EP0459647B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Apparatus and method for flow triggering of breath supported ventilation
Assignee: Puritan Bennett Corp
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Filing: 1991-05-10
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Granted: 1996-09-04
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Expires: 2011-05-10
Abstract
Abstract The system and method for flow triggering breath supported ventilation include a source (12, 14) of a predetermined, preinspiratory, constant flow of breathing gas to a patient, one or more flow sensors (16, 18, 32, 41, 42, 43) for measuring the rate of gas flow in a flow path communicating with the patient, means (46) for determining when inhalation from the flow path has occurred, and means (20, 22) for generating breath support in the delivered gas flow in response to inhala- tion by the patient, means (44) to terminate breath support when inspiratory phase concludes, and means (46) to re-establish the predetermined, preinspiratory, continuous flow of breathing prior to the patient's next inspiratory effort. A plurality of individual gas sources (12, 14) preferably provide a controlled mixture of breathing gas. In combination with breath support to the patient during the inspiration effort, the flow triggering strategy of the invention offers significant improvements in providing breath support to patients having weakened respiratory capabilities. <IMAGE>
Inventors
- 👤 Gardner J. Kim
- 👤 Glen N. Gee
- 👤 Paul J. Fennema
- 👤 Warren G. Sanborn
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 09:14
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M16/00; A61M16/10; A61M16/12; A61M16/021; A61M16/022; A61M16/024; A61M16/08; A61M16/0816; A61M16/0833; A61M16/105; A61M16/106; A61M16/1065; A61M16/20; A61M16/201; A61M16/202; A61M16/203; A61M16/204; A61M16/0841; A61M16/1075; A61M16/0003; A61M2016/0015; A61M2016/0018; A61M2016/0021; A61M2016/003; A61M2016/0033; A61M2016/0039; A61M2016/0042; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/15
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
271 words
An apparatus for flow triggering breath support ventilation in a system for providing breathing-gas to a patient, the apparatus comprising a source of breathing-gas (12, 14); a flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) in communication with said source of breathing gas (12, 14) and communicatable with said patient and including an inhalation flow path (26) to the patient and an exhalation flow path (34) from said patient; supply means (20, 22, 24) for delivering breathing-gas from said source (12, 14) to said patient via said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34); flow sensor means (16, 18, 32, 41, 42, 43) for measuring the rate of gas flow in said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) due to inhalation; and control means (46) responsive to said flow sensor means (16, 18, 32, 41, 42, 43) for generating breath support in said delivered flow of gas, characterised in that said supply means (20, 22, 24) delivers breathing-gas from said source (12, 14) to the patient at a predetermined, preinspiratory, continuous rate of flow, said control means (46) is adapted to generate breath support when the change in the rate of gas flow due to inhalation exceeds a predetermined value, said flow sensor means (16, 18, 32, 41, 42, 43) comprises at least one flow sensor (42) located in at least one location in said exhalation flow path (34) and at least one other flow sensor (41) in at least one other location in said inhalation flow path (26), and said control means (46) includes means for restoring the preinspiratory, continuous flow of breathing-gas to its predetermined value before the patient's next inspiratory effort.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of Claim 1, wherein said inhalation (26) and exhalation (34) flow paths form a junction (27) communicating with the patient, one of said flow sensor means (32) being located at said junction (27) for measuring the rate of gas flow into said patient.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of Claim 1, wherein said flow sensor means comprises a plurality of flow sensors (16, 18, 32, 41, 42) and said control means (46) is adapted to measure the gas flow rate at at least one of said flow sensors (16, 18, 32, 41, 42).
Claim 4
Independent Claim
144 words
A method of flow triggering a ventilator apparatus having a source of gas (12, 14) and a flow path (17, 19, 26, 34), characterised by the steps of: delivering gas from said source of gas (12, 14) through said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) at a preinspiratory, predetermined continuous rate of flow; measuring the difference in the rate of gas flow into and out of said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) at at least one location (16, 18, 32, 41, 42, 43) in said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) due to inhalation; generating breath support in said gas delivered from said source of gas (12, 14) when said difference in the rate of gas flow due to inhalation exceeds a predetermined value; and restoring the rate of flow of gas to the predetermined, continuous rate of flow before a next inhalation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of Claim 4, wherein said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) includes an inhalation (26) and exhalation (34) flow path, and said inhalation (26) and exhalation (34) flow paths meet to form a junction (27), the step of measuring the difference in the rate of gas flow into and out of said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) comprising measuring gas flow at the junction (27).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of Claim 4, wherein said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) includes an exhalation flow path (34) and an inhalation flow path (26), the step of measuring the difference in the rate of gas flow into and out of said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) comprising performing measurements at at least one location in the inhalation flow path and at at least one location in the exhalation flow path.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of Claim 4, wherein said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) includes an exhalation flow path (34), and the step of measuring the difference in the rate of gas flow into and out of said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) comprises performing measurements in at least one location in said exhalation flow path (34).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of Claim 4, further including the step of discontinuing said breath support when the flow rate in said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) drops below a predetermined value.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of Claim 4, further including the step of discontinuing said breath support when the pressure in said flow path (17, 19, 26, 34) rises above a threshold value.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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