The present invention relates to a therapeutic device for improving the respiration of a patient, with a curved or bent pipe section and a mouthpiece inserted in its first end.
A therapeutic device for supporting the respiration of a patient is disclosed in EP 0681853, for example. In this case, the curved pipe section has a height-adjustable mouthpiece inserted in its end. As a result, the mouthpiece penetrates inside the pipe section in areas. The penetrating area of the mouthpiece has a hose attached to it, which is bent by the inner contour of the pipe section. The second end of the pipe section is open, therefore the therapeutic device can be used for inhalation and exhalation. The bending of the hose section causes this to undergo oscillatory vibration during inhalation and exhalation, thereby causing vibrations to be generated in the pharyngeal and pulmonary areas of the patient, thus allowing diseases of the airways to be treated.
Although the therapeutic device disclosed in EP 0681853 A1 has proven effective in practice, it has become apparent that no optimum treatment successes can be achieved when the air is inhaled through the hose section because the vibrations generated by the hose section during inhalation are significantly smaller in amplitude and frequency than those during exhalation.
A further disadvantage with this therapeutic device during inhalation is that the cross-sectional area of the hose section is often narrowed to such an extent that the air resistance is considerable or that the hose section is even completely closed, with the effect that no air can get into the patient's airways.
The task of the present invention is therefore to develop a therapeutic device of the aforementioned type in such a way that an oscillating air resistance can be generated during inhalation, thereby making it possible to clear the patient's airways of mucus and other impurities, or to allow the patient's airways to be trained in order to achieve a larger pulmonary volume for elite sports. At the same time, the therapeutic device should be easy to handle and be adjustable in response to the patient's individual medicinal requirements.
This is achieved in that a holding peg that is firmly connected to the pipe section can be pushed into the second end of the pipe section, in which case the holding peg penetrates the inside of the pipe section completely or in part and has a passage channel worked into it, and that the holding peg has a flexible hose attached to it that runs inside the pipe section and the free end of which can move freely in the area of the mouthpiece between the inner wall of the pipe section.
It is particularly advantageous for a screw to be inserted in the second end of the pipe section, which can be turned in relation to the pipe section and is supported on it, and for the screw to have a passage hole worked into it, with the holding peg inserted in it, because this means the hose attached to the holding peg can be changed in its position within the pipe section. The pipe section is curved, with the effect that the hose is in contact with the inner wall of the pipe section at two positions, at least in the home position, so that turning the screw allows the contact surface between the inner wall of the pipe section and the hose to be changed or results in torsion being applied to the hose. Such setting options have the advantageous effect that the air resistance is adapted, because the air drawn in through the mouthpiece initially flows through the hose and is output from it in a pulsed fashion. The adjustable positioning of the hose namely makes it possible to alter the bending of the hose and the resulting air resistance depends on the bending conditions of the hose, with the effect that each patient can adapt the air resistance of the hose to his or her individual medicinal requirements.
The air resistance can also be adjusted by making the length of the holding peg that penetrates into the pipe section variably adjustable, meaning that the hose runs inside the pipe section with different height positions.
Further advantageous configurations of the invention are disclosed in the subordinated claims.
The drawing shows sectional views of three therapeutic devices configured in accordance with the present invention, the details of which are explained below. In the drawing,
The therapeutic device 1 consists of a curved pipe section 2, the lengthways section of which is approximately that of a quarter circle. The pipe section 2 has two ends 3 and 4 which are open. The first end 3 has a mouthpiece 6 pushed into it, which is configured as a beak. A least one filter insert 7′ or 7″ is provided inside the mouthpiece 6. The filter insert 7′ is arranged adjacent to the free ends 24 of the hose 13 and has microporous passage openings that are intended to capture impurities or other particles present in the air to be inhaled or which become detached from the hose 13. The filter insert 7″ is impregnated with medicinal substrates or other substances with a therapeutic effect on the patient's airways, with the effect that air flows through the filter insert 7″ during inhalation thereby picking up particles of the medicinal substrate and transporting them into the patient's airways with every breath.
A screw 14 is supported in a thread 15 in a rotational arrangement on the second end 4 of the pipe section 2. The centre of the screw 14 has a passage opening 16 worked into it, in which a holding peg 11 is arranged and is held there in a height-adjustable location. The holding peg 11 therefore partially projects into the inside of the pipe section 2. The holding peg 11 fixes the position of a hose 13 pushed onto it inside the pipe section 2, with the design and configuration of the hose 13 explained in more detail below. The holding peg 11 has a passage channel 12 worked into it which emerges in the inside of the hose 13. The ambient air is consequently sucked through the passage channel 12 into the hose 13 during inhalation, and from there into the mouthpiece 6.
A plurality of notches 26 is formed onto the outside of the holding peg 11, with the notches 26 configured as undercuts. The outside of the screw 14 has a detent hook 25 arranged on it and connected to it, with the detent hook 25 engaging in the particular notch 26 so that the holding peg 11 is held on the screw 14 in a height-adjustable arrangement by means of the detent hook 25.
The hose 13 has at least two bending areas 21 or 22 that are arranged as a transitional area between an entry area of the hose section 13 and two bulbous sub-areas 23 of the hose 13. The internal diameters of the bending areas 21 and 22 are designed to be smaller than the internal diameter of the two bulbous sub-areas 23 of the hose 13. This means turning the screw 14 enables the position of the hose 13 to be changed in relation to the wall 5 of the pipe section 2 and the hose 13 twists about its own lengthways axis.
During inhalation, the free end 24 of the hose 13 starts to oscillate, because it can flutter back and forth freely between the wall 5. Furthermore, individual sub-areas of the hose 13 are filled by air to different extents during the inhalation process. This is because the bending areas 21 and 22 decelerate the flow of air out of the particular sub-area 23, thereby causing the sub-area 23 on the inlet side to be inflated with a bulbous shape.
The hose 13 in
An inlet opening 17 is worked into the wall 5 of the therapeutic device 1, with the inlet opening 17 having an inlet valve 18 pushed into it which runs in the area of the holding peg 11 and is connected to the inside of a container 28 by means of a hose 27. An adjusting element 19 changes the cross-sectional area 20 of the inlet valve 18 through which air flows, with the effect that the patient can inhale air from the atmosphere or a gas or a medicine not only through passage channel 12 and the hose 13, but also through the inlet valve 18 and its cross-sectional area through which air flows. The gas or medicine, preferably oxygen, is held in the container 28, the inside of which is connected to the inlet valve 18 and therefore enters the inside of the pipe section 2 in an adjustable quantity. The gas in the container 28 can be subjected to positive pressure or is sucked out of it by means of the patient's inhalation.
Turning the adjusting ring 32 allows the four passage openings 33 in the adjusting ring 33 to be brought into line with the inlet hole 34, with the effect that according to which passage opening 33 is arranged above the inlet hole 34, a specified quantity of air can be sucked into the inside of the pipe section 2 during the inhalation process. This measure achieves the effect that the patient has to exert greater pulmonary force in order to start the free end 24 of the hose 13 oscillating, because in addition to the air quantity to be sucked in through the hose 13, ambient air enters the inside of the pipe section 2 through the passage holes 33 and the inlet hole 34. In particular, it is this additional possibility for inhaling ambient air that enables a medical contribution to be made towards increasing the pulmonary volume and the pulmonary force, with the effect that the therapeutic device 1 in accordance with
The further embodiments of the therapeutic device 1 in accordance with
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2008 008 161.2 | Feb 2008 | DE | national |