THERMALLY-CONDUCTIVE BANDAGES AND WRAPS

Abstract

Provided herein are compositions and methods for providing a combination of compression and temperature therapy. In particular, provided herein are compression bandages that transmit cooling or heating to an injury.

Claims

1. A medical device comprising an elastic material wherein at least a portion of said elastic material comprises thermally conductive material.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said medical device is selected from the group consisting of a compression bandage, a wrap, a brace, a sleeve, a legging, or a sock.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein said compression bandage is an elastic bandage.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein said brace is a brace configured to support a joint.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said joint is a knee joint, an elbow, an ankle, or a wrist.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said thermally conductive material comprises a thermal conductor integrated into the material or the device or in a coating.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein said thermal conductor comprises a metal.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein said thermally conductive material comprises thermally conductive fabric.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein all of said medical device comprises a thermally conductive material.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein said device further comprises a sensor configured to detect pressure or temperature of a body part.

11. A system, comprising: a) the device of claim 1; and b) a cooling component.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said system further comprises an electronic component configured to receive information from said sensor and display or transmit said information.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said cooling component comprises a chemical cooling material or ice.

14. A method of cooling a body part, comprising: contacting said body part with the system of claim 11 under conditions such that said body part is cooled.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said body part is a joint or limb.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Provided herein are compositions and methods for providing a combination of compression and temperature therapy. In particular, provided herein are compression bandages that transmit cooling or heating to an injury. The devices herein, find use in a variety of applications, for example reducing pain and swelling, and speeding recovery from injuries (e.g., soft tissue injury, sprain, broken bone, etc.) and/or surgeries.

[0018] The present disclosure provides medical support devices comprising conductive materials. The conductive material allows for a cooling component placed on the outside of the device to provide cooling of the body part without removing the device. The support devices allow for improved methods of simultaneously cooling and providing compression and/or support to aid in recovery from injury and surgery or for other uses. This results in faster recovery from injury and surgery.

[0019] In some embodiments, devices herein comprise a material with sufficient conductive capacity (e.g., comprising sufficient ratio of conductive to non-conductive sub-materials (e.g., 10:1, 9:1, 8:1, 7:1, 6:1, 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7: 1:8, 1:9, 1:10, or ranges therebetween, depending upon the conductive and isolative capacity of the materials)) to render the material as a whole conductive. For example, in some embodiments, devices or materials that comprise metallic components (e.g., metal threads, wires, electronics, etc.), but do not comprise a sufficient amount of conductive material to render the device or overall material conductive, are not within the scope herein.

[0020] The present disclosure is not limited to particular medical support devices. Examples include, but are not limited to, braces, wraps, bandages, and the like. In some embodiments, the support device is an elastic wrap or bandage. In some embodiments, the brace is configured (e.g., sized and shaped) to provide support to a limb or joint (e.g., knee, elbow, wrist, angle, etc.). In some embodiments, a device is a sleeve, legging, or sock.

[0021] The present disclosure is not limited to particular thermally conductive material. In some embodiments, a thermal conductor (e.g., metal) is incorporated into material (e.g., woven into) used to construct a support device. In some embodiments, conductive threads are woven into a material to impart conductivity to the material. For example, in some embodiments, conductive fabrics are utilized (e.g., commercially available from V Technical Textiles Inc., Palmyra, N.Y. or Eeonyx, Pinole, Calif.). In some embodiments, a conductive coating is placed on the outside of the device. In some embodiments, a device comprises a thermally conductive material with a thermal conductivity of 1 watt/mK or greater (e.g., 1 watt/mK, 2 watt/mK, 5 watt/mK, 10 watt/mK, 20 watt/mK, 30 watt/mK, 40 watt/mK, 50 watt/mK, 100 watt/mK, or greater, or ranges therebetween (e.g., 10 watt/mK or greater)). The materials (e.g., conductive and insulating) have a net composite conductivity that is 1 watt/mK or greater (e.g., 1 watt/mK, 2 watt/mK, 5 watt/mK, 10 watt/mK, 20 watt/mK, 30 watt/mK, 40 watt/mK, 50 watt/mK, 100 watt/mK, or greater, or ranges therebetween (e.g., 10 watt/mK or greater)).

