Other

Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

Sherwood Medical Company

Robert E Phillips

Ben A Otsap

Brian L Tiep

Albert Lopez

David M Mathis

Ray Edwards, Jr

Alan B Ranford

Daniel A Talonn

The delivery system has a control body in the form of a pendant to which oxygen is delivered and from which the oxygen is delivered to the patient. The body includes a reservoir which has a constant oxygen supply orifice. During rest conditions, the patient breathes only a portion of the reservoir contents. During physical activity, the patient breathes more deeply and inhales more oxygen from the reservoir. The reservoir has a flexible diaphragm and when breathing more deeply, the diaphragm moves to open a bolus oxygen supply valve to introduce a bolus of additional oxygen to the reservoir and thus to the patient.

Adaptive demand oxygen delivery system

The tap driver is configured to be hand-held. It has a tap-holding chuck and a motor to drive the chuck. An external switch rocks forward to rotate the motor in the tapping direction and backward to withdraw the tap. A control circuit causes forward motion of the tap for a predetermined time for the tap to make about one forward turn for tapping. At the end of that time, the motor reverses and rotates the tap outward a fractional turn to break the chips made during tapping. The timer then turns the circuit to drive the motor in the forward direction for another tapping. This action repeats until tapping is complete and the switch is rocked back to reverse the motor to withdraw the tap.

Powered tap driver with rotary control structure

The motorized specimen cutter has a replaceable rotary tubular cutting tip and a motor to rotate the cutting tip. Deflection caused by proper cutting force energizes the motor with enough energy to cut a specimen. A manually or automatically actuated ejector pin ejects the sample from the cutting tip.

Motorized specimen cutter

One or more physical activity sensors, such as pressure switches, position sensors and accelerometers, as well as a breath sensor are connected to control a valve. The valve is electrically actuated and has first and second states. A control circuit between the sensors and the valve increase actuation of the valve when continuing activity is sensed. The valve has a single coil and is bistable so that it does not require continuous energization in either state. The fluid is preferably respiratory oxygen so that more oxygen is delivered when the person is active.

Activity responsive therapeutic delivery system

The present invention includes a sleeve for use with a device for collecting and transporting biological specimens. The sleeve comprises a tubular member for containing the bottom portion of the collection device and a lever so as to exert pressure to the collection device so as to break the ampoule, The sleeve provides an environment to maintain the substantial viability of a specimen during transport in a collection device.

Culturette safety sleeve

The present invention is a device and method for collecting and transporting biological specimens. The device provides an environment for maintaining substantial validity of a specimen during transport. The device comprises a tubular housing with an ampoule containing medium, a specimen collector and a sleeve positioned over the tubular housing. The sleeve is used to effectively break the ampoule so as to release medium into the tubular housing so as to keep a specimen substantially viable during transport.

A quick acting diversion valve can be constructed so that a pressure difference between the sides of a bistable diaphragm can be used to cause the diaphragm to change in configuration so as to move a valve body in a housing in order to change the manner in which passages or ports in the housing are connected.

Quick acting diversion valves

A feedback type of diversion valve which can be used to sequentially 'operate' or 'activate' fluid responive structures such as tubes of a pillow.

Method and apparatus for causing a series of mechanical actions

An apparatus which minimizes the amount of oxygen needed to maintain a specific oxygen level in the blood of an individual can be constructed so as to use a transducer and other circuit components to obtain a first series of pulses or signals corresponding to the individual's breathing. A divider or counter processes the signals or pulses of the first series to create a second series of pulses or signals corresponding to periodic pulses or signals of the first series. The pulses or signals of the second series are used to periodically open a valve to deliver oxygen to the individual at about the start of the person's periodic breathing cycles.

Method and apparatus for supplying a gas to a body

An apparatus for use in oxygen therapy can be constructed so as to include a gas holder appearing more or less as a pendant which includes a variable volume internal chamber and so as to use a line for continuously delivering oxygen to the holder and a conduit for conveying gas between a person using the apparatus and the holder. During use on exhalation the initially exhaled gas will flow through cannula carried by the conduit and the conduit into the holder so as to expand the variable volume chamber. When it is filled the remaining expired gas will be vented to the ambient. As the holder is filled the expired gas within it will be mixed with a limited amount of oxygen and thereafter during exhalation the oxygen supply will displace the expired gas in the conduit so that it flows outwardly from the cannula to be picked up by the expired air being vented to the ambient. On inhalation the oxygen and any non-displaced gas in the conduit will be inhaled preferentially to the ambient air and will be followed into the respiratory track by the gas from within the variable volume chamber and the oxygen concurrently supplied to the holder. During the remainder of inhalation ambient air will be inhaled.

Oxygen therapy apparatus

An apparatus for delivering oxygen to a patient is preferably constructed so as to include an elongted, deformable receptacle having an open side extending along its length, a flexible, 'floppy' diaphragm secured at its edge so as to seal off or enclose the open side of the receptacle and a retainer for protecting and for limiting expansion of the diaphragm located along the side of the diaphragm remote from the receptacle. As the apparatus is used, oxygen is constantly delivered to the extremities of the receptacle through appropriate supply lines. On exhalation exhaled gas is forced by the pressure of the breath through a cannula--preferably a nasal cannula--into the interior of the receptacle remote from the supply lines. This cannula is used so that gas can flow. This exhaled gas is used to force the diaphragm against the retainer, opening up the interior of the receptacle in an amount such that some of the exhaled gas will be held in the receptacle. This latter gas will gradually be replaced by the oxygen. On inhalation this mixture will be drawn through the cannula into the body as a consequence of the partial vacuum created during inhalation. This will have the effect of collapsing the diaphragm against the interior of the receptacle so as to substantially close off the interior of the receptacle between the cannula and the supply lines.

Oxygen delivery apparatus

A patient breathing apparatus is disclosed which includes a liquid drain connected to receive liquid condensation. The drain includes a barrier which is water permeable and gas impermeable when wet. The barrier may be provided with a water soluble layer that is gas impermeable when dry.

Liquid drain for patient breathing apparatus

A testing apparatus in which a vacuum holder mounted on a carrier is used to hold a specimen on the carrier as the carrier is moved from a first location to another location where the specimen is deposited can be modified so that the vacuum supplied to the vacuum holder is used to actuate a pump so as to dispense a predetermined quantity of fluid each time the carrier is in such another location. Such a modified apparatus can be utilized in medical testing in dispensing a reagent into an appropriate receptacle such as a test tube serving as a receiving means for the specimen. Such a structure is advantageous because it utilizes a single vacuum source for both holding a specimen on a carrier and for dispensing a liquid.

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Fallbrook, CA, United States of America

Robert E Phillips