WO2011118888A1

WO2011118888A1 - Portable discharging device for body fluids and method of controlling portable discharging device

Info

Publication number: WO2011118888A1
Application number: PCT/KR2010/006151
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sook Whan Sung; Hyung Woon Roh
Original assignee: Ivai Gd3; Sr Inno-Medi Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2010-03-22
Filing date: 2010-09-09
Publication date: 2011-09-29
Also published as: WO2011118966A3; WO2011118966A2; TW201132369A; KR100978599B1

Abstract

A portable discharging device for simply and stably sucking body fluids and handling chest diseases such as pneumothorax, and pleura disease, after performing an operation on the lungs, heart, breastwork, pleura, or throat. The portable discharging device includes a case in which a predetermined space is provided, a vacuum pump that is connected to a thoracic duct inserted into a pulmonary pleura of a patient through a pipe path so as to suck body fluids and air inside the pulmonary pleura, a pressure sensor disposed in the case, for measuring a pressure in a patient's body, and a controller that is disposed in the case and is connected to the vacuum pump and the pressure sensor, wherein, when a pressure in the pulmonary pleura is greater than a base value, the controller drives the vacuum pump so as to suck air and body fluids inside the pulmonary pleura.

Description

PORTABLE DISCHARGING DEVICE FOR BODY FLUIDS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING PORTABLE DISCHARGING DEVICE

One or more aspects of the present invention relate to portable discharging devices and methods of controlling the portable discharging devices, and more particularly, to portable discharging devices for simply and stably sucking body fluids and handling chest diseases such as pneumothorax, and pleural disease, after performing an operation on the lungs, heart, breastwork, pleura, or throat, and for quantitatively measuring air content flowing out of a patient’s body (lung) so as to monitor the patient’s condition, and methods of controlling the portable discharging devices.

When a patient is suffering from pneumothorax, a type of pulmonary pleura damage, since a subpleural bleb at a lung end may burst to pleura, air leakage may occur. Thus, when a shadow of a normal lung portion between a breastwork and pleura of an intestine side is replaced with an air shadow in an autoradiograph of the patient, and a line of the pleura of an intestine side is observed, the patient is diagnosed with pneumothorax. In order to treat this, a thoracic duct is injected into pulmonary pleura.

That is, in order to discharge air and body fluids that are collected around a lung during or after an operation, the thoracic duct is injected into the pulmonary pleura through the breastwork, and collects the air and body fluids in a drainage. When the drainage is filled with body fluids, the filled drainage is replaced with a new drainage.

Meanwhile, the leaking air is discharged out of the patient’s body through the thoracic duct. In this case, conventionally, an amount of leaking air is predicted only by a doctor’s empirical determination, rather than quantitatively.

In addition, a wall suction chest bottle regulator used in a hospital, particularly, on a wall of patient’s room has been used as a general discharging device. This general discharging device is a stationary type discharging device, that is, it is not portable, and thus doctors check a patient’s condition by visiting the patient’s room to see an amount of drained fluids and an amount of leaking air.

Generally, a patient needs to do light exercise, such as walking, even just after an operation, in order to hasten their recovery. Although light exercise, such as walking, hastens a patient’s recovery, since a conventional discharging device is stationary at a patient’s room, the patient has difficulty in moving, which does not hasten the patient’s recovery.

One or more aspects of the present invention provide portable discharging devices for automatically measuring and recording a degree of air leakage due to pulmonary pleura damage, storing the degree in a database, and quantitatively analyzing the degree, thereby providing a systematic treatment plan, and improving medical standardization, rationality, and accuracy.

One or more aspects of the present invention provide portable discharging devices for embodying a single apparatus for discharging body fluids and quantitatively measuring air content.

One or more aspects of the present invention provide portable discharging devices for hastening a patient’s recovery since the patient may do light exercise such as walking with to the portable discharging devices.

One or more aspects of the present invention provide portable discharging devices for wirelessly transmitting measured data to a hospital main computer apparatus so that doctors may check the patient’s condition if necessary, and for handling an emergency and providing excellent treatment to the patient.

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of main elements of the portable discharging device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cutaway view of the portable discharging device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of a portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a case where a case and a drainage container are coupled, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram a holder for fixing a portable discharging device, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view for explaining a suction mode, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view for explaining a flushing mode, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an operation in the suction mode of FIG. 7.

