Apparatus and method for humidity conditioning sample gas of a patient breathing circuit affiliated with a ventilator and/or nitric oxide delivery system
AssigneeMallinckrodt Hospital Products IP Limited
InventorsJohn P. Stanton, John V. Berndt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A therapeutic gas is administered to a patient. A sample gas is drawn from the therapeutic gas supply, and passed through a water-permeable tubular membrane. Concurrently, a section of the water permeable tubular membrane is maintained as a ventilated water permeable tubular membrane, by exposing outer surfaces of the ventilated water permeable tubular membrane to an ambient air flow. The ambient air flow may in some examples be moved over the tubular membrane via forced air such as for example via a fan associated with a housing surrounding the tubular membrane.
Claims29
A sample gas conditioning apparatus, comprising:
- a housing, at least partially defining a chamber, and at least partially defining an air input path into the chamber and an air egress path from the chamber;
- a fan, connected to the housing, configured to urge an ambient air flow through the chamber, the ambient air flow entering through the air input path into the chamber, and exiting the chamber through the air egress path;
- and
- a sample gas tube, having a section that comprises a permeable material, at least a portion of the section being arranged in the chamber as a ventilated section, the ventilated section being ventilated by the ambient air flow through the chamber.
A method for analyzing nitric oxide for delivery to a patient, comprising:
- nitric oxide being added as a supplement to a mixture gas, and the mixture gas supplemented with the nitric oxide being delivered, through a conduit, to the patient;
- receiving a sample gas, comprising a sample of the mixture gas supplemented with the nitric oxide, from the conduit through a gas sample line;
- humidity conditioning the sample gas, by passing the sample gas through a water-permeable tubular membrane, wherein the sample gas leaving the water-permeable tubular membrane is a humidity conditioned sample gas;
- analyzing the humidity conditioned sample gas to determine a mixing ratio;
- and
- concurrent with passing the sample gas through the water-permeable tubular membrane, maintaining a section of the water permeable tubular membrane as a ventilated water permeable tubular membrane, by operations that include exposing outer surfaces of the ventilated water permeable tubular membrane to an ambient air flow.
A method for humidity conditioning a sample gas, comprising:
- passing the sample gas through a water-permeable tubular membrane, the passing comprising using a tubular membrane formed of Nafion;
- and
- concurrent with passing the sample gas through the water-permeable tubular membrane, establishing a section of the water permeable tubular membrane as a ventilated water permeable tubular membrane, by exposing outer surfaces of the ventilated water permeable tubular membrane to an ambient air flow,
- wherein exposing outer surfaces of the ventilated water permeable tubular membrane to the ambient air flow establishes characteristics of the ambient flow that prevent or significantly retard formation of a skin of dry gas around the outer surfaces of the ventilated water permeable tubular membrane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.