Fluid handling system for medication infusion system
First Claim
1. An infusion apparatus for providing medication to a living body of a patient comprising:
- a medication reservior for storing selected medication;
means for pumping said selected medication responsive to actuating commands for pumping fixed volume pulses at a variable rate, said pump means operating in a pulsatile mode, the input of said pump means being in communication with said reservior;
means for actuating said pump means at a variable rate;
means for accumulating said selected medication, said means for accumulating comprising a variable volume chamber, the input of said accumulator means being in communication with the output of said pump means whereby said accumulator means may be filled at a variable rate governed by said pump means;
means for restricting the flow of said selected medication, the input of said flow restrictor means being in communication with the output of said accumulator means, said flow restricator means in combination with said accumulator means smoothing the pulsatile nature of the flow of said selected medication; and
means for communicating said selected medication from the output of said flow restrictor means to said living body.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for fluid handling and delivery in a medication infusion system is disclosed. The apparatus generally contains a pulsatile pump in combination with at least an accumulation flow restrictor. The pulsatile pump is economical in electrical consumption by virtue of the use of a spring force pumping action. The accumulator flow restrictor smooths the output from the pulsatile pump so that medication is delivered in a manner compatible with human or animal body needs. As an example, for infusion of medication such as insulin, the medication infusion system can provide an infusion flow profile which mimics that of insulin production in a normal person.
201 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An infusion apparatus for providing medication to a living body of a patient comprising:
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a medication reservior for storing selected medication; means for pumping said selected medication responsive to actuating commands for pumping fixed volume pulses at a variable rate, said pump means operating in a pulsatile mode, the input of said pump means being in communication with said reservior; means for actuating said pump means at a variable rate; means for accumulating said selected medication, said means for accumulating comprising a variable volume chamber, the input of said accumulator means being in communication with the output of said pump means whereby said accumulator means may be filled at a variable rate governed by said pump means; means for restricting the flow of said selected medication, the input of said flow restrictor means being in communication with the output of said accumulator means, said flow restricator means in combination with said accumulator means smoothing the pulsatile nature of the flow of said selected medication; and means for communicating said selected medication from the output of said flow restrictor means to said living body. - 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)
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30. An infusion apparatus for providing medication to a living body of a patient comprising:
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a medication reservoir for storing selected medication; means for pumping said selected medication, said pump means operating in a pulsatile mode, the input of said pump means being in communication with said reservoir wherein said pump means comprises, a variable volume bellows chamber having an input and output, said input being in communication with said medication reservoir, said variable volume chamber having an effective area (A), a moving means which is activated for increasing the volume of said bellows chamber to a preselected maximum volume thereby drawing said selected medication from said medication reservoir, a spring means for urging said bellows chamber to contract to a preselected minimum volume, thereby forcing said selected medication through said output, said spring means providing a spring force (F), whereby said spring means is unable to force said selected medication through said output when the pressure (P) in said bellows chamber exceeds said spring force (F) divided by said effective area (A), that is when, Pmax =F/A; means for restricting the flow of said selected medication, the input of said flow restrictor means being in communication with said output of said pump means, wherein said restricting means will restrict the maximum medication flow rate into said living body, and said maximum flow rate is obtained when the pressure in said bellows chamber reaches Pmax which is a result of said moving means being activated at a rapid rate, thereby preventing said pumping means from providing said selected medication at an unsafe dosage; and means for communicating said selected medication from the output of said flow restrictor means to said living body.
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Specification