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is diagram of main elements of the portable discharging device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic cutaway view of the portable discharging device of FIG. 1. The portable discharging device according to the present embodiment includes a case 1 constituting an external appearance of the portable discharging device, a drainage container 3, a vacuum pump 5, an air content measuring sensor 7, an on/off valve 8, a direction changing valve 9, and a controller 11. In addition, the portable discharging device further includes a drained amount sensor 13, a pressure sensor 15, a timer 17, an output unit 19, and a data storing unit 21.

A predetermined space is provided in the case 1, and the drainage container 3 is detachably coupled outside the case 1. However, this coupling method may use a general a stumbling projection or stumbling groove, and other coupling methods may be used. The drainage container 3 is a container in which fluids discharged from pleura are collected. In detail, the drainage container 3 is configured so as to separate body fluids from body fluids and air that are collected from a thoracic duct P1, to store the separated body fluids, and to send only the air to the vacuum pump 5. A plurality of barrier ribs (not shown) are arranged in the drainage container 3, and through holes are formed between the barrier ribs so that air may pass through the through holes.

The drained amount sensor 13 measures an amount of body fluids collected in the drainage container 3. In detail, the drained amount sensor 13 measures a level of the body fluids, and transmits a predetermined signal to the controller 11. Thus, when a predetermined level or higher is detected, the controller 11 may recognize that the drainage container 3 needs to be replaced, and may indicate a predetermined warning on a display 24. The drained amount sensor 13 is installed in the case 1 so as to correspond to a location of the drainage container 3. The drained amount sensor 13 may be a noncontact-type capacitance sensor or infrared ray sensor, but is not limited thereto, and various sensors may be used. The kinds of these sensors are commonly used, and thus will not be described.

The case 1 includes a connectiong portion 23 to which the thoracic duct P1 connected to pleura of a human body is inserted. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting portion 23 includes an inlet pipe 23a and a return pipe 23b that are separated from each other by a barrier rib (not shown), or are formed by disposing different pipes adjacently. The inlet pipe 23a and the return pipe 23b may each have a predetermined length, and upper ends of the inlet pipe 23a and the return pipe 23b are open so that fluids may flow between the inlet pipe 23a and the return pipe 23b. In addition, the inlet pipe 23a and the return pipe 23b are inserted into the thoracic duct P1.

The inlet pipe 23a includes a first path 23c so as to couple to the drainage container 3. That is, the inlet pipe 23a guides body fluids and air that pass through the thoracic duct P1 to move towards the drainage container 3.

The return pipe 23b may include a second path 23d to which air discharged from the vacuum pump 5 is to be introduced. The second path 23d may be connected to the direction changing valve 9 and a sixth pipe path P6 that are connected to a discharging portion of the vacuum pump 5.

In addition, the case 1 includes a third path 23e (see FIG. 5) connected to the drainage container 3. The third path 23e is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the first path 23c by a predetermined distance. The third path 23e is connected to the air content measuring sensor 7 through another pipe path, that is, a second pipe path P2 (see FIG. 3).

In addition, one side of the air content measuring sensor 7 is connected to the drainage container 3 by the second pipe path P2, and the other side of the air content measuring sensor 7 is connected to the vacuum pump 5 by a third pipe path P3. In detail, the air content measuring sensor 7 is installed between the drainage container 3 and the vacuum pump 5 in the case 1 so as to measure an hourly variation in air content discharged from the drainage container 3. The air content measuring sensor 7 may be a differential type sensor, an area-flow type sensor, a positive-displacement type sensor, a revolution-detecting type sensor, an electronic sensor, an ultrasonic-wave type sensor, a vortex type sensor and more particularly, may be a sensor that may not be affected by temperature and may detect nitrogen instead of air, but is not limited thereto. Thus, any sensor for ensuring the linearity of low air content may be used as the air content measuring sensor 7. The air content measuring sensor 7 is electrically connected to the controller 11 so as to transmit a signal related to the measured air content to the controller 11.

The pressure sensor 15 is disposed in the case 1 so as to measure a pressure in a patient’s body. According to the present embodiment, the pressure sensor 15 is disposed between the drainage container 3 and the air content measuring sensor 7, and more particularly, on the second pipe path P2, but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the pressure sensor 15 may be disposed on the third pipe path P3 as long as the third pipe path P3 may be disposed between the drainage container 3 and the vacuum pump 5. However, when the on/off valve 8 is installed at an inlet of the vacuum pump 5, the pressure sensor 15 needs to be disposed between the on/off valve 8 and the drainage container 3. The pressure sensor 15 is electrically connected to the controller 11 so as to transmit a signal related to the measured pressure to the controller 11.

