Patent Application
20250192599
The present invention is generally related to an integrated, shareable power supply system for medical procedure devices that can be connected to helmetless support and ventilation systems for use with surgical hoods and gowns. The system enables the user to eliminate prior power solutions and takes advantage of the additional capacity of the internal battery in the helmetless support and ventilation system. Furthermore, the system will eliminate the additional weight associated with those prior power solutions. In this manner, the power source that is provided with the helmetless support and ventilation system can then be commonly used with any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system.
Prior to the present invention, as set forth in general terms above and more specifically below, it is known that power requirements associated with lighting and augmented reality (AR) solutions for use in medical procedures can be very complex. For example, each of these lighting and AR solutions (such Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and Virtual Reality solutions) has have their own direct current (DC) power supplies. Also, each one of these DC power supplies needs to be worn by the operator (such as medical personnel performing a medical procedure) in unique locations from on the waist, around the neck or back, or even on the head. Since these DC power supplies can become very cumbersome, these DC power supplies can create challenges for cable management, not to mention the additional weight of each of the DC power supplies. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an integrated, shareable power supply system for medical procedure devices that can be connected to helmetless support and ventilation systems for use with surgical hoods and gowns, wherein the integrated, shareable power supply system would enable the user to eliminate those known power solutions and take advantage of the additional capacity of the internal battery in the helmetless support and ventilation systems. Furthermore, it would be desired to be able to reduce or eliminate the additional weight associated with those known DC power solutions. Finally, it would be desired to provide a helmetless support and ventilation system having a power supply that can then be commonly used with any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill these and other needs in the power supply for medical devices art in a manner more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.
The preferred integrated, shareable power supply system for medical procedure devices, according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; reduction in weight in the power supply; the ability to quickly connect the medical device to the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to quickly disconnect the medical device from the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to use the battery located within the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to quickly change out the battery in the helmetless support and ventilation system; and the ability to provide the helmetless support and ventilation system with a power supply that can be commonly used with the helmetless support and ventilation system and any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system. In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known power supply systems for medical devices.
The above-mentioned features and steps of the invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters represent like parts throughout the several views and in which:
In order to address the shortcomings of the prior, known power supplies for medical devices, it would be desirable to provide an integrated, shareable power supply system for medical procedure devices that can be connected to helmetless support and ventilation systems for use with surgical hoods and gowns, wherein the integrated, shareable power supply system would enable the user to eliminate those known power solutions and take advantage of the additional capacity of the internal battery in the helmetless support and ventilation systems. Furthermore, it would be desired to be able to reduce or eliminate the additional weight associated with those known DC power solutions. Finally, it would be desired to provide the helmetless support and ventilation system having a power supply can then be commonly used with any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system.
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With respect to yoke module 300, as shown in
Another unique aspect of the present invention is the use of yoke module 300. In particular, yoke module 300 can be used to assist in retaining ventilation system 100 on the shoulders of the wearer. In particular, yoke 302 is removably attached to protective casing 120 through the use of yoke connectors 304. In this manner, yoke 302 can be easily attached to and removed from protective casing 120. Furthermore, since yoke 302 is flexible, yoke 302 can be adjusted so as to fit the upper torso of the wearer so that ventilation system 100 will remain securely retained on the shoulders and the upper torso of the wearer. For example, the wearer can position the ventilation system with the yoke module 300 installed over his/her head and place the yoke module 300 on the upper torso of the wearer. The wearer can then pull/push on yoke 302 while yoke 302 is connected to yoke connectors 304 so that yoke 302 firmly contacts the upper torso of the wearer in order to assist in retaining the ventilation system 100 on the shoulders and upper torso of the wearer 6.
A unique aspect of the present invention is the use of additional (auxiliary) battery packs 352 and 352A that can be mounted on the protective casing 120 or on the yoke 302 near the yoke connectors 304 in a weight neutral position (i.e., the addition of the battery packs 352 and 352A do not create a forward or backward force on the wearer, instead the weight of the additional battery packs 352 and 352A only create a slight downward force on the wearer). These additional (auxiliary) battery packs 354 and 354A are electrically connected to the power module 250 and could be used to provide additional power to the various devices (not shown) that are electrically connected to helmetless support and ventilation system 100 such as an air flow generation module, electric motors, and a printed circuit board (PCB) module for an extended period of time in addition to the main batteries 252. In this manner, the batteries 252 are shareable from the integrated, shareable power supply system 100 and an additional battery pack 352 and/or 352A that are electrically connected to the power module 250 are also sharable from the integrated, shareable power supply system 100 and are mounted and balanced on the yoke 302.
