Abstract:
The present invention is a respiratory appliance (a face mask or a adaptor of a breathing circuit) with at least one toy, which is played by blowing. The respiratory appliance is used to connect to a breathing circuit and is suitable for pediatric inhalation induction of anesthesia. The respiratory appliance contains adjustable one way valves which control air flows for breathing in anesthetic agents and blowing the toy. Children can smoothly go to sleep when they play with the toy by blowing inside the mask.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to respiratory appliances which can please a child in an operating room and provide a smooth pediatric inhalation induction for general anesthesia.  
           [0002]    General anesthesia for children is usually induced by an inhalation technique which involves administering anesthetic gas to a child through a breathing circuit and a face mask (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,532; 4,449,526; 5,429,683 and 5,884,624). During inhalation induction, the mask is put over the child&#39;s face, covering both nose and mouth. After anesthetic gas is turned on, the child breathes in anesthetic agents inside the mask and goes to sleep. To prevent air leaks, the mask has to be placed tight on patient&#39;s face.  
           [0003]    The main disadvantage of this technique is uncomfortable and frightening for most children. Children often feel scared in an operating room. Fear is getting worse when a mask is placed tight over their face. They often fight to resist the mask, that may cause some complications such as aspiration and laryngospasm, and makes the inhalation induction more difficult for an anesthesiologist. A bad experience can make the child become claustrophobic in the rest of his/her life. Even after oral premedication with sedatives such as midazolam, fighting with face mask is still often seen.  
           [0004]    In view of the foregoing, it is important to have a smooth inhalation induction. To reach this goal, a face mask which is attractive for kids would be an advancement.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0005]    The object of the present invention is to provide a face mask for pediatric inhalation induction. The face mask contains at least one toy which is played by blowing or breathing, such as a balloon or a blow-out. The mask is connected to a breathing circuit and an anesthesia machine. Kids will feel comfortable and have fun to blow the toy via the mask. At the same time, they will inhale anesthetic agents and go to sleep after several deep breaths. Thus, this invention can provide a smooth inhalation induction of anesthesia for children. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a face mask with a balloon;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the mask;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line  3 , 5 - 3 , 5  of FIG. 1 showing a one way valve during mask induction;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 shows an enlarged sectional view taken from a portion circled and labeled as “4” in FIG. 3;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line  3 , 5 - 3 , 5  of FIG. 1 showing the one way valve adjusted after induction;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 shows an enlarged sectional view taken from a portion circled and labeled as “6” in FIG. 5;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a face mask with a blow-out (before blowing);  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a face mask with a blow-out (after blowing);  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 shows a sectional view taken on the line  9 - 9  of FIG. 7;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 10 shows an enlarged view taken from a portion circled and labeled as “10” in FIG. 9;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of an adaptor;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 2  shows a sectional view taken on the line  12 - 12  of FIG. 11;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 13 shows an enlarged view taken from a portion circled and labeled as “13” in FIG. 12. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    FIGS.  1 - 6 : Preferred Embodiment  
         [0020]    Perspective views of the present invention are illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (bottom view). At the top of a mask (FIG. 1) there is an opening or tube  20 . The opening  20  is used to connect to a breathing circuit. At the bottom of the mask, there is a cushion  50  to facilitate the sealing between the mask and a patient&#39;s face. To distinguish this invention from previous inventions, this mask has at least one small opening or tube  34  at body  32  of the mask. The tube  34  is connected to a balloon  48  or another toy which is played by blowing. To control air flow between mask and the balloon  48 , the opening  20  and the tube  34  contain adjustable one way valves.  
         [0021]    Cross sectional views (FIG. 3-FIG. 6) show structures and functions of adjustable one way valves in the mask. At the opening  20  (FIG. 3,5), an one way valve consists of a narrow inside opening  22 , a plate or valve  24 , a support or holder  26  and a switch or lever  28  which controls the position of the support  26 . The support  26  is an “U” shape structure (FIG. 2) supporting the position of the valve  24  (FIG. 2,3). The valve  24  and the support  26  have an axle  25  and  30  inserted in the wall of the opening  20 .  
         [0022]    Therefore the valve  24  and the support  26  can be rotated up and down. The structure of one way valve in the tube  34  is similar to that in the opening  20 . In the enlarged view (FIG. 4), the tube  34  consists of a narrow inside opening  36 , a plate or valve  38 , an “U” shape support or holder  40  and a switch or lever  42  controlling the position of the support  40 . The valve  38  and the holder  40  have an axle  44  and  46  inserted in the wall of the tube  34 .  
         [0023]    During induction of anesthesia, a child lies on his/her back at an operating table. The opening  20  of the mask is connected to a breathing circuit. The cushion  50  of the mask is placed over the child&#39;s face, covering both nose and mouth. When the child breathes in, negative air pressure inside the mask will pull the valve  24  down to the support  26  as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 3) and the one way valve is opened. Thus the child will inhale anesthetic agents from the breathing circuit. On the other hand, the negative pressure inside the mask will pull the valve  38  down as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 4) and close the opening  36 . Therefore the child will not re-breathe air from the balloon  48 . When the child breathes out, positive air pressure in the mask will push the valve  24  up against the opening  22  and close the one way valve. On the other hand, air in the mask will push the valve  38  up to the holder  40 , open the opening  36  and blow up the balloon  48 .  
