Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7837721?dq=7,339,580
Timestamp: 2017-12-14 06:59:46
Document Index: 694164141

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 371', 'Application No. 60', 'application No. 10', 'application No. 10', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 11', 'application No. 12', 'application No. 12', 'application No. 12']

Patent US7837721 - Patient comfort apparatus and system - Google Patents
Apparatus and a system for thermally comforting a patient include pneumatic, convective providing thermal treatment for persons or animals, which is adapted for use in combination with a clinical garment such as a hospital gown, robe, bib, and other equivalents. The pneumatic convective device provides...http://www.google.com/patents/US7837721?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7837721 - Patient comfort apparatus and system
Publication number US7837721 B2
Application number US 10/508,319
PCT number PCT/US2003/011128
Also published as CA2480830A1, EP1494733A2, EP1494733A4, EP1494733B1, EP2255759A2, EP2255759A3, EP2255759B1, US7001416, US8597339, US20030195596, US20050143796, US20060052853, US20110022135, US20140058485, WO2003086500A2, WO2003086500A3
Publication number 10508319, 508319, PCT/2003/11128, PCT/US/2003/011128, PCT/US/2003/11128, PCT/US/3/011128, PCT/US/3/11128, PCT/US2003/011128, PCT/US2003/11128, PCT/US2003011128, PCT/US200311128, PCT/US3/011128, PCT/US3/11128, PCT/US3011128, PCT/US311128, US 7837721 B2, US 7837721B2, US-B2-7837721, US7837721 B2, US7837721B2
Inventors Scott D. Augustine, Thomas Peter Anderson, Randall Charles Arnold
Patent Citations (107), Non-Patent Citations (20), Referenced by (7), Classifications (27), Legal Events (9)
Patient comfort apparatus and system
US 7837721 B2
Apparatus and a system for thermally comforting a patient include pneumatic, convective providing thermal treatment for persons or animals, which is adapted for use in combination with a clinical garment such as a hospital gown, robe, bib, and other equivalents. The pneumatic convective device provides convective warming focused or directly primarily on the thorax or body core. The pneumatic convective device includes at least one inlet for being accessed through a clinical garment, a region in distribution with the inlet for distributing a stream of pressurized, thermally treated air, and a permeable member for emitting pressurized, thermally treated air from the distribution region.
This application claims priority under 35 USC § 371 as a United States National Phase application of PCT/US2003/011128, filed Apr. 10, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/371,314 filed Apr. 10, 2002.
This application contains subject matter related to that of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/411,431, for “FORCED AIR WARMING UNIT”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,876,884, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/411,865, for “PATIENT COMFORT APPARATUS AND SYSTEM”, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,416, both filed concurrently with this application, and to that of U.S. Design Patent Application Ser. No. 29/179,545, filed Apr. 10, 2003, for “FORCED AIR WARMING UNIT”, now U.S. Pat. No. D485,338.
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Application No. PCT/US2005/025355, filed Jul. 18, 2005, titled “Perioperative Warming Device”, and published on Feb. 23, 2006 under Publication No. WO 2006/020170;
PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/041028, filed Oct. 19, 2006, titled “Multifunction Warming Device for Perioperative Use”, and published on Apr. 26, 2007 under Publication No. WO 2007/047917;
PCT Application No. PCT/US2007/013073, filed Jun. 1, 2007, titled “Warming Device”, published on Jan. 31, 2008 under Publication No. WO 2008/013603;
PCT Application No. PCT/US2008/000141, filed Jan. 4, 2008, titled “Convective Warming Device With a Drape”, published on Jul. 31, 2008 under Publication No. WO 2008/091486;
U.S. patent application No. 10/411,865, filed Apr. 10, 2003, titled “Patient Comfort Apparatus and System”, and published on Oct. 16, 2003 under Publication No. US 2003/0195596, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,416;
U.S. patent application No. 10/895,672, filed Jul. 21, 2004, titled “Perioperative Warming Device”, now abandoned, published on Jan. 20, 2005, under Publication No. US 2005/0015127;
U.S. patent application No. 11/005,883, filed Dec. 7, 2004, titled “Warming Device with Varied Permeability”, and published on Jun. 8, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0122671, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,454;
