Ventilation and Mucus Clearance Apparatus with Separated Circuits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mucus clearance devices do not provide lung ventilation, posing risks for patients requiring both assisted breathing and coughing, such as those with respiratory muscle weakness and retained bronchial secretions, as they necessitate removal from ventilation and use of separate equipment, which can be dangerous for medically fragile patients.
Innovation Solution
A medical device that utilizes separate lung ventilation and mucus clearance circuits, allowing for mechanically assisted mucus clearance through the mouth without interrupting nasal ventilation, providing positive pressure lung ventilation and negative pressure mucus clearance, with flexible configurations for patient comfort and independence, including automatic operation for sedated patients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate mucus clearance devices are used for patients requiring both ventilation and coughing assistance, then mucus clearance can be provided, but the patient must be removed from the ventilator which creates safety risks and requires caregiver assistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines lung ventilation and mucus clearance functions into a single integrated device. The device includes a ventilator portion that provides positive pressure ventilation through the patient's nose and a mucus clearance portion that provides negative pressure assisted coughing through the patient's mouth. This merging eliminates the need to switch between separate devices, allowing both functions to be performed sequentially or simultaneously without removing the patient from the ventilator, thereby improving safety while maintaining versatility.
2Device complexity
If fluidly communicating patient interfaces are used for both ventilation and mucus clearance, then device complexity is reduced, but bacterial contamination and iatrogenic lung infection risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the patient interface into separate communication pathways: the ventilator portion communicates with the patient's nose through a sealed interface, while the mucus clearance portion communicates with the patient's mouth through a separate mouthpiece. This segmentation prevents fluid communication between the ventilation and mucus clearance circuits, eliminating the risk of bacterial contamination from mucus secretions entering the ventilation circuit while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular design.
3Device complexity
If a single device provides both lung ventilation and mucus clearance, then device size and cost decrease, but circuit separation and interface design become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic control mechanisms to manage the separate circuits within the integrated device. The ventilator portion and mucus clearance portion are controlled by separate control systems that can operate independently or in coordination. The device includes dynamic switching capabilities that allow the patient interface to transition between ventilation mode, mucus clearance mode, or simultaneous operation, simplifying the manufacturing complexity through intelligent control while maintaining complete circuit separation.
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
Enhances patient comfort and safety by allowing uninterrupted lung ventilation and mucus clearance, reducing caregiver reliance, minimizing aspiration risks, and preventing iatrogenic infections, while decreasing device size and cost through complete circuit separation and nasal/oral interface usage.
Implementation Method 1
providing positive pressure lung ventilation via the nose
Implementation Method 2
providing negative pressure suction to the patient's airway via the mouth interface
Data Source
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AI summary
A medical device and method for combination lung ventilation and mucus clearance of a patient is disclosed. The medical device may be configured to provide lung ventilation with intermittent, on-demand mucus clearance, freeing the patient's mouth for activities of daily living such as when the patient is awake; and, in another configuration, the device can provide lung ventilation with automated mucus clearance, such as when the patient is sedated or asleep. The medical device may comprise a pressure generation source, a ventilation portion, and a mucus clearance portion. The mucus clearance portion may be separable from or separate from the ventilation portion such that the medical device is capable of maintaining lung ventilation with the mouth interface removed from the patient.