Cough Assist Device Displaying Insufflated Gas Volumes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current cough assist devices require trained healthcare professionals for operation, limiting their accessibility and effectiveness for patients, especially pediatric patients, and do not allow for timely and efficient treatment sessions without frequent professional visits.
Innovation Solution
A cough assist device equipped with a motorized turbine, display screen, and control means that allows non-medical personnel to control gas insufflation phases, set target gas volumes, and display gas volumes, enabling effective pulmonary and thoracic elasticity improvement through user-friendly graphical interfaces and animations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cough assist device is operated by trained healthcare professionals, then treatment effectiveness is ensured, but device accessibility and ease of operation by non-medical personnel deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables patients and caregivers to operate the cough assist treatment independently through automated control modes. The microcontroller automatically manages turbine operation, valve switching, and phase transitions based on预设 parameters, eliminating the need for continuous professional supervision and enabling self-administered therapy sessions.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure sensors and flow sensors provide real-time feedback to the microcontroller about patient breathing status and system performance. This feedback loop allows the device to automatically adjust operation parameters, detect phase transitions, and ensure treatment effectiveness without requiring trained operators to manually monitor and control each parameter.
2Reliability
If frequent healthcare professional visits are scheduled for device operation, then treatment quality is maintained, but patient stress and time loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated control system allows patients to perform treatment sessions independently at home, eliminating the need for frequent healthcare professional visits. The device stores treatment protocols and automatically executes them, enabling patients to receive quality treatment on their own schedule without travel time or waiting periods.
Solution Approach 2:
Treatment parameters and protocols are pre-configured in the microcontroller before patient use. Healthcare professionals can set up initial parameters during occasional visits, and the device automatically manages all subsequent treatment sessions based on these pre-set instructions, reducing the frequency of required professional interventions.
3Ease of operation
If pediatric patients operate the device without professional assistance, then treatment accessibility improves, but synchronization difficulty and treatment effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Pressure sensors detect the patient's breathing effort and provide feedback to the microcontroller. The system uses this feedback to automatically synchronize gas insufflation with the patient's inspiratory phase, eliminating the need for manual synchronization by the patient. This ensures that even pediatric patients can receive effective treatment without requiring skilled operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device automatically detects and responds to patient breathing patterns without requiring active participation or coordination from the patient. The microcontroller monitors breathing effort via pressure sensors and autonomously controls gas delivery timing, enabling pediatric patients to benefit from treatment without needing to understand or coordinate with the device operation.
4Measurement precision
If manual control of insufflation phases is required, then treatment precision is maintained, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The microcontroller automatically manages all aspects of treatment delivery including phase timing, gas flow control, and pressure regulation based on sensor feedback and pre-set parameters. This automation maintains precise treatment control while eliminating the need for operators to manually coordinate multiple control functions, significantly reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure sensors and flow sensors continuously monitor treatment parameters and provide feedback to the microcontroller, which automatically adjusts operation to maintain target pressures and flow rates. This closed-loop control ensures treatment precision is maintained through automated parameter adjustment rather than manual control, simplifying the user interface while preserving therapeutic accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables patients to receive effective cough assistance and improve pulmonary and thoracic elasticity without relying on trained professionals, allowing for timely and adherent treatment sessions, even when conducted by caregivers, thereby reducing stress and frequency of healthcare visits.
Implementation Method 1
generate controlled gas pressure to help a patient cough, expectorate and clear the air
Implementation Method 2
motorized turbine, also called a compressor or micro-blower, rotating at a fixed or variable speed
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a cough device (10) for delivering gas insufflations to a patient, comprising a motorized turbine (1) and a gas circuit (4, 5, 6) with a gas insufflation line (4), a display screen (20), and control means (16) configured to control the turbine (1) and/or the display on the display screen (20). The control means (16) are further configured to determine the volumes of gas insufflated during several successive insufflation phases and an average gas volume from the insufflated gas volumes so as to determine or set a target gas volume to be administered to the patient during one or more additional insufflation phases. The target gas volume and the volume of gas insufflated to the patient are displayed during each additional insufflation phase.