Valve controlled flow into a tube

• US 6,185,442 B1
• Filed: 12/08/1997
• Issued: 02/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Clinical Innovations LLC (Clinical Innovations)
• Original Assignee: Ilan Zadik Samson
• Inventors: Samson, Ilan Zadik
• Primary Examiner(s): Dvorak, Linda C. M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GIBSON, ROY DEAN
• Application Number:
  US08/973,696
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 600/373, 600/376, 600/382, 600/383, 600/386, 600/387, 600/338, 607/149, 604/35
• US Class Current: 600/376
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/252 by suction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4362 Assessing foetal parameters

Abstract

Vacuum in a non-invasive medical probe having a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube, is reduced in a controlled manner by creating a valve aperture in the wall of the tube at a desired location through which aperture no appreciable leakage will occur when vacuum is applied and the tube is in a relaxed state, whereby with the suction cup secured by vacuum on a patient'"'"'s skin, application of a force to the tube wall will open the aperture and permit a controlled reduction of vacuum in the suction cup to a specified amount. Releasing the force permits the aperture to close so that lower vacuum is maintained and the suction cup continues to be secured on the patient'"'"'s skin. In a preferred application there is provided a probe adapted for application to the scalp of a fetus with the rim of the suction cup in sealing contact with the surface of the scalp. There is also provided a method of enabling a controlled flow into a resilient walled tube inside which the pressure is lower than outside the tube, by creating a valve aperture in the wall of the tube in a desired location through which no appreciable leakage will occur when the tube is in a relaxed state. The aperture opens on application of a force to the tube wall and permits a controlled flow therethrough into the tube, and the aperture closes when the force is released.

Claims

1. A method of controlling flow into a resilient walled tube inside which the pressure is lower than outside the tube, which tube has in its wall a preformed valve slit created by piercing the wall of the tube with the end of a tool whereby the slit is capable of opening and self closing under said lower pressure within the tube when a force on the tube is respectively applied and released, the method comprising applying said force to open the slit and to permit a controlled flow therethrough into the tube, and releasing said force so that the slit closes and the flow stops.

2. A method of securing a non-invasive medical probe to a patient'"'"'s skin, the probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the cup being adapted to be secured by vacuum on a patient'"'"'s skin, comprising the steps of:

applying an initial level of vacuum to said suction cup through said resilient walled tube structure to secure the suction cup by vacuum on the patient'"'"'s skin,

thereafter controllably reducing the vacuum applied to said suction cup to a specified lower amount while the suction cup is secured by vacuum on the patient'"'"'s skin, and

thereafter maintaining said specified lower amount of vacuum while the suction cup is secured by vacuum on the patient'"'"'s skin, until the suction cup is removed.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the reduction of said vacuum is controlled to occur at a substantially constant rate and/or amount.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said step of controllably reducing is performed with only one hand.

5. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said step of controllably reducing includes the step of controllably reducing the vacuum through the resilient walled tube structure.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein said initial level of vacuum is in the range of 300-500 millibar applied to attach the suction cup in place.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein the reduced vacuum is in the range of 40 to 100 millibar.

8. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the resilient walled tube structure includes a valve slit at a desired location, said slit being self-closing under pressure of the vacuum within the resilient walled tube structure such that no appreciable leakage will occur through the slit when the vacuum is applied and the resilient walled tube structure is in a relaxed state, and

the step of controllably reducing the vacuum includes the step of, with the suction cup secured by the vacuum on the patient'"'"'s skin, applying a force to a tube wall of the resilient walled tube structure to open the slit and permit a controlled reduction of vacuum in the suction cup to the specified lower amount, whereupon release of the force results in the slit closing so that specified lower amount of the vacuum is maintained and the suction cup continues to be secured on the patient'"'"'s skin.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the step of creating the slit by piercing the wall of the resilient walled tube arrangement with the end of a tool.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step of creating the slit includes the step of inserting a needle having an end chamfered to a line end as the tool into the resilient walled tube structure.

11. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of controllably reducing includes the step of bending the resilient walled tube structure in the vicinity of the slit to open the slit and thereby reduce the vacuum.

