Patent Application
20190231626
The invention relates to the field of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), specifically to apparatuses and methods for quickly stabilizing the head and neck of a patient for improved performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR has long been used to reinstate or preserve blood flow through a patient until further medical treatment arrives or can be implemented. CPR principally comprises a series of chest compressions delivered by hand followed by a volume of air being forced into the patient's airway through mouth to mouth resuscitation or through a one-way valve disposed in a mask that is placed on the patient. Compressing the patient's chest raises the patient's blood pressure so that organs such as the brain continue to receive blood flow while air forced into the patient's lungs forces them to respire for an extended amount of time over what would have occurred had no assistance been given. When CPR was first implemented as a treatment regimen, the initial proscribed method included ventilating the patient once for every five chest compressions. This was later changed to ventilate the patient twice for every ten chest compressions. Modernly however, the preferred CPR treatment regime includes two ventilations for every thirty chest compressions.
Regardless of the ratio of chest compressions to ventilations however, in order for CPR to be truly effective, the oral airway of the patient must remain accessible and free of occlusions. This can be particularly difficult when the patient is severely injured or when the patient's tongue is otherwise blocking or occluding the patient's oral airway thus preventing effective patient ventilation. This can be especially critical in emergency situations when every moment that the patient is denied blood flow or oxygen dramatically increases the odds of stroke or even death. Previous airway bridges that have been used include molds which are used to prop the patient's shoulders and neck in an upward position. With the airway bridge properly placed, the patient's head is tilted backward, thus clearing the patient's oral airway for proper ventilation. These airway bridges are typically comprised of foam and are vacuum packed and sealed within the EMT's medical equipment in order to save space. Frequently however during transit to the accident site, these vacuum packed airway bridges can have their seal broken or removed, thus causing the foam of the airway bridge to prematurely expand within its packaging. Thus when the EMT retrieves the airway bridge for use on a patient, the airway bridge can be difficult to remove from its packaging, thus delaying treatment of the patient even further.
What is needed therefore is an apparatus and method for quickly and efficiently supporting and clearing a patient's airway for CPR treatment or other treatments requiring access to the patient's oral airway while the patient is still present at the scene of the emergency. The apparatus should be easily transported and stored while also being inexpensive, disposable, and easy to use.
The current invention is an airway bridge for maintaining a patient at an elevated position. The airway bridge includes a base, an incline portion adjustably coupled to the base, a vertical portion adjustably coupled to the incline portion, and a brace portion adjustably coupled to the vertical portion. The airway bridge also includes a first adhering means disposed on a top surface of the base and a corresponding second adhering means disposed on a bottom surface of the brace portion, the second adhering means being configured to removably couple to the first adhering means.
In one embodiment, the airway bridge includes a stop that is coupled to the lateral edge of the base, wherein the stop is disposed at a lateral edge of the base. In this embodiment, the various portions of the airway bridge including the base, the incline portion, the vertical portion, the brace portion, and the stop are comprised of rigid lightweight material.
In a separate embodiment, the incline portion, the vertical portion, and the brace portion of the airway bridge are capable of being placed into a parallel position relative to the base when the airway bridge is in a collapsed configuration.
In a related embodiment, the base, the incline portion, the vertical portion, and the brace portion of the airway bridge are formed from a single structural body.
In yet another embodiment, the incline portion, the vertical portion, and the brace portion of the airway bridge are capable of being placed into a co-planar position relative to the base when the airway bridge is in an expanded configuration.
In yet another embodiment, the first adhering means and the second adhering means of the airway bridge are preferably comprised of a plurality of corresponding surfaces of hook and latch fabric.
In one particular embodiment, the incline portion of the airway bridge is disposed at an angle of between 45-60 degrees relative to the base when the airway bridge is in the operating configuration. The stop in this embodiment is further configured to prevent the lateral movement of the brace portion after the airway bridge has been placed into the operating configuration.
The invention further provides a method for actuating an airway bridge. The method includes manipulating an incline portion of the airway bridge to be disposed at an angle relative to a base of the airway bridge, manipulating a vertical portion of the airway bridge to be disposed perpendicular relative to the base of the airway bridge, and coupling a brace portion of the airway bridge to the base of the airway bridge. The method further includes preventing any lateral movement of the brace portion after it has been coupled to the base.
In one embodiment, the method step of preventing any lateral movement of the brace portion after it has been coupled to the base involves coupling the brace portion adjacent to a stationary stop coupled to the base.
