Education and demonstration – Anatomy – physiology – therapeutic treatment – or surgery... – Anatomical representation
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-04
2001-08-14
Rimell, Sam (Department: 2166)
Education and demonstration
Anatomy, physiology, therapeutic treatment, or surgery...
Anatomical representation
C434S262000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273728
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical simulation. In particular, the present invention relates to life support simulation apparatuses capable of responding realistically to therapeutic interventions.
II. Background of the Invention
The goal of Life Support (“LS”) in case of a cardiac arrest is to partially assist (in the case of heart or respiratory failure) or completely assume (in the case of cardiac or respiratory failure) the function of the heart and lungs in providing perfusion of oxygenated blood to the brain, heart, kidney, liver, and other vital organs. In the case of cardiac or respiratory arrest the goal of life support therapy is to restore spontaneous breathing and cardiac rhythm. Life support therapy takes many different forms and is administered according to a variety of clinical protocols, guidelines, algorithms, including Basic Life Support (“BLS”), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (“ACLS”), and Advanced Trauma Life Support (“ATLS”), for example. These different forms of life support are utilized by many health care professionals, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and physician nurses, and health care technicians who work in the emergency department, intensive care units, operating rooms, and other acute care settings in the hospital. Representative therapies include, but are not limited to, external cardiac massage (“chest compression”), artificial ventilation, and fluid and drug administration.
The return of a cardiac Thythm can be evaluated in several ways, including palpation of peripheral pulses, auscultation of heart sounds, measurement of systemic blood pressure, assessment of the electrocardiogram, and with data from the pulse oximeter. The return of spontaneous breathing can be evaluated in several ways, including assessment of gas movement, observation of chest movement, auscultation of breath sounds, measurement of respiratory carbon dioxide with a capnograph, and with data from a pulse-oximeter. The return of cardiac rhythm, spontaneous breathing and the successful perfusion and oxygenation of the brain depends on the physiologic state of the patient and on the combined effect of the therapeutic interventions. Several interacting physiologic and pharmacologic subsystems play a role in this determination, including the cardiovascular, pulmonary, systemic gas uptake and distribution, drug transport (pharmacokinetics), drug effects (pharmacodynamic), and oxygen supply-demand balances in the heart and brain.
Health care professionals face many challenges in leaning and practicing life support therapies. The environment is often new and unfamiliar and usually involves the use of technologically advanced medical instruments and devices. Mistakes can threaten the life of the critically ill patient, so learning by “hands-on” experience is difficult (and difficult to justify). The life support system described herein allows for the repeated practice of life support interventions and protocols, without risk to real patients. The invention elaborates on a full-scale human patient simulator (“HPS”) by adding external cardiac massage capabilities and providing the physiological and pharmacological models to simulate the patient's responses to this and other life support therapeutic interventions.
A major benefit of an integrated HPS is that it allows realistic action/reaction interplay between the actions of the trainee, responses of the simulated patient, data shown on the monitors and subsequent actions by the trainee. Another feature of the HPS is that its software and hardware reflect the self-regulating aspects of human physiology. For instance, in a non-self-regulating system, an awkward input situation would invariably lead to physiologically implausible behavior from the system or such stimuli would result in an inability of the system to handle the input at all. A self-regulating system is more robust in the accommodation and simulation of unplanned events because it will still provide an appropriate response.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention involves enhancements to a patient simulator of the kind generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,081 and 5,584,701, the contents of both of which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
The present invention provides a method for simulating the above-referenced life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the method comprising sensing thorax or abdomen displacement on a mannequin and generating a variable corresponding to the extent of the displacement, determining, based on a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof an appropriate physiological response to the variable corresponding to the thorax or abdomen displacement, and based on the appropriate physiological response, actuating at least one output
Also provided is a method for simulating life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the method comprising sensing the alveolar gas volume that results from gas pressure applied to an upper airway of the mannequin and generating a variable that corresponds to the alveolar volume or the alveolar ventilation, determining, based on a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof an appropriate physiological response to the variable corresponding to the alveolar volume or the alveolar ventilation, and based on the appropriate physiological response, actuating at least one output.
The present invention also presents a method for simulating life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the method comprising sensing the composition of inspiratory or alveolar gas and generating a variable corresponding to the gas composition, determining, based on a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof an appropriate physiological response to the variable corresponding to the gas composition, and based on the appropriate physiological response, actuating at least one output.
The invention also provides a method for simulating life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the method comprising sensing the amount and composition of administered fluid and generating a variable corresponding to the type of the fluid and the administered amount, determining, based on a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof an appropriate physiological response to the variables corresponding to the type and the amount of the fluid, and based on the appropriate physiological response, actuating at least one output.
The invention also provides a method for simulating life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the method comprising sensing the administration of intravenous drugs and generating variables corresponding to the type of the drug and the administered dose, determining, based on a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof an appropriate pharmacological response to the variables corresponding to the drug type and the administered dose, and based on the appropriate pharmacological response, actuating at least one output.
In another embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus for simulating life support procedures in real-time using a mannequin, the apparatus comprising a mannequin having a thorax or abdomen region, a sensor for sensing thorax or abdomen displacement on the mannequin and generating a variable corresponding to the extent of the displacement, an electronic device operable in accordance with a time driven script, an event driven script, a mechanical model, a mathematical model or a combination thereof for determining an appropriate physiological response to the variable corresponding to the thorax or abdomen displacement, and at least one output corresponding to the appropriate physiological response.
In another embodiment
Azukas James Bradley
Beneken Joannes E. W.
Carovano, Jr. Ronald George
de Beer Nicole Anna Marie
Ellis Michael Franklin
Rimell Sam
The University of Florida
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