Thermal material nebulizing system

• US 10,039,895 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Satori Innovations, LLC
• Original Assignee: Satori Innovations Corporation
• Inventors: Hoke-Kearns, Melissa K., Sorbel, Paula G., Curran, Justin P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yu, Justine
• Assistant Examiner(s): SUL, DOUGLAS YOUNG
• Application Number:
  US14/199,821
• Publication Number:
  US 20140251319A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,615 Days
• Field of Search: 12820014, 12820018, 12820312, 12820415, 12820623, 119 65, 119420, 119831, 22059201, 22059216, 220212, 220705, 220703, 220709, 624571, 624572
• CPC Class Codes: A61D 7/04 Devices for anaesthetising animals by gases or vapours; Inhaling devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 11/06 of the injector type
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/06 Respiratory or anaesthetic masks
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0833 T- or Y-type connectors, e.g. Y-piece
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0875 Connecting tubes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/1085 after being humidified or mixed with a beneficial agent
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/14 by mixing different fluids, one of them being in a liquid phase
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/16 Devices to humidify the respiration air A61M16/1045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3606 cooled
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2250/00 Specially adapted for animals
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 9/003 Means for influencing the temperature or humidity of the breathing gas

Abstract

A system for thermal regulation of a nebulizer is provided. The system includes a container to house a nebulizer and a thermal material together. The thermal material acts to chill a liquid located inside the nebulizer, in order to deliver a chilled mist to a patient for therapeutic purposes, such as initiating. Therapeutic Hypothermia, or treating various respiratory illnesses such as croup, laryngobronchitis, and smoke inhalation.

Claims

1. A portable nebulizing device for use with a pressurized gas to generate a chilled mist from a liquid cooled by a thermal cooling material, the portable nebulizing device comprising:

a hand-holdable portable container having a side wall and a bottom wall that together define an interior to hold a fixed amount of the thermal cooling material, and an open top in communication with the interior, and only one input port in the bottom wall;

a small-volume jet nebulizer located in the interior of the container, the nebulizer including a housing having an opening, a removable top to cover the opening, and a bottom that together define an enclosed interior space to hold a fixed amount of the liquid to be nebulized, the bottom having a fluid input in fluid communication with the interior space, and the removable top having a fluid output to be in fluid communication with the interior space when the removable top is covering the opening, and the fluid input coupled to the input port of the portable container that provides fluid communication with the interior space to receive a pressurized gas for input into the interior space of the nebulizer, the nebulizer capable of generating a chilled mist from the fixed amount of liquid in response to introduction of the pressurized gas into the interior space of the nebulizer;

a lid to cover the open top of the container and enclose the nebulizer in the interior of the container and to hold the fixed amount of the thermal cooling material to surround the nebulizer from the bottom to the top thereof within the interior of the container;

a conduit to be coupled to the fluid output of the removable top of the nebulizer and to pass through the lid of the container and further to provide fluid communication from the interior space of the nebulizer through the lid to permit the chilled mist from the nebulizer to pass to an exterior of the container;

a nipple coupled to the container input port to provide fluid communication between the input port and the fluid input of the nebulizer, the nipple sized to position the nebulizer above the bottom wall of the container and permit thermal cooling material to surround the nebulizer from the bottom to the top of the nebulizer and cool the liquid in the interior space of the nebulizer.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the container is concave and includes a plurality of radially oriented ridges, and the lid has a two-tiered convex dome shape.

3. A portable system for generating a chilled mist from a liquid and delivering the chilled mist to a recipient, comprising:

a thermal cooling material configured to chill the liquid;

a small-volume jet nebulizing device that is capable of nebulizing the chilled liquid into the chilled mist, the nebulizing device including a housing having an opening, a removable top to cover the opening, and a bottom that define an interior space to retain only a fixed amount of the liquid, the bottom having a fluid input in fluid communication with the interior space to receive a pressurized gas, and the top having a fluid output in fluid communication with the interior space, the nebulizing device configured to generate the chilled mist only from the fixed amount of the liquid in the interior space in response to receipt of the pressurized gas;

