Anxiety is a term used generally to describe several disorders whose symptoms include apprehension, fear, and nervousness either as an abnormal response to an environmental condition or sometimes without a precursor stressor. Mild anxiety is vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety can be extremely debilitating, having a serious impact on daily life.
The cause of this condition is still not understood, but it has been long known that the vulnerability to panic disorder is strongly genetic. The amygdala has a significant role in the experience of both instinctive fear and fear that is learned from life experiences. Studies have shown that that inhaling elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide can generally induce anxiety and trigger panic attacks. Some anxiety and panic reactions are known to require the presence of the acid-sensing protein in the amygdala. An increase in carbon dioxide in the bloodstream reduces blood pH. One of the most consistent research findings about patients suffering from panic disorder is that they are hypersensitive to carbon dioxide levels in the air and other precursors to increased brain acidity. Research indicates that 80% of patients with panic disorder typically experience a panic attack when they inhale air containing 5% CO2 and that 2 breaths of 50% CO2 can trigger attacks immediately within this group. Further research has shown that the close relatives of panic prone patients will also panic during carbon dioxide inhalation, despite having been previously asymptomatic for an anxiety disorder. A hypersensitivity to acid in the brain seems to be indicative of a predisposition to panic attacks. Research has shown that CO2 levels of 600-950 ppm is commonly found in moderately populated enclosed areas (Cox, S, Lawrence, J and Sheehan, D, (1995). Single Ion Gas Chromatographic/Mass Spectroscopic Quantitative Analysis of Environmental CO2 in Agoraphobic Environments; Anxiety 1; 275-7).
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, i.e. GAD, is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive, persistent anxiety about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations and GAD is diagnosed when a person worries excessively about a variety of everyday problems for at least 6 months. GAD sufferers often feel afraid and worry about their health, money, family, work, or school, but they have trouble both identifying the specific fear and controlling the worries. Their fear is usually unrealistic or out of proportion with what may be expected in their situation. Sufferers expect failure and disaster to the point that it interferes with daily functions like work, school, social activities, and relationships.
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Panic attacks and anxiety are complex conditions of which little is known about their physiological triggers. It is believed that some individuals possess a hypersensitivity to elevated CO2 levels that should normally be tolerated by healthy individuals.
The removal of CO2 from air typically relies upon a chemical adsorbent to remove the undesired constituent from air and is commonly referred to as CO2 scrubbing. Porous inorganic metal oxides such as alkali metals or alkali-earth metals providing alkalinity have also been widely incorporated for CO2 capture. Among the various metal oxides, lithium and calcium based materials are preferred as effective CO2 adsorbents because of their high adsorption capacity.
Other methods for CO2 scrubbing techniques include chemical absorption through alkanolamine-based absorbents, ionic liquid-based absorbents, and blended absorbents. Additional methods incorporate physical adsorbents such as carbonaceous materials, e.g. activated carbon and graphene, zeolite, ordered mesoporous silica, e.g. M41s, SBA-n, and AMS and metal-organic frameworks. Chemical adsorbents include lithium materials, e.g. LiOH and Li2O2, calcium materials, e.g. Ca(OH)2, and amine-based materials.
The subject device of the present application is a handheld scrubber utilized to remove undesired constituents from air prior to inhalation. The device is primarily utilized to reduce the concentration of CO2 in inhaled air so as to inhibit the onset of anxiety or to provide a fast-acting intervention during the onset of anxiety or panic attacks among those afflicted with a hypersensitivity to CO2.
A disproportionate tracheal/blood CO2 ratio may induce a signal to the locus ceruleus-amygdala alarm and fear centers of the brain resulting in anxiety or even panic attacks in persons predisposed to such afflictions. Higher CO2 levels have also been shown to impair the quality of higher order brain functions in persons without these afflictions. The desire to escape an environment detected to be rich in CO2 is believed to be a physiological response common in mammals.
