PUMP SYSTEM FOR NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND THERAPY
First Claim
1. A pump for applying suction to a wound in a negative pressure wound therapy system, the pump comprising a flow monitor to monitor fluid flow rate in a system conduit from a wound dressing to the pump as indicative of a level of negative pressure applied to a wound, the flow monitor detecting whether or not the flow rate deviates from a reference airflow rate.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pump system for applying negative pressure to a wound, including a flow monitor capable of detecting a deviation from a reference airflow rate provided by a controlled leak to determine whether the system is operating normally or abnormally, and a flow status annunciator to indicate a normal operating condition or whether an abnormal condition is a leak or an occluded line in the system. The pump system further includes a pressure controller for regulating operation of a pump to control pressure in the system at a range around a user-selected setpoint. The pump system may also include a waste collector and a level sensor for detecting when the collector is full.
254 Citations
35 Claims
- 1. A pump for applying suction to a wound in a negative pressure wound therapy system, the pump comprising a flow monitor to monitor fluid flow rate in a system conduit from a wound dressing to the pump as indicative of a level of negative pressure applied to a wound, the flow monitor detecting whether or not the flow rate deviates from a reference airflow rate.
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35. A method for applying suction to a wound in a negative pressure wound therapy system comprising:
- providing a suction pump;
providing a pressure transducer for sensing pressure in the system;
controlling the pump to maintain the system pressure between an upper limit and a lower limit around a pressure setpoint;
providing a flow monitor to monitor fluid flow rate in the system and to detect whether the flow rate deviates from a reference airflow rate; and
providing a non-numerical visual indicator to indicate whether the flow rate is normal or abnormal, wherein normal flow is defined as a flow rate within a range of the reference airflow rate and abnormal flow is defined as a flow rate that deviates from the reference airflow rate range, and wherein normal flow correlates with a normal level of negative pressure applied to the wound and abnormal flow correlates with an abnormal level of negative pressure applied to the wound.
- providing a suction pump;
Specification