In a separate embodiment, the method step of coupling a brace portion of the airway bridge to the base of the airway bridge involves pressing at least one portion of hook and latch fabric disposed on the bottom surface of the brace portion against a corresponding portion of hook and latch fabric disposed on a top surface of the base.
In yet another embodiment, the method step of manipulating an incline portion of the airway bridge to be disposed at an angle relative to a base of the airway bridge includes adjusting the incline portion to be disposed at an angle between 45-60 degrees relative to the base of the airway bridge.
In a further embodiment, the method also includes releasing the brace portion from the base of the airway bridge, manipulating the brace portion, the vertical portion, and the incline portion to be disposed parallel to the base of the airway bridge, and reducing the relative angle between the incline portion and the base to a minimum.
In a different embodiment, the method also includes releasing the brace portion from the base of the airway bridge, manipulating the brace portion, the vertical portion, and the incline portion to be disposed in a common plane with the base of the airway bridge, and then increasing the relative angle between the incline portion and the base to a maximum.
The invention further provides a method for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a patient. The method involves providing an airway bridge in a collapsed configuration, moving the airway bridge from the collapsed configuration into an operating configuration, and then fixing the airway bridge in the operating configuration. Next, the patient is placed onto the airway bridge and CPR is performed. The airway bridge is then removed from the vicinity of the patient.
In one embodiment, the method step of moving the airway bridge from the collapsed configuration into an operating configuration includes manipulating an incline portion of the airway bridge from a parallel position relative to a base of the airway bridge to an angled position relative to the base of the airway bridge.
In another embodiment, the method step of fixing the airway bridge in the operating configuration comprises removably coupling a brace portion of the airway bridge to a base of the airway bridge.
In yet another embodiment, the method step of placing the patient onto the airway bridge includes laying the shoulders of the patient on an incline portion of the airway bridge while the head of the patient rests on a brace portion and a stop of the airway bridge. The incline portion of the airway bridge is disposed at an angle relative to the brace portion and stop of the airway bridge so that when the patient is undergoing CPR, their head reclines at an angle thus prevent occlusion of their oral airway.
In another embodiment, the method step of fixing the airway bridge in the operating configuration comprises placing a brace portion of the airway bridge laterally against a fixed stop disposed on the base of the airway bridge.
While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expressly understood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 USC 112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of “means” or “steps” limitations, but are to be accorded the full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition provided by the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 USC 112 are to be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 USC 112. The disclosure can be better visualized by turning now to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.
The disclosure and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are presented as illustrated examples of the embodiments defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the embodiments as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below.
The current invention is an adjustable and collapsible rigid airway bridge which is seen in
In one particular embodiment, each surface element of the airway bridge 10 including the base 12, incline 14, vertical portion 16, brace 18, and stop 20 each comprise a graphic or image disposed across its respective surface. For example, the incline 14 may contain a graphic which comprises an image or a series of images depicting how to use the airway bridge 10 on a patient or how to perform CPR. The brace 18 and stop 20 may further comprise an image which shows where the user is to place the head of the patient as the patient is being lowered onto the airway bridge 10. The image disposed across the brace 18 and the stop 20 can cooperate and form a larger image which, when the brace 18 is adhered to the base 12, ensures that the brace 18 is properly aligned with the stop 20.
In
In
To use the airway bridge 10, a user removes the airway bridge 10 from its storage location while it is in its folded configuration seen in
With the brace 18 correctly placed, the airway bridge 10 is ready for use by a patient 34. In one embodiment, the patient 34 is laid down on top of the airway bridge 10 as seen in
After the patient 34 has been treated or moved off of the airway bridge 10, the airway bridge 10 may be collapsed and/or folded by releasing the second adhering means 30 from the first adhering means 28 and lifting the brace 18 upwards away from the base 12. The brace and incline 14 may be manipulated about the first, second, and third joints 22, 24, 26 by the user 32 so that the incline 14, vertical portion 16, and brace 18 are then laid flat or parallel against the stop 20 and base 12 as seen in
In an alternative embodiment, the airway bridge 10 comprises a pull tab or other means for actuation which quickly moves the airway bridge 10 from the compact configuration seen in
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following embodiments and its various embodiments.
Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the embodiments includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed in above even when not initially claimed in such combinations. A teaching that two elements are combined in a claimed combination is further to be understood as also allowing for a claimed combination in which the two elements are not combined with each other, but may be used alone or combined in other combinations. The excision of any disclosed element of the embodiments is explicitly contemplated as within the scope of the embodiments.
The words used in this specification to describe the various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements.
The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptionally equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the embodiments.
