US5134995A
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US
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Inspiratory airway pressure system with admittance determining apparatus and method
Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett LLC
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Filing: 1990-12-21
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Granted: 1992-08-04
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Expires: 2010-12-21
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method for facilitating the respiration of a patient are disclosed which are particularly useful in treating mixed and obstructive sleep apnea and certain cardiovascular conditions, among others, by increasing nasal air pressure delivered to the patient's respiratory passages just prior to inhalation and by subsequently decreasing the pressure to ease exhalation effort. The preferred apparatus includes a patient-coupled gas delivery device for pressurizing the patient's nasal passages at a controllable pressure, and a controller coupled with the delivery device having a pressure transducer for monitoring the nasal pressure and a microcontroller for selectively controlling the nasal pressure. In operation, the controller determines a point in the patient breathing cycle just prior to inhalation and initiates an increase in nasal pressure at that point in order to stimulate normal inhalation, and subsequently lowers the nasal pressure to ease exhalation efforts.
Inventors
- 👤 Roger A. Gruenke
- 👤 Russell L. Trimble
- 👤 Christopher D. Lasnier
- 👤 Steven W. Loethen
- 👤 Jiri G. Orlt
- 👤 James A. Snook
- 👤 Marilyn S. Wyble
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 01:46
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M16/00; A61M16/0051; A61M16/0057; A61M16/0066; A61M16/0069; A61M16/021; A61M16/022; A61M16/024; A61M16/026; A61M16/06; A61M16/0605; A61M16/0633; A61M16/20; A61M16/201; A61M16/202; A61M16/203; A61M16/204; A61M16/205; A61F; A61F5/00; A61F5/56; A61M16/0683; A61M16/10; A61M16/105; A61M16/1055; A61M16/106; A61M16/107; A61M16/0003; A61M2016/0015; A61M2016/0018; A61M2016/0021; A61M2016/0027; A61M2016/003; A61M2016/0033; A61M2016/0039; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/05; A61M2205/054; A61M2205/35; A61M2205/3546; A61M2205/3561; A61M2210/00; A61M2210/06; A61M2210/0618
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
116 words
An apparatus for determining the airway patency of a patient exhibiting a breath cycle having inhalation and exhalation phases, said apparatus comprising: means for supplying a breathable gas from a source thereof under a controllable pressure to at least a portion of the patient's airway; means for sensing patient respiration flow and pressure and for producing signals representative of substantially simultaneous flow and pressure; signal processing means for receiving said signals and responsive thereto for determining the patient's respiratory admittance from said substantially simultaneous flow and pressure; and means for controlling said pressure in accordance with said admittance, said signal processing means including means for determining said admittance as the dividend of flow divided by pressure.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
116 words
An apparatus for determining the airway patency of a patient exhibiting a breath cycle having inhalation and exhalation phases, said apparatus comprising: means for supplying a breathable gas from a source thereof under a controllable pressure to at least a portion of the patient's airway; means for sensing patient respiration flow and pressure and for producing signals representative of substantially simultaneous flow and pressure; signal processing means for receiving said signals and responsive thereto for determining the patient's respiratory admittance from said substantially simultaneous flow and pressure; and means for controlling said pressure in accordance with said admittance, said signal processing means including means for determining said admittance as the dividend of flow divided by pressure.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said breathable gas including ambient air.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said sensing means including flow sensor means for sensing patient respiration flow and for producing signals representative thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, said flow sensor means including a differential pressure flow sensor.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said sensing means including pressure sensing means for sensing a pressure of breathable gas delivered to the patient.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said signal processing means including means for storing at least one admittance template composed of a plurality of admittances in memory, means for storing a set of patient admittances, and means for comparing said admittance set with said at least one stored admittance template.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, said storing means including a plurality of stored templates, said controlling means including means for determining which of said templates presents the closest match with said admittance set, said closest match being representative of patient airway patency.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
the apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said controlling means including means for controlling said pressure in accordance with said closest match.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said templates presenting normalized amplitudes and time bases, said controlling means including means for normalizing the amplitude and time base of said respiratory admittance in accordance with said stored templates.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
