Portable ventilator secretion management system

• US 9,833,584 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2013
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Breathe Technologies, Inc. (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Breathe Technologies, Inc. (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Ahmad, Samir S., Baloa Welzien, Leonardo Alberto
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, (Jackie) Tan-Uyen T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Boecker, Joseph D
• Application Number:
  US13/849,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20140283834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,719 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0006 with means for creating vibrations in patients' airways
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0051 with alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/0069 the speed thereof being controlled by respiratory parameters, e.g. by inhalation
• 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 16/06 Respiratory or anaesthetic masks
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/101 using an oxygen concentrator
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/107 in the inspiratory path
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/202 electrically actuated
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0027 pressure meter
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2016/0033 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/0208 Oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/505 Touch-screens; Virtual keyboard or keypads; Virtual buttons; Soft keys; Mouse touches
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8206 battery-operated

Abstract

A patient ventilator secretion management system is disclosed. The system has a valve with an input in pneumatic communication with a therapeutic breathing gas source. The valve has variable positions, each of which corresponds to a specific flow rate of gas being output therefrom. A patient ventilation interface is in pneumatic communication with the valve over a gas delivery circuit. A controller in communication with the valve regulates the position thereof. The controller sequentially switches the valve from one of the variable positions to another to output a first range of fluctuating flow rates of gas for delivery to the patient ventilation interface during at least a selected one of patient expiratory and inspiratory phases.

Claims

1. A portable patient ventilation apparatus comprising:

an intake port connectible to a pressure source providing a predefined source flow rate of therapeutic breathing gas;

a ventilator output port connectible over a gas delivery circuit to a patient ventilation interface for fitment on a patient respiratory passageway;

a valve with an input in pneumatic communication with the intake port and an output in pneumatic communication with the ventilator output port, having variable open and closed positions;

a first pressure sensor measuring a patient ventilation interface pressure, the patient ventilation interface being connectible to the first pressure sensor over a pressure sensor line;

a second pressure sensor measuring a valve output pressure; and

a controller in communication with the first pressure sensor, the second pressure sensor, and the valve, a patient inspiratory phase and a patient expiratory phase being detectable by the controller based upon a combination of measurements of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor, the controller being operative to switch the valve to restrict the flow of therapeutic breathing gas through the valve, the controller being further operative to periodically switch the valve in sequence between the variable open and closed positions during at least a selected one of the patient expiratory and inspiratory phases to induce oscillations in the flow of therapeutic breathing gas through the patient ventilation interface within a selected patient expiratory or inspiratory phase with an oscillation magnitude of the oscillations being controlled based on the measurement of the first pressure sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a rate of the periodic switching is defined by an oscillation frequency set by a user.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one oscillation cycle is defined by a first restricted flow rate corresponding to a first open position of the valve, and a second restricted flow rate corresponding to a first closed position of the valve.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first restricted flow rate is defined as a first restriction factor applied against the predefined source flow rate, and the second restricted flow rate is defined as a second restriction factor applied against the predefined source flow rate.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein a difference between the first restricted flow rate and the second restricted flow rate defines the oscillation magnitude.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:

the patient ventilation interface includes an entrainment port; and

the first restricted flow rate and the second restricted flow rate are at the output of the valve, the first restricted flow rate and the second restricted flow rate being increased at the patient ventilation interface based upon entrained gas through the entrainment port.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller regulates the valve to deliver a predefined measure of therapeutic breathing gas to a patient.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the predefined measure is one of a volume and a pressure.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the oscillations in the delivery of the therapeutic breathing gas to the patient are generated during only a portion of the selected patient expiratory or inspiratory phase.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the patient ventilation interface includes an entrainment port and a coupling of the patient ventilation interface.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas delivery circuit interconnecting the ventilator output port and the patient ventilation interface has a diameter less than 8 mm.

12. A patient ventilator secretion management system, comprising:

a valve with an input in pneumatic communication with a therapeutic breathing gas source, the valve having variable positions each of which corresponds to a specific flow rate of gas being output from the valve;

a patient ventilation interface in pneumatic communication with the valve over a gas delivery circuit;

a first pressure sensor measuring a patient ventilation interface pressure, the patient ventilation interface being connectible to the first pressure sensor over a pressure sensor line;

a second pressure sensor measuring a valve output pressure; and

a controller in communication with the valve for regulating the position thereof, the controller sequentially switching the valve from one of the variable positions to another one of the variable positions to output a first range of fluctuating flow rates of gas for delivery to the patient ventilation interface during at least a selected one of the patient expiratory and inspiratory phases to induce oscillations in the flow of therapeutic breathing gas through the patient ventilation interface within a selected patient expiratory or inspiratory phase with an oscillation magnitude of the oscillations being controlled based on the measurement of the first pressure sensor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the patient ventilation interface includes an entrainment port; and

the first range of fluctuating flow rates from the valve is increased to a second range of fluctuating flow rates at a patient based upon entrained gas through the entrainment port.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the gas delivery circuit has a diameter less than 8 mm.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the controller is in communication with the flow sensor, and the patient inspiratory phase and the patient expiratory phase are detectable based upon measurements from the flow sensor.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein a rate of the sequential switching of the valve is defined by an oscillation frequency set by a user.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein one oscillation cycle is defined by a first flow rate corresponding to a first one of the variable positions of the valve, and a second flow rate corresponding to a second one of the variable positions of the valve.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a difference between the first flow rate and the second flow rate defines the oscillation magnitude.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the controller regulates the valve to deliver a predefined volume of therapeutic breathing gas to a patient.

20. A method for managing mucus secretion of a patient undergoing ventilation therapy with a ventilation apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving on a controller data processing apparatus of the ventilation apparatus a value representing a therapeutic breathing gas delivery volume for delivery to the patient;

receiving on the controller data processing apparatus at least one oscillation frequency value and at least one oscillation magnitude value;

generating on the controller data processing apparatus a first valve positioning signal, the first valve positioning signal having a value corresponding to the at least one oscillating magnitude value and further based on a measurement of a patient ventilation interface pressure;

applying the first valve positioning signal to a valve for positioning a valve element to deliver a first predetermined flow rate of therapeutic breathing gas to the patient at a first time instance within a selected patient expiratory or inspiratory phase;

generating on the controller data processing apparatus a second valve positioning signal having a value corresponding to the at least one oscillating magnitude value and further based on the measurement of the patient ventilation interface pressure but different from the first valve positioning signal; and

applying the second valve position signal to the valve for positioning the valve element to deliver a second predetermined flow rate of the therapeutic breathing gas to the patient at a second time instance, different from the first time instance, within the selected patient expiratory or inspiratory phase, the oscillation frequency value corresponding to a difference between the first time instance and the second time instance.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein a one of the oscillation frequency values and a one of the oscillation magnitude values are associated with a secretion mobilizing oscillation applied during an expiratory phase of the patient.