After Daniel Lemke started experiencing pain from his cannula oxygen supply line five years ago, he found that the solution to his problem was right under his nose.
Lemke’s wife Jean gave him a clip to hold the line to his shirt, relieving him of some of pain.
The couple called the invention the Cannula Clip and sought to patent their idea.
“Everyone that has to have oxygen through tubing knows that the discomfort it can cause,” Lemke said. “It is a universal problem.”
Although many ideas have been made to solve comfort problems caused by oxygen tubing, Lemke’s clip relieves painful ear and nose soreness due to the weight of a heavy oxygen line, and also the dislodging of the cannula at night.
The small, unobtrusive clip fastens the tubing to the shirt so that it doesn’t tug at the ears should the tubing get caught on furniture.
The couple spoke to other patients who tried everything but found nothing that was truly effective.
When his wife gave him the clip, Lemke knew the invention could help others.
He and wife Jean went online to find a way to share the clip with the world.
Through their research, the couple sifted through other inventions that were created for the same reason.
“One was created kind of like a garter,” Jean Lemke said. “I don’t think many patients would have liked to wear something like that.”
After learning of the procedure to patent their idea, the Cannula Clip became registered.
Lemke said he has been told, “That’s so simple, why didn’t I think of that.”
They found a manufacturer in Taiwan and sent drawings of their design.
The manufacturer sent samples back and with a little tweaking, the couple had a prototype for the clip.
Later they shared their idea with a local health-care provider.
A study was started to measure the effects of the clip and the results were positive.
A total of 87 percent of those in the study found the clip to be helpful.
Another 78.3 per cent found the invention to help prevent dislodgment during sleep.
Following the conclusion of the study, the health-care provider ordered hundreds more for its patients.
The problem now was finding a distributor.
“Most of the distributors prefer other inventions that don’t work because they know the patients have to keep on coming back to purchase more when they break or get lost,” Jean Lemke explained. “They wouldn’t make as much money with our invention even though they know it is better.”
Many of the oxygen users tried the popular ear cushions to provide comfort, but said they came off easily and had to be replaced many times, entailing significant costs.
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2005/04/26/news/top_story/news01.prt
–Ashley Cisneros
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Ashley Cisneros is a co-founder of Chatter Buzz Media, an Orlando Internet marketing firm that helps companies and organizations engage with their target markets through inbound marketing via the Internet. Chatter Buzz Media, which won the Social Madness competition for the Orlando small business market, is a full-service digital marketing firm specializing in website design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and content creation. Prior to founding Chatter Buzz, Ashley worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, technical writer, marketing manager, public relations practitioner and freelance journalist. To see Ashley’s content writing, visit www.ashleycisneros.com. You can also reach Ashley on her Google profile.
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