U.S. patent application No. 11/006,491, filed Dec. 7, 2004, titled “Warming Device”, and published on Jun. 8, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0122672, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,364,584;
U.S. patent application No. 11/057,396, filed Feb. 11, 2005, titled “Perioperative Warming Device”, and published on Aug. 17, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0184215, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,076;
U.S. patent application No. 11/057,397, filed Feb. 11, 2005, titled “Thermal Blanket for Warming the Limbs”, and published on Aug. 17, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0184216, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,889;
U.S. patent application No. 11/057,403, filed Feb. 11, 2005, titled “Warming Device for Perioperative Use”, and published on Aug. 17, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0184217;
U.S. patent application No. 11/057,404, filed Feb. 11, 2005, titled “Clinical Garment for Comfort Warming and Prewarming”, and published on Aug. 17, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0184218, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,470,280;
U.S. patent application No. 11/260,706, filed Oct. 27, 2005, titled “Patient Comfort Apparatus and System”, and published on Mar. 9, 2006 under Publication No. US 2005/0052853;
U.S. patent application No. 11/363,136, filed Feb. 27, 2006, titled “Forced Air Warming Unit”, and published on Jul. 6, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0147320;
U.S. patent application No. 11/492,425, filed Jul. 25, 2006, titled “Warming Device”, and published on Nov. 16, 2006 under Publication No. US 2006/0259104;
U.S. patent application No. 11/583,432, filed Oct. 19, 2006, titled “Multifunction Warming Device for Perioperative Use”, and published on Apr. 26, 2007 under Publication No. US 2007/0093882;
U.S. patent application No. 11/583,477, filed Oct. 19, 2006, titled “Multifunction Warming Device with Provision for Being Secured”, and published on Apr. 26, 2007 under Publication No. US 2007/0093883;
U.S. patent application No. 11/583,480, filed Oct. 19, 2006, titled “Multifunction Warming Device with Provision for Warming Hands”, and published on Apr. 26, 2007 under Publication No. US 2007/0093884;
U.S. patent application No. 11/583,481, filed Oct. 19, 2006, titled “Multifunction Warming Device with an Upper Body Convective Apparatus”, and published on Apr. 26, 2007 under Publication No. US 2007/0093885;
U.S. patent application No. 11/656,777, filed Jan. 23, 2007, titled “Convective Warming Device With a Drape”, and published on Jul. 24, 2008 under Publication No. US 2008/0177361;
U.S. patent application No. 11/704,547, filed Feb. 9, 2007, titled “A Forced Air Warming Unit”, and published on Aug. 14, 2008 under Publication No. US 2008/0195184;
U.S. patent application No. 11/801,292, filed May 9, 2007, titled “Warming Device with Varied Permeability”, and published on Oct. 11, 2007 under Publication No. US 2007/0239239;
U.S. patent application No. 11/899,872, filed Sep. 7, 2007, titled “Perioperative Warming Method”, and published on Jan. 31, 2008 under Publication No. US 2008/0027522;
U.S. patent application No. 11/899,928, filed Sept. 7, 2007, titled “Perioperative Warming Device” and published on Jan. 31, 2008 under Publication No. US 2008/0027521;
U.S. patent application No. 12/011,699, filed Jan. 29, 2008, titled “Warming Device”, published on May 29, 2008 under Publication No. US 2008/0125840, and republished on Jun. 11, 2009 under Publication No. US 2009/0149931;
U.S. patent application No. 12/290,713, filed Nov. 3, 2008, titled “Clinical Garment for Comfort Warming and Prewarming”, and published on Mar. 5, 2009 under Publication No. US 2009/0062891;
U.S. patent application No. 12/653,825, filed Dec. 21, 2009, titled “Warming Device Constructions with a Poncho-Type Patient Gown”.
Pneumatic devices which transfer heat between thermally-conditioned air and a body are known. For example, there are inflatable pneumatic devices that receive a stream of pressurized, warmed air, inflate in response to the pressurized air, distribute the warmed air within a pneumatic structure, and emit the warmed air onto a body to accomplish such objectives as increasing comfort, reducing shivering, and treating or preventing hypothermia. These inflatable devices are typically characterized as “blankets” or “covers”. Arizant Healthcare Inc., the assignee of this application, makes and sells such devices under the BAIR HUGGER® brand. One such device is the Model 522 Upper Body Blanket.
