Nihon Kohden Corporation

Tadayuki Ishihara

Muneshige Kurahashi

Sakari Yokoyama

Yoshihiko Sugiyama

A method of and apparatus for effecting artificial respiration in synchronism with a patient's voluntary breathing. The apparatus is in the form of an external body ventilator with an assistor, and comprises a jacket, a suction pump, a suction pipe, a changeover device, a jaw movement detection device, and a changeover controlling device. The jacket has a rigid shell for surrounding the chest of a patient and forming an air-tight chamber between the chest and the rigid shell when the jacket is applied to the chest of the patient. The suction pipe is in fluid communication with the air-tight chamber of the jacket, and the changeover device is for effecting a changeover between releasing the air in the air-tight chamber through the suction pipe and into the atmosphere during voluntary respiration, and connecting the suction pipe to the suction pump during artificial respiration. The jaw movement detection device produces a signal corresponding to the movement of the jaw of the patient, and the changeover control device determines a timing of voluntary breathing by the patient on the basis of a signal detected by the jaw movement detection device, and controls the changeover device on the basis of the timing.

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Tokyo, Japan

Tadayuki Ishihara