Apparatus and method for controlling oxygen concentration in the vicinity of a wound

A device for the promotion of healing of a wound to or through the skin of a human or animal by providing oxygen at the exposed surface of said wound, which comprises:

• an oxygen permeable sheet having a chamber side and a wound side, each of said sides being bounded by a perimeter area and having sufficient surface area within said perimeter area to cover an area of said exposed surface of said wound;
• electrically non-conductive adhesive on said perimeter area of said wound side to adhere said oxygen permeable sheet to said skin surrounding said wound;
• an oxygen impermeable sheet adhered to said chamber side of said oxygen permeable sheet over at least a portion of said perimeter area of said chamber side, said adhered sheets thereby forming a hollow enclosed chamber therebetween;
• a housing having an external end and a chamber end and an opening therethrough between said ends, said housing abutting said chamber and having means for gas communication between said chamber end and said chamber;
• means for ion transport within said housing and disposed within and sealing said opening through said housing, said means for ion transport comprising:
• an ion-permeable membrane having two sides disposed between said chamber end and said external end of said housing;
• first electrochemical means adjacent one of said sides of said membrane for forming an ionic species, said species thereafter being transported across said membrane;
• second electrochemical means adjacent the other of said sides of said membrane for converting said ionic species after transport into a molecule which represents a net change of concentration of oxygen in said chamber;
• and
• a voltage differential between said first and second electrochemical means for transporting said species formed at said first electrochemical means across said membrane;
• whereby operation of said electrochemical means and imposition of said voltage differential effects oxygen movement through said gas communication means, said oxygen chamber and said oxygen permeable sheet causing a change in the oxygen concentration in contact with said exposed surface of said wound.

A method for the promotion of healing of a wound to or through the skin of a human or animal by controlling the concentration of oxygen at the exposed surface of said wound, which comprises:

• forming a device comprising a first chamber distal from said wound, an oxygen chamber open to said wound surface, and fluid communication between said chambers;
• disposing ion transport means within said device and between said chambers and in fluid contact with both, said ion transport means comprising a pair of electrodes of opposite polarity with an ion-permeable membrane therebetween, a first electrode of said pair in contact with said first chamber and a second electrode of said pair in contact with said oxygen chamber;
• providing an electrical current generator operably connected to said electrodes;
• and
• providing an electrically non-conductive adhering member adjacent to said oxygen chamber for adhering said device to a patient's skin surrounding said wound with said oxygen chamber open to said wound;
• operating said electrical current generator to cause one of said electrodes to produce an ionic species in the respective chamber, said ionic species to be transported across said ion permeable membrane, and said ionic species to be reacted at said second electrode to be converted to a molecule which results in a net change of concentration of oxygen in said oxygen chamber and adjacent to said exposed surface of said wound.