A need exists for a pneumatic convective device that achieves the objectives of increased comfort, reduced shivering, and treatment or prevention of hypothermia in a clinical or medical office setting where patients must be able to change postures and enjoy a certain amount of mobility without a significant impact on or change to the treatment algorithm. For example, when visiting a physician for an examination, a patient may be ushered into an examination room, asked to remove clothing in order to permit examination, and given a thin cloth gown to wear while awaiting the physician. In this environment, the patient may be chilled, may shiver, or may be in a condition conducive to hypothermia. Patient anxiety is frequently exacerbated by this cold discomfort. Concomitant with a heightened level of anxiety, patients perceive time as slowing and this anxious waiting period can seem to be prolonged. The cold discomfort can cause a one hour wait to seem like 2 hours to the patient. People tend to vasoconstrict when frightened, and vasoconstriction can lead to reduced peripheral temperature and increased blood pressure, and can make IV access much more difficult. Finally, there is evidence that feeling cold increases the perception of pain. A thin cloth gown provides little in the way of insulation, warmth, and comfort in such circumstances. Therefore, in addition to the patient satisfaction and comfort produced by a bath of thermally-treated air, providing warmth to a cold patient in a medical setting should produce the following unexpected benefits: 1.) reduced blood pressure and easier IV access; 2.) reduced pain sensation; 3.) normalizing of the patient's perception of time slowing; 4.) reduced anxiety and reduced need for medication. These and other objectives are realized when a patient is maintained in a state of thermal comfort. In this regard, “thermal comfort” for a person is defined by P. O. Fanger as “that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment”. Fanger, Thermal Comfort: Analysis and Applications in Environmental Engineering, Danish Technical Press, Copenhagen, 1970.
The invention is based upon the critical realization that garments presently available for use on ambulatory patients can be adapted to provide thermal comfort when combined with a pneumatic convective device. In this regard, lightweight robes or gowns which open at the back or a side, are worn with an open bottom like a skirt or kilt, and are supported primarily at the shoulders and/or neck of the users are referred to as “clinical garments”. These clinical garments afford mobility for users; they also provide convenience for clinicians during examination in that they may be easily moved, adjusted, removed, and put back on. Accordingly, the invention provides pneumatic convective thermal treatment of the feeling of being cold by means of pneumatic convective devices adapted for use in combination with clinical garments. The invention also includes the combination of a clinical garment with a pneumatic convective device, as well as a system and method employing such a combination to maintain comfort a patient by warming. The pneumatic convective devices provide effective convective warming that is focused or directed primarily on or to the most thermally sensitive regions of a user. These devices are also simple to manufacture, store, and deploy for use. Finally, because this invention is meant to produce or induce a state of thermal comfort in a patient, without providing hypothermia therapy, airflow exiting the pneumatic convective device of less than 15 CFM (cubic feet per minute) and a temperature of less than 105° F. are preferred.
FIGS. 1A-1G illustrate a pneumatic convective device that is combined with a clinical garment according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1H is a perspective view drawing showing engagement of the combination in a warming system.
The invention is embodied as a pneumatic convective device receivable on a human or animal body in a clinical setting which receives a stream of pressurized, thermally conditioned air, distributes the pressurized air within a pneumatic structure, and emits the air through one or more surfaces for convective transfer of heat between the thermally conditioned air and the body. The invention is further embodied as a pneumatic convective device combined with a clinical garment to thermally comfort a patient in a clinical setting. Various specific embodiments of the invention are illustrated and discussed according to an example in which a human body is warmed by focusing or concentrating convective warming on the body core in order to permit patient movement and to enhance clinical convenience, although this is not intended to suggest that the invention may not be used for cooling, which, indeed, it may.