With respect to using integrated, shareable power supply system 100, attention is directed to
A unique aspect of the present invention is that since the various devices do not need to be electrically connected to the known power supply devices, as discussed earlier, the amount of extra weight that the user (medical personnel) needs to carry around during a medical procedure is significantly reduced or eliminated, thereby reducing the fatigue experienced by the user due to the extra weight.
Another unique aspect of the present invention is that instead of having to monitor the battery life of all of the various devices that are being used during the medical procedure, only the battery 252, 352 and/or 352A need to be monitored to ensure that the battery 252, 352 and/or 352A are operating properly. In case the battery 252, 352 and/or 352A start to run out of power, the integrated, shareable power supply system 100 can allow the user to “hot swap” or quickly change the battery 252, 352 and/or 352A without having to restart or re-boot the various devices. In this manner, the various devices can continuously operate during the medical procedure.
A further unique aspect of the present invention is that since the various devices are electrically connected to the integrated, shareable power supply system 100, a remote-control device (not shown) can be utilized to operate any or all of the devices that are electrically connected to the integrated, shareable power supply system 100. In this manner, a universal remote-control can be utilized by the user (medical personnel) to operate the various devices that are electrically connected to the integrated, shareable power supply system 100. This will eliminate the need for the user to carry around and operate multiple remote-control devices.
Another unique aspect of the present invention is the use of additional battery packs 352 and 352A that can be mounted on the protective casing 120 or on the yoke 302 near the yoke connectors 304 in a weight neutral position (i.e., the addition of the battery packs 352 and 352A do not create a forward or backward force on the wearer, instead the weight of the additional battery packs 352 and 352A only create a slight downward force on the wearer). These additional battery packs 354 and 354A could be used to provide additional power to the various devices (not shown) that are electrically connected to helmetless support and ventilation system 100 such as an air flow generation module, electric motors, and a printed circuit board (PCB) module for an extended period of time in addition to the main batteries 252. In this manner, the batteries 252 are shareable from the integrated, shareable power supply system 100 and an additional battery pack 352 and/or 352A that are electrically connected to the power module 250 are also sharable from the integrated, shareable power supply system 100 and are mounted and balanced on the yoke 302.
A still further unique aspect of the present invention is that since the helmetless support and ventilation system includes a power supply, this power supply can then be commonly used with any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system.
With respect to headlamp device power port 152, some of the benefits of the headlamp device power port 152 are as follows:
With respect to USB-C or other similar power port 154, some of the benefits of the USB-C or other similar power port 154 are as follows:
While the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described in considerable detail, it is not the intention to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the various aspects of the subject matter. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the specific details or the illustrative examples shown and described. Thus, this disclosure is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims, which satisfy the statutory subject matter requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 101.
To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
To the extent that the term “or” is used in the detailed description or claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the phrase “only A or B but not both” will be used. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use.
Therefore, provided herein is a new and improved integrated, shareable power supply system for medical procedure devices, according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; reduction in weight in the power supply; the ability to quickly connect the medical device to the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to quickly disconnect the medical device from the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to use the battery located within the helmetless support and ventilation system; the ability to quickly change out the battery in the helmetless support and ventilation system; and the ability to provide the helmetless support and ventilation system with a power supply that can be commonly used with the helmetless support and ventilation system and any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system.
In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages of ease of use, lightness in weight, the ability to use the AR device (such Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and Virtual Reality devices) in conjunction with a face shield, the ability to use the adapter system on a variety of AR devices, portability, ease of attachment of the adapter to the AR device, ease of removal of the adapter from the AR device, the ability to provide the helmetless support and ventilation system with a power supply that can be commonly used with the helmetless support and ventilation system and any medical procedure device that can be connected to the helmetless support and ventilation system, and reduced cost are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known power supply systems for medical devices.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Patent Application 63/606,636, filed on Dec. 6, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure to the extent such a disclosure is not inconsistent with the disclosure herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63606636 | Dec 2023 | US |
