Surgery – Respiratory method or device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2002-08-06
Dawson, Glenn K. (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
C434S265000, C434S262000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06427685
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a device which facilitates the proper performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), particularly by untrained or semi-trained individuals and includes the use of at least one alignment device including a disk having indicia formed thereon which indicates the proper alignment of the device on a person's body as well as the accurate positioning of at least one hand of the individual performing CPR, relative to the sternum of the person on whom CPR is being performed. The disk and associated indicia are adapted to accommodate different sizes and age groups of patients and may further include instructional information relating to performance of the CPR procedure. One or more of the devices may be included in a kit assembly along with other products which facilitate the performance of CPR.
2. Description of the Related Art
By most reliable accounts, the concept and practice of emergency care originated in France, during the period of Napoleon, when medical personnel first began to enter the battlefields for the express purpose of retrieving and providing care for wounded military personnel. From that period on, the principle of providing early aid or emergency medical services to the wounded grew fairly rapidly among the military services around the world. Sometime later, around the mid to late eighteen hundreds, the concept of making emergency treatment available to the general population, rather than just to the military, began to be implemented in various countries throughout the world, including the majority of most of the larger American cities. Of course, the quality and availability of emergency medical aid which was provided was rudimentary by today's standards. For example, the transporting of the critically ill by horse and buggy was less than a satisfactory means of transportation, but did play a significant roll in the development of the modern day ambulance services, which are called upon to respond to those in acute need of emergency medical services. As American cities continued to grow, the need for better trained medical personnel became evident. In particular, it became apparent that proper response to emergency medical situations required the presence of personnel which were well trained to handle a number of critical medical conditions. Eventually, legislation was passed to require state and municipal agencies to mandate more efficient and capable systems to provide emergency care to the general population.
The providing of medical services and care on an emergency basis has currently developed to the point where such services are almost taken for granted. In recent years a universal telephone number “911” has become recognized by the majority of the population, as an emergency call number on which people can rely for immediate response in the treatment of critical or life threatening situations. However, in spite of the significant advances and reliable performance of emergency care services which have developed over the last 150 years, thousands of lives are still lost each year due to the fact that emergency medical treatment was not performed immediately. By way of example, people who experience cardiac arrest must receive immediate treatment, in order for their lives to be saved.
Therefore, there is an increasing effort throughout the United States, as well as most modern, industrialized countries of the world, to make the general population more aware of certain medical procedures which may be performed particularly, but not exclusively, on a person suffering from cardiac arrest. More specifically, the performing of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or “CPR” on cardiac arrest victims within the first few minutes immediately following the cardiac arrest attack, is a significant factor in the saving of a victim's life. However, CPR must be performed correctly and sustained until the patient receives advanced life support procedures by well trained and certified medical personnel.
Currently, an increasing number of people are being made aware of the importance of immediate treatment being given to cardiac arrest victims. As a result, more and more people are receiving at least some training in first aid and/or CPR procedures. Naturally, the better trained an individual is the more prepared that individual would be to help others in a critical or emergency medical situation. However, not everyone has the time or inclination to proceed with a formal training program or become certified by attending classes offered by the American Red Cross, or other medical facilities around the country. Due to the fact that CPR is not an extremely complicated procedure, it is possible to perform its various steps properly and accurately, at least in extremely critical situations, with a minimal amount of instruction, as long as the instruction provided is accurate and effectively presented.
By way of example, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is applied in the following manner. If a person appears to be in cardiac arrest, simple steps can be followed which could result in the saving of a person's life. As a first step, the victim must be properly evaluated by observing and determining whether the patient is breathing. The individual attempting to apply CPR should place his or her face near the mouth of the victim, while at the same time viewing the chest area to see if there is any movement. Concurrently, the pulse of the victim should be checked preferably by placing the finger tips on the victim's Adam's apple and sliding the fingers into the groove immediately adjacent to the windpipe. If there is no response and neither breathing nor a pulse can be detected, a preliminary step would be to arrange for immediate medical services to arrive as soon as possible, such as by calling “911”.
In the actual application of CPR the victim is placed flat on his or her back on a solid surface. The individual applying CPR assumes a generally kneeling position by the side of the victim. The victim's head is tilted backwards simultaneously as the victim's chin is lifted upwardly. The nose and accordingly the airway associated therewith, is closed by the hands of the individual applying CPR. Two breaths are forced through the mouth of the victim into the lungs, using procedures normally associated with “mouth-to-mouth” resuscitation. Two full breaths must be applied to an adult victim while observing a lifting of the victim's chest, which is indicative of the victim receiving enough air. If available, the individual performing CPR may wish to use some type of breathing apparatus which prevents or at least partially restricts actual mouth-to-mouth contact of the individual and the victim, in order to reduce the possibility of cross-contamination or the exchange of bodily fluids. Next, a predetermined number of “compressions” are performed on the victim, with at least one hand of the individual applying CPR being properly oriented on the victim's chest according to the victim's age. The hands of the individual are positioned in the center of the chest generally on the lower half of the sternum. One hand is placed on top of the other and a downward “pumping” motion is applied to the victims's chest. Such motion should be a consistent, straight, up and down motion applied to the victim's chest while the individual performing CPR maintains a kneeling orientation with his or her arms extended downwardly from the upper torso. The chest of the victim should be compressed approximately two inches and the rate of compressions should average approximately 15 compressions followed by two “ventilations” or breaths. The ratio of compressions to breaths or ventilations should change depending on the size and accordingly the age of the victim, to the extent that a ventilation is applied to younger or smaller victims more frequently and generally after approximately every 5 compressions.
While the above procedure may initially appear to be complicated, it most ce
Dawson Glenn K.
Malloy & Malloy P.A.
LandOfFree
Device to facilitate the performance of cardiopulmonary... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device to facilitate the performance of cardiopulmonary..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device to facilitate the performance of cardiopulmonary... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2911136