UPPER BODY CONVECTIVE HEAT THERAPY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MAKING AND USING THE SAME

摘要

A therapy device (10) for providing heated air to the upper body (110) of a patient and a method of making and using the therapy device have been provided. The therapy device (10) is an inflatable U-shaped tube (102) mounted on a base sheet (104)and having a cover sheet (106). The patient is placed on the base sheet (104) with the patient's head located between the legs of the tube (102). The cover sheet (106) is placed over the patient's face. A heated air supply tube (112) is connected to the tube (102) and the heated air inflates the tube and heated air is forced out of the exhaust ports (212) of the tube, thereby providing an environment in which a portion of the patient's body is heated. In one embodiment the exhaust ports (212) are slits cut into the tube sheet material, and the slits are parallel to a tangent line of the tube's sealed edge. The method of fabricating the therapy device includes forming the individual pieces, attaching the tube sheets to form a tube, lancing the tube to form exhaust ports, and attaching the remaining pieces. In another embodiment, the exhaust ports (212) are formed by selectively coating the tube sheets with an air impermeable material except for an area bounded by the exhaust ports.