Claims
- 1. A nitric oxide delivery system for delivering nitric oxide to a patient to treat a medical condition, the system comprising:
a container configured to contain a nitrogen-containing compound; a nitric oxide generation chamber including a heat source and configured to generate nitric oxide from the nitrogen-containing compound; and a pump configured to transfer at least a part of the nitrogen-containing compound in the container to the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 2. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 further comprising a filter system positioned and configured to filter an impurity from the nitric oxide generated in the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 3. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 further comprising a cooling system positioned and configured to cool the nitric oxide generated in the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 4. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 further comprising a monitor system configured and positioned to monitor a concentration of nitric oxide and/or nitrogen dioxide output by the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 5. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 further comprising a control system configured to control a rate at which the pump transfers the nitrogen-containing compound in the container to the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 6. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 5 further comprising a monitor system configured and positioned to monitor a concentration of nitric oxide output by the nitric oxide generation chamber, wherein the control system is configured to control the operation of the pump to transfer the nitrogen-containing compound based on a nitric oxide concentration signal received from the monitor system.
- 7. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 further comprising a breathing tube connectable to a patient and configured to deliver the nitric oxide to the patient.
- 8. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound comprises ammonia.
- 9. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 8 wherein the ammonia comprises a solid.
- 10. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 8 wherein the ammonia comprises a gas.
- 11. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 8 wherein the ammonia comprises a liquid.
- 12. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound comprises a solid.
- 13. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound comprises a gas.
- 14. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound comprises a liquid.
- 15. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the container includes a heater.
- 16. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the container includes a metering valve .
- 17. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the nitric oxide generation chamber include a catalyst.
- 18. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 17 wherein the catalyst is heated.
- 19. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 17 wherein the catalyst comprises nickel.
- 20. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 17 wherein the catalyst comprises a noble metal.
- 21. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the medical condition comprises vasoconstriction.
- 22. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 5 wherein the controller controls the operation of the pump to transfer the nitrogen-containing compound in the container to the nitric oxide generation chamber such that a therapeutic dose of nitric oxide is generated in the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 23. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 22 wherein the therapeutic dose of nitric oxide comprises between approximately 1 ppm and 100 ppm nitric oxide.
- 24. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 22 wherein the therapeutic dose of nitric oxide comprises between approximately 20 ppm and 80 ppm nitric oxide.
- 25. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 22 wherein the container includes a container release mechanism that is configured to release the compound into a line and the pump passes a gas through the line to transfer the compound to the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 26. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 25 wherein the gas comprises oxygen.
- 27. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 25 wherein the gas comprises air.
- 28. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 25 wherein the container release mechanism comprises a metered valve.
- 29. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 25 wherein the container release mechanism comprises a heater.
- 30. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the patient is a human.
- 31. The nitric oxide delivery system of claim 1 wherein the patient is a horse.
- 32. A method of treating a patient having a medical condition by using nitric oxide gas, the method comprising:
providing a stream of gas including a nitrogen-containing compound; reacting the nitrogen-containing compound in a nitric oxide generation chamber to produce a stream of gas including nitric oxide; and delivering the stream of gas including the nitric oxide from the nitric oxide generation chamber to the patient.
- 33. The method of claim 32 wherein delivering the stream of gas to the patient comprises delivering a therapeutic dose of nitric oxide.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein the therapeutic dose of nitric oxide comprises between approximately 1 ppm and 100 ppm nitric oxide.
- 35. The method of claim 33 wherein the therapeutic dose of nitric oxide comprises between approximately 20 ppm and 80 ppm nitric oxide.
- 36. The method of claim 32 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound is provided in a container and a pump is used to transfer the nitrogen-containing compound in the container to the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 37. The method of claim 36 further comprising controlling an operation of the pump to control a rate at which the nitrogen-containing compound is transferred to the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 38. The method of claim 37 wherein controlling the rate at which the nitrogen-containing compound is transferred to the nitric oxide generation chamber comprises controlling the operation of the pump to deliver the nitrogen-containing compound such that a therapeutic dose of nitric oxide is generated in the nitric oxide generation chamber.
- 39. The method of claim 36 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound is in the form of a solid and transferring the nitrogen-containing compound further comprises applying heat to the solid to control a sublimation of the solid.
- 40. The method of claim 39 wherein the solid nitrogen-containing compound comprises solid ammonia.
- 41. The method of claim 36 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound is in the form of a liquid and transferring the nitrogen-containing compound further comprises using the pump to spray the nitrogen-containing compound into the nitric oxide generating chamber.
- 42. The method of claim 41 wherein the liquid nitrogen-containing compound comprises liquid ammonia.
- 43. The method of claim 36 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound is in the form of a gas and transferring the nitrogen-containing compound further comprises using a metering valve to release the gas from the container.
- 44. The method of claim 43 wherein the nitrogen-containing compound comprises ammonia gas.
- 45. The method of claim 32 wherein the medical condition comprises vasoconstriction.
- 46. The method of claim 32 wherein reacting the nitrogen-containing compound to produce nitric oxide gas comprises using a catalyst in the reaction.
- 47. The method of claim 46 wherein the catalyst is heated.
- 48. The method of claim 46 wherein the catalyst comprises nickel.
- 49. The method of claim 46 wherein the catalyst comprises a noble metal.
- 50. The method of claim 32 further comprising filtering the stream of gas that includes nitric oxide to remove impurities.
- 51. The method of claim 32 further comprising cooling the stream of gas that includes nitric oxide gas before delivering the stream of gas to the patient.
- 52. The method of claim 32 further comprising monitoring the concentration of one or more of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide in the stream of gas that includes nitric oxide.
- 53. The method of claim 52 further comprising using the value of the concentration of the nitric oxide in the stream of gas to control the operation of the pump.
- 54. The method of claim 53 wherein the operation of the pump is controlled to cause a therapeutic dose of nitric oxide to be measured in the monitor.
- 55. The method of claim 39 further comprising monitoring the concentration of one or more of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide in the stream of gas that includes nitric oxide and using the value of the concentration of the nitric oxide in the stream gas to control the temperature in the container.
- 56. The method of claim 52 wherein the temperature in the container is controlled to cause a therapeutic dose of nitric oxide to be measured in the monitor.
- 57. The method of claim 32 wherein the gas comprises oxygen.
- 58. The method of claim 32 wherein the gas comprises air.
- 59. The method of claim 32 further comprising controlling an operation of a container release mechanism to control a release of the compound from the container.
- 60. The method of claim 59 wherein the container release mechanism comprises one of a metered valve, a heater or a variable diameter opening.
- 61. The method of claim 32 wherein the patient is a horse.
- 62. The method of claim 32 wherein the patient is a human.
PRIOR APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/178,693, which was filed on Jan. 28, 2000, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60178693 |
Jan 2000 |
US |