Butterfly cuff

Inventors

Baruch, Martin

Assignees

Caretaker Medical LLC

Abstract

A cuff for monitoring physiological cycles has an exterior and interior surface and securing means. The cuff consists of a body having an upper curve, a lower curve and a height (CH) therebetween. A sensor adhered with a flexible protective overlay to the interior surface is in communication with a microprocessor storage means. The microprocessor storage means can be within the cuff or separate therefrom with communication between the sensor and the storage means being wireless or through a communication member. A locking tab, having a width less than the body, extends from one side of the body. A slot retaining area extends from the body on a side opposite the locking tab and contains a slot dimensioned to receive the locking tab. A pull tab is adjacent the slot retaining area opposite the body. The pull tab shares a base with the slot retaining area and has a top line and an end width less than the width of the body. The cuff can be manufactured from a hook and loop material or have other securing methods to affix the cuff in place.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a noninvasive cuff for arterial monitoring, including a butterfly cuff configured to avoid occluding finger digital blood flow while disposing a sensor aligned with an artery of a user. The cuff includes a body having an interior surface and an exterior surface, with the sensor coupled to the interior surface, and a flexible protective overlay coupled to the interior surface such that the sensor is positioned between the body and the flexible protective overlay.

The cuff uses a locking tab and a slot retaining portion defining a slot configured to receive the locking tab, along with a pull tab extending from the slot retaining portion in a direction away from the body. The locking tab and pull tab are pulled in opposite directions and secured relative to each other to secure the sensor relative to the artery, including fastening and securing by hook-and-loop material, adhesive, or other securing methods.

Geometric relationships support sensor-to-artery alignment and repeatable tightening, including non-zero and non-perpendicular slot orientation relative to a lower edge of the slot retaining portion. The cuff further includes angled tab and slot relationships, including described locking tab extension angle, slot angle, and pull-tab edge/top-line angle, and a microprocessor storage means with the sensor in communication via wireless communication or via a communication member.

The document also describes physiological cycles monitoring using the cuff sensor, including monitoring blood pressure (cNIBP), HRV, hypovolemia/hypervolemia, inter-beat interval, and arrhythmia, and the cuff is optionally integrating an oximeter or SpO2 functionality.

Claims Coverage

The partial claims include four independent claim families and one independent method claim. The independent features center on an interior-mounted sensor aligned to an artery, a locking tab received in an angled slot retaining portion, and a pull tab that enables opposite-direction pulling and securing of the locking tab relative to the cuff body, with additional geometry constraints in some independent claims.

Across the independent claims, the central inventive concept is a cuff system where an interior-mounted sensor is positioned to align with a user’s artery, and the sensor is secured using a locking tab received in a slot retaining portion along with a pull tab that enables opposite-direction pulling and securing. Additional independent refinements constrain pull-tab and locking/tab geometry, including specific angular relationships and width relationships, and require the slot to be disposed at a non-zero and non-perpendicular angle relative to a lower edge.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications