System and respiration appliance for supporting the airway of a subject

• US 9,216,266 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2009
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Witt, Erik Kurt, Colbaugh, Michael Edward, Clegg, William Edwin, Mechlenburg, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Annette
• Assistant Examiner(s): Han, Mark K
• Application Number:
  US13/141,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20110259340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,204 Days
• Field of Search: 128/204.18, 12820423-20426, 128/205.24, 128/207.13, 128/207.18
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0057 Pumps therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/024 including calculation means, e.g. using a processor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0666 Nasal cannulas or tubing devices for improving normal breathing through the nose A61F5/08; nose filters A62B23/06; outside holding devices A61M25/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/20 Valves specially adapted to medical respiratory devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/205 used for exhalation control
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3334 Measuring or controlling the flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2206/10 Flow characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/005 Parameter used as control input for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/40 Respiratory characteristics

Abstract

A respiration appliance (10), system (40), and method (62, 72, 86) for supporting the airway of a subject (12) as the subject (12) breaths. The flow of gas from the lungs of the subject (12) during exhalation is leveraged to provide support to the airway. In particular, a body (14) that encloses one or more external orifices of the subject (12) provides a resistance differential between inhaled gas flows and exhaled gas flows that supports the subject'"'"'s airway.

Claims

1. A respiration appliance configured to support the airway of a subject as the subject breathes, the respiration appliance comprising:

a body configured to enclose one or more external orifices of the airway of a subject, wherein the body is adapted to form a plurality of flow paths between the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject and ambient atmosphere, the plurality of flow paths comprising a first subset of flow paths made up of one or more of but not all of the plurality of flow paths;

a set of one or more inhalation valves disposed in the first subset of flow paths, wherein the one or more inhalation valves are adapted to permit gas to flow relatively freely during inhalations from ambient atmosphere to one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject within the first subset of flow paths, and wherein the one or more inhalation valves are adapted to significantly resist or seal the flow of gas during exhalations from the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere within the first subset of flow paths;

wherein a cumulative resistance within the plurality of flow paths to gas flowing from ambient atmosphere to the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject is low enough that the subject can inhale freely through the body during the inhalations, and wherein the cumulative resistance within the plurality of flow paths to gas flowing from the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere is high enough that exhalation by the subject through the body creates a pressure in the airway of the subject that provides at least 1 cm H₂O at 20 LPM of flow that supports the airway during the exhalations; and

a circuit port formed in the body configured to connect the interior of the body with a circuit that delivers a pressurized flow of breathable gas during the inhalations and the exhalations to the body through the circuit port.

2. The respiration appliance of claim 1, further comprising a circuit valve disposed in the circuit port configured to control the resistance of the circuit port to the flow of gas from the circuit that connects to the circuit port into the body.

3. The respiration appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more sensors generating one or more output signals that convey information related to the stability of the airway of the subject; and

a processor configured to control the resistance of the circuit valve to the flow of gas from the circuit that connects to the circuit port into the body based on the one or more output signals generated by the one or more sensors.

4. The respiration appliance of claim 1, further comprising a set of one or more exhalation valves disposed in a second subset of flow paths formed by the body, the one or more exhalation valves being configured to permit gas flow from the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere through the second subset of flow paths, wherein the second subset of flow paths is made up of one or more of the plurality of flow paths formed by the body that are not included in the first subset of flow paths.

5. The respiration appliance of claim 1, wherein the circuit port is configured to removably interface with the circuit to selectably connect the circuit with the interior of the body, and wherein the cumulative resistance within the plurality of flow paths to gas flowing from the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere is high enough that exhalation by the subject through the body creates a pressure in the airway of the subject that provides at least 10 cm H₂O at 30 LPM of flow, wherein the pressure supports the airway during the exhalations.

6. The respiration appliance of claim 1, wherein the one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject comprise the nostrils of the subject, and wherein the respiration appliance further comprises an interior barrier disposed within the body that directs the pressurized flow of breathable gas from the circuit port to a single one of the nostrils of the subject while sealing the pressurized flow of breathable gas from reaching the other nostril of the subject, wherein the respiration appliance further comprises a pressure generator configured to generate the pressurized flow of breathable gas consistently during the inhalations and the exhalations, wherein the pressure generator is operatively coupled to the circuit.