Surgery – Miscellaneous – Methods
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-02
2001-02-06
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Surgery
Miscellaneous
Methods
C128S845000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182667
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to medical devices which are utilized to treat intensive care patients and more particularly to a hand-held display for a self-contained transportable life support system such as those which are utilized in the resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of medical patients. The hand-held display of the present invention interfaces to the medical devices of the transportable life support system in a manner which does not substantially interfere with the operation thereof, thereby attempting to maintain prior governmental approval, such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of medical devices in the United States.
Thus, according to the present invention, the transportable life support system may not be required to go through the time consuming and expensive governmental approval process, since the individual medical monitoring devices and medical treatment devices thereof have already been approved and since such prior approval may still be valid after integration of the medical monitoring and medical treatment devices into the transportable life support system. Electrical isolation of the medical monitoring devices and medical treatment devices from a common display allows communication of desired parameters from the medical monitoring devices and the medical treatment devices in a manner which does not substantially affect operation thereof and thus potentially maintains prior government approval thereof.
It is important to note that while the intention of this invention is to either maintain prior government approval or at least to substantially simplify any reapproval process, there is no guarantee that such will be the case, since government approval criteria are subject to interpretation and may even change from time to time. Thus, although the present invention attempts to mitigate the need for further government approval, additional approval may be necessary.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is frequently necessary to transport medical patients from the site of an accident or injury to a hospital. For example, persons suffering from various medical emergency conditions such as heart attacks, and strokes must be transported quickly to a medical facility. Medical personnel speak of a “golden hour” within which such a medical patient must be transported to a medical facility so that proper medical care can be provided therefor. The survival rate for such medical patients is greatly enhanced if they are transported to the medical facility within the golden hour.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is frequently difficult to transport a patient to a remotely located medical facility in a timely manner, particularly within the desired golden hour. It is not unusual for accidents to occur at remote locations. Thus, a substantial amount of time may be required to transport the medical patient to a distant hospital. Also, in battlefield situations it is frequently impossible to transport a casualty immediately. In either instance, the patient may be located hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from a hospital, thus necessitating several hours of transport time. As such, it is frequently beneficial to perform various emergency medical procedures at the site of the medical problem, and then to attempt to provide ongoing medical care during transport to a remote hospital. The mortality rate of such transported medical patients is substantially reduced.
It is well-known to use various different medical devices in the field, i.e., at locations remote from a medical facility, so as to enhance a medical patient's chance of survival. For example, it is well-known to use an ECG and a defibrillator upon heart attack victims so as to monitor the condition thereof and so as to provide medical treatment therefor in field.
Typically, the medical patient is placed upon a stretcher and then various different medical devices are used upon the patient, as necessary. During transport the medical devices may either be temporarily disconnected from the patient, or alternatively may be hand carried along therewith by additional personnel. However, disconnection of the medical devices from the patient results in the undesirable disruption of medical monitoring and/or treatment therefor. Hand carrying the medical devices along with the patient requires extra personnel, which may not be available, or for which there may not be adequate room within the transport vehicle.
As such, it is desirable to provide a system for transporting a medical patient wherein the medical devices are carried along with the stretcher. In an attempt to provide such a system for transporting a medical patient while facilitating the continuous use of medical devices thereupon, the Mobile Intensive Care Rescue Facility (MIRF) was developed by the Royal Australian Army Medical Corp. The MIRF is intended to provide sufficient medical equipment to have the capabilities of an intensive care hospital ward. The MIRF is designated so as to facilitate the removal and replacement of the various pieces of medical equipment therefrom for maintenance. The MIRF is specifically designed to accommodate two major roles: the transfer of critically ill people from one point to another, such as from a ward to an x-ray room or from one hospital to another; and the bringing of life support systems quickly to the scene of an accident or other medical emergency.
The MIRF can be configured to include a blood pressure cuff, an invasive blood pressure monitor, a body temperature sensor, a heart rate sensor (finger clip sensor), an oxygen saturation sensor, an exhaled air carbon dioxide sensor, and an electrocardiograph, so as to facilitate medical monitoring of a patient. Further, the MIRF can include a ventilation system, a volumetric infusion pump, a syringe pump, a suction unit, and a defibrillator so as to facilitate medical treatment.
Another contemporary system is the MOBI described in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,957,121, issued to Icenogle et al. on Sep. 18, 1990. The MOBI is similar to the MIRF in concept. That is, like the MIRF, the MOBI utilizes off-the-shelf medical devices which are attached to the housing thereof so as to be transportable therewith, thus eliminating disruptions in the medical care provided thereby during transport.
Further examples of such contemporary life support systems include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,584,989; 4,352,991; 4,691,397; 3,304,116; and 3,341,246.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,989 discloses a life support stretcher bed adapted to accommodate patients in intensive or cardiac care units in hospitals. The life support stretcher bed is broadly adapted for electrical medical devices, medical supplies and features an undercarriage including a support structural, wheels, a patient housing with a mattress, an electrical power source and supports for mounting the medical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,991 teaches a life support system adapted for field use in a vehicle with available power and includes electrically operable life support units, means for supporting the life support units, a patient stretcher, and a DC power source adapted for battery or remote power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,397 teaches a device for carrying the life supporting devices of a bedridden patient including a table like means for supporting the devices, an IV holder, wheeled transport means and a hospital bed footboard securing means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,246 teaches a hospital stretcher adapted broadly with a litter structure having telescopic post elements and other means for manipulating the patient to various positions.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it would further be desirable to monitor the operation of each of the medical devices so as to provide both medical personnel with useful information regarding the patient's condition. Medical personnel could then use the results of such monitoring to determine the condition of the patient as well as the treatment which must be provided to the patient.
Thus, when the transportable life sys
Hanks Donald
Jenks Stephen Francis
Laband Keith Allen
Marosek Susan Lynn
Brown Michael A.
Integrated Medical Systems, Inc.
Stetina Brunda Garred & Brucker
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