The invention herein resides in the art of therapeutic systems and devices arid, more particularly, to a system for delivering drug-free pain relief to individuals or patients following injury or surgery. More particularly, the invention relates to such devices and systems that provide such pain relief through the application of compression wraps to various parts of the human body. Specifically, the invention relates to a cold therapy system by which a fluid, such as water, circulates between a body region to be treated by cold therapy and a reservoir where the fluid may be cooled. More specifically, the invention relates to a cold therapy system that is programmable as to the duration of cold therapy treatment as to time, temperature, sequence and duration,
The management of pain following injury or surgery has been a matter of attention in the medical field for decades, Known methodologies for the management of pain require the use of drugs, the most effective of which are often addictive/habit-forming. While the use of such drugs may be effective during recovery and treatment, if their use is not carefully monitored, controlled and restricted, the serious consequence of addiction often follows.
Drug-free pain relief is most desirable for treating injuries and effecting pain management post-surgery.
Cold therapy is an alternative methodology for effecting pain relief and hastening recovery without the use of opioids or other drugs. The use of cold packs, pads and the like on a targeted area is commonplace. Presently, there are known systems and units that provide a flow of cold water through a pad or bladder that may be placed over or secured to a region of the body requiring treatment. However, these known units are of a very rudimentary nature with little or no ability to control or regulate their use, Known units are simply of the on/off type, turning on when they are plugged into a wall outlet and turning off when unplugged. Medical professionals typically recommend an on/off sequence of treatment, precluding the application of cold therapy to the body for any prolonged continuous period. A substantive reduction of skin/flesh temperature can cause significant problems, particularly for those with circulatory conditions, diabetes, and the like. Unfortunately, during use of presently known systems that require the patient to turn the system on and off; unintended excessive or prolonged use is not uncommon. Quite frequently, the patient may fall asleep with the cold therapy system in operation, applying cold fluid through the pad or bladder for a prolonged period, significantly lowering the temperature of the affected area of the patient's skin and flesh. The cold therapy system then harms rather than helps the patient.
The prior known systems also do not provide any means for effecting on/off cycles (duty cycles) for regulating the flow of the cooling fluid through the pad or bladder, nor for regulating the rate of flow of that cooling fluid to control the effective temperature of the fluid at the pad or pack. Nor do known systems regulate the sequence and durations of the flow of the cooling fluid through the pad or bladder. Such features are absent in the art despite the fact that the medical profession does not adhere to a universally accepted protocol for using cold therapy after surgery. The duty cycles vary widely among physicians, with some simply directing to “use it as you like.”
In light of the foregoing, it is a first aspect of the invention to provide a programmable cold therapy system.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a programmable cold therapy system having the capability to regulate the time, temperature and duration of the application of cold therapy to art affected area of the human body.
Still another aspect of the invention is the provision of a programmable cold therapy system that departs from the traditional on/off system, but provides for tailoring and adaptability to meet the particular needs of the patient as prescribed by the patient's doctor.
Still a further aspect of the invention is the provision of a programmable cold therapy system in which a timer may be employed to effect the duration of a treatment session, the duty cycle within that session, and the temperature to which the treated area is exposed.
Yet another aspect of the invention is the provision of a programmable cold therapy system that is portable and adapted for use in any of a wide variety of environments.
Still another aspect of the invention is the provision of a programmable cold therapy system that relies only upon the user or operator to initiate the treatment and is self-controlling thereafter.
An additional aspect of the invention is the provision of a programmable cold therapy system that is effective and safe in use, eliminates the need for and risk attendant the use of opioid pain-killers, is cost effective, and can be readily made using state-of-the-art materials arid devices.
The foregoing and other aspects of the invention that will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds are achieved by a programmable cold therapy system for pain relief and promote healing after an injury or surgery, comprising: a tank for maintaining a reservoir of cooling fluid; a pump within said tank and in communication with said reservoir of cooling fluid; a cooling pad; a hose assembly interconnecting said cooling pad and pump; and a control panel interconnecting a power source and said pump, said control panel regulating operation of said pump.
Further aspects of the invention are achieved by a programmable cold therapy system for pain relief and to promote healing, comprising: a tank having a reservoir of ice water; a cooling pad having a bladder and selectively attachable to a portion of a user's body; a pump within said reservoir of ice water; a first hose interconnecting said pump with said bladder; a second hose interconnecting said bladder with said reservoir; and means for operating said pump at a selected duty cycle within a selected window of time.
For a complete understanding of the various aspects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly
A thermally insulated tank 18 has a hinged lid to allow access to the interior thereof and is adapted to receive and maintain a volume of ice and water suitable for intended purposes. The tank 18 may be mobile as by wheels 20, a telescoping handle 22, and fixed handles 24.
As presented above, the system 10 shown in
The cooling pads have bladders, often serpentine in nature, through which the cooling fluid or ice water passes in close juxtaposition to the body part to be treated. These pads or packs are held in place by appropriate securing means such as Velcro® (a hook-and-loop strap), such that coolant is passed in close relationship to the skin and flesh of the patient. The paired tubing 16 allows the coolant or ice water to pass to the bladder and, after circulating therethrough, to return to the tank 18. As will become apparent below, the tank 18 is a bulk source of ice water or other appropriate coolant that passes therefrom to the associated bladder and from the bladder back to the bulk source.
With final reference to
With reference now to
As discussed above, it is desirable that the cold therapy practiced on a patient or other individual be of such nature that the duration can be set, the repetition can be set, and even the effective temperature of the cold therapy may be controlled, To that end, a timer 40 and a duty cycle regulator 42 are provided in series interconnection between the effective power source 32, 36 and the pump 48 to be discussed below.
The order of the series interconnection between the timer 40 and duty cycle regulator 42 is unimportant since the two operate together to perform a logic “AND” function allowing the DC voltage from the appropriate power source to reach the pump 48 only when the timer and duty cycle regulator are both “on.” In other words, the timer and duty cycle regulator act as switches in series interconnection.
The timer 40 may be set for a window of operation by the control panel 28. For example, the timer may be set for one hour. The duty cycle regulator 42 may also be set from the control panel 28 to be “on” and “off” in a series of times, the period of being “on” and the period of being “off” not necessarily being equal, When the switch of the timer 40 and the switch of the duty cycle regulator 42 are both “on,” those switches allow the DC voltage from either the battery 36 or the AC/DC converter 34 to pass to the pump 48 for purposes as will be discussed below.
With continued reference to
Maintained within the ice water 46 of the reservoir 44 is a pump 48 having a sump tube 50 extending near the bottom of the reservoir 44 such that the pump, when activated, draws water, rather than ice, which could cause plugging.
As shown in
In use, a patient or other operator fills the reservoir 44 with an adequate amount of ice and water 46, Then, on the control panel 28, the patient or other operator programs the timer 40 for the desired period of time for the cold therapy session. The user can then select the desired duty cycle of operation as directed by his/her doctor by appropriately programming the duty cycle regulator 42, anywhere from being continually “on” or being “on” for any selected period of time, such as 50/50, 60/40, 75/25 or the like. The selection of the duty cycle effectively regulates the temperature imparted to the treated area of the user's body. During the “off” period, the temperature of the treated area begins to recover or stabilize since the pump 48 is turned off for lack of power and the cold water no longer circulates.
Thus it can be seen that the various aspects of the invention have been attained by the structure presented above. While in accordance with the patent statutes, only a best known and preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented and described in detail, the invention is not limited thereto or thereby. Accordingly, for an appreciation of the true scope and breadth of the invention, reference should be made to the following claims.