Patent Application
20100198175
The present invention relates to suction and drainage devices used to drain liquids and gases from the human body.
Normally, the pressure in the lungs is greater than the pressure in the pleural space surrounding the lungs. However, if air enters the pleural space, the pressure in the pleura then becomes greater than the pressure in the lungs, causing the lung to collapse partially or completely. Pneumothorax can be either spontaneous or due to trauma. If a pneumothorax occurs suddenly or for no known reason, it is called a spontaneous pneumothorax. This condition most often strikes tall, thin men between the ages of 20 to 40. In addition, people with lung disorders, such as emphysema, cystic fibrosis, and tuberculosis are at higher risk for spontaneous pneumothorax. Traumatic pneumothorax is the result of accident or injury due to medical procedures performed to the chest cavity, such as thoracentesis or mechanical ventilation. Tension pneumothorax is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that may be caused by traumatic injury, chronic lung disease, or as a complication of a medical procedure. In this type of pneumothorax, air enters the chest cavity, but cannot escape. This greatly increased pressure in the pleural space causes the lung to collapse completely, compresses the heart, and pushes the heart and associated blood vessels toward the unaffected side.
Pumps for pleural drainage have inter alia contributed to the reduction of mortality and a solution to the aforementioned problems. Compact drainage systems for pleural drainage have been used and these devices have included collection chambers with a water seal which prevents the returning of the air to the pleural cavity and connected to a suction system. Nevertheless, there are several issues and problems with said compact systems. In the medical community for example, it would be desirable to progress from systems where in order to keep the water seal, it is necessary a column of water of some height and a float valve in the water seal chamber to systems for indicating the respiration of the patient and a bubble chamber which indicates the passage of air bubbles from the pleural cavity to the suction source. These systems are usually large and cumbersome for patients that would like to move around.
Furthermore, the medical community has in the past relied on systems with a disposable component containing the collection chambers, attached to a non-disposable fixed systems as well as fixed suction regulators and valves. Here again, the issue with this type of designs is that the disposable chambers are not adapted to the human body. Patient's mayor complaint relies in the non-ergonomic design that makes it uncomfortable and unbearable. The non-disposable system has always been attached to the hospital walls forcing patients to stay connected and in bed to avoid complications.
There is also need in the industry, to manufacture pleural drainage devices include multiple advanced tools for diagnoses useful for monitoring of patients as well a portable system so that the patient is free to move. For example in the thoracostomy medical arts, there is a need to provide the patient who requires a closed thoracostomy, a portable drainage system, which is ergonomic and comfortable. This ergonomic mobile system would create faster recovery of the patient as well as the important reduction of the hospital expenses avoiding prolonged hospitalizations.
Moreover, in the drainage system arts, it would be desirable to progress from the fixed to the wall system that use an anchored suction mechanism, to an ergonomic suction mobile device with an insitu pumping and valve source. Fixed systems, in many cases are unnecessary in clinically stable patients, which promote complications because of confinement to resting in bed due to the traditional management of his pleural pathology. They are forced to be connected to uncomfortable drainage devices, anchored to a wall suction dependant of a central pump source at the hospital.
There is also a further need in the medical device arts for a portable disposable drainage system that generates permanent suction in an autonomous manner without the necessity of connecting to a suction external source (which generally is connected to the wall) and so, giving the patient the convenience, freedom and safety of movement, early ambulation and a possible ambulatory management of his pathology when indicated.