The vacuum pump 5 is connected to the direction changing valve 9 through a fourth pipe path P4. The vacuum pump 5 is disposed in the case 1, and is connected to the thoracic duct P1 inserted into the patient’s pulmonary pleura through a pipe path so as to suck body fluids and air inside the pulmonary pleura. Various general pumps may be used as the vacuum pump 5, and thus will not be described herein. However, the third pipe path P3 connected to the air content measuring sensor 7 is installed at one side of the end of the vacuum pump 5, and the fourth pipe path P4 connected to the direction changing valve 9 is installed at the other offside of the end of the vacuum pump 5, and thus air or other fluids flowing though the third pipe path P3 may flow towards the direction changing valve 9 through the fourth pipe path P4. As the vacuum pump 5 operates, a negative pressure (which is lower than an atmospheric pressure) may be formed in the drainage container 3 and the thoracic duct P1.

One side of the direction changing valve 9 is connected to the vacuum pump 5 through the fourth pipe path P4. In addition, another side of the direction changing valve 9 is connected to the atmosphere through a fifth pipe path P5, and is connected to the connecting portion 23 through the sixth pipe path P6. In detail, as described above, the sixth pipe path P6 may be connected to the drainage container 3 through the connecting portion 23. That is, the direction changing valve 9 is a third direction valve that is electrically connected to the controller 11 so that air may selectively flow through any one of the fifth pipe path P5 and the sixth pipe path P6. The direction changing valve 9 may be a solenoid valve that may be operated by a electrical signal, but is not limited thereto. Of course, various other valves may be used as the direction changing valve 9.

According to the present embodiment, the sixth pipe path P6 is connected to the drainage container 3 through the connecting portion 23, but is not limited thereto. For example, the sixth pipe path P6 may be connected to the atmosphere only.

The on/off valve 8 is installed on the third pipe path P3. In detail, the on/off valve 8 is installed on the third pipe path P3 installed at one side of the end of the vacuum pump 5 between the vacuum pump 5 and the air content measuring sensor 7. However, when the pressure sensor 15 is disposed between the vacuum pump 5 and the air content measuring sensor 7, the on/off valve 8 is installed on the third pipe path P3 between the vacuum pump 5 and the pressure sensor 15. The on/off valve 8 is a valve for opening and shutting air content. When the vacuum pump 5 operates, the on/off valve 8 opens a path so that air may flow. When the vacuum pump 5 does not operate, the on/off valve 8 shuts the path so that air may not flow. The on/off valve 8 is electrically connected to the controller 11 so as to be controlled by the controller 11. The on/off valve 8 may be a solenoid valve that may be opened and shut by an electrical signal, but is not limited thereto. Of course, various other valves may be used as the on/off valve 8.

The timer 17 may be electrically connected to the controller 11. The data storing unit 21 stores data measured in the air content measuring sensor 7 and the drained amount sensor 13, and is electrically connected to the controller 11 so as to transmit and receive the data to and from the controller 11.

The output unit 19 includes the display 23 formed in a front surface of the case 1, and a wireless communication module 25.

The display 23 may output an image, or the like so that a user may easily view a material that is necessarily used in the controller 11. The display 23 may be formed on the front surface of the case 1, and may display a predetermined operation state.

The wireless communication module 25 is connected to a hospital main computer apparatus by which doctors may check the data stored in the data storing unit 21 in real time, and a portable manipulation device (a controller such as an iPod) for wirelessly controlling the portable discharging device through any one local area network (LAN) from among wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication, a radio frequency (RF) communication, Bluetooth communication, a wireless LAN communication, and ultra wide band system (UWB) communication. Based on this configuration, the portable discharging device may perform a predetermined operation executed by the portable manipulation device, and the data inside the portable discharging device may be transmitted to the hospital main computer apparatus.

Thus, even if a patient walks or moves around a hospital, that is, not stay in their room, doctors may quickly check the patient’s condition, and thus they may easily handle an emergency.

In addition, the portable discharging device according to the present embodiment may be fixed to a holder 31 that may be fixed to a bed handrail, a wheelchair, or a portable IV hanger, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7.

The holder 31 for fixing the portable discharging device may include a supporting portion 33 for supporting the portable discharging device, an inserting portion 35 that is coupled to one side of the supporting portion 33 and is attachable to a portable IV hanger, and a fixing portion 37 for fixing the inserting portion 35.

