Apparatus and method for measuring respiratory airway resistance and airway collapsibility in patients
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring airways resistance of a person by occluding inhalation of said person during a short interval and for measuring collapsibility of the airways of the person by gradually increasing flow resistance through said apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
- a face mask of a solid material adapted to be tightly attached to face portions of the person and surrounding at least a nose of the person, said mask having a plenum close to the face portions, continued by a passage of smaller dimensions and an inlet channel and an outlet channel extending from said passage towards a respective inlet and outlet opening,a pneumotachograph positioned in said passage and communicating with a pressure measuring device through openings provided in said mask to both sides of said pneumotachograph,indicating and recording means attached to said pressure measuring device, and configured to indicate pressure before, during and immediately after each total occlusion, as well as air flow through said pneumotachograph,an outlet valve mounted in said outlet channel,an elastic balloon completely filled with a liquid and positioned in a portion of circular cross section of said inlet channel, said elastic balloon configured to be inflated until there is total occlusion of said inlet channel, to be completely deflated for free air flow through said inlet channel, as well as to be partly inflated to cause a predesignated air flow resistance in said inlet channel, anda hand-operated syringe including a cylinder and a piston, remote from said face mask and communicating with said balloon through inelastic piping, both said syringe and piping being completely filled with liquid, said syringe being configured to inflate and to deflate said balloon in accordance with a position of said piston in said cylinder.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for measuring the airways resistance of a person by short-time occlusion of inhalation, includes a face mask having an inlet channel and an outlet channel, the latter provided with an outlet valve, and a narrow passage close to a plenum in front of the face. A pneumotachograph is mounted in the narrow passage and is connected to indicating and recording instrumentation. An elastic balloon filled with a liquid is positioned in the inlet channel and is configured to be fully inflated until total occlosure of the inlet channel and to be completely deflated to allow free air passage therethrough. Inflation and deflation of the balloon is manually performed by means of a syringe which is connected to the balloon by flexible tubing, with both syringe and tubing filled with liquid.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring airways resistance of a person by occluding inhalation of said person during a short interval and for measuring collapsibility of the airways of the person by gradually increasing flow resistance through said apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a face mask of a solid material adapted to be tightly attached to face portions of the person and surrounding at least a nose of the person, said mask having a plenum close to the face portions, continued by a passage of smaller dimensions and an inlet channel and an outlet channel extending from said passage towards a respective inlet and outlet opening, a pneumotachograph positioned in said passage and communicating with a pressure measuring device through openings provided in said mask to both sides of said pneumotachograph, indicating and recording means attached to said pressure measuring device, and configured to indicate pressure before, during and immediately after each total occlusion, as well as air flow through said pneumotachograph, an outlet valve mounted in said outlet channel, an elastic balloon completely filled with a liquid and positioned in a portion of circular cross section of said inlet channel, said elastic balloon configured to be inflated until there is total occlusion of said inlet channel, to be completely deflated for free air flow through said inlet channel, as well as to be partly inflated to cause a predesignated air flow resistance in said inlet channel, and a hand-operated syringe including a cylinder and a piston, remote from said face mask and communicating with said balloon through inelastic piping, both said syringe and piping being completely filled with liquid, said syringe being configured to inflate and to deflate said balloon in accordance with a position of said piston in said cylinder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for measuring airways resistance of a person by occluding exhalation of said person during a short interval and for measuring collapsibility of the airways of the person by gradually increasing flow resistance through said apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a face mask of a solid material adapted to be tightly attached to face portions of the person surrounding at least a nose of the person, said mask having a plenum close to the face portions, continued by a passage of smaller dimensions and an inlet channel and an outlet channel extending from said passage towards a respective inlet and outlet opening, a pneumotachograph positioned in said passage and communicating with a pressure measuring device through openings provided in said mask to both sides of said pneumotachograph, indicating and recording means attached to said pressure measuring device, and configured to indicate pressure before, during and immediately after each total occlusion, as well as air flow through said pneumotachograph, an inlet valve mounted in said inlet channel, an outlet valve mounted in said outlet channel, an elastic balloon completely filled with a liquid and positioned in a portion of circular cross section of said outlet channel, said elastic balloon configured to be inflated until there is total occlusion of said outlet channel, to be completely deflated for free air flow through said outlet channel, as well as to be partly inflated to cause a predesignated air flow resistance in said outlet channel, and a hand operated syringe including a cylinder and a piston, remote from said face mask and communicating with said balloon through inelastic piping, both said syringe and piping being completely filled with liquid, said syringe being configured to inflate and to deflate said balloon in accordance with a position of said piston in said cylinder.
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Specification