Portable Ventilator Power Control and Modular Circuit Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical ventilators are not compatible across different ventilation modes, such as volume control and pressure support, requiring separate devices and complex configurations, which limits their portability and versatility.
Innovation Solution
A portable, lightweight medical ventilator with a modular design that includes a porting system with interchangeable blocks and sensors, allowing quick configuration between modes, and a power system with multiple power sources for enhanced mobility and usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional medical ventilators are designed for specific ventilation modes (volume control or pressure support), then the device can be optimized for that mode, but the device cannot be used for other modes requiring separate ventilators
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilator is designed with a universal patient circuit system that can operate in both volume control and pressure support modes using the same single-limb circuit with passive exhalation. The system achieves multi-functionality through a unified design that eliminates the need for mode-specific hardware configurations, allowing one ventilator to serve multiple ventilation therapy purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient circuit is segmented into functional components (inspiratory limb, expiratory limb, passive exhalation device) that can be selectively activated or deactivated based on the ventilation mode. This segmentation allows the same physical circuit to adapt to different operational requirements without requiring complete reconfiguration or separate dedicated circuits for each mode.
2Adaptability or versatility
If ventilators are designed with separate configurations for volume control and pressure support modes, then each mode can be optimized independently, but the overall system size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilator employs a universal single-limb patient circuit design that can deliver both volume control and pressure support therapies. By using the same circuit infrastructure for multiple therapy types, the system avoids the weight penalty of carrying duplicate specialized circuits and hardware for different ventilation modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspiratory and expiratory functions are merged into a single-limb circuit rather than using separate dual-limb circuits for each mode. This consolidation reduces the overall amount of tubing, connectors, and associated hardware required, thereby reducing the total system weight while maintaining full therapeutic capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If ventilators use active exhaust assemblies with controllable valves for volume control mode, then precise gas discharge control is achieved, but the device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The active exhaust control valve and its associated control mechanisms are extracted from the system entirely. Instead of using an active controllable valve, the design relies on passive exhalation through a simple exhaust port that allows gas to escape based on pressure differential alone, eliminating the complex active control apparatus while maintaining adequate function for the intended applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust system operates autonomously without requiring active control. The passive exhalation device automatically regulates gas discharge based on the pressure gradient between the circuit and atmosphere, eliminating the need for powered valves, sensors, or control electronics that would increase device complexity.
4Ease of operation
If ventilators are designed as portable units with battery operation, then mobility is improved, but the duration of operation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The power system is designed to be dynamically reconfigurable, allowing the battery compartment to accept different battery pack sizes and capacities based on the required operational duration. This dynamic adaptability enables the same portable ventilator housing to accommodate both smaller batteries for short-term mobility needs and larger batteries for extended operation, optimizing the balance between portability and duration.
Data Source
AI summary
A ventilator that is small, lightweight, and portable, yet capable of being quickly adapted to operate in a plurality of different modes and configurations to deliver a variety of therapies to a patent. A porting system having a plurality of sensors structured to monitor a number of parameters with respect to the flow of gas, and a number of porting blocks is used to reconfigure the ventilator so that it operates as a single-limb or dual limb ventilator. In the single-limb configuration, an active or passive exhaust assembly can be provided proximate to the patient. The ventilator is capable of operate in a volume or pressure support mode, even in a single-limb configuration. In addition, a power control mechanism controls the supply of power to the ventilator from an AC power source, a lead acid battery, an internal rechargeable battery pack, and a detachable battery pack.