It’s become a tired joke on TV shows through the years: A patient’s gown opens in the back and reveals his or her bottom. But the reality can be quite serious and embarrassing for hospital visitors.

According to the Buffalo News, Idaho registered nurse Carleen Egbert and anesthesiologist Brian Kerr are hoping to change that—and increase dignity and privacy—with a new design. The duo conceptualized the idea for a gown that parted on the side and tied in the front in 2005. Four years later, the first shipment of 150,000 are on their way to the United States from China.

St. Luke’s Boise (ID) Medical Center and Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, also in Boise, are looking into using the gowns. The design is also intended to help provide medical professionals with better access to certain areas of the body and reduce double-gowning, which makes patient monitoring and laundry more difficult.

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