be kept transversely on the back of the fingers of the hand, with the axis of the roll of tape substantially parallel to the grip of the fingers. The dispenser can thus be used by keeping the fingers inserted in the rings placed at the base of the same. With this system, the dexterity of the hand on which the dispenser is placed is only partially maintained, given that the fingers are somewhat blocked by the rings, thus making the device uncomfortable to utilise.

Patent US5215236A, dated 1992 then subsequently adjusted and partly involved in Italian patent IT202016901479728, describes a C-shaped clamp that can be fitted on the back of an individual's hand and mounted with a regular tape dispenser. This is certainly not suited to the healthcare sector. Indeed, it is easy to understand why the item covered by the patent is not fit for medical use.

Patent US5065925A pertains to a tape-only dispenser that can be fitted to a belt, pocket, etcetera, thanks to a particular flap placed on the wall of the dispenser. The limitation of this device, also not made for medical purposes, is determined by the availability of a belt or by the thickness of the fabric of the garment being worn and its pockets, given that if the seam is too thin to hold the dispenser, the devise is rendered ineffective whilst if the seam is too thick, it risks breaking the hooking flap.

Exclusively in relation to the dispensing of tourniquets do we find the Chinese Patent CN207996237, which concerns a disc-shaped box that contains a disposable tourniquet which, once extracted, is unusable and no longer easily rewound around the pulley.

Chinese Patent CN108910593 pertains to a box containing disposable tourniquet fastened on a base equipped with holes to be firmly affixed to a table top, thus it is neither transportable or hygienic.

Finally, the Chinese Patent CN203468754U covers a simple portable tourniquet dispenser comprised of a box-like body able to contain a roll of tourniquet with pre-set cutting lines.

The multipurpose device with interchangeable ergonomic handle subject to this patent resolves all the highlighted critical issues in the dispensers described prior, as it allows healthcare workers to be able to carry - and easily use - both rolls of plaster and tourniquets, protected within a washable, disinfectable and reusable container, all whilst keeping the user's hands free.

Thanks to the particular ergonomic handle with flaps, which are interchangeable in accordance with the healthcare worker's wrist and positioned at the base of the dispenser, along with the technical systems adopted, this product is extremely comfortable and can be refilled with tapes and ties with extreme ease.

The invention at hand will now be described, by way of illustration, according to a preferred form of creation, not to be understood as in any way limiting, with particular reference to the attached images and drawings, whilst taking into account that all the forms utilised - without prejudice to their functionality - can vary in size, number and shape without this limiting this invention. As such:

Image 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the device;

Image 2 shows a perspective view of the tape holder's half-shell;

Image 3 shows a perspective view of the removable side wall;

Image 4 shows a view of the tourniquet's protective dome;

Image 5 shows a perspective view of the rolling shaft;

Image 6 shows a perspective view of the winged handle;

Image 7 shows a perspective view of the tape- holder half-shell from a different angle with respect to Image 1;

Image 8 shows a perspective view of the assembled device.

In reference to the images, produced for explanatory and descriptive purposes only, it should be noted that the modular and multifunction device consists of a series of components which, once assembled, are able to meet the pre-determined purposes, in allowing the aseptic loading and dispensing of rolls of plasters and tourniquets.

More specifically, the device is composed of a tape- holder half-shell (A) on which, once the roll of plaster or gauze (X) has been positioned, a removable side wall (B) bears a protective dome for tourniquets (C) that is then inserted, the movement of which is regulated by the motion of a rolling shaft (D) applicable to the operator's hand through a winged handle (E), which can vary in size depending on the user.

The side wall (101) of the tape holder half-shell (A) - which forms the base on which the roll of plaster or gauze is positioned and that is the main component for assembling the device - bears a containment cylinder (102) on whose external surface the roll of plaster/gauze (X) is positioned and whose internal part, hollowed out (103), has an initial countersink (104) present on the external part, to which a second countersink (105) can be applied, merely for aesthetic purposes, with a cap (125) closing towards the inside, which also serves to lock the rolling shaft (D) once assembled to the device.

On the front, the half-shell (A) is also characterised by a vertical tape-tensioning bracket (106), represented by way of example and preferably with a curved form on which the unrolled tape (X) is positioned, equipped with an interspace (107) to facilitate the insertion and removal of a tape-cutting (X) comb (108) that will be secured inside the device by applying the removable side wall (B).

The half-shell (A) also bears at least two holes

(109) in which, again for assembly purposes, two pins

(110) on the removable side wall (B) will be inserted. Finally, the lower part of the half shell (A) consists of a coupling bay (111) for the attachment and detachment of an ergonomic winged handle (E) fitted on its upper side, with a base in relief (112) that fits perfectly into the bay (111).

The winged handle (E) is also equipped with two open hooks (113), preferably curved inwards, with a high degree of elasticity so as to be able to adapt to the back of the hand, no matter the size and on both the right and left. As mentioned, the device is also equipped with a removable side wall (B) that aligns with the lines on the half-shell (A) and which fits into it through special rods (110) that fit inside the holes (109), thus securing the plaster tape (X) and cutting comb (108) inside the device.

The removable side wall also bears a through hole (114), around which there is a fixed bearing (115) that allows the passage of the rolling shaft (D) and at least two interlocking slots (116) to facilitate insertion, support and securing of the hinged teeth (117) present at the base of the protective dome (C).

The protective dome (C) is characterised by a sectional cut (118), through which the rolling pillar (D) is passed and on which, once the device has been assembled, the tourniquet (Y) is inserted.

During assembly, the rolling shaft (D) passes through the cuts and holes present on components A, B and C. On the end of the shaft is a round knob (119), from a support base (120) with a winding pin (121), on which the tourniquet (Y) is secured and a special cap

(122) is applied.

The rolling shaft (E) has an anti-confinement relief (123) that fits into the countersink (105) present on the cylinder (102) of the half-shell (A) and, at its end, at least two bevelled teeth (124) that fit into the countersink (104), to ensure that, once assembled, the rolling shaft is secured inside the device.

In the preferred way of mounting and assembling the device, the operator will secure the roll of plaster or gauze on the cylinder (102) of the half shell (A) and fit the cutting comb (108) in the interspace (107), to then all be locked with the subsequent assembly of the removable side component (B) of the protective dome (C), before fitting the rolling shaft (D).

Following this operation, the tourniquet (Y) equipped with a cap (122) is fastened to the pin (121), the rolling and unrolling of which is managed by the operator by rotating the knob (119), after fastening the winged handle (E) inside the coupling bay (111) present on the half-shell (A).

This invention, which can be produced in any easily washable, sanitisable or disinfectable material, has been described in relation to its functions for illustrative but not limitative purposes. It is thus to be understood that the creation of the product and its operation as described can be subject to variations and/or modifications without deviating from the relative scope of protection .