The hypersensitive response to elevated CO2 levels is rapidly reversible once the CO2 concentration falls below that required to induce the response. However, it is not always possible to remove a person so afflicted from a confined environment, e.g. a moving car, poorly ventilated work space or classroom, a crowded elevator, or an airplane. Additionally, time may be of the essence and the afflicted person may need to rapidly overcome the effect to focus on the task or decision at hand.
In order to provide an effective, rapid, and non-pharmacological treatment of symptoms related to the exposure to elevated CO2 levels, a handheld air scrubber that can be carried in a pocket, briefcase, or purse has been developed which employs a chemical adsorbent to remove substantial quantities of CO2 from air inhaled through the device until the adsorbent bed contained therein is substantially depleted. Ideally the device possesses valves to direct inhaled air across the adsorbent bed and to provide an alternative channel for exhaled air so as to direct CO2 rich expirations out of the device without passing back across the adsorbent bed. Other undesired constituents may also be removed from air by selecting the appropriate absorbents and/or adsorbents.
A handheld air scrubber device 100 for short term use is depicted in
The present application is directed to the disclosure of a handheld device 100 utilized to remove undesired constituents from ambient air immediately prior to its inhalation. This device is particularly useful in enclosed environments where these undesired constituents, e.g. CO2 and CO, can accumulate to produce deleterious effects on humans who inhale such contaminants.
The process of purifying air is commonly known as “scrubbing.” Scrubbing CO2 from inhaled air is useful to treat the onset of anxiety and panic attacks. Moreover, as is shown in
A common method for scrubbing is through the use of chemical adsorbents 80 to remove undesired constituents as air comes into contact with a sufficient quantity of that adsorbent 80. The efficiency of the scrubbing process depends on the duration a given volume of air is in contact with an unsaturated adsorbent 80, i.e. residence time, the efficiency of the adsorbent 80 itself in removing the undesired constituent irrespective of time, and the rate of removal of the undesired constituent from air when in contact with the adsorbent 80.
In a preferred embodiment, as depicted in
The air treatment chamber 30 further possesses a means to secure the adsorbent cartridge 90 in a fixed position within the housing 50. In a preferred embodiment, the air treatment chamber 30 is partially defined by first air treatment chamber wall interior surface 36 of the first air treatment chamber wall 48 and the second air treatment chamber wall interior surface 38 of the second air treatment chamber wall 49 of the lateral casings 40, 45 to mechanically hold the cartridge 90 in place in a friction fit arrangement. The air treatment chamber 30 further possesses base cartridge stops 58 extending into the air treatment chamber 30 so as to lift the cartridge 90 off of the inhalation ports 17. The air treatment chamber 30 further possesses a top cartridge stop 59 extending into the air treatment chamber 30 from the base 43 so as to set an upper limit for the movement of the cartridge 90 within the air treatment chamber 30.
The inhaled air is drawn through the inhalation ports 17 and through the cartridge 90 within the air treatment chamber 30. The air treatment chamber 30 is sealed at the top by a chamber ceiling 32. An internal inlet port 27 connects the air treatment chamber 30 to the transverse air duct 20 running from the anterior face 42 to the posterior face 46 of the device 100. An inlet valve 7 opens and closes the internal inlet port 27 by rotating above the inlet valve 7 and up and distally through the transverse air duct 20 about an inlet valve hinge 8 sited at the distal end of the internal inlet port 27. In a preferred embodiment, the inlet valve 7 is a flapper type valve with dowels 55 which are received into dowel seats 57 within the housing 50.
The inlet valve 7 rests on an inlet valve stop 9 which acts to prevent the inlet valve 7 from rotating into the air treatment chamber 30. At rest the inlet valve 1 seats against and seals the internal inlet port 27.
The outlet valve 11 rests on an outlet valve stop 12 which acts to prevent the outlet valve 11 from rotating proximally into the transverse air duct 20 and over the inlet valve 7. The outlet valve 11 acts to seal the outlet port 25 during inhalation. Sealing the outlet port 25 during inhalation ensures that a sufficient vacuum is created to draw air into the transverse air duct 20 from the air treatment chamber 30 and open the inlet valve 7.
