Apparatus to assist a patient's breathing with a variable ramp period to rise to treatment pressure

• US 7,500,481 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2003
• Issued: 03/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Kaerys S.A.S. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Delache, Veronique, Delache, Alain
• Primary Examiner(s): Bianco; Patricia M
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, NIHIR B
• Application Number:
  US10/506,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20050166920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,192 Days
• Field of Search: 128/204.23, 128/205.23, 128/204.26, 128/204.21, 128/204.18, 128/203.14, 128/203.13, 128/203.12, 128/204.29, 128/205.11, 128/205.18
• US Class Current: 128/204.23
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/087 Measuring breath flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0057 Pumps therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0069 the speed thereof being controlled by respiratory parameters, e.g. by inhalation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/024 including calculation means, e.g. using a processor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0021 with a proportional output signal, e.g. from a thermistor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0039 in the inspiratory circuit
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0042 in the expiratory circuit
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/70 with testing or calibration facilities
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/42 Rate
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 6/182 using back-emf in windings
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 6/34 Modelling or simulation for control purposes

Abstract

An apparatus (1) to assist a patient'"'"'s respiration by delivering air to a patient through a mask (20), including a ramp module (10) connected to a control unit (2) to provide the control unit with a pressure value P_M at mask (20), so that when apparatus (1) starts functioning, the pressure progressively rises until it reaches a treatment pressure PTi, the apparatus further including a comparator connected to ramp module (10), at least one device for detecting the patient'"'"'s breathing parameters and sending them to the comparator, so that the comparator can determine whether an event (E₁, E₂ or E₃) occurs in patient'"'"'s breathing and to send the corresponding data to ramp module (10) which provides control unit (2) with a pressure value P_M that will speed up with respect of time, so that the pressure rise at patient'"'"'s mask (20) is accelerated.

Claims

1. An apparatus to assist a patient'"'"'s respiration by delivering air to a patient through a mask, comprising:

a blower to provide the patient with air under a treatment pressure;

a control unit to adjust the pressure delivered by said blower at the level of said mask;

a ramp module connected to the control unit in order to provide the control unit with a value of pressure P_M to settle at said mask so that, when said apparatus starts functioning, the pressure progressively rises until the pressure of treatment P_T, the rise of pressure until the pressure of treatment P_T corresponding to a ramp period;

a comparator connected to the ramp module; and

at least one means for detecting the patient'"'"'s breathing parameters during said ramp period and sending them to said comparator such that the comparator is able during this said ramp period to determine whether an event (E₁, E₂ or E₃) occurs in patient'"'"'s breathing based on said breathing parameters and to send the corresponding data to the ramp module which provides the control unit with a value of pressure P_M that will speed up with respect of time during this said ramp period, in order to accelerate the rise of pressure at patient'"'"'s mask within the same said ramp period.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ramp module provides the value of pressure P_M being a linear function of time wherein an increase coefficient K_RP is constant, said ramp module increasing that coefficient of a constant value K_E when the control unit sends a data corresponding to said event (E₁, E₂ or E₃).

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the value of pressure P_M has always maximum and/or minimum limits so that the increase of pressure is also limited in minimum and/or maximum.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said ramp module comprises a memory where a minimum coefficient K_SRP is stored, said ramp module always maintaining the coefficient K_SRP equal or greater than said minimum coefficient K_SRP, so that the ramp module provides the control unit with a value of pressure P_M always greater than a minimum limit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said ramp module comprises a memory where a maximum coefficient K_MRP is stored, said ramp module always maintaining the coefficient K_RP equal or less than said maximum coefficient K_MRP, so that the ramp module provides the control unit with a value of pressure P_M always less than a maximum limit.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for detecting the patient'"'"'s breathing parameters enable the control unit to compute the airflow at patient'"'"'s mask, said comparator determining whether an event (E₁, E₂ or E₃) is occurring with the airflow parameters or shape.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ramp module increases the value of pressure P_M when an anomaly in patient'"'"'s breathing is detected.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said anomaly is either snoring or apnea.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ramp module increases the value of pressure P_M when the patient'"'"'s breathing parameters correspond to a drop between awake breathing and asleep breathing or when they correspond to a stable frequency of breathing.