Larynx mask having a connector

Abstract

A larynx mask is provided that comprises a dorsal cover plate with an inflatable cuff integrally formed thereon and a tube connecting connector having an insertion section for connecting to an insertion tube. Two separate lumens are provided in the region of the insertion section, these being the esophageal lumen and a respiration lumen. These two lumens are separated from each other by a separating and supporting, wall. The separating and supporting wall extends from the insertion section to the tip of the larynx mask. While the esophageal lumen opens into an esophageal outlet at the proximal end of the mask, the respiration lumen opens in the ventral direction and is closed in the proximal direction close to the tip of the mask. Such a larynx mask is produced in one piece by way of injection of molding and is reinforced by the separating or supporting wall to prevent kinking.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 13 / 130,467, filed May 20, 2011, which is the US national phase entry of International Patent Application no. PCT / CH2009 / 000370, filed Nov. 19, 2009, which claims priority to Swiss patent application no. 1860 / 2008 filed Nov. 27, 2008.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a larynx mask, comprising a dorsal cover plate with an inflatable cuff (5) circumferentially formed thereon and a tube connecting connector for connecting to at least one insertion tube which comprises an air supply lumen and an oesophageal lumen, and wherein the tube connecting connector has an insertion section.BACKGROUND[0003]Larynx masks of this type are known in many forms of embodiment and are inserted by means of a tube, known as a supraglottic tube, through the middle of the pharynx via the epiglottis of an anaesthetized patient. Larynx masks are usually supplied as a unit with the supraglottic tube...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]It is therefore the dual aim of the present invention, in addition to avoiding the described drawbacks of the prior art, to improve a larynx mask in such a way that it is easier to produce and, more particularly, so that difficult insertion of a tube for forming the oesophageal passage can be avoided, and that even with the use of a highly flexible material said problems no longer occur, or their occurrence is greatly reduced.

[0012]Overall the longitudinal division, in accordance with the invention, of the area of the larynx mask below the cover plate by the separating and supporting wall brings about a strengthening of the larynx mask against kinking, whereby the first part of the task is achieved, while at the same time, as the separating wall is part of a continuous closed lumen, serving as the oesophageal lumen, the entire manufacture of the larynx mask is considerably simplified with regard to its assembly. Thus it is no longer necessary for a separate tube to be pulled through the larynx mask and attached therein as the oesophageal lumen is formed in one piece with the larynx mask. Due to the straight course and conical narrowing of the oesophageal opening from the tube connecting connector with the largest diameter to the outlet opening defining the smallest diameter, such an opening can be manufactured in one piece by means of a simple slide.

Problems solved by technology

A further advantage of an oesophageal access is the removal of passively or actively regurgitated stomach contents from the upper oesophagus to outside, which thereby represents limited, and thus inadequate, aspiration protection.

This is extremely time-consuming and requires a great deal of work.

Inserting a larynx mask is not always easy.

Insertion into the pharyngeal cavity by means of a relatively rigid supraglottic tube can result in injury, and positioning in the pharyngeal cavity is not always reliable.

Highly flexible larynx masks with corresponding highly flexible supraglottic tubes allow better positioning in the larynx but are more difficult and therefore occasionally more traumatic to insert and more difficult to position in the pharynx.

To remedy this problem a more rigid material can be resorted to, whereby, however, the advantages of the highly flexible materials are lost.

The result is traumatic effects in the central pharyngeal cavity.

Even with a slightly increased air pressure in the cuff this problem cannot always reliably be solved.

This complicates the entire manufacturing of the larynx mask.

If kinking or even just slightly greater bending of the tip of the larynx mask occurs, the oesophageal outlet is mostly then no longer free and an instrument or a tube can no longer be passed through.

Although this increases the longitudinal rigidity of the larynx mask, it unfavorably affects its height.

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