In a preferred embodiment, the outlet valve 11 is a flapper type valve 53 with dowels 55 which are received into dowel seats 57 within the housing 50. At rest, the outlet valve 11 seats against the outlet port stop 12 within the transverse air duct 20 and prevents air from being inhaled through the outlet port 25, bypassing the adsorbent cartridge 90. The inlet valve 7 and the outlet valve 11 further possess a means to seal 2 the inlet valve 7 at the inlet valve stop 9 and outlet valve 11 against the outlet valve stop 12. The means to seal 2, e.g. a sheet 2 made of rubber, silicone, polymer, or a similar resilient material, is preferably affixed to the bottom surface of each valve 7, 11 but may also be affixed to the edge of each valve 7, 11 or valve stop 9, 12 as a gasket 2.
During exhalation, this seals the air treatment chamber 30 and directs exhaled air through the transverse air duct 20 and against the outlet valve 11. The pressure of the exhaled air forces the outlet valve 11 open and allows exhaled air to exit the housing 50 through the exhaust port 13. Exhaled air is prevented from entering the air treatment chamber 30 and traversing the adsorbent cartridge 90 to avoid premature depletion of the adsorbent 80 by unnecessary exposure to constituents of the exhaled air.
In a preferred embodiment, the inlet valve 7 and outlet valve 11 are flapper type valves which rotate about hinges 15 at the base of each valve 7, 11. At rest, the inlet valve 7 lies closed against the top of the air treatment chamber 30 so as to seal the internal inlet port 27.
During inhalation, the inlet valve 7 opens due to the vacuum within the transverse air duct 20 and permits air to flow from the inhalation ports 17 across the cartridge 90 in the air treatment chamber 30, through the inlet valve 7, and into the transverse air duct 20. The vacuum also acts to close the outlet valve 11 which seals the outlet port 25. Inhaled air follows the inhalation path 60 and exits the ventilation port 5 into the mouth of the user via the ventilation port sheath 6.
During exhalation, air is forced into the housing through the ventilation port 5, across the transverse air duct 20, against the outlet valve 11 which is hingedly attached at the top of the exhaust port 13 in the transverse air duct 20. The force of the air exhaled into the housing 50 via the ventilation port 5 forces the inlet valve 7 to close and opens the outlet valve 11. After passing through the outlet port 25, the exhaled air exits through the exhaust port 13 at the distal end of the transverse air duct 20.
The housing 50 is preferably constructed of a rigid material such as a plastic to protect the integrity of the adsorbent sheets. The inlet valve 7 and outlet valve 11 are likewise constructed of a rigid material. The housing 50 is preferably molded into two lateral casings 40, 45 which are joined about a casing joint 47.
As depicted in
In a further preferred embodiment, the adsorbent 80 is retained on each support 31 in parallel vertical rows 85 across one face of the support 31. When stacked together, these supports 31 are arranged so that the adsorbent rows 85 on each support 31 lie adjacent to the planar surface of an adjacent support 31. This arrangement, when supports 31 are tightly stacked together to form an adsorbent cartridge 90, uses the empty rows created from the open spaces between adsorbent rows 85 as adsorbent cartridge ventilation channels 83 through which air is inhaled and contacts the adsorbent 80 for the removal of CO2 or other contaminants. Ideally, there is sufficient volume in the cartridge ventilation channels 83 to minimize the pressure differential across the cartridge 90.
The thickness of the adsorbent cartridge 90 is optimized to ensure a tight fit within the air treatment chamber 30 so as to ensure sufficient air flow through the adsorbent cartridge 90 rather than around the adsorbent cartridge 90. Ideally the supports 31 are bound together to fix each sheet's relative position within the adsorbent cartridge 90. The air treatment chamber 30 utilizes top cartridge stops 59 to ensure that a head space is preserved by preventing the adsorbent cartridge 90 from moving up toward the internal inlet port 27. The air treatment chamber 30 also possesses base cartridge stops 58 to ensure that some space is maintained between the bottom of the adsorbent cartridge 90 and the air treatment chamber floor 35.