         [0024]    After several deep breaths, the child will be induced to sleep. At this time, blowing balloon become unnecessary. The one way valve of opening  20  can be opened (FIG. 5) by pushing the lever  28  up (as indicated by an arrow) and turning the support  26  down. The valve  24  will fall down with the support  26  by gravity. Therefore positive pressure in the mask can not push the valve  24  up to close the opening  22 . The opening  20  will remain open during both inspiration and expiration. On the other hand, the opening  36  to the balloon  48  should be closed after the child sleeps. Turning the lever  42  up as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 6) and pushing the holder  40  down will press the valve  38  against the opening  36  and prevent air from getting into the balloon  48 .  
         [0025]    FIGS.  7 - 10 : Alternative Embodiment #1  
         [0026]    There are various possible toys which can be played by blowing with the mask. FIGS.  7 - 8  (perspective view) and  9 - 10  (sectional view) show a mask with a blow-out, a paper tube for blowing and producing musical or whistling sound. The perspective views show blow-out before (FIG. 7) and after (FIG. 8) blowing. Similar to the mask with a balloon in FIG. 1, the mask has an opening or tube  20 , which is used to connect to a breathing circuit, and a cushion  50  at the bottom of the mask. The opening  20  also contains an adjustable one way valve. To distinguish this invention from previous inventions, this mask has at least one small opening or tube  54  at body  32 . The tube  54  is connected to a blow-out  52 .  
         [0027]    The one way valve in the opening  20  consists of a narrow inside opening  22 , a plate or valve  24 , a support or holder  26  and a switch or lever  28  which controls the position of the support  26  (FIG. 9). The support  26  is an “U” shape structure supporting the position of the valve  24 . The valve  24  and the support  26  have an axle  25  and  30  inserted in the wall of the opening  20 . Therefore the valve  24  and the support  26  can be rotated up and down. The tube  54 , connecting between the mask and the blow-out  52 , has narrow regions or members  55   a  and  55   b  (FIG. 10). There is a thin plate  53  extended from the region  55   a  to region  55   b . The plate  53  and the region  55   b  form a narrow opening in tube  54 .  
         [0028]    During induction of anesthesia, the opening  20  of the mask is connected to a breathing circuit. The cushion  50  of the mask is placed over a child&#39;s face. When the child breathes in, negative air pressure inside the mask will pull the valve  24  down to the support  26  as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 9) and open the one way valve. Thus the child inhales anesthetic agents from the breathing circuit. When the child breathes out, positive air pressure in the mask will push the valve  24  up against the opening  22  and close the one way valve. Instead air in the mask will pass the narrow opening between plate  53  and region  55   b  in tube  54  (FIG. 10) and blow the blow-out  52  (FIG. 8). Blowing air through the narrow opening at the plate  53  and region  55   b  can also produce musical or whistling sounds.  
         [0029]    After the child is induced to sleep, blowing blow-out  52  become unnecessary. The one way valve of opening  20  can be opened (FIG. 9) by pushing the lever  28  up and turning the support  26  down. The valve  24  will fall down with the support  26  by gravity. Therefore positive pressure in the mask can not push the valve  24  up to close the opening  22 . The opening  20  will remain open during both inspiration and expiration.  
         [0030]    FIGS.  11 - 13  Alternative Embodiment #2  
         [0031]    The present invention can be presented as an adaptor or a pipe with a balloon showed by FIG. 11 (perspective view) and  12  (sectional view). The adaptor has a top end opening  56 , which connects to a breathing circuit, and a bottom end opening  76 , connecting to a mask or a mouthpiece for breathing. To distinguish this invention from previous airway adaptor, this adaptor has at least one small opening or tube  66 , which connected to a balloon  78  or another toy, and has one way valves in the opening  56  and the tube  66 .  
         [0032]    Cross sectional views (FIG. 12, 13) show structures and functions of one way valves in the adaptor. At the opening  56  (FIG. 12), an one way valve consists of a narrow inside opening  58 , a plate or valve  60  and a support or holder  64 . The support  64  is an “U” shape structure supporting the position of the valve  60 . The valve  60  has an axle  62  inserted in the wall of the opening  56 . Therefore the valve  60  can rotated up and down. The structure of one way valve in the tube  66  is similar to that in the opening  56 . In the enlarged view (FIG. 13), the tube  66  consists of a narrow inside opening  68 , a plate or valve  70  and an “U” shape support or holder  74 . The valve  70  has an axle  72  inserted in the wall of the tube  66 .  
         [0033]    Before induction of anesthesia, the adaptor is connected to the breathing circuit and a regular mask or a mouthpiece. When the child breathes in, negative pressure inside the mask will pull the valve  60  down to the support  64  as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 12) and the one way valve is opened. Thus the child will inhale anesthetic agents from the breathing circuit. On the other hand, the negative pressure will pull the valve  70  down as indicated by an arrow (FIG. 13) and close the opening  68 . Therefore the child will not re-breathe air in the balloon  78 . When the child breathes out, positive pressure will push the valve  60  up against the opening  58  and the one way valve is closed. Instead air can push the valve  70  up to the holder  74 , open the opening  68  and blow up the balloon  78 . After the child is induced to sleep, blowing balloon become unnecessary. The adaptor can be disconnected or removed from the breathing circuit.