Synchronization of Repetitive Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract

A medical device of the type used for assisting a user in manually delivering repetitive therapy to a patient (e.g., chest compressions or ventilations in cardiac resuscitation), the device comprising a feedback device configured to generate feedback cues to assist the user in timing the delivery of the repetitive therapy, at least one sensor or circuit element configured to detect actual delivery times, at which the user actually delivers the repetitive therapy, and a processor, memory, and associated circuitry configured to compare the actual delivery times to information representative of desired delivery times to determine cue times at which the feedback cues are generated by the feedback device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional application of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 639,133, filed on Dec. 16, 2009, which application is a divisional application of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 227,968, filed on Sep. 14, 2005. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates to the field of medical devices for assisting in delivery of repetitive therapy, such as assisting rescuers in performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).BACKGROUND[0003]Resuscitation treatments for patients suffering from cardiac arrest generally include clearing and opening the patient's airway, providing rescue breathing for the patient, and applying chest compressions to provide blood flow to the victim's heart, brain and other vital organs. If the patient has a shockable heart rhythm, resuscitation also may include defibrillation therapy. The term basic life support (B...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0043]The invention has many advantages, including the following (some of which may only be present in some aspects and some implementations):

[0044]Because the heart is in the early stages of recovery after a defibrillation shock, often with rhythmic electrical activity but degraded mechanical output, cardiac recovery is enhanced by the invention, for chest compressions are synchronized with the normal, if low level, mechanical activity of the recovering heart. The invention may help provide effective CPR for patients in non-perfusing, fibrillatory rhythms as well as for patients in hemodynamically unstable or ineffective rhythms such as PEA.

[0045]The invention's ability to synchronize chest compression to the activity of a damaged heart may improve perfusion. Without the invention, chest compressions may occur during ventricular filling, and thus be less effective, as the volume of blood in the heart is small and little or no blood is ejected in to the aorta and coronary arteries. A compression during this time may increase intrathoracic and/or diastolic pressures and further slow ventricular filli

Problems solved by technology

There are also several abnormal ECG rhythms that do not result in significant cardiac output but are still considered non-shockable, since defibrillation treatment is usually ineffective under these conditions.

Although a patient cannot remain alive with these non-viable, non-shockable rhythms, applying shocks will not help convert the rhythm.

Lay caregivers rarely have opportunities to defibrillate or deliver CPR, and thus they can be easily intimidated by an AED during a medical emergency.

Consequently, such lay providers may be reluctant to purchase or use AEDs when needed, or might tend to wait for an ambulance to arrive rather than use an available AED, out of concern that the lay provider might do something wrong.

Some trained medical providers, e.g., specialists such as obstetricians, dermatologists, and family care practitioners, also rarely have the opportunity to perform CPR and/or defibrillate, and thus may be uneasy about doing so.

Concerns about competence are exacerbated if training is infrequent, leading the caregiver to worry that he or she may not be able to remember all of the recommended resuscitation protocol steps and/or their correct sequence.

Similarly, both medical and lay caregivers may be hesitant to provide CPR and rescue breathing, or may be unsure when these steps should be performed, particularly if their training is infrequent and they rarely have the opportunity to use it.

It is well known to those skilled in the art, and has been shown in a number of studies, that CPR is a complex task with both poor initial learning as well as

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