Hyperbaric Limb Chamber Control for Sealing and Gas Evacuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a hyperbaric wound treatment apparatus and method that can effectively treat various wounds or lesions on a patient's body with high efficacy and in a short treatment time.
Innovation Solution
A hyperbaric wound treatment device with an inflatable limb sleeve and a controller for controlling gas conveyance, including a gas conveyance assembly and control device to create a negative pressure and seal the sleeve around the limb, combined with a method of inflating and evacuating gases to facilitate treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an inflatable limb sleeve is used to seal around the limb, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an inflatable limb sleeve made of flexible material that can be inflated to conform to and seal around the patient's limb. This flexible shell approach provides effective sealing while maintaining simplicity in the overall device design, as the sleeve is a single integrated component that combines sealing and positioning functions.
2Reliability
If negative pressure is created to evacuate gas from the chamber, then the treatment efficacy is improved, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller creates negative pressure in a periodic manner by activating the vacuum pump only during the evacuation phase of the treatment cycle, rather than maintaining continuous negative pressure. This periodic action achieves the necessary treatment efficacy while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
3Reliability
If the sleeve is inflated to seal about the limb, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the time required for treatment preparation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The limb sleeve is pre-positioned around the patient's limb before inflation occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that when inflation begins, the sleeve is already in the correct location and orientation, allowing for rapid sealing without requiring time-consuming adjustments during the inflation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable sleeve uses dynamic inflation control where the controller can adjust the inflation rate and pressure in real-time. This dynamic control allows the sleeve to quickly adapt to the limb's shape and achieve sealing faster, reducing preparation time while maintaining effective sealing.
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
The device provides efficient and effective treatment of wounds by creating a sealed environment for therapeutic gases, enhancing healing through controlled pressure and gas exchange, reducing treatment time and improving healing outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
a gas conveyance assembly for creating a negative pressure, and a control device coupled to the gas conveyance assembly. The control device is operable for controlling the gas conveyance assembly for providing that a portion of the gas conveyance assembly is in fluid communication with the treatment device; and for creating a negative pressure within the treatment device by evacuating gas
Implementation Method 2
The method further includes inflating the sleeve to an inflated condition when the limb is positioned within the sleeve, thereby sealing the sleeve about the limb
Data Source
AI summary
A controller is operable to selectively supply gas to, and evacuate gas from, regions of a hyperbaric wound treatment chamber. The controller operates to inflate a passage or rib of the device to provide that the device is made sufficiently rigid for inserting a limb therethrough, and inflate an inflatable cuff to create a seal against the limb. The controller also operates to evacuate ambient air trapped within the chamber, and optionally partially evacuate the passage or rib, after the seal is created by the inflatable cuff, and then introduce oxygen into the chamber, and optionally inflate the passage or rib. The cuff, when inflated and creating a seal against a limb, optionally is at least partially within the chamber, and the treatment gas is supplied to the chamber to maintain the seal of the cuff against the limb.