Wound Therapy Apparatus Evaporating Exudate to Reduce Waste Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wound therapy apparatuses for aspirating, irrigating, and cleansing wounds face challenges with high volume waste collection, leading to cumbersome devices, frequent container changes, and increased costs, as they often discard both beneficial and deleterious materials, necessitating a reduction in waste volume and frequency of container changes.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus employs a sealed dressing with aspiration means and a waste container equipped with heating means to increase vapor pressure and evaporate fluid, along with a gas supply to enhance evaporation, and optional filters and gas bleed to the wound site to promote evaporation and reduce bioburden, thereby reducing the volume of waste collected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a collection bag or vessel of greater volume is used to extend the period between which the vessel needs to be emptied or changed, then the frequency of container changes is reduced, but the portability and convenience of the apparatus deteriorates as the device becomes cumbersome and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies heating means to change the temperature parameter of the exudate in the collection vessel, which increases vapor pressure and promotes evaporation. This reduces the volume of exudate collected, allowing a smaller, lighter collection vessel to be used while extending the time between container changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the phase transition of water from liquid to vapor through evaporation. By applying heat to the exudate in the collection vessel, the water content evaporates, reducing the volume of waste material and thereby reducing the frequency of container changes without requiring a larger vessel.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If aspiration means is used to remove wound exudate, then deleterious materials are removed from the wound, but beneficial materials are also discarded to waste along with the exudate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies separation means to extract and separate beneficial materials from the exudate in the collection vessel. This allows the aspiration system to remove all exudate (including deleterious materials) while the separation means recovers beneficial materials for recirculation, preventing their loss to waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a system where beneficial materials are recovered from the exudate through separation means and recirculated back to the wound, while only the separated deleterious materials are discarded to waste. This resolves the contradiction by recovering valuable substances rather than discarding them with the waste exudate.
3Quantity of substance
If heating means is applied to increase vapor pressure and evaporate fluid, then the volume of waste collected is reduced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies heating means to partially evaporate the exudate in the collection vessel rather than completely evaporating it. This partial action is sufficient to reduce waste volume and extend container change intervals while minimizing energy consumption compared to complete evaporation.
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
This approach significantly reduces the volume of waste collected, decreases the frequency of container changes, and maintains the therapeutic benefits by separating beneficial materials for recirculation while discarding only deleterious materials, enhancing the portability and convenience of wound therapy.
Implementation Method 1
heating means for heating the fluid in order to increase the vapour pressure thereof and to cause evaporation to reduce the volume of the fluid in the waste container
Implementation Method 2
gas supply to enhance evaporation
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus (130) for use in wound therapy of mammals is described, the apparatus (130) comprising: a dressing covering the wound, the dressing being substantially sealed to prevent ingress of ambient atmospheric air to the wound; aspiration means (132) operably connected to a space between the dressing and the wound by an aspiration conduit (142) sealed to the point of entry between wound and dressing against ingress of ambient atmosphere, said conduit (142) being for aspiration of said wound and for removal of fluid from said space between said wound and said dressing; a waste container (148) for receiving aspirated fluid to be discarded operably connected to said aspiration conduit; and heating means (144) for heating said fluid in order to increase the vapor pressure thereof and to cause evaporation to reduce the volume of the fluid in the waste container (148). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the waste fluid is also provided with a sparge gas.