Self-contained transportable life support system

• US 6,488,029 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1998
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MedFlex LLC
• Original Assignee: Integrated Medical Systems Incorporated (Eli Lilly and Company)
• Inventors: Kneale, Todd Douglas, Shultz, Douglas Ellwood, Garcia, Robert Michael, Hanks, Donald, Moore, Gene Bruce, Stanley, David Michael, Toth, Louis Stephen, Sobko, William Richard, Sherrill, David, Berry, Mark Lane, Hood, David Darby, Brayton, John Roger, Clark, Walter Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US09/221,223
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 128/845, 128/846, 128/869, 128/870, 128/897, 600/21, 600/22
• US Class Current: 128/845
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 1/00 Stretchers
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 1/04 Parts, details or accessories, e.g. head-, foot-, or like rests specially adapted for stretchers
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 10/023 Rooms for the treatment of patients at over- or under-pressure or at a variable pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/46 for temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2210/30 for intensive care
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0051 with alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0063 Compressors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/026 specially adapted for predicting, e.g. for determining an information representative of a flow limitation during a ventilation cycle by using a root square technique or a regression analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/101 using an oxygen concentrator
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/107 in the inspiratory path
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/0007 introduced into the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/0208 Oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/03 Gases in liquid phase, e.g. cryogenic liquids

Abstract

A self-contained transportable life support system for resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of a patient has an environmentally controlled housing for receiving and supporting a patient and a plurality of medical devices disposed within the housing. A control circuit attached to the housing has at least a portion thereof extending to an external surface of the housing for regulating operation of the medical devices and environmental conditions of within the housing in response to monitored life support conditions of the patient.

Claims

1. A self-contained transportable life support system for resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of a patient, the system comprising:

a) an environmentally controlled housing for receiving and supporting a patient;

b) a plurality of medical monitoring devices disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the patient, each of the medical monitoring devices being operative to generate a life support signal corresponding to a monitored physiological condition of the patient;

c) a plurality of medical treatment devices disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the patient, each respective one of the plurality of medical treatment devices being operative to treat a specific physiological function of said patient; and

d) a control circuit having a memory with a patient care management algorithm stored therewithin, the control circuit being attached to the housing and in electrical communication with the medical monitoring devices and the medical treatment devices, the patient care management algorithm being operative to direct the control circuit to substantially simultaneously monitor the life support signals generated by the medical monitoring devices and to control the operation of the medical treatment devices such that each respective one of the medical devices is implemented and regulated in response to at least two monitored life support signals wherein at least one monitored life support signal corresponds to a physiological condition selected from the group consisting of the patient'"'"'s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and volume, inspired and expired carbon dioxide and oxygen, hemoglobin oxygen saturation level, temperature, brain function, and blood chemistry.

2. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit is programmably controllable to regulate operation of the medical devices and life support conditions of the patient independent of operator intervention.

3. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit is programmably controllable to regulate environmental support conditions within the housing independent of operator intervention.

4. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one environmental control device disposed within the housing, and in electrical communication with the control circuit, for regulating environmental conditions within the housing.

5. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 4, wherein the environmental control device comprises a heater for heating an interior portion of the housing so as to maintain the interior portion above a predetermined minimum temperature.

6. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 4, wherein the environmental control device comprises a cooler for cooling an interior portion of the housing so as to maintain the interior portion below a predetermined maximum temperature.

7. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 4, wherein the environmental control device comprises an air filtration system for filtering air within the housing to deplete chemical and bacterial contamination within the housing.

8. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control system comprises a closed-loop control system.

9. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a communication circuit attached to the housing for communicating between the control circuit and a remote station.

10. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 9, wherein the communication system comprises:

a) a transmitter for transmitting information representative of patient life support conditions;

b) a receiver for receiving externally generated remote control signals; and

c) the control circuit being responsive to regulate operation of the medical devices and environmental conditions within the housing in response to the remote control signals.

11. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises:

a) a general purpose microprocessor; and

b) a data storage device for storing patient data, medical device data, environmental data, and system data.

12. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing having an interior portion is configured to receive and engage a stretcher, and also having an exterior portion configured to receive and engage vehicular mounted stretcher supports.

13. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises four stretcher retention members disposed within the housing for receiving and engaging a stretcher within the housing.

14. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the stretcher retention members comprise a stretcher engagement mechanism operative to provide locking engagement to the stretcher solely in response to placement of the stretcher upon the stretcher engagement mechanism.

15. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one medical monitoring device comprises:

a) a temperature monitoring device connectable to a patient for monitoring a body temperature of the patient; and

wherein at least one medical treatment device comprises;

a) a temperature control device connectable to the patient for controlling the body temperature of the patient.

16. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 15, wherein the temperature control device comprises an extracorporeal blood temperature controller for regulating blood temperature of the patient in response to the temperature monitoring system.

17. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 15, wherein the temperature control device directs temperature controlled air about the patient in response to the temperature monitoring device, so as to maintain the temperature of the patient within a desired range.

18. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing is sealable to isolate the patient therein from chemical and biological conditions external to the housing.

19. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a pressure regulating device disposed within the housing, in electrical communication with the control circuit, for regulating pressure within the housing.

20. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises an audio/visual device, at least a portion of which being disposed external to the housing and in electrical communication with the control circuit, for communicating information representative of patient life support conditions.

21. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 20, wherein the audio/visual device displays treatment instructions in response to operating conditions of the medical devices.

22. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises a power regulation circuit for regulating application of electrical power to the medical devices in accordance with an assigned priority status of the medical devices.

23. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 22, wherein the control circuit is operative to modify the assigned priority status of medical devices in response to the patient life support conditions.

24. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit is operative to simulate a plurality of life support conditions, to monitor an operator'"'"'s utilization of the medical devices in response to the simulated life support conditions, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the operator'"'"'s utilization of the medical devices.

25. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises at least one of a hyperbaric chamber and a hypobaric chamber.

26. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 23, wherein the hyperbaric chamber comprises a polymer material.

27. The self-contained transportable life support system as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises a medical data reader for receiving medical data from a medical data storage device, the control circuit being operative to regulate operation of the medical devices in response to the received medical data.

28. A method for transporting a patient while providing life support therefor, the method comprising the steps of:

a) providing an environmentally controlled transportable housing configured to receive and support the patient;

b) providing a plurality of medical monitoring devices disposed within the housing capable of being operatively coupled to the patient, each of the medical monitoring devices being operative to generate a life support signal corresponding to a monitored physiological condition of the patient;

c) providing a plurality of medical treatment devices within the housing operatively connectable to the patient, each respective one of said plurality of medical treatment devices being operative to treat a specific physiological function of said patient;

d) providing a control circuit attached to the housing and in electrical communication with the medical monitoring devices and the medical treatment devices, said control circuit having a memory with a patient care management algorithm stored therewithin for directing said control circuit to substantially simultaneously monitor the life support signals generated by the medical monitoring devices and to control the operation of the medical treatment devices such that each respective one of said medical treatment devices is implemented and regulated in response to at least two monitored life support signals wherein at least one monitored life support signal corresponds to a physiological condition selected from the group consisting of the patient'"'"'s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and volume, inspired and expired carbon dioxide and oxygen, hemoglobin oxygen saturation level, temperature, brain function, and blood chemistry; and

e) executing said patient care management algorithm.

29. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of programmably controlling the control circuit so as to regulate operation of the medical devices and life support conditions of the patient independent of simultaneous operator intervention.

30. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of heating an interior portion of the housing so as to maintain the interior portion above a predetermined minimum temperature.

31. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of cooling an interior portion of the housing so as to maintain the interior portion below a predetermined maximum temperature.

32. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of filtering the air within the housing.

33. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step of regulating operation of the medical devices comprises regulating operation of the medical devices via a closed-loop control system.

34. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of communicating between the control circuit and a remote location.

35. The method as recited in claim 34, wherein the step of communicating comprises:

a) transmitting information representative of patient life support conditions;

b) receiving externally generated remote control signals; and

c) the control circuit responding to the remote control signals, such that patient life support conditions are regulatable in response to the remote control signals.

36. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step of regulating operation of the medical devices comprises regulating operation of the medical devices with a general purpose microprocessor.

37. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the steps of receiving and engaging a stretcher within the housing and engaging the housing with vehicle mounted stretcher supports.

38. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the steps of receiving and engaging a stretcher within the housing.

39. The method as recited in claim 38, wherein the step of engaging a stretcher comprises providing locking engagement of the housing to the stretcher solely in response to placement of the stretcher upon a stretcher engagement mechanism.

40. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

a) monitoring a body temperature of the patient; and

b) controlling the body temperature of the patient.

41. The method as recited in claim 40, wherein the step of controlling the body temperature of the patient comprises controlling the body temperature of the patient via an extracorporeal blood temperature controller for regulating blood temperature of the patient in response to the temperature monitoring system.

42. The method as recited in claim 40, wherein the step of controlling the body temperature of the patient comprises controlling the body temperature of the patient via a temperature controlled water jacket.

43. The method as recited in claim 40, wherein the step of controlling the body temperature of the patient comprises directing temperature controlled air about the patient in response to the temperature monitoring system, so as to maintain the temperature of the patient within a desired range.

44. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of sealing the housing so as to isolate the patient therein from chemical and biological conditions external to the housing.

45. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of regulating the pressure within the housing.

46. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of displaying patient life support conditions.

47. The method as recited in claim 46, further comprising the step of displaying treatment instructions in response to patient life support conditions.

48. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step of regulating operation of the medical devices comprises regulating application of electric power to the medical devices in accordance with an assigned priority status of the medical devices.

49. The method as recited in claim 48, further comprising the step of modifying the assigned priority status of the medical devices in response to patient life support conditions.

50. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of simulating a plurality of life support conditions via the control circuit and monitoring an operator'"'"'s utilization of the medical devices in response to the simulated life support conditions to evaluate the effectivess of the operator'"'"'s utilization of the medical devices.

51. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step of receiving the patient within an environmentally controlled housing comprises receiving the patient within one of a hyperbaric chamber and a hypobaric chamber.

52. The method as recited in claim 51, wherein the step of receiving the patient within a hyperbaric chamber comprises receiving the patient within a hyperbaric chamber comprised of a polymer material.

53. The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising the step of receiving medical data from a medical data storage device via a medical data reader, the control circuit being operative to regulate operation of the medical devices in response to the received medical data.