Central Venous Catheter Home Care Device
Throughout my experience as a recent cancer patient & leukemia survivor, I appreciated my Central Venous Catheter’s convenience, but noted its potential drawbacks. The exposed lumens hung significantly from my chest, allowing for the pull of gravity to make both the exit site and higher up my chest very tender and painful. In addition, my body reacted negatively to the plastic caps of the lumens, creating itchy rashes on my abdomen. To combat this, I began bundling the lumens beneath my clothing by pinning them to the underside of my shirt. This instantly relieved the pain in my chest but created an awkward bunch/wrinkle in my clothing that announced to the public that I was sick (which no sick person appreciates).
My goal with this project was to create a formal device that addressed the problems above concerning life with a CVC.
The result is a two-sided plastic piece with an opening in its live-in hinge just large enough to fit the width of a lumen cap when the piece is open and flat. Once the caps are through the hinged hole, the device can be folded and secured with a friction clasp. Folding the device then reduces the size of the lumen opening, keeping the caps securely inside the device and off of the patient’s body.
The device can then be attached to the underside of the patients’ shirt by placing the magnet/button on top of the device’s corresponding magnet above the patient’s shirt. This relieves gravity’s pull on the CVC in the safest way – if the shirt is accidentally tugged or pulled, the magnet is released from the device, preventing any damage to the CVC. If released, the magnet remains attached to the shirt with a security chain to prevent it from being lost.
Lastly, the device is rounded & white in order to remain hidden under any clothing – allowing patients to go on about their lives between treatments without drawing public attention or concern to their health.
For additional info on CVC's visit: http://tinyurl.com/mf5ev2
Submitted By:
- Patrick Yovanov