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Therapeutic training straw

Therapeutic training straw description/claims

The present invention relates to a drinking straw and more particularly to a therapeutic drinking straw for delivering liquids at an adjustable controlled rate to individuals who have the tendency to drink too fast or too much, for example so as to experience aspiration of liquid, or to individuals who may have swallowing difficulties.

Children are known to play with their foods and drinks. While drinking beverages, children often, for various reasons, drink rapidly so as to cause aspiration of liquid, choking, gagging, or “brain freeze”. In particular, children diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) are likely to consume their drinks too quickly. AD/HD children are known to fidget with their hands or feet, to engage in physically dangerous activities without considering the possible consequences, to have difficulty playing quietly, and to have difficulty awaiting turns in games, conversations, and other activities. Other children may drink too fast because they are racing with other children or they are too impatient or they are trying to attract attention from peers or adults.

Difficulty in swallowing, leading to a decreased ability to move food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach, is referred to as dysphagia. A patient suffering from dysphagia may encounter medical complications, such as aspiration. Aspiration, wherein all or part of the bolus penetrates the airway below the level of the vocal folds, is commonly encountered by patients whose dysphagia results from cognitive impairment. Impairments in attention, judgement and memory may preclude such individuals from using safe swallowing techniques. Thus, while the motor skills for swallowing thin liquids may be present, the patient may not remember to take small sips or to appropriately monitor his rate of intake, resulting in aspiration.

Although conventional straws may be used to deliver liquids to children and dysphagic persons, they present problems since the rate or amount of liquid swallowed cannot be monitored or controlled. It has been determined that the risk of choking by dysphagic patients may be reduced by drinking with a chin-down head position. Accordingly, therapeutic drinking cups designed to promote such a chin-down head position have been developed and used. One such cup (a “Nosey Cup”) includes a cut-out for the patient's nose so that the cup can be tipped to a drinking position with the chin down. A so-called “Dysphagia Cup” has also been developed, which is internally and externally contoured to promote drinking with a chin down head position. While these devices may prevent choking in dysphagic patients, they do not in any way control the rate or the amount of intake of the liquid.

One known therapeutic drinking straw machine consists of a straw with a pumping mechanism disposed between the two ends of the straw to convey liquid from the source to the mouth of the user. The pumping mechanism includes a manual actuator and a central reservoir such that the actuation of the actuator empties the reservoir and return of the actuator to a rest position re-fills the reservoir. This device allows a specific amount of liquid to be stored in the reservoir and then delivered to the user in order to assist motorically-impaired and cognitively-impaired individuals with swallowing difficulties.

However, the drinking straw machine is difficult and costly to manufacture since it requires a pump, reservoir, and valves. Furthermore, its bulkiness and overall design make the drinking straw machine unappealing, especially to children.

A novelty drinking straw is also known that has a decorative object positioned in the straw and between a pair of stops, which form a compartment. The object and the stops are dimensioned to prevent the movement of the object past the stops while allowing fluid to pass by. This device is designed only as a novelty to increase the attractiveness of the straw and to potentially use the decorative object for advertisement purposes. The object placed within the compartment is not used to block passage of liquid and may even dissolve or float. Novelty drinking straws are also known that are designed to be visually appealing to promote consumer purchases and child use.

Thus, while various straws have been developed to assist cognitive-impaired dysphagic patients or individuals with the tendency to drink rapidly, they are not entirely satisfactory.