The supporting portion 33 may include a supporter that is horizontally disposed, on which the portable discharging device is put, and a vertical portion that vertically extends. In addition, the supporter may include a power supply device (a charging device, not shown). The fixing portion 37 includes the inserting portion 35 having an approximately ‘ㄷ’ shape, which is attached to a rear surface of the vertical portion. The inserting portion 35 includes the fixing portion 37 including a bolt member with a knob 37a. The fixing portion 37 may fix the holder 31 to which the portable discharging device is fixed, to a bed or portable IV hanger by rotating the knob 37a.

Such a suction mode of an operation according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9.

First, a base value for a target negative pressure is set so that a pressure in a patient’s pulmonary pleura may be a negative pressure (operation S1).

The on/off valve 8 is opened to open the third pipe path P3. Then, the vacuum pump 5 is driven to discharge air outwards through the fifth pipe path P5 and to store body fluids in the drainage container 3 while sucking body fluids and air inside the pulmonary pleura. In this case, an amount of body fluids introduced into the drainage container 3 is measured by the drained amount sensor 13 in real time, and a signal related to the amount of body fluids is transmitted to the controller 11. Then, the controller 11 determines whether an excessive amount of body fluids is contained in the drainage container 3. When the controller determines that the amount of body fluids exceeds a predetermined range, a warning is indicated through the display 23 (operation S2).

A pressure in pulmonary pleura is measured by the pressure sensor 15 that is connected to the thoracic duct P1 through a pipe path, and then it is determined whether the measured pressure is higher than the base value (operation S3).

If the pressure inside the pulmonary pleura is a negative pressure (that is, if the pressure is lower than the base value) after a predetermined time elapses, the vacuum pump 5 stops being driven (operation S4).

Then, in order to prevent air from flowing backwards from the vacuum pump 5 towards the thoracic duct P1, a pipe path disposed between the vacuum pump 5 and the pressure sensor 15 is shut by the on/off valve 8 (operation S5).

Air content flowing from the pulmonary pleura is measured by the air content measuring sensor 7, and data related to the measured air content is hourly stored (operation S6)

Then, it is determined whether the pressure in the pulmonary pleura is higher than the base value while measuring the pressure in the pulmonary pleura. If the pressure is higher than the base value, the method returns to operation S2, and operation S2 is performed (operation S7).

If the air content flowing from the pulmonary pleura exceeds a predetermined range, a flushing mode is performed, as shown in FIG. 8. That is, in the presence of a remarkable variation in the air content, it is determined that foreign substances exist in a pipe path, the direction changing valve 9 is driven to shut the fifth pipe path P5 and to open the sixth pipe path P6 so that air may compulsorily flow towards the drainage container 3 through the connecting portion 23. Then, if a variation in the air content is within a normal range, an initial state may be maintained again.

According to an embodiment, the warning may be indicated by various methods. That is, if the variation in the air content exceeds a predetermined range, a battery runs down, or the drainage container 3 is filled, the display 23 may display a warning image.

In addition, a user may control the vacuum pump 5 by using a manual mode, or alternatively, the vacuum pump 5 may be automatically controlled by the controller 11, as described above.

The flushing mode may be automatically performed at a point of time set by the timer 17, rather then being performed by a variation in air content. That is, the timer 17 may be set so that the flushing mode may be performed every five minutes for 10 seconds

In addition, the timer 17 may be set so that the vacuum pump 5 may be automatically driven to automatically suck body fluids or air inside the pulmonary pleura when a predetermined time elapses. That is, in addition to the above-described case where the pressure in the pulmonary pleura is a predetermined pressure or less, a normal operation of the vacuum pump 5 may be performed every predetermined period of time, in order to discharge fluids that are collected in the pulmonary pleura or pipe paths connected to a human body when a predetermined time elapses.

According to the present embodiment, a degree of air leakage due to pulmonary pleura damage is automatically measured and recorded, is stored as a database, and is quantitatively analyzed, thereby providing a systematic treatment plan. In addition, a single apparatus for discharging body fluids and quantitatively measuring air content may be embodied.

In addition, the controller 11 transmits the data stored quantitatively to the hospital main computer apparatus or doctors’ portable communication devices through the wireless communication module 25 in real time. Thus, the doctors may check the patient’s condition in real time.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, since a patient may freely walk, their recovery may be hastened, and a systematic treatment may be performed by using data measured in real time, thereby improving medical standardization, rationality, and accuracy.