[0022] In some embodiments, devices herein comprise one or more conductive materials (e.g., woven together with other materials (e.g., elastic materials, insulating materials, etc.). Suitable conductive materials may comprise metals, including, but not limited to: aluminum, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, platinum, palladium, rhodium, silver, gold, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zinc, etc., and suitable alloys thereof, such as alloys of aluminium (e.g., AlLi, alumel, duralumin, magnox, zamak, etc.), alloys of iron (e.g., steel, stainless steel, surgical stainless steel, silicon steel, tool steel, cast iron, Spiegeleisen, etc.), alloys of cobalt (e.g., stellite, talonite, etc.), alloys of nickel (e.g., German silver, chromel, mu-metal, monel metal, nichrome, nicrosil, nisil, nitinol, etc.), alloys of copper (beryllium copper, billon, brass, bronze, phosphor bronze, constantan, cupronickel, bell metal, Devarda's alloy, gilding metal, nickel silver, nordic gold, prince's metal, tumbaga, etc.), alloys of silver (e.g., sterling silver, etc.), alloys of tin (e.g., Britannium, pewter, solder, etc.), alloys of gold (electrum, white gold, etc.), amalgam, etc. In some embodiments, a device material comprises 1-75% conductive material (e.g., 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, or ranges therebetween).

[0023] In some embodiments, devices herein comprise one or more insulating materials. In some embodiments, devices comprise one or more fibrous materials. Suitable fibrous materials may be natural (e.g., cotton, wool, animal fiber, etc.) or synthetic (e.g., polyester, rayon, etc.). In some embodiments, device material comprises 25-99% insulating and/or fibrous material (e.g., 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or ranges therebetween). In some embodiments, insulating and/or fibrous materials that find use in materials herein (e.g., along with conductive materials) include, but are not limited to a fiber, trace, yarn, strand, or textile selected from the group consisting of: acetate, acrylic, cotton, denim, elastane, Kevlar, latex, linen, Lycra, neoprene, nylon, nylon, polyester, wool, silicon rubber, silk, spandex, Danconn, rayon, etc.

[0024] In some embodiments, a portion (e.g., specific sections or all) of the device comprises the conductive material. In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to provide portions of the device that do not comprise conductive material (e.g., straps, closures, support elements, etc.).

[0025] In some embodiments, devices further comprises sensors (e.g., to measure temperature, pressure, etc.) to aid in determining if an injury is healing or if a support device needs adjusting. In some embodiments, sensors are placed in regions of the devices that are not conductive. In some embodiments, sensors are placed in regions of the devices that are conductive (e.g., separated by non-conductive portions). In some embodiments, sensors interact wirelessly or over wires with electronic devices (e.g., smart phones, smart watches, or computers) that collect, transmit, analyze, or display data.

[0026] In some embodiments, devices are provided in a system with a source of cooling (e.g., chemical cooling packs such as those commercially available from Dynarex, Orangeburg, N.Y.). The devices described herein can be used with any source of cooling (e.g., ice or freezable chemical cold packs).

[0027] The devices described herein find use in cooling limbs, joints, or other body parts in any numbers of situations. Examples include, but are not limited to, after injury (e.g., sports injury), accidents, surgery, illness, etc.

[0028] In some embodiments, provided herein are thermally-conductive compression bandages having any suitable dimensions. In some embodiments, a bandage (or any device herein) is 1-10 mm in thickness (e.g., 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm, or ranges therebetween). In some embodiments, a bandage is 2-20 cm in width (e.g., 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm, 9 cm, 10 cm, 11 cm, 12 cm, 13 cm, 14 cm, 15 cm, 16 cm, 17 cm, 18 cm, 19 cm, 20 cm, or ranges therebetween). In some embodiments, a bandage is 10 cm to 3 meters in length (e.g., 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50 cm, 75 cm, 1 m, 1.25 m, 1.5 m, 1.75 m, 2 m, 2.25 m, 2.5 m, 2.75 m, 3 m, or ranges therebetween).

[0029] In some embodiments, a bandage or other device herein comprises a material with an elastic modulus of 0.02 to 0.2 N/mm (e.g., 0.02 N/mm, 0.03 N/mm, 0.04 N/mm, 0.05 N/mm, 0.06 N/mm, 0.07 N/mm, 0.08 N/mm, 0.09 N/mm, 0.1 N/mm, 0.11 N/mm, 0.12 N/mm, 0.13 N/mm, 0.14 N/mm, 0.15 N/mm, 0.16 N/mm, 0.17 N/mm, 0.18 N/mm, 0.19 N/mm, 0. 2 N/mm, or ranges therebetween).

[0030] In some embodiments, a bandage or other device herein comprises a material with an elongation at 10 cN/cm of 120-300% (e.g., 120%, 130%, 140%, 150%, 160%, 170%, 180%, 190%, 200%, 210%, 220%, 230%, 240%, 250%, 260%, 270%, 280%, 290%, 300%, or ranges therebetween).

[0031] All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference as if expressly set forth herein. Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention that are obvious to those skilled in relevant fields are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.