Pressure Cuff Adapters and Tubing for Quick Monitor Disconnect
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood pressure cuffs and connection devices are cumbersome and time-consuming to apply and remove, especially when multiple measurements are required, and there is a need for easier and more flexible connection and disconnection methods that allow patient mobility and compatibility with different monitoring equipment.
Innovation Solution
The development of adapters and connectors that enable releasable connections between air tubes and cuffs, allowing for easy attachment and detachment from monitoring equipment while maintaining a secure seal, using barbed and slotted connectors with integrated sealing mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fixed connections are used between cuffs and monitoring equipment, then connection stability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in applying and removing cuffs
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate components: a cuff with an integrated connector and a separate adapter that interfaces with monitoring equipment. This segmentation allows the cuff to be easily applied and removed while the adapter remains with the equipment, maintaining connection reliability during use but enabling quick cuff removal when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is integrated within the cuff assembly, with the cuff bladder nested inside the connector housing. This nested structure ensures that the connection interface is always ready for attachment while keeping the cuff compact and easy to handle during application and removal.
2Loss of time
If reusable cuffs are used for extended monitoring, then loss of time for repeated application is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates when connecting to different monitoring equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter is designed with a universal interface that can connect to various types of monitoring equipment through different connector configurations. The adapter body includes multiple port options and can be adapted to work with different monitor models, allowing a single reusable cuff to be compatible with multiple pieces of equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter serves as an intermediary component between the cuff and monitoring equipment. It provides a standardized interface that mediates the connection, allowing the cuff to remain unchanged while adapting to different equipment types through the adapter's versatile connection capabilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple connectors are integrated into the cuff, then adaptability to different equipment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of integrating multiple complex connectors directly into the cuff, the connection functionality is extracted into a separate adapter component. The cuff maintains a simple, clean design while the adapter handles the complexity of multiple connector types and configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter acts as an intermediary that manages the complexity of multiple connector configurations. It provides a standardized, simple interface to the cuff while offering versatile connection options to the monitoring equipment, thereby isolating the complexity from the cuff itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Adapters, connectors, and tubing provide for connection of a blood pressure cuff to a pressure source, such as a patient cardiac monitor. Adapters, connectors, and tubing are configured to allow a patient to be connected and disconnected from monitoring equipment without removing the blood pressure cuff from the patient's appendage. Among other aspects, adapters may include various configurations that allow connection of: single lumen tubes to single lumen tubes or equipment; single lumen tubes to dual lumen tubes or equipment; dual lumen tubes to dual lumen tubes or equipment; and dual lumen tubes to single lumen tubes or equipment. Tubes may include dual lumen tubing where the lumens are separated by a web, and the web maintains the spacing between the connectors attached to the lumens.