Abstract: An inhalation apparatus for dispensing a product that includes a housing and an end cap axially slidable relative to the housing. The housing has a portion adapted to receive a pressurized dispensing container and connected to a mouthpiece, and duct means communicating with the container-receiving portion for conveyance of product toward the mouthpiece. The end cap has a socket for engaging the pressurized dispensing container. The end cap has a collar with an inwardly directed rim. The housing includes an outwardly directed flange which fits within the rim. The end cap is movable between a first position in which the rim and flange have an axial overlap and there is no or a minimal flow of air through the housing, and a second position in which there is a maximum flow of air, the air flow being created by a user applying suction to the mouthpiece.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a phonation valve which is cooperatively connectable to a breathing tube connected to a patient's airway, includes a valve body having first and second ends through which gas passes into and out of the valve. The first end is connectable to the breathing tube for passage of gas between the breathing tube and the valve. A valve seat is located within the valve body between the first and second ends. A thin, flexible diaphragm is provided, which is seated against the valve seat when the patient exhales. The diaphragm has a comfort-improving structural feature which can be 1) a shape which is at least partly concave on a side of the diaphragm facing the seat, and/or 2) a web of substantially uniform thickness with a plurality of discrete areas of different thicknesses dispersed around the web, which are capable of damping resonance vibration of the diaphragm during breathing by the patient.

Abstract: A device for dispensing medication in an aerosol form from an MDI. The device is pre-loaded so as to automatically discharge the medication upon inhalation on the mouthpiece.

Abstract: A nasal cannula retainer has a flexible member and cannula grips. The flexible member has a central nose portion with an adhesive backing for adhering to a patient's nose and two cheek portions connected to the nose portion, each of the cheek portions having an adhesive backing for adhering to a patient's cheek. The adhesive layers are covered with a peel layer which is removed prior to applying the retainer. The cannula grips are attached to the cheek portions to secure a nasal cannula on each of the patient's cheeks. The grips are releasable and reusable, allowing the cannula to be repositioned or temporarily removed without the need for the retainer to be discarded and replaced, and without the use of tape to secure the cannula to the retainer after the cannula is repositioned.

Abstract: An apparatus having a face mask removably attachable to a firefighting hood is provided. The face mask used in cooperation with a breathing apparatus such as a self-contained breathing assembly or a respirator. The face mask has a rim supporting a seal member that operatively sealingly engages the