Fluid removal management and control of wound closure in wound therapy
AssigneeSmith & Nephew, Inc.
InventorsAllan Kenneth Frazer Grugeon Hunt, Felix Clarence Quintanar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of negative pressure wound therapy systems and methods for operating the systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, a negative pressure wound therapy apparatus can include a wound dressing, a negative pressure source, and a controller. The negative pressure source can provide negative pressure via a fluid flow path to the wound dressing. The controller can monitor a rate of fluid removal from the wound, wirelessly communicate the rate of fluid removal to a remote device, and output an indication when the rate of fluid removal meets a threshold.
Claims12
A method of operating a wound therapy apparatus comprising a controller and a negative pressure source configured to provide negative pressure via a fluid flow path to a wound dressing, the wound dressing comprising a stabilizing structure, the stabilizing structure configured to be inserted into a wound and further configured to collapse upon application of negative pressure to the wound when the stabilizing structure is positioned in the wound, the method comprising:
- monitoring pressure in the fluid flow path;
- determining a measure of collapse of the stabilizing structure from the pressure in the fluid flow path while the negative pressure source maintains a magnitude of the pressure in the fluid flow path within a negative pressure range;
- and
- outputting an indication responsive to the measure of collapse,
- wherein the method is performed by the controller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.