a hand-holdable portable container having a bottom wall, a side wall, an open top, a removable top securable to the side wall and sized and shaped to cover the open top, and an interior sized and shaped to enclose the nebulizing device, the interior capable of receiving and holding the thermal cooling material around the nebulizing device from the bottom to the top of the nebulizing device and chill the liquid in the interior space of the nebulizing device;

a source of pressurized gas coupleable to the fluid input of the nebulizing device to deliver the pressurized gas to the fluid input of the nebulizing device;

a delivery apparatus coupleable to the fluid output of the nebulizing device to deliver the chilled mist from the nebulizing device through the removable top and to the recipient; and

a conduit extending through the container and into the interior of the container, the conduit coupled to the fluid input of the nebulizing device and sized and shaped to convey the pressurized gas from the source of pressurized gas to the fluid input of the nebulizing device.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the thermal cooling material is an evaporative material.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the bottom wall of the container is concave and includes a plurality of radially oriented ridges and the conduit is sized and shaped to hold the nebulizing device above the bottom wall of the container and permit the thermal cooling material to surround the bottom of the nebulizing device, and the lid has a two-tiered convex dome shape.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the delivery apparatus includes a mask having a body with an interior chamber and a cap with radially oriented flaps that are capable of bending inward into the interior chamber, the interior chamber sized and shaped to accommodate the muzzle, snout or beak of an animal.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein the delivery apparatus comprises:

a T-shaped connector having an input port and first and second output ports, the input port coupled to the fluid output of the nebulizing device top; and

a delivery device coupled to the first output port that is capable of delivering chilled mist to the recipient'"'"'s mouth or nose.

8. A nebulizing and delivery apparatus for use with a pressurized gas to deliver a chilled mist from a liquid cooled by a thermal cooling material, the apparatus comprising:

a small-volume jet nebulizer that is capable of generating a chilled mist from the liquid, the nebulizer having a housing with a gas input and a fluid output, the housing having an opening, a removable top securable to the housing to cover the opening, and a bottom that define an interior space to hold a fixed amount of the liquid, the bottom having the gas input in fluid communication with the interior space to convey the pressurized gas to the interior space, and the removable top having the fluid output in fluid communication with the interior space to receive the chilled mist;

a hand-holdable portable container having a bottom wall, a side wall, an interior defined by the bottom wall and the side wall to hold the nebulizer and the thermal cooling material, an input port, and an open top in fluid communication with the interior and the input port, the interior sized and shaped to enclose the nebulizer and the fixed amount of the thermal cooling material so the thermal cooling material can surround the nebulizer from the bottom to the top of the nebulizer and chill the liquid in the nebulizer;

a removable cover to close the open top of the container and completely enclose the nebulizer inside the container, the removable cover having an opening;

a first conduit mounted in the opening of the removable cover and coupled to the fluid output of the nebulizer to deliver the chilled mist from the nebulizer to outside the container;

a delivery apparatus operably coupled to the first conduit to deliver the chilled mist from the nebulizer; and

a second conduit extending through the input port of the container and into the interior of the container, the second conduit coupled to the gas input of the nebulizer to provide the pressurized gas to the gas input of the nebulizer and sized to hold the nebulizer above the bottom wall of the container and enable the thermal cooling material to be located between the nebulizer and the bottom wall of the container and to cover the nebulizer from the bottom to the top of the nebulizer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the bottom wall of the container is concave and includes a plurality of radially oriented ridges, and the lid has a two-tiered convex dome shape.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the delivery apparatus includes a mask having a body with an interior chamber and a cap with radially oriented flaps that are capable of bending inward into the interior chamber, the interior chamber sized and shaped to accommodate a muzzle, snout or beak of an animal and to deliver the chilled mist from the nebulizer to the muzzle, snout or beak of the animal.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the delivery apparatus includes:

a T-shaped connector having an input port coupled to the first conduit and further including at least one output port; and

a delivery device coupled to the at least one output port that is capable of delivering chilled mist to the recipient'"'"'s mouth or nose.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the thermal cooling material comprises a wet or dry thermal evaporative material.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the thermal cooling material is one from among ice, an ice and water mixture, cold water, cold pack, or frozen thermal gel bead packs.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the container includes a double-walled portion having an interior space to hold the thermal cooling material.