12. A non-invasive medical probe comprising:

a source of vacuum,

a suction cup adapted to be secured by vacuum on a patient'"'"'s skin,

a resilient walled tube structure interconnecting the source of vacuum with the suction cup,

a vacuum reducing arrangement separate from said source of vacuum and associated with said resilient walled tube structure for reducing the vacuum supplied by said source of vacuum to said suction cup by a specified lower amount in a controllable manner and for maintaining the reduced vacuum to said suction cup until the suction cup is removed.

13. A probe as claimed in claim 12, wherein said vacuum reducing arrangement includes a device to enable a single-handed operation for reducing the vacuum supplied to said suction cup.

14. A probe as claimed in claim 12, wherein the vacuum reducing arrangement is provided in the resilient walled tube structure.

15. A probe as claimed in claim 14, wherein the vacuum reducing arrangement includes a valve slit through a tube wall of the resilient walled tube structure at a desired location, which slit is self closing under pressure of the vacuum within the resilient walled tube structure, such that no appreciable leakage will occur through the slit when the vacuum is applied and the resilient walled tube structure is in a relaxed state, and wherein, with the suction cup secured by vacuum on the patient'"'"'s skin, application of a force to the wall of the resilient walled tube structure wall will open the slit to provide a controlled reduction of vacuum in the suction cup to the specified lower amount, and releasing the force will result in closing of the slit so that the specified lower amount of the vacuum is maintained and the suction cup continues to be secured on the patient'"'"'s skin.

16. A probe as claimed in claim 15, wherein the valve slit extends radially through the tube wall and transversely of an axis of the resilient walled tube structure.

17. A probe as claimed in claim 15, wherein the valve slit extends transversely of the resilient walled tube structure such that the force to reduce the vacuum is applied by bending the resilient walled tube structure about an axis of the slit with the slit disposed on the outside of a bend formed in the resilient walled tube structure, thereby opening the slit.

18. A probe as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a finger holding arrangement mounted with the resilient walled tube structure for bending the resilient walled tube structure in a specific manner and location to open the valve slit.

19. A probe as claimed in claim 18, wherein the finger holding arrangement includes a structure that enables the finger holding arrangement to be actuated by only one hand.

20. A probe as claimed in claim 12, wherein the source of vacuum includes a bellows attached to one end of the resilient walled tube structure.

21. A probe as claimed in claim 12, further including a measuring device for measuring the reduction in vacuum.

22. A probe as claimed in claim 21, wherein the measuring device comprises a non-expanding elongate member adapted to measure movement of the source of vacuum as the vacuum is reduced.

23. A probe as claimed in claim 22, wherein the source of vacuum includes an expandable device for creating suction, and the elongate member is fixed relative to a part of the expandable device for measuring expansion of the expandable device.

24. A probe as claimed in claim 22, wherein at least an end of the elongate member is calibrated to indicate the amount of vacuum remaining in the suction cup.

25. A non-invasive medical probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the suction cup being adapted to be secured on a patient'"'"'s skin by a vacuum created within the suction cup by said vacuum source, a vacuum reducing arrangement provided at an end of said resilient walled tube structure remote from the suction cup for controllably reducing the vacuum within the suction cup from a first upper value to a predetermined lower value in relation to said upper value, said vacuum reducing arrangement permitting maintenance of the vacuum at said lower value until the suction cup is to be removed, said source of vacuum comprising a bellows which is expansible to create said vacuum in the suction cup, and further comprising an indicator to indicate a state of contraction of the bellows corresponding to said predetermined lower vacuum value.

26. A non-invasive medical probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the suction cup being adapted to be secured on a patient'"'"'s skin by a vacuum created within the suction cup by said vacuum source, a vacuum reducing arrangement provided at an end of said resilient walled tube structure remote from the suction cup for controllably reducing the vacuum within the suction cup from a first upper value to a predetermined lower value in relation to said upper value, said vacuum reducing arrangement permitting maintenance of the vacuum at said lower value until the suction cup is to be removed, the vacuum reducing arrangement includes a valve aperture in a tube wall of the resilient walled tube structure permitting no appreciable leakage into the vacuum when the tube is in a relaxed state, the aperture being openable by application of a force to the tube wall to permit said reduction of vacuum in the suction cup.