A system including apparatus and method for supplying and controlling a selected breathing gas mixture in proper amounts at a selected cycle rate with a high degree of accuracy including a console with gas supply and control units at a substantial distance from the patient and a transfer unit in proximity to the patient. The gas supply hose from the console to the transfer unit is long and of large volume, while the delivery hose from the transfer unit to the patient is very short and of relatively small volume. Control valves for the supply and return flow paths are in the transfer unit and are actuated by remote control means in the console. Thus, the major part of the machine compliance is eliminated, and the system makes it possible to accurately control the volume of gas delivered to a patient. The transfer unit includes a pressure sensor for continually monitoring pressure and a temperature sensor.
For use in inhalation therapy, a system for raising inhalation temperature which senses both inhalation and exhalation temperatures. In one mode of operation, the inhalation temperature is continuously raised, while the time sequence of inhalation and exhalation temperatures is recorded. In another mode of operation, the inhalation temperature is made to track, at a constant lower offset, the exhalation temperature.
A manifold system is provided herein. The manifold is operative to automatically switch between an In-Use supply of compressed gas to a Reserve supply of compressed gas. The manifold system is constructed so that after it has been installed, it may be converted for use in other applications such as between compressed gas cylinders and portable bulk liquefied gas. The system may include low wattage electric heater which are mechanically held in direct contact with the valve seat body housing of the primary regulators. The direct contact of the heaters with the valve seat is operative to prevent the primary regulator valve seat from freezing up. The manifold system may include transducers at a plurality of points in the system. A processor is operative to control one or more solenoids to switch supplies of compressed gas and to trigger alarms responsive to the outputs of the transducers.
A system for automatically controlling the amount of heat delivered to a human body through ventilator therapy so as to maintain the body at a desired core temperature. The temperature of the inspired and expired gas is measured by temperature sensors to control operation of an inhalation heater so that the inspired gas temperature tracks the expired gas temperature with different adjusted separations. Automatic switching is under control of a body core temperature sensor detecting deviations from the desired body temperature.
The present invention provides an apparatus for treating gas prior to its use in a medical procedure comprising a housing that receives gas from an insufflator, a chamber within the housing having a humidification means, a heating means disposed within the humidification means, a filtering means within the humidification means, a means for sensing the temperature of the heated and humidified gas, and a controlling means connected to the sensing means to maintain the temperature of the gas to a predetermined temperature. Additionally provided are methods of providing heated, humidified and filtered gas to a patient at a predetermined temperature.
A method and appartus for determining patient lung pressure, compliance and resistance, for use in conjunction with a respirator system of the compensated-volume type wherein a predetermined volume of gas is delivered to the patient in each breathing cycle. The method and apparatus of the invention determine both the system pressure at the point of delivery to the patient and the patient lung pressure, both at the end of the inspiration phase of the breathing cycle, and utilize these values, together with a compensated volume signal, to compute the values of patient compliance and resistance. Control circuitry, actuated periodically or on demand, substitutes an enforced plateau period following inspiration, to allow the system pressure to fall to the value of lung pressure which is obtained at the end of the inspiration phase, thereby permitting the measurement of lung pressure by sampling system pressure at the end of the plateau period. The control circuitry also controls analog-to-digital converters which convert the computed values of pressure, compliance and resistance for display in a digital display device.
