Automatic portable pneumatic compression system

• US 20020042583A1
• Filed: 08/29/2001
• Published: 04/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zimmer Surgical Incorporated (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Jakob Barak, Sharon Ehrlich, Yoav Naveh
• Inventors: Barak, Jakob, Naveh, Yoav, Ehrlich, Sharon
• Granted Patent: US 7,063,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 601/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/012 inflatable
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5007 computer controlled
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2205/10 Leg
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 9/0078 with intermittent or alternately inflated bladders or cuffs mattresses for preventing bed-sores with alternated pressurized chambers A61G7/05776

Abstract

An automatic portable ambulant miniaturized system for applying pneumatic pressure to a body limb including a portable ambulant hand-held fluid source unit, a conduit for delivering fluid generated by the unit, and a sleeve coupled to the conduit and adapted to envelop a body limb. The sleeve contains one or more individually inflatable cells, each cell being subdivided into two or more longitudinally extending confluent compartments along the axis of the body limb. The compartments are inflated and deflated essentially simultaneously by the portable fluid source unit.

Claims

1. An automatic portable system for applying pneumatic pressure to a body limb comprising:

a portable, ambulant hand-held fluid source unit;

a conduit for delivering fluid generated by said unit; and

a sleeve coupled to said conduit and adapted to envelop a body limb.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said portable fluid source unit is battery operated.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said unit comprises a rechargeable battery.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said unit comprises an air compressor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said conduit comprises a single tube for delivering fluid to said sleeve.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said conduit comprises means for indicating to said unit an appropriate inflation, deflation and pressure sequence.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said sleeve comprises at least one self-operated valve.

8. An automatic portable ambulant system for applying pressure to a body limb comprising:

a sleeve containing one or more individually inflatable cells, each cell being subdivided into two or more longitudinally extending confluent compartments along the axis of the body limb, which are inflated and deflated essentially simultaneously; and

a portable hand-held pump unit for intermittently inflating any one or more selected cells of the sleeve via a conduit, said pump unit including a control unit for determining the sequence of cell inflation and deflation.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said pump unit is battery operated

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said pump unit comprises a rechargeable battery.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein said pump unit comprises an air compressor.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein said conduit comprises a single tube for delivering fluid to said sleeve.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein said conduit comprises means for indicating to said control unit an appropriate inflation and deflation sequence.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said sleeve comprises at least one self-operated valve.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said portable fluid source unit is battery operated.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said unit comprises a rechargeable battery.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein said unit comprises an air compressor.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said conduit comprises a single tube for delivering fluid to said sleeve.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein said conduit comprises means for indicating to said unit an appropriate inflation and deflation sequence.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein said sleeve comprises at least one self-operated valve.

15. An automatic portable ambulant system for applying pressure to a body limb comprising:

a portable hand-held fluid source unit;

a conduit for delivering fluid generated by said unit; and

a sleeve coupled to said unit via said conduit and adapted to envelop a body limb, said sleeve containing one or more individually inflatable cells, each cell being subdivided into two or more longitudinally extending confluent compartments, wherein

said portable fluid source unit inflates said cells such that said cells become circumferentially constricted.

22. An automatic portable ambulant system for applying pressure to a body limb comprising:

sleeve containing one or more individually inflatable cells, each cell being subdivided into two or more longitudinally extending confluent compartments, such that upon inflation of a cell, the cell becomes circumferentially constricted;

a portable hand-held pump unit for intermittently inflating any one or more selected cells of the sleeve via a conduit, said pump unit including a control unit for determining the sequence of cell inflation and deflation.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said pump unit is battery operated.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said pump unit comprises a rechargeable battery.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein said pump unit comprises an air compressor.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein said conduit comprises a single tube for delivering fluid to said sleeve.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein said conduit comprises means for indicating to said control unit an appropriate inflation and deflation sequence.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein said sleeve comprises at least one self-operated valve.

30. The device of claim 29, wherein the fractional decrease in the circumference upon inflation is 0.36.

31. The device of claim 29, wherein the bond comprises a weldment.

32. The device of claim 29, wherein adjacent compartments are contiguous.

33. The device of claim 29, wherein the perforations are located adjacent the perimetric cell bond.

34. The device of claim 29, wherein the perforations are located between compartmental bonds extending from the upper and lower perimetric bonds.

35. The device of claim 29, further comprising a fluid inlet to provide for inflation and deflation of the cell.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein said pump unit is battery operated.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein said pump unit comprises a rechargeable battery.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein said pump unit comprises an air compressor.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein said conduit comprises a single tube for delivering fluid to said sleeve.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein said conduit comprises means for indicating to said control unit an appropriate inflation and deflation sequence.

42. The system of claim 36, wherein said sleeve comprises at least one self-operated valve.

29. A device for applying pressure to a body limb having a primary axis comprising:

first and second inflatable cells, each of the first and second cells including at least three intra-cell compartments;

said intra-cell compartments being confluent, each compartment being elongated along a longitudinal axis and being substantially rectangular in shape when deflated and substantially cylindrical in shape when inflated, the longitudinal axes of the compartments substantially aligning with the primary axis of the limb, the first and second cells being longitudinally adjacent each other, and arranged coaxially with respect to the primary axis of the limb, the first and second cells being intermittently inflatable to apply pressure to the limb, wherein the inflatable cells each comprise inner and outer shells of durable flexible material, said inner and outer shells being bonded together about a perimetric cell bond to define the inflatable cell therebetween, said inner and outer shells being further bonded together along compartmental bonds within the perimetric cell bond to define the plurality of intra-cell compartments, wherein the perimetric cell bond includes upper and lower perimetric cell bonds extending substantially in a lateral direction, and left and right perimetric cell bonds extending substantially in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the compartmental bonds partly extend between the upper and lower perimetric cell bonds, wherein the compartmental bonds include perforations to allow for confluent air flow between compartments within a cell, neighboring compartments along a lateral axis sharing a common border and being spatially fixed relative to each other, such that upon inflation of a cell, the cell becomes circumferentially constricted, the first and second cells being non-confluent such that the first and second cells are separately inflatable;

means for laterally coupling outermost compartments so as to form a sleeve, such that the sleeve has a circumference of Nπ

r when the cell is deflated, and such that the sleeve has a circumference of 2Nr when the cell is inflated, where N is the number of compartments in the cell, and where r is the cross-sectional radius of each compartment when inflated, so as to provide for circumferential constriction;

inflating means for intermittently inflating the first and second cells; and

control means for determining the temporo-spatial regime of cell inflation.

36. An automatic portable ambulant system for applying pressure to a body limb comprising:

a sleeve including first and second inflatable cells, each of the first and second cells including at least three intra-cell compartments;

said intra-cell compartments being confluent, each compartment being elongated along a longitudinal axis and being substantially rectangular in shape when deflated and substantially cylindrical in shape when inflated, the longitudinal axes of the compartments being adapted to substantially align with a primary axis of a body limb, the first and second cells being longitudinally adjacent to each other and being adapted to be arranged coaxially with respect to a primary axis of a body limb, the first and second cells being intermittently inflatable to apply pressure to a body limb, wherein each inflatable cell comprises inner and outer shells of durable flexible material;

said inner and outer shells being bonded together to form a perimetric cell bond, said perimetric bond defining outer boundaries of an inflatable cell and boundaries between the inflatable cells, said inner and outer shells being further bonded together to form compartmental bonds, said compartmental bonds defining boundaries between intra-cell compartments, wherein the perimetric cell bond includes upper and lower perimetric cell bonds extending substantially in a lateral direction, and left and right perimetric cell bonds extending substantially in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the compartmental bonds partly extend between the upper and lower perimetric cell bonds, wherein the compartmental bonds include perforations to allow for confluent air flow between intra-cell compartments within a cell, the first cell becoming circumferentially constricted when the first cell is inflated, the second cell becoming circumferentially constricted when the second cell is inflated, the first and second cells being non-confluent such that the first and second cells are separately inflatable;

means for laterally coupling the outermost intra-cell compartments within a cell so as to form a sleeve, the sleeve has a circumference of Nπ

r when the cell is deflated, and the sleeve has a circumference of 2Nr when the cell is inflated, where N is the number of intra-cell compartments within the cell, and where r is the cross-sectional radius of each intra-cell compartment when inflated, so as to provide for circumferential constriction;

a portable hand-held pump unit for intermittently inflating any one or more selected cells of the sleeve via a conduit, said pump unit including a control unit for determining the sequence of cell inflation and deflation.