Resuscitation method and apparatus
First Claim
1. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprisingpassing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery,exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its posterior side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery,tautening the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions,loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, andcontinuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A patient (10) having cardiocirculatory arrest is resuscitated using a supple band (12) that is passed around the thorax (14). The thorax is clasped at its side portions, for example, between contoured band-guide assemblies (16 and 18), one (16) being fixed and the other (18) adapted for traversing movement. The band is guided, as by the assemblies (16 and 18), over the clasped portions of the thorax so that a tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components (62, 64, 66, 68) directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery. The band is alternately tautened and loosened, for example, using a pull roller (72) driven manually through a torque-measuring wrench handle (110) or by a motor device (170). The tautness of the band may be limited as by an adjustable mechanical stop arrangement (128, 130, 132).
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
passing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its posterior side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, tautening the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, and continuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm.
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8. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
passing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, tautening the band so that force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, said tautening step comprising drawing two end portions of the band substantially equal distances to the same side of the thorax while opposing bodily movement of the thorax to said same side, loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, and continuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm.
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13. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
passing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, tautening the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, continuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm, setting an adjustable limit, after the band is in place around the thorax, for a parameter affecting the tautness of the band in accordance with the patient'"'"'s body size and the amount of pressure to be applied to the thorax, and enforcing the limit each time the band is tautened.
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18. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
passing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, tautening the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, continuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm, juxtaposing the patient with a base member and with first and second band-guide members contoured to clasp the thorax at its side portions, traversing one of the band-guide members with respect to the base member in order to exert the clasping action, and using the other band-guide member to oppose bodily movement of the thorax to the one side.
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20. The method of resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
passing a supple band around the thorax of the patient so that the band is adapted when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its side portions and guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions so that the tautening of the band exerts the clasping action and produces force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, tautening the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, loosening the band so as to allow the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region, continuing to alternately tauten and loosen the band in a resuscitative rhythm, intensifying the inwardly directed force components on one portion of the thorax by placing a semi-rigid, surface-cushioned pad between the thorax portion and the band.
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21. An apparatus for use in resuscitating a patient having cardiocirculatory arrest, comprising
supple band means adapted to be passed around the thorax of the patient, first and second band-guide means for exerting a side-to-side clasping action on the thorax at its side portions, and for guiding the band for longitudinal movement over the clasped portions while adapting the band when tautened to conform substantially to the contour of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery and to exert the clasping action, thereby producing force components directed inwardly of the thorax around a major portion of its periphery, and means cooperating with one of the band-guide means for drawing a portion of the band to one side of the thorax while opposing bodily movement of the thorax toward said one side, thereby to tauten the band so that the force components produce intrathoracic pressures sufficient to propel the blood of the patient into effective capillary circulation in the extrathoracic regions, the drawing means being operable at a cardiac resuscitative rate to alternately so tauten and then loosen the band to permite the elastic tissues of the patient'"'"'s body to return blood to the intrathoracic region.
Specification