Claims
- 1. A method for monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. positioning an inflated structure in the patient's upper airway between the patient's mouth and the patient's glottic opening; B. monitoring a pressure within the inflated structure; C. activating an alarm when the pressure exceeds a first selected level.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, further including activating the alarm when the pressure drops below a second selected level.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, including positioning the inflated structure in the patient's pharynx.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the inflated structure comprises a cuff of a laryngeal mask airway device.
- 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the inflated structure is inflated by an amount less than required to stretch walls of the structure.
- 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the inflated structure is inflated by an amount sufficient to cause the structure to push against the patient's pharyngeal walls.
- 7. A method for monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. positioning an inflated structure in the patient's upper airway between the patient's mouth and the patient's glottic opening; B. measuring a pressure within the inflated structure during a first time interval; C. calculating a first value based on measurements of the pressure during the first time interval; D. activating an alarm if the first value exceeds a threshold.
- 8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising calculating a first mean and a second mean, the first mean being equal to an average of cuff pressure during the first time interval, the second mean being equal to an average of cuff pressure during a second time interval, the first value comprising a difference between the first mean and the second mean.
- 9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the first value is an absolute value of the difference.
- 10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the first value represents an area between a curve representative of the pressure during the interval and a mean value of the pressure.
- 11. A method according to claim 7, wherein the inflated structure comprises a cuff of a laryngeal mask airway device.
- 12. A method for monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. positioning an inflated structure in the patient's upper airway between the patient's mouth and the patient's glottic opening; B. measuring a pressure within the inflated structure; C. generating a signal according to a function of the pressure.
- 13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising activating an alarm when the signal exceeds a threshold.
- 14. A method according to claim 12, the signal being representative of a level of awareness of the patient.
- 15. A method for use with a laryngeal mask airway device including an inflatable cuff, the method comprising:
A. positioning at least a portion of the device inside a patient so that the inflated cuff is disposed around the patient's glottic opening; B. monitoring a pressure within the inflated cuff; and C. activating an alarm when deviations of the pressure exceed a selected level.
- 16. A method of monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. monitoring muscular activity in a region of the patient's pharynx; B. activating an alarm if the activity exceeds a selected level.
- 17. A method according to claim 16, the muscular activity comprising activity of pharyngeal constrictor muscles.
- 18. A method according to claim 16, further comprising locating an inflatable structure inside the patient's pharynx.
- 19. A method according to claim 18, the monitoring comprising measuring a pressure within the inflatable structure.
- 20. A method according to claim 18, the inflatable structure comprising a cuff of a laryngeal mask airway device.
- 21. A method of monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. generating a signal representative of muscular activity in a region of the patient's pharynx; and B. generating a display representative of the signal.
- 22. A method according to claim 21, wherein generating a display comprises activating an alarm when the signal exceeds a selected level.
- 23. A method according to claim 21, further comprising positioning an inflated structure in the patient's upper airway between the patient's mouth and the patient's glottic opening.
- 24. A method according to claim 23, the signal being generated according to a function of pressure within the inflated structure.
- 25. A method of monitoring a patient, the method comprising:
A. sensing a pressure in a region of the patient's pharynx; and B. generating a signal according to a function of the pressure; and C. activating an alarm if the signal exceeds a selected level.
- 26. A method according to claim 25, wherein the pressure is a pressure within an inflated structure disposed in the pharynx.
- 27. A method according to claim 25, wherein the pressure changes in response to changes in tone of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles.
- 28. A method according to claim 25, wherein the pressure changes in response to changes in size of the patient's airway between the patient's glottic opening and the patient's lungs.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/GB98/03849 |
Dec 1998 |
WO |
|
GB9727367.6 |
Dec 1997 |
GB |
|
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/382,030, entitled MONITORING AND CONTROL FOR A LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY DEVICE, which was filed on Aug. 24, 1999, and which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is also a continuation in part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/602,264, entitled MONITORING AND CONTROL FOR A LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY DEVICE, which was filed on Jun. 23, 2000, and which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09612059 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Child |
10347036 |
Jan 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09382030 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
09612059 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09602264 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
Child |
09612059 |
Jul 2000 |
US |