Apparatus for the determination of respiratory parameters
First Claim
1. Apparatus for measuring the respiratory resistance of a patient, said apparatus comprising:
- (a) a body part formed with a passageway for receiving a flow of air produced by an exhalation by the patient,(b) a normally open, closable valve operable and arranged, when open, to permit passage of said flow through said passageway and, when closed, substantially to halt said flow,(c) actuating means responsive to receive opening and closing signals to open and close said valve,(d) means, including a pressure transducer responsive to the pressure of flow in said passageway, for providing said actuating means with a closing signal to close said valve when said pressure reaches a predetermined level during exhalation, and an opening signal subsequent to said closing signal to reopen said valve during said exhalation, and(e) means responsive to the output of said transducer generating a flow signal representing the rate of flow of said flow of air when said valve is reopened.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for measuring the respiratory resistance of a patient has a passageway for the flow of air produced by the patient'"'"'s exhalation and a valve for temporarily halting and then restoring the flow. The rate of flow following the temporary halting depends solely upon the respiratory resistance. Respiratory resistance is derived from circuitry responsive to signals representing pressure and rate of flow. The rate of flow is preferably derived from a comparison of the pressure within the apparatus with the ambient pressure. Provision may be made for actuating the valve automatically when satisfactory conditions are established, for visual display of the resistance and for averaging the resistance results over a number of exhalations.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. Apparatus for measuring the respiratory resistance of a patient, said apparatus comprising:
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(a) a body part formed with a passageway for receiving a flow of air produced by an exhalation by the patient, (b) a normally open, closable valve operable and arranged, when open, to permit passage of said flow through said passageway and, when closed, substantially to halt said flow, (c) actuating means responsive to receive opening and closing signals to open and close said valve, (d) means, including a pressure transducer responsive to the pressure of flow in said passageway, for providing said actuating means with a closing signal to close said valve when said pressure reaches a predetermined level during exhalation, and an opening signal subsequent to said closing signal to reopen said valve during said exhalation, and (e) means responsive to the output of said transducer generating a flow signal representing the rate of flow of said flow of air when said valve is reopened. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification