Pressure Support Method with Automatic Comfort Feature Modification

• US 20080216832A1
• Filed: 02/08/2008
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philips RS North America LLC (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: RIC INVESTMENTS LLC (Respironics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hill, Peter D., Matthews, Greg, Paul, Zachary, Dixon, Tim, DeGuilio, Andrew, Shelly, Benjamin I., Carter, Duane H., Jonczak, Daniel A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,789,528 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/204.21
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0051 with alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0063 Compressors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/026 specially adapted for predicting, e.g. for determining an information representative of a flow limitation during a ventilation cycle by using a root square technique or a regression analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0027 pressure meter
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0036 in the breathing tube and used in both inspiratory and expiratory phase
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers

Abstract

A method of delivering a flow of gas to a patient'"'"'s airway via a pressure generating system and a patient circuit. A controller receives a treatment set point from an input source and determines an adjusted treatment set point based on the treatment set point and a comfort feature function, which in one embodiment, is not based on a physiological condition of such a patient. In another embodiment, the controller provides a respiratory treatment therapy during a therapy session based on the treatment set point and the comfort feature, which is modified automatically during a therapy session without user intervention based on a comparison of the treatment set point to a treatment set point variable. The controller controls the operation of the pressure generating system based on the adjusted treatment set point or the combination of the treatment set point and the comfort feature.

Claims

1. A method of providing a respiratory treatment therapy to a patient, comprising:

generating a pressurized flow of gas;

communicating the flow of gas to an airway of a patient;

determining an adjusted treatment set point based on a treatment set point and a comfort feature function, wherein the comfort feature function is not based on a physiological condition of such a patient; and

controlling the flow of gas based on the adjusted treatment set point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the adjusted treatment set point is done (a) a plurality of time during a respiratory cycle, or (b) during each processing cycle of a controller implementing the determining step.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment set point corresponds to a CPAP level, an IPAP level, an EPAP level, a pressure support level, a peak pressure, a peak volume, a peak flow, a PEEP level, an average pressure, an average volume, an average flow, an inspiration duration, or an expiration duration.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of changing the treatment set point during a therapy session manually or by means of an auto-adjusting algorithm.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the comfort feature function is a function of the treatment set point, the rate of the flow of gas, the pressure of the flow of gas, time, a pressure support level, or hardware associated with the pressure support system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the adjusted treatment set point is accomplished using a look up table, a neural network, fuzzy logic, or a mathematical formula.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the comfort feature function introduces a comfort feature to the treatment set point to determine the adjusted treatment set point, wherein the comfort feature includes a change in at least one of:

pressure, flow, pressure support, or rise rate from a previous treatment set point.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing the comfort feature function during a therapy session based on the treatment set point, the rate of the flow of gas, the pressure of the flow of gas, time, pressure support, or hardware associated with the pressure support system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the adjusted treatment set point includes determining a plurality of adjusted treatment set points based on a plurality of treatment set points from one or more input sources and one or more comfort feature functions, and wherein controlling the flow of gas is accomplished based on the plurality of adjusted treatment set points.

10. A method of providing a respiratory treatment therapy to a patient, comprising:

providing a pressure generating system adapted to generate a pressurized flow of gas;

communicating the flow of gas to an airway of a patient;

controlling the pressure generating system to provide a respiratory treatment therapy during a therapy session based on a treatment set point and a comfort feature; and

adding, deleting, or changing the comfort feature automatically during a therapy session, without user intervention, based on a comparison of the treatment set point to a treatment set point variable.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein adding, deleting, or changing the comfort feature is done (a) a plurality of time during a respiratory cycle, or (b) during each processing cycle of the controller.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the treatment set point corresponds to a CPAP level, an IPAP level, an EPAP level, a pressure support level, a peak pressure, a peak volume, a peak flow, a PEEP level, an average pressure, an average volume, an average flow, an inspiration duration, or an expiration duration.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of changing the treatment set point during a therapy session manually or by means of an auto-adjusting algorithm.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the respiratory treatment therapy based on the treatment set point and comfort feature is accomplished using a look up table, a neural network, fuzzy logic, or a mathematical formula.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the comfort features includes a change in at least one of:

pressure, flow, pressure support, or rise rate.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising changing the comfort feature to be used with the treatment set point to determine the respiratory treatment therapy during a therapy session based on the treatment set point, the rate of the flow of gas, the pressure of the flow of gas, time, pressure support, or hardware associated with the pressure support system.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein controlling the pressure generating system to provide a respiratory treatment therapy is accomplished based a plurality of treatment set points from one or more input sources and one or more comfort features, and wherein adding, deleting, or changing the comfort features includes adding, deleting, or changing the one or more comfort features.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the treatment set point variable includes a pressure related variable, a pressure support level, a flow related variable, or a time-based variable.

19. A method of providing a respiratory treatment therapy to a patient, comprising:

providing a pressure generating system adapted to generate a pressurized flow of gas;

communicating the flow of gas to an airway of a patient;

controlling the pressure generating system to provide a respiratory treatment therapy during a therapy session based on a treatment set point and a comfort feature; and

adding, deleting, or changing the comfort feature automatically during a therapy session, without user intervention, based on a comfort feature function that is not based on a physiological condition of such a patient.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein adding, deleting, or changing the comfort feature is done (a) a plurality of time during a respiratory cycle, or (b) during each processing cycle of the controller.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the treatment set point corresponds to CPAP level, an IPAP level, an EPAP level, a pressure support level, a peak pressure, a peak volume, a peak flow, a PEEP level, an average pressure, an average volume, an average flow, an inspiration duration, or an expiration duration.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of changing the treatment set point during a therapy session manually or by means of an auto-adjusting algorithm.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the comfort feature function is a function of the treatment set point, the rate of the flow of gas, the pressure of the flow of gas, time, pressure support, or hardware associated with the pressure support system.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein determining the respiratory treatment therapy based on the treatment set point and comfort feature is accomplished using a look up table, a neural network, fuzzy logic, or a mathematical formula.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the comfort feature is a change in at least one of:

pressure, flow, pressure support, or rise rate.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the comfort feature, the comfort feature function, or both are changed during a therapy session or during each processing cycle of a controller based on the treatment set point, the rate of the flow of gas, the pressure of the flow of gas, time, pressure support, or hardware associated with the pressure support system.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein controlling the pressure generating system to provide a respiratory treatment therapy is accomplished based a plurality of treatment set points from one or more input sources and one or more comfort features, and wherein adding, deleting, or changing the comfort features includes adding, deleting, or changing the one or more comfort features.