Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices

Details Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices

1999-05-10

2001-04-17

Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)

Electric resistance heating devices

Heating devices

Continuous flow type fluid heater

C392S480000, C392S472000, C138S033000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06219490

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a ventilation tube particularly for medical devices.
BACKGROUND ART
In many medical devices and particularly in ventilation tubes for intensive care, in ventilation tubes at the outlet of humidifiers and the like, it is conventionally necessary to heat the gaseous substance, generally air, that circulates inside the tube.
An electric resistor is currently used to solve the problem, said resistor being located inside the plastic tube, so as to heat the air to prevent condensation of the moisture contained therein.
This solution entails considerable drawbacks, since any burns caused by the electric resistor on the tube wall might generate fumes which would be fed to the patient, with the obvious associated problems.
Another drawback is also constituted by the fact that a resistor located. inside the tube is unable to provide for uniform heating of the inside walls of the tube and therefore cold spots may form which constitute condensation regions for the moisture that is present in ventilation cases, accordingly creating regions in which water accumulates and which, in addition to obstructing the useful cross-section of the tube, also constitute regions for bacterial growth.
In order to solve the above problem, ventilation tubes are already commercially available in which an external wire is provided which is wound in a spiral around the outer wall of the tube; this solution is considerably expensive and also causes problems, since it is necessary to provide for an additional tube in order to sheath the resistor, both owing to electrical insulation problems and in order to prevent excessively hot spots from remaining on the outside, possibly leading to problems for users.
This structure has the drawback that it is very heavy and that it considerably reduces the transparency, lightness and flexibility characteristics which are typical of a PVC tube.
Another drawback resides in the costs, since the sheathing of the tube, in addition to increasing the amount of plastics being used, requires much more complex and expensive production technologies than the ordinary spiral tube.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above problems, by providing a ventilation tube particularly for medical devices which allows to provide uniform heating on the entire surface of the tube affected by the flow of the gaseous substance, thus helping to eliminate the regions where liquid might condense.
Within the scope of this aim, a particular object of the invention is to provide a ventilation tube in which the heating element is not located inside the tube, so that any burns do not produce fumes which are fed directly to the patient, and is furthermore capable of maintaining the flexibility, lightness and transparency characteristics of the spiral tube substantially unchanged.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation tube which allows to obtain tubes which are already equipped with the heating element, with the possibility of performing extremely simple connections.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation tube particularly for medical devices, which can be easily obtained starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials and which is also competitive from a merely economical point of view.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3891007 (1975-06-01), Kleykamp
patent: 3963856 (1976-06-01), Carlson et al.
patent: 4038519 (1977-07-01), Foucras
patent: 4688603 (1987-08-01), Donnerhack et al.
patent: 5454061 (1995-09-01), Carlson

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ventilation tube, particularly for medical devices will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2538327