Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease simulator
First Claim
1. A garment for simulating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, comprising:
- a thorax-constricting garment portion having a frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member with wearer-proximal and wearer-distal surfaces, the thorax-constricting portion further having tensioning means operatively extendible around a wearer'"'"'s thoracic-abdominal circumference, or a portion thereof, and operatively articulatable with the frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member to provide for application of constrictive thoracic-abdominal tension;
a diaphragm-impeding garment portion projecting away from the wearer-proximal surface of the frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member, and operative with the thorax-constricting garment portion to simultaneously constrict expansion of a wearer'"'"'s thorax while impeding contraction and downward movement of a wearer'"'"'s diaphragm.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Particular aspects provide a garment for simulating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), comprising a particularly efficacious combination of a thorax-constricting garment portion, and a diaphragm-impeding garment portion, along with an optional restrictive airway mask. The thorax-constricting portion has a frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member and tensioning means extendible around a wearer'"'"'s thoracic circumference to provide for constrictive thoracic-abdominal tensioning. The diaphragm-impeding portion has a projection (e.g., weighted projection or pouch) projecting away from the wearer-proximal surface of the frontal plate member, which is operative with the thorax-constricting portion to simultaneously constrict thorax expansion while impeding diaphragm contraction and downward movement. Additional aspects provide a method for simulating COPD, comprising tensioning a thoracic-abdominal constricting garment, having diaphragm-impeding means and optional restrictive airway mask, around a wearer'"'"'s thoracic-abdominal area at a tension, and for a time period sufficient to simulate at least one symptom or effect of COPD.
28 Citations
37 Claims
-
1. A garment for simulating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, comprising:
-
a thorax-constricting garment portion having a frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member with wearer-proximal and wearer-distal surfaces, the thorax-constricting portion further having tensioning means operatively extendible around a wearer'"'"'s thoracic-abdominal circumference, or a portion thereof, and operatively articulatable with the frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member to provide for application of constrictive thoracic-abdominal tension; a diaphragm-impeding garment portion projecting away from the wearer-proximal surface of the frontal abdominal-thoracic plate member, and operative with the thorax-constricting garment portion to simultaneously constrict expansion of a wearer'"'"'s thorax while impeding contraction and downward movement of a wearer'"'"'s diaphragm. - 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, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A method for simulating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, comprising:
tensioning a thoracic-abdominal constricting simulation garment around a wearer'"'"'s thoracic-abdominal area at a tension, and for a time period sufficient to simulate at least one symptom or effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, wherein the constricting simulation garment comprises a thorax-constricting garment portion, and a diaphragm-impeding garment portion. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
Specification