The Boc Group, Inc.

Ohmeda Inc.

Colin G. Hodge

Douglas D. Carden

Colin G Hodge

Christopher A Dykes

Thomas C Jones

Douglas D Carden

David A Gloyd

Vladimir Kremenchugsky

Robert M Siminauer

An infant incubator having an infant compartment that contains the infant and which is set to a desired temperature above ambient by the user. The incubator has at least one access door that opens to allow the caregiver to perform an intervention on the infant and which is actively heated when in the open position. Thus, when the access door is again closed, the door is at an elevated temperature with respect to the ambient and less heating energy is needed to return the infant compartment back to the desired temperature.

Heated, opened access door for incubator

An infant incubator tilt mechanism is disclosed that allows infinite adjustment of the tilt angle of the infant mattress within certain limits. The mechanism includes a bent rod positioned within the infant incubator itself and underlying the infant bed and which has an offset portion that engages a bed lifter. As the bent rod is rotated about an axis, the bent rod moves the bed lifter to raise and/or lower the infant bed. One end of the bent rod extends outwardly to the exterior of the infant compartment and is rotatable by an exterior mechanism having a lead screw that is rotated by the operator to cause lateral movement of a link mechanism along an axis at about ninety degrees to the axis of rotation of the bent rod. The lateral movement of the link is again translated into rotational movement and connects to the bent rod to translate that rotational movement to the bent rod. The entire tilt mechanism is readily removable so as to be easily cleaned.

Incubator mattress tilt mechanism

A selector valve for use with a hospital vacuum on position in pressure module to supply vacuum or pressure to a utilization means. The selector valve has two or more positions and includes a positive stop at each of its positions through the use of molded plastic parts that interact together to eliminate springs or other components that are tedious to assemble. The entire selector valve is comprised of a minimum of parts and costly lapped surfaces are eliminated by molding a gasket material to one of the components of the valve. The overall multiposition selector valve is thus inexpensive to manufacture by utilizing a minimal number of plastic molded parts and that are easy to assemble.

Gas regulator selector valve

An intermittent suction regulator is disclosed operating from a vacuum system and is used to provide a plurality of pneumatic output signals to a positive pulse device for returning fluids removed from a patient during drainage thereof to clear the removal passageways. The suction regulator or control unit provides two (2) timed output signals, from one (1) intermittent vacuum to atmospheric pressure input. One output signal continually switches from a regulated vacuum signal to an atmospheric pressure signal while the other output signal switches from providing an unregulated vacuum signal to an atmospheric pressure signal. The signals are timed such that both are initially set to provide vacuum signals simultaneously, however there is a predetermined time delay between the time the regulated vacuum output signal switches from vacuum to atmospheric and when the unregulated vacuum output signal switches from vacuum to atmospheric. Both output signals, however, again switch back to their vacuum signals simultaneously after a predetermined cycle time.

Control unit for intermittent suction system

A catheter pulse device is disclosed which is activated by vacuum signals and which is used adjacent to or directly attached to a catheter for withdrawing fluids from a patient's body cavity, such as the stomach. The device operates immediately following the normal cessation of suction in an intermittent suction system and returns a minute quantity of the withdraw fluid back into the catheter itself to clear the withdrawal passageways. The pulse device provides protection against an excess of vacuum from reaching the patients cavity by utilizing a specially designed valve that opens and closes the path between a source of regulated vacuum and the patient. That valve is balanced such that it initially opens at or approximately at the point the vacuum on the patient side of the valve reaches the regulated vacuum set by the doctor or other knowledgeable personnel, and thus the vacuum to the patient does not exceed a set amount. The pulse device can therefore be used in a system where the device itself is located directly on or adjacent the catheter itself, thus eliminating long distensible passageways between the pulse device and the patient and thereby minimizing the detrimental reservoir effect of such long passageways.

Growing community of inventors

Columbia, MD, United States of America

Colin G Hodge