Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Face mask covering a breathing passage
Patent
1993-11-22
1995-07-04
Burr, Edgar S.
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Face mask covering a breathing passage
12820525, 12820626, 12820711, A62B 700
Patent
active
054296838
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a face mask for breathing.
There is no point in listing the numerous circumstances in which a breathing mask is necessary. Nevertheless, one such circumstance is particularly important from the point of view of the constraints that it imposes: this is mechanically ventilating people suffering from temporary respiratory insufficiency, e.g. in the event of chronic or postoperative reanimation.
Until now, assisted ventilation for such people has mainly been achieved by inserting a tube into the trachea, which gives rise to numerous drawbacks. Firstly the probe inserted into the upper respiratory tract is a source of traumatism for the mucous membranes with which it comes into contact. It also constitutes a considerable impediment for the patient who cannot speak and who therefore cannot communicate easily with the outside. Finally, it can be the source of complications (tracheal, pleuropulmonary, or ENT, . . . superinfection).
Several attempts have already been made to use a gentler method implementing a mask to replace that invasive technique. The masks presently available are not entirely satisfactory, either because they provide inadequate sealing with the face (leaks take place in general beneath the eyes, thus running the risk of conjunctivitis), or else because contact between the mask and the face gives rise to allergy or to traumatism at compression points which means that prolonged wearing is not possible and is detrimental to the comfort of the patient.
Proposals have also been made for masks that are modelled directly on the face of the patient by means of a malleable material that is shaped between the face and a pipe coupling for connection to the hose delivering the gaseous mixture, with the material fitting closely over the shape of the face. Such equipment suffers from the drawback of being lengthy to install which can sometimes be totally incompatible with the need for urgency.
The present invention seeks to mitigate the above drawbacks by means of a mask that is simple in structure and that can be put into operation very quickly, which is comfortable because it is light in weight and because it adapts closely to the shape of the face, and which also satisfies the relevant requirements for sterility and asepsis.
To this end, the present invention thus provides a face mask, in particular for mechanically ventilating a patient, the mask comprising means interposed between a breathe-in/breathe-out pipe and at least one of the nose and mouth orifices of the patient to provide a sealed connection between the pipe and the respiratory tract of the patient. According to the invention, said means comprise a thin shell delimited by a substantially ovoid concave inside surface whose apex is provided with an opening, a thick and flexible lining suitable for engaging inside the shell and projecting beyond said shell in the form of a sealing rim that deforms to match the shape of the portion of the face that surrounds the opening to the respiratory tract, the lining having a tubular endpiece suitable for being snap-fastened in the opening of said shell and forming a sleeve for connection to the pipe, the mask also having a harness for fixing it to the head of the user and including straps that are fixed to the shell.
Other characteristics and advantages appear from the following description of a particular embodiment.
Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic outside view of a mask of the invention applied to the face of a user;
FIG. 2 is a median section through the mask;
FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are fragmentary section views showing variant embodiments of a mask in which the flexible lining possesses a reinforcing member for shaping purposes; and
FIG. 6 shows means for buckling the harness that are separate from the means for fixing the straps to the shell.
With reference to the figures, it can be seen that the mask of the invention comprises a shell 1 made of a thin plastics material by injection, thermoforming, or any other suitable man
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Brackett Tim L.
Burr Edgar S.
Deane, Jr. William J.
Ferguson Jr. Gerald J.
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