The present invention relates to a drinking straw for regulating the amount of liquid that a user may drink in one sip. The present inventive straw has an elongated hollow member having at least two open ends, at least one end being a suction end adapted for application of a suction force and at least one end being a liquid end adapted for immersion in a liquid beverage. At least one compartment is associated with each suction end and is located between the associated suction end and the at least one liquid end, and the compartment has openings for communicating the liquid beverage therethrough. At least one insoluble object is disposed within the at least one compartment, the object having an outer diameter and/or circumference smaller than an inner diameter and/or circumference of the at least one compartment. The compartment openings and the object(s) are dimensioned to prevent escape of the object(s) from the compartment, and at least one object seals the compartment opening subsequent to the application of the suction force to prevent the movement of the liquid beverage past the opening.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the suction end of the drinking straw is further adapted for receipt in the mouth of a user, and may be even further adapted for receipt in the mouth of a user lacking normal mouth control. In another embodiment, the at least one suction end is further adapted to cooperate with a respirator mask to allow a user to use the straw while wearing the mask. The present invention also includes respirator mask in combination with the drinking straw, and may further include a flip top on the at least one suction end adapted for opening and closing the suction end by use of a user's tongue.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one object seals the at least one compartment opening subsequent to the delivery of a specified volume of the liquid beverage through the suction end associated with that compartment. Preferably, the specified volume is between about 0.5 to about 50 ml. However, the specified volume may be about 1 to about 40 ml, about 5 to about 30 ml, about 5 to about 20 ml, or about 5 to about 15 ml. In these or in other embodiments, the specified volume is adjustable. The compartment may further include volume markings.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the object is a decorative object. Even more preferably, the at least one object does not float in air. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the object has a density so as to be capable of traveling at a reasonable speed through air and most liquids and does not float in air. In some embodiments, the object has a density between about 1 and about 2 g/ml, about 1 to about 1.5 g/ml, about 1 to about 1.2 g/ml, or about 1 to about 1.1 g/ml. Generally, a density only slightly greater than that of water, or the liquid being drawn through the straw, is preferred.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the straw has two or more suction ends. Even more preferably, the at least one object within each of the at least one compartments associated with each suction end is capable of sealing both the compartment opening nearest the associated suction end and the compartment opening nearest the liquid end, but not both simultaneously. Preferably, a suction force applied to at least one suction end effectively seals the compartments associated with the remaining suction ends. In a different embodiment of the invention, the at least one object seals the at least one compartment opening only subsequent to the application of an excessive suction to the suction end associated with that compartment.

Preferably, the at least one compartment has a cross-sectional area substantially similar to a cross-sectional area of the hollow member. However, in a different embodiment, the at least one compartment has a cross-sectional area larger than a cross-sectional area of the hollow member. In a further embodiment, the at least one compartment has a cross-sectional area smaller than a cross-sectional area of the hollow member.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the straw is adapted to allow disassembly for cleaning, storage, and/or travel. Preferably, the straw includes male and female thread components for the disassembly and re-assembly of the straw. Screw threads associated with at least one of the compartments of the present invention allow for adjustment of the compartment volume. Both adjustable and non-adjustable embodiments of the invention may have volume markings on the exterior of the compartment, and adjustable versions may have graded volume markings to allow a user to accurately adjust the compartment to a selected volume.

The present invention also contemplates a method and/or a device for treating inappropriate drinking. The method and/or device employs a drinking straw as described above or below provided to a user in need of treatment that delivers the beverages in small, consistently-controlled quantities, and may include training the user to drink appropriately through repeated drinking of liquid through the straw until the user is trained to drink in small, consistent sips. The inappropriate drinking treatable using the present invention may be caused by AD/HD, dysphagia, intoxication, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, ALS, Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, spasm, epilepsy, or other disease or condition that causes inappropriate drinking or any combination thereof.

The present invention also includes a method for preventing “brain freeze,” the commonly-presented headache associated with over-consumption of ice-cold foods and beverages. The inventive method provides for drinking cold beverages through the straw as described above or below that delivers the beverages in small, consistently-controlled quantities, these quantities being less than the quantity required to cause a headache.

The present invention even further includes a drinking straw adapter for attachment to the end of a conventional drinking straw or tube. The adapter includes an elongated hollow member having at least two open ends, at least one end being a suction end adapted for application of a suction force, and at least one end being an adapter end adapted for communicative attachment to a drinking straw; at least one compartment associated with each at least one suction end and located between the associated at least one suction end and the at least one adapter end and having openings for communicating the liquid beverage therethrough; and at least one insoluble object within the at least one compartment having an outer diameter and/or circumference smaller than an inner diameter and/or circumference of the at least one compartment; wherein the compartment openings and the object are dimensioned to prevent escape of the object(s) from the compartment; and wherein the at least one object seals at least one compartment opening subsequent to the application of the suction force to prevent the movement of the liquid beverage past the opening.

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• Utility Patent

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