FIG. 1H illustrates a patient 108 in the standing position wearing the gown 112, which includes the pneumatic convective device 110, as described above. The patient may be in a doctor's office in an out-patient facility, or other suitable location. The gown 112 is shown with connecting lines that illustrate how it would be attached to the patient. An end 158 of an air hose 160 is connected to the pneumatic convective device 110 may received with the hose card 130 to provide a stream of pressurized, thermally treated air directed into the device 110 through inlet port 127. For the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, the flap 144 is lifted, exposing the inlet port 127 and the hose card 130, through an access opening 142. For the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1D-1E, access to the hose card 130 is on the front of the gown 112 (there is no access opening). The other end of the air hose 160 is connected to a warming unit 162 that can provide a stream of pressurized, thermally controlled air to the device, like the one described in co-pending, concurrently filed patent application “FORCED AIR WRMING UNIT” which is incorporated herein by this reference. The temperature at the hose-end 158, prior to the air entering the pneumatic convective device 110, may range from ambient to 42° C. The average air temperature delivered to the patient may be less than this, depending on the gown design. The airflow at the hose-end 158, prior to the air entering the pneumatic connective device 110, may be between 5-15 CFM. The pressure inside the pneumatic convective device 110 may range of 0.25 to 0.75 inches H2O. The warming unit 162 may be mounted on an IV pole 164, as illustrated.
In FIGS. 2A-2D, an air hose 260 has an end 258, which is in the form of a nozzle 210 attached to the air hose 260 at an annular junction 212. The nozzle 210 may transition from a tubular rear section 211 through an angle less than 90° to a tubular forward section 214. It is desirable that the nozzle 210 be provided with a mechanism to releasably couple it with a hose card of one of the pneumatic convective devices of FIGS. 1A-1F. An example of such a mechanism is shown in these figures. Opposing slots 220 are cut longitudinally along the forward section 214 of the nozzle, extending to its end 217. An annular flange 216 is formed circumferentially around the forward section 214 seated over the slots 220, back from the end 217. A flexible U-shaped latch 222 comprising opposing tongs is mounted to the inside of the nozzle 210, extending from the end 217 where the tongs are received in the slots 220, to the end of the rear section 213 in which a groove 223 is cut to receive and seat the spring end of the U-shaped latch 222. Finger pieces 225 mounted on the outsides of the tongs are received in the slots 220, behind the annular flange 216. The tongs have wedge-shaped pieces 227 mounted to their ends, forward of the annular flange 216. As best seen in FIG. 2A, the tongs of the latch 222 flex together toward the interior of the nozzle, away from the slots 220 in response to pressure applied to the finger pieces 225. According to the illustration in FIG. 2B, when the pressure is released, the tongs spring back to the annular flange 216. With reference to FIGS. 1H, 2A, and 2B, in operation, the nozzle 210, on the end of the air hose 260 is brought to an inlet port 127, the tongs are flexed together as in FIG. 2A and the end of the forward section 214 is inserted into the inlet port 127 far enough for the annular flange 216 to abut the hose card 126. The flexing pressure on the tongs is released and the tongs spring back against the annular flange 216. The hose card is held between the wedge-shaped pieces 227 and the annular flange 216, thereby maintaining the air hose 260 engaged or coupled to the pneumatic convective device served by the input port 127. The nozzle 210 can be disengaged or decoupled from the device by squeezing the tongs of the latch 222 together and removing the forward section 214 of the nozzle from the inlet port 127.
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U.S. Classification 607/96, 607/104, 607/107
International Classification A41D13/12, A41D27/22, A61F7/02, A41D13/00, A61F7/00
Cooperative Classification A41D2400/14, A41D13/0025, A41D2400/32, A61F2310/0097, F16L31/00, A61F7/0097, F16L37/098, A61F7/00, A61F2007/006, A61F2007/0234, A61F2007/0018, A61F2007/0094, A61F2007/0091, A61F7/02, A61F7/0085
European Classification A61F7/02, F16L31/00, F16L37/098, A61F7/00
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AUGUSTINE, SCOTT D.;ANDERSON, THOMAS PETER;ARNOLD, RANDALL CHARLES;REEL/FRAME:015247/0628;SIGNING DATES FROM 20041001 TO 20041007
Owner name: ARIZANT HEALTHCARE, INC., MINNESOTA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AUGUSTINE, SCOTT D.;ANDERSON, THOMAS PETER;ARNOLD, RANDALL CHARLES;REEL/FRAME:016129/0283;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050401 TO 20050412