Flexible intra-oral bandage and drug delivery system
AssigneeSofty-Flex Inc.
InventorPhilip H. Ruben
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flexible intra-oral bandage and kit thereof including an hydrolyzable powder/water-wettable fiber mixture enclosed in a flexible, water-permeable, non-stick envelope. The envelope is immersed in water or medication so that the liquid is absorbed through the envelope to wet the hydrolyzable powder/water-wettable fiber mixture and form a moldable tacky gel. The envelope is then removed from the gel and the gel is manually molded and placed in a desired location in a patient's oral cavity. The kit can also be used as a drug delivery system to deliver medication to a patient through the oral cavity.
Claims17
A kit for preparing a flexible intra-oral bandage, the kit comprising a water-permeable envelope, the envelope being formed of a non-woven, water-porous fabric, a powder/fiber mixture contained within the envelope, the powder/fiber mixture comprising a dry, particulate water-soluble powder, comprising a soluble alginate salt admixed with a soluble reactor salt, and water-wettable fibers, the reactor salt and alginate being present in relative quantities sufficient to produce, when admixed with water, a water-insoluble cross-linked alginate salt, said fibers carrying a static electricity charge, the thickness of the fiber being an order of magnitude smaller than the length of the fiber, and the powder carrying a static electricity charge opposite to that of the fibers, and having a particle size smaller than that of the fibers;
- the charged powder particles being distributed on and adhering to the oppositely charged fibers;
- said porous envelope being so arranged to allow an aqueous liquid to pass through to and to wet said alginate-salt powder/fiber mixture when the envelope is immersed in water, and the powder/fiber mixture being so admixed that when wetted with water it is converted to a moldable, tacky fiber-reinforced gel, suitable for use as an intra-oral bandage.
A method of forming an intra-oral bandage, for covering exposed tissue surface in the oral cavity of a patient, the method comprising the steps of mixing an aqueous liquid with a dry mixture, the dry mixture comprising a water-wettable fibrous material, and a particulate hydrolyzable gel-forming material, the water wettable fibrous material being selected from loose fibers and a fiber sheet which is adapted to disintegrate into loose fibers when immersed in an aqueous liquid, the gel-forming material comprising a soluble alkali metal alginate salt and a reagant salt which are designed to react together to produce a water-insoluble alginate gel when wetted with water;
- thus forming a fiber-containing, water-insoluble alginate gel mixture wherein the fiber is dispersed throughout the gel;
- manually molding said fiber-containing gel to a selected shape wherein the fiber serves to reinforce the structure of the gel;
- and applying said molded, fiber-reinforced gel over said exposed tissue surface in the oral cavity, the fiber-reinforced gel being non-adhesive with the tissue or with the teeth.
A kit for preparing a flexible intra-oral bandage, the kit comprising a water-permeable envelope, the envelope being formed of a non-woven, water-porous fabric, and a powder/fiber mixture contained within the envelope, the powder/fiber mixture comprising a dry, particulate water-soluble powder, comprising a soluble alginate powder admixed with a dry soluble calcium sulfate powder, and water-wettable fibers, the water wettable fibrous material being selected from loose fibers and a fiber sheet which is adapted to disintegrate into loose fibers when immersed in an aqueous liquid, the calcium sulfate and soluble alginate being present in relative quantities sufficient to produce, when admixed with water, a water-insoluble cross-linked calcium alginate salt, said powder/fiber mixture containing from about 60 to about 70 percent powder and from about 30 to about 40 percent fiber, said fibers having a static electricity charge and being from about 2 to about 4 millimeters in length, the thickness of the fiber being an order of magnitude smaller than the length of the fiber, and the powder having a static electricity charge opposite to the charge on the fibers and having a particle size smaller than that of the fibers;
- the charged powder particles being distributed on and adhering to the oppositely charged fibers;
- said porous inner envelope being so arranged to allow an aqueous liquid to pass through to and to wet said alginate-salt powder/fiber mixture when immersed in water, and the powder/fiber mixture being so admixed that when wetted with water it is converted to a moldable, tacky, reinforced gel, suitable for use as an intra-oral bandage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.