Apparatus and method to provide breathing support
Inventors
Sardesai, Rajendra Gurudas • Ramanathan, Rangasamy
Assignees
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Publication Number
US-9345850-B2
Publication Date
2016-05-24
Expiration Date
Abstract
A ventilator, or a breathing assistance apparatus, is disclosed to ventilate patients who may have breathing difficulties, said device comprising a inspiratory pressure control duct configured to be immersed in a first body of fluid; a positive end-expiratory pressure control duct configured to be immersed in a second body of fluid; at least one valve connected to the peak inspiratory pressure control duct and to the positive end-expiratory pressure control duct, and at least one controller communicably connected to the valve to control rate of cycling of the valve, thereby controlling number of breaths per minute, and to control the duration of peak inspiratory pressure also known as inspiratory time.
Core Innovation
The invention is an inexpensive ventilator system and breathing assistance apparatus that uses a pressurized gas supply connected to a patient interface through a primary duct. The system includes at least two containers that each contain a body of fluid, with at least one peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) control duct and at least one positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) control duct. The control ducts are immersed in the body of fluid in their respective containers so that pressure behavior is governed by the immersed lengths.
A three-port valve having an inlet port connected to the distal end of the primary duct cycles between a first outlet port and a second outlet port to switch gas flow. Gas is switched to only the first outlet port to deliver gas to the PIP control duct and switched to only the second outlet port to deliver gas to the PEEP control duct. The immersed length of the PIP control duct in the first container is configured to be greater than the immersed length of the PEEP control duct in the second container.
The system further supports safety behavior and robustness in valve operation by providing a higher-immersed safety duct, and it includes a default valve failure mode described as behavior that defaults toward baseline PEEP/CPAP when valve failure occurs. Additional structural and flow behavior features described include valve-induced back pressure handling and corrective use of immersed-length relationships, including examples and charts addressing back pressure effects. The controller sets breathing timing parameters such as breath rate and inspiratory timing, including inspiratory time and inspiratory-to-expiratory ratio.
Claims Coverage
The document contains two independent claims, both describing a ventilator system with immersed PIP and PEEP control ducts connected to a three-port valve and using immersed-length relationships to govern PIP versus PEEP delivery. The claims include valve cycling architecture, relative immersed lengths, and delivery/sequencing behavior during peak inspiratory pressure versus positive end-expiratory pressure.
Immersed PIP and PEEP control ducts in separate fluid containers
The system includes at least one peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) control duct connected to the first outlet port of a valve and having a length immersed in a body of fluid in a first container, and at least one positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) control duct connected to a second outlet port of the valve and having a length immersed in a body of fluid in a second container.
Immersed length relationship for PIP versus PEEP
The immersed length of the PIP control duct in the first container is greater than the immersed length of the PEEP control duct in the second container.
Three-port valve cycles to switch flow to only the selected control duct
A three-port valve is configured to cycle between the first outlet port and the second outlet port thereby switching flow of a gas from the inlet port to only the first outlet port and from the inlet port to only the second outlet port.
Not closing the valve during peak inspiratory pressure and defined flow sequences
The valve is not closed when providing peak inspiratory pressure to a patient; and when the patient receives a peak inspiratory pressure, the system directs flow in a first sequence from the pressurized gas supply to the patient interface, to the three-port valve, through the three-port valve, to the PIP control duct, and when the patient receives a positive end-expiratory pressure, the system directs flow in a second sequence from the pressurized gas supply to the patient interface, to the three-port valve, through the three-port valve, to the PEEP control duct.
Across the two independent claims, the core claimed architecture is a ventilator system using a three-port valve to cycle gas between a PIP control duct and a PEEP control duct, each immersed in respective fluid containers, with PIP governed by a greater immersed length and with defined delivery behavior for peak inspiratory pressure versus positive end-expiratory pressure.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
Interested in licensing this patent?