External Pneumatic Compression Device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for facilitating a colonoscopy, and more particularly to a non-invasive external pneumatic compression device that applies pressure to the abdomen of a patient in order to decrease looping of the colon during a colonoscopy and thus effectively splint a looping colon without the need for human intervention. This external pneumatic compression device comprises a flexible and breathable elastic abdominal binder for surrounding the abdomen of a patient undergoing a colonoscopy, a counter pressure plate that is secured to the middle inside of the binder for providing a counter pressure during and while the bladder or bladders are inflated, a means for supplying air and regulating the pressure in the bladders, and a plurality of inflatable bladders for applying downward pressure to specific anatomical areas of the large intestines of a patient when inflated. When the binder is secured to the abdomen of a patient, the inflatable bladders will be placed over four noted regions of the abdomen corresponding to the ascending colon, the mid-umbilical colon, the transverse colon, and the sigmoid bladder.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.