A portable discharging device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Although the pressure sensor 15 and the air content measuring sensor 7 are simultaneously used according to the above-described embodiment, only the pressure sensor 15 may be used. However, in this case, the pressure sensor 15 may be programmed so as to measure air content. That is, the pressure sensor 15 measures an hourly variation between predetermined pressures, the controller 11 may calculate the air content, based on the measured hourly variation, and then the air content flowing in a pipe path is stored in the controller 11.

In addition, the vacuum pump 5, the pressure sensor 15, the controller 11, and the drained amount sensor 13 are installed in a single case 1, but the present embodiment is not limited to this case. For example, a plurality of cases may be combined with each other, and various components may be installed in the cases, respectively.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, air leakage is automatically measured and recorded, and thus a systemat

ic treatment may be performed by using data measured in real time, thereby improving medical standardization, rationality, and accuracy.

Moreover, since a patient may easily carry the portable discharging device, he or she may keep doing light exercise such as walking even after an operation, thereby hastening their recovery.

In addition, measured data is wirelessly transmitted to a hospital main computer apparatus so that doctors may check the patient’s condition if necessary, and thus they may handle an emergency and may effectively treat the patient.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

A portable discharging device comprising:

a case in which a predetermined space is provided;

a vacuum pump that is connected to a thoracic duct inserted into a pulmonary pleura of a patient through a pipe path so as to suck body fluids and air inside the pulmonary pleura;

a pressure sensor disposed in the case, for measuring a pressure in a patient’s body; and

a controller that is disposed in the case and is connected to the vacuum pump and the pressure sensor,

wherein, if a pressure in the pulmonary pleura is greater than a base value, the controller drives the vacuum pump so as to suck air and body fluids inside the pulmonary pleura.
The portable discharging device of claim 1, further comprising a drainage container coupled to the case, wherein the drainage container separates body fluids from body fluids and air that are introduced from the thoracic duct, stores the separated body fluids, and sends the air to an end of the vacuum pump.
The portable discharging device of claim 2, further comprising a drained amount sensor that is provided in the drainage container and measures an amount of body fluids collected in the drainage container.
The portable discharging device of claim 2, wherein the drainage container is detachably coupled to the case.
The portable discharging device of claim 2, further comprising an air content measuring sensor that is installed between the drainage container in the case and the vacuum pump and measures an hourly variation in air content flowing from the drainage container.
The portable discharging device of claim 5, wherein one side end of the vacuum pump is connected to a direction changing valve for selectively sending air introduced from another side end of the vacuum pump to any one of an air outlet and the drainage container.
The portable discharging device of claim 1, further comprising an on/off valve that is disposed between the vacuum value and the pressure sensor, and opens and shuts air flow,

wherein, when the vacuum pump operates, the on/off valve opens a path so that air flows through the path, and when the vacuum pump stops operating, the on/off valve shuts the path so that air does not flow through the path.
The portable discharging device of claim 1, wherein the controller is connected to an output unit comprising a display.
The portable discharging device of claim 8, wherein the controller further comprises a wireless communication module that is controlled by controller.
A method of controlling the portable discharging device according to any one of claims 1 through 9, the method comprising:

setting a base value of a target negative pressure;

driving a vacuum pump so as to discharge air outwards and to store body fluids in a drainage container while sucking body fluids and air inside a pulmonary pleura;

measuring a pressure in the pulmonary pleura by a pressure sensor connected to a lung thoracic duct through a pipe path, and comparing the pressure with the base value;

stopping driving of the vacuum pump when the pressure in the pulmonary pleura is lower than the base value;

measuring air content flowing from the pulmonary pleura, and storing hourly data related to the measured air content; and

measuring the pressure in the pulmonary pleura, wherein the measuring is performed by the pressure sensor connected to the lung thoracic duct through a pipe path, and performing the driving of the vacuum pump if the pressure is lower than the base value.
The method of claim 10, further comprising, after the measuring of the air content, if the air content flowing from the pulmonary pleura exceeds a predetermined range, flushing the pipe path by moving the air discharged outwards back to the vacuum pump through the drainage container while driving the vacuum pump.
The method of claim 10, further comprising, between the stopping and the measuring of the air content, in order to prevent air from flowing backwards from the vacuum pump towards the lung thoracic duct, shutting a pipe path disposed between the vacuum pump and the pressure sensor by the on/off valve.
The method of claim 10, wherein the driving further comprises measuring an amount of body fluids introduced to the drainage container, where in the measuring is performed by a drained amount sensor, and transmitting a signal related to the amount to a controller.