The present technology provides an ergonomic, portable drainage system which includes an ergonomic carrier and a disposable collection apparatus with incorporated suction pump.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the technology, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the technology, there are shown in the embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the technology is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
The present technology provides for an ergonomic, portable drainage system. Said system provides for a portable ergonomic carrier apparatus depicted in
The ergonomic carrier apparatus 101 further comprises at least one electric motor 503 or similar device, designed to create pressure in order to pump the gasses and liquids from the patient. Said electric motor is equivalent to means to accurately control the movement of an object based on speed, distance, load, inertia or a combination of all these factors. Said electric motor 503 can be selected from the group consisting of Stepper Motor, Linear Step Motor, DC Brush, Brushless, Servo, Brushless Servo and more. Said electric motor 503 advantageously creates circular or vertical motions to a moving member 504 attached. Said moving member 504 is further engagingly coupled demountably though 1202 to at least one suction mechanism 207 as depicted in
The ergonomic carrier apparatus 100 further comprises at least a battery or battery pack 501 stringed in parallel or series to provide for the energy required to drive the electric motor 503. Said battery 501 is advantageously a rechargeable battery charged using external charger 111. The carrier apparatus 100 further comprises at least one electronic driver 502 further comprised of semiconductor and or a printed wiring board technology. Said driver 502 is meant to drive the battery, LED 108 and to make sure for the continuous operation of said motor 503. The electronic driver 502 is used to alternate the current to drive the electric motor and also to pulse the power to the motor 503 in order to conserve energy and to maintain a stable pumping rhythm. In at least one preferred embodiment, an indexer or controller microprocessor was used to generate step pulses and direction signals for the driver 502.
The disposable collector apparatus of
Said disposable collector apparatus 200 is advantageously made out of transparent or clear plastic in order to visualize and measure the drained liquid. The transparent plastic is selected from the group of polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, and poly (vinyl chloride). Said clear plastic was painted with a scale 1303 in cc to visualize an exact measurement of the quantity of drained material when liquid. An alternative embodiment is depicted in
Said disposable collector apparatus 200 further comprises at least a filtering mechanism such as the one depicted in
In at least one preferred embodiment, the negative pressure system was guaranteed by a stepping motor 503—of 9 volts, energized by a rechargeable battery 501 of same voltage. The motor 503 due to its internal system of gears reduces the revolutions until reach the 24 rpm and through the articulation with a connecting-rod or moving member 504 impulses an embolus 701, which is sealed in its distal side towards a suction chamber 608 forming so an autonomous system that provides negative pressure to a closed system for pleural drainage. The moving member 504 transmits the rotation movement with the embolus 701 engaged in 702. An alternative engagement is depicted in 100, where the mating part 105 engagingly mated and coupled demountably with its opposite side 206 in the pump by its distal side. The pump 207 is further comprised of a seal or valve pack 1105 and 1106. The suction chamber 608 sucks gases and liquids from the inlet 202 though the collecting chambers 210A-D though the water trap 1100 as defined by 204 and is further communicated with the valves 1105 and 1106, the gases finally exiting through exit tube 209 thus giving continuity to the system.
In alternative embodiment of the technology, the respiration monitor in the water trap 1100 is united with the suction system 207 through a tube 604 that comes from the exit of the one-way suction a single ball 704 valve such as the one defined in
The pressure needed to be created by system thought the pump 207, needs to be enough to allow for normal breathing and at the same time enough pressure to extract gases and fluids from the pleural space. This is because pressure is greater than the lung to the pleura (this is a virtual cavity), the lung is covered with a membrane (the visceral pleura) and this membrane covers the inside of the thoracic cavity (parietal pleura). This virtual cavity has only a small amount of liquid, but the mechanics of breathing is like in a closed cavity. In constant temperature, the pressure of a closed cavity is inversely proportional to its volume P2V2. So when the thoracic cavity allows us to breathe, the diaphragm muscle descends and the rib cage is producing large fall in pleural pressure to about −10 (cm H2O) allowing expansion of the lung, and the contrary, when the diaphragm rises, the pleural pressure is more negative. The distensibility of a normal lung is 200 (ml/cm H2O) this is when there is normal breathing of 500 to 700 cm needed to lower the pressure in the pleura about −2.5 to −3.5 (cm H2O). Without limiting the scope of the disclosed technology, this means that the intraplenural pressures created by the pump 207 need to be about −10 (cm H2O) negative in order to allow for normal breathing to occur simultaneously.
In another embodiment of the technology
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this technology is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present technology. Numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of structure and function. The novel features are pointed out in the appended claims. The disclosure, however, is illustrative only and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts, within the principle of invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