48 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said controlling means including memory means for storing pressure change data in association with each of said templates, said controlling means including means for controlling said breathable gas pressure in accordance with pressure change data associated with said closest match.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said controlling means including a microprocessor.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said admittance being determined as a function of said flow and pressure during patient inhalation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said controlling means including a microprocessor.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said signal processing means including means for using Fast Fourier Transforms for processing data representative of said flow and pressure.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
153 words
A method of determining the airway patency of a patient, the patient exhibiting a breath cycle having inhalation and exhalation phases, said method comprising: using sensing means for repeatedly sensing a plurality of substantially simultaneous patient respiration flows and pressures during a patient inhalation phase and for producing signals representative thereof; using signal processing means for receiving said signals and responding thereto for determining a set of patient admittances from said flows and pressures and storing admittance data representative of said admittance set in a memory device, and using said signal processing means for determining said admittances as the dividend of flow divided by pressure; comparing in said signal processing means said admittance data with predetermined admittance templates stored in said memory device; and determining in said signal processing means the closest match of said admittance templates with said admittance data, said closest match being representative of patient airway patency during said phase.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
153 words
A method of determining the airway patency of a patient, the patient exhibiting a breath cycle having inhalation and exhalation phases, said method comprising: using sensing means for repeatedly sensing a plurality of substantially simultaneous patient respiration flows and pressures during a patient inhalation phase and for producing signals representative thereof; using signal processing means for receiving said signals and responding thereto for determining a set of patient admittances from said flows and pressures and storing admittance data representative of said admittance set in a memory device, and using said signal processing means for determining said admittances as the dividend of flow divided by pressure; comparing in said signal processing means said admittance data with predetermined admittance templates stored in said memory device; and determining in said signal processing means the closest match of said admittance templates with said admittance data, said closest match being representative of patient airway patency during said phase.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, said step of determining admittance data including the step of using Fast Fourier Transforms for processing data representative of said flow and pressure.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as set forth in claim 15 further including the steps of supplying the patient with a breathable gas from a source thereof under a controllable pressure to at least a portion of the patient's airway; and controlling said gas pressure in accordance with said patient airway patency.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, further including the steps of storing in a memory device a set of pressure change actions corresponding to said templates, and executing an action corresponding to said template presenting the closest match to said admittance data.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
132 words
An apparatus for determining the airway patency of a patient comprising: means for repeatedly sensing a plurality of substantially simultaneous patient respiration flows and pressures and for producing signals representative thereof; signal processing means for receiving said signals and responsive thereto for determining a set of respiratory admittances from said flows and pressure, said signal processing means including means for determining each of said admittances as the dividend of flow divided by pressure; and memory means for storing a plurality of airway admittance templates representative of a plurality of predetermined airway admittances correlated with airway patency, said signal processing means including means for determining which of said templates presents the closest matching admittance to said admittance set, the airway patency correlated with said matching admittance being representative of the patient's airway patency.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
132 words
An apparatus for determining the airway patency of a patient comprising: means for repeatedly sensing a plurality of substantially simultaneous patient respiration flows and pressures and for producing signals representative thereof; signal processing means for receiving said signals and responsive thereto for determining a set of respiratory admittances from said flows and pressure, said signal processing means including means for determining each of said admittances as the dividend of flow divided by pressure; and memory means for storing a plurality of airway admittance templates representative of a plurality of predetermined airway admittances correlated with airway patency, said signal processing means including means for determining which of said templates presents the closest matching admittance to said admittance set, the airway patency correlated with said matching admittance being representative of the patient's airway patency.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1995-08-04 | 1996-02-03 | 1996-08-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-08-04 | 2000-02-03 | 2000-08-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-08-04 | 2004-02-03 | 2004-08-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |