Medicating bandage and controllable permeable membrane
OwnerDaniel E. McConnellinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A medicating bandage in which a controllable permeable membrane is interposed between a medication contained in a bandage pad and the skin of a patient undergoing medication. Passage of the medication through the membrane and into contact with the patient is metered by controlling the permeability of the membrane, preferably under the control of a biosensor and a microcontroller. The combination of a sensor and a controllable permeable membrane has usefulness apart from the bandage pad and medication.
Claims37
A bandage comprising:
- a pad having a body contacting surface;
- a biosensor contained in said pad to provide a signal indicative of a biological state of a contacted body;
- a biologically active medication contained in said pad;
- and
- a controllable permeable membrane interposed between said medication and said body contacting surface and connected to said biosensor to respond to said signal by metering release of said medication at said body contacting surface.
A bandage comprising:
- a pad having a body contacting surface;
- a biosensor contained in said pad to provide an electrical signal indicative of a biological state of a contacted body;
- a biologically active medication contained in said pad;
- an electrically controllable permeable membrane interposed between said medication and said body contacting surface to meter release of said medication at said body contacting surface;
- and
- a control circuit contained in said pad and operatively interconnecting said biosensor and said membrane for translating said signal into a control signal provided to said membrane to control metering of medication release.
A bandage comprising:
- a pad having a body contacting surface;
- a biosensor contained in said pad to provide an electrical signal indicative of a biological state of a contacted body;
- a biologically active medication contained in said pad;
- an electrically controllable permeable membrane having an electrically conductive web interposed between said medication and said body contacting surface to meter release of said medication at said body contacting surface;
- and
- a microcontroller and a memory device connected to form a control circuit contained in said pad and operatively interconnecting said biosensor and said web and translating said signal into a control signal provided to said membrane to control metering of medication release as a function of said signal.
A method comprising:
- applying a bandage pad containing a medication and a biosensor to the skin surface of a patient;
- sensing with the biosensor a biological state of the patient;
- and
- metering the release of medication to the skin surface of the patient under the control of a microcontroller contained in the pad by controlling the passage of medication through a controllable permeable membrane interposed between the medication contained in the pad and the skin contacting surface of the pad and operatively connected to the microcontroller.
Apparatus comprising:
- an electrically controllable permeable membrane which meters the passage of a material therethrough from a supply side to a delivery side and
- a sensor responsive to conditions on the delivery side of the membrane and which generates an electrical signal indicative of a condition which can be affected by the material;
- said sensor being connected to said membrane and said membrane being responsive to said signal for varying the metering of the material.
Apparatus according to claim 32 wherein said electrically controllable permeable membrane comprises a pair of electrically conductive webs spaced one from the other by a dielectric layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.