The air treatment chamber floor 35 possesses a plurality of inhalation ports 17 through which air enters the housing 50 during inhalation. Some space between the bottom of the adsorbent cartridge 90 and the inhalation ports 17 assists in inhibiting foreign objects from contacting the adsorbent supports and adsorbent rows in a way that could potentially dislodge some adsorbent 80 from the supports 31.
The adsorbent cartridge housing 99, i.e. filter cartridge cradle 99, retains the filter cartridge 90, i.e. adsorbent cartridge 90. The filter cartridge 90 is retained within the filter cartridge housing 99 by a filter cartridge cap 110. The adsorbent cartridge housing 90 possesses a substantially rectangular support floor 96 from which support stops 95 extend vertically from each corner on the proximal side of said support floor 96 along with side cartridge guides 93 and end cartridge guides 97 which serves to retain and position the adsorbent cartridge 90. It is important to keep the absorbent sheets 91 properly aligned to keep the filter ventilation channels 83 open and unobstructed and to minimize the pressure differential (ΔP) across the cartridge 90. When properly positioned, the ventilation channels 83 minimize the pressure differential by keeping all or most of the channels 83 open and contiguous across the cartridge 90. While it is important to keep the sheets 91 properly aligned along their edges, it is also important to prevent them from moving along the proximal-distal axis, i.e. up-and-down within the cartridge cradle 99 as they could shift and cause channels 83 to be blocked.
The distal side of said support floor 96 is in contact with the air treatment chamber first side wall 49 on one side of the air treatment chamber 30 which acts to tension the filter cartridge cradle 99, i.e. removable filter cartridge housing, and filter cartridge 90 against a second air treatment chamber wall 48.
The filter cartridge cap 110 possesses a series of cap legs 112 and cap tabs 114 to both position the cap 110 and to retain the filter cartridge 90 so as to inhibit movement of the filter cartridge 90. The filter cartridge cap 110 possesses a cartridge roof 116 having an interior face 117 adjacent to the filter cartridge 90 and an exterior face 118. The filter cartridge cap 110 and cradle 99 act to retain the filter cartridge 90 so as to inhibit movement within the filter cartridge cradle 99. The filter cartridge cradle 99 and filter cartridge cap 110 further act to inhibit movement of the filter cartridge 90 within the housing 50 by engaging the side walls 48, 49 and stops 9, 58 within the housing 50. The snug fit of the filter cartridge 90 within the air treatment chamber 30 against the interior walls 36, 38 minimizes or eliminates the amount of air flowing around the filter cartridge 90, thus remaining untreated prior to inhalation.
It Is anticipated that the device 100 will be disposable, with the housing 50 being supplied pre-loaded with an adsorbent cartridge 90. The device 100 is further anticipated to be sold in sealed packaging. The packaging could be vacuum sealed or possess an inert atmosphere such as N2. Preferably, the seam 47 between the lateral casings 40, 45 is sonically welded or otherwise sealed.
The housing 50 is preferably comprised of a composition of polypropylene and a thermoplastic elastomer. The housing 50 is formulated to be resistant to attack by the adsorbent 85. Ideally, the composition of the housing 50, the filter cartridge cradle 99, and the filter cartridge cap 110 is substantially ⅔ polypropylene and ⅓ thermoplastic elastomer.
While the apparatus may have been disclosed herein with reference to certain embodiments, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined herein. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that any and all examples in the present disclosure, while illustrating embodiments of the invention, are provided as non-limiting examples and are, therefore, not to be taken as limiting the various aspects so illustrated. The apparatus is intended to have its full scope consistent with the drawings and description herein, and equivalents thereof. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative and not as restrictive.
The present device relates to a portable, handheld chemical adsorbent system/device for reducing anxiety and the symptoms of panic attacks through the reduction of inhaled carbon dioxide. This application claims priority from Ser. No. 14/499,769 filed Sep. 29, 2014 and Ser. No. 14/707,084 filed May 8, 2015.