External pressure garment in combination with a complementary positive pressure ventilator for pulmocardiac assistance
First Claim
1. An apparatus for facilitating respiratory functions in a subject, comprising:
- (a) a removable wrap adapted for encircling the torso portion of a body;
(b) a plurality of channels in the wrap for expanding and contracting the wrap in response to a stimulus;
(c) a drive system for stimulating the wrap to expand and contract the wrap for simulating respiration in the subject.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pulmocardiac assistance apparatus is disclosed for use in the medical technology field to provide expiratory and inspiratory functionality to patients with respiratory disorders. The pulmocardiac assistance device of the present invention functions to collect body response feedback and manages this feedback to achieve an optimum response. The device includes an integrated set of pressure cuffs for pressuring different parts of the body in accordance with a predetermined sequence to induce the patient to breathe out or expire air from the lungs or to even produce an assisted cough, as well as to promote circulation of blood from the extremities of the body to the head. The pulmocardiac assistance device further includes a programmable logic controller which accepts inputs from sensors (e.g. patient temperature, blood gas concentrations, arterial pH level) and makes calculations to control both ventilator and pressure cuffs.
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Citations
77 Claims
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1. An apparatus for facilitating respiratory functions in a subject, comprising:
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(a) a removable wrap adapted for encircling the torso portion of a body;
(b) a plurality of channels in the wrap for expanding and contracting the wrap in response to a stimulus;
(c) a drive system for stimulating the wrap to expand and contract the wrap for simulating respiration in the subject. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. An apparatus for facilitating respiratory and circulatory functions in a patient, comprising:
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(a) a garment of pressure cuffs to be adorned by the patient, said garment comprising;
(i) a breast-conforming thoracic cuff extending approximately from subcostal margin to infraclavicular area, (ii) an abdominal cuff extending approximately from pubis to subcostal margin, (iii) a set of forearm cuffs, each forearm cuff extending approximately from wrist to elbow, (iv) a set of lower leg cuffs, each lower leg cuff extending approximately from ankle to knee, (v) a set of upper arm cuffs, each upper arm cuff extending approximately from elbow to axilla, and (vi) a set of thigh cuffs, each thigh cuff extending approximately from knee to groin;
each of said cuffs comprising a set of bladders for receiving an expanding medium;
(b) a feedback system comprising a set of sensors attached to the patient for monitoring patient-related variables;
(c) a drive system comprising a pump, a reservoir for holding the expanding medium, and a set of flow lines for connecting reservoir to each of the pressure cuffs via the pump and a set of control valves, said drive system for delivering the expanding medium to the pressure cuffs in accordance to a pressuring sequence; and
(d) a controller system comprising a PLC, said controller system connected to the feedback system and the drive system, said controller system for establishing the pressuring sequence, said sequence determined by analysis of the patient-related variables monitored by the feedback system. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. Personal airbag apparatus for use by a person in a vehicle wearing a helmet, comprising:
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(a) a body suit comprising a set of pressure cuffs, said set of pressure cuffs including;
(i) a pressure cuff for encircling the torso, and (ii) pressure cuffs for encircling the extremities of the person up to the wrists and ankles;
(b) a headpiece comprising a set of pressure cuffs, said headpiece formed to fit over the helmet of the person;
(c) a neckpiece comprising a set of pressure cuffs, said neckpiece formed to encircle the neck of the person, said neckpiece including a custom-fit stiff inner ring to protect the trachea and neck of the person, said neckpiece for connecting the body suit and headpiece; and
(d) a logic controller for receiving input data from the vehicle and stimulating the pressure cuffs of the body suit, headpiece, and neckpiece to expand and contract according to the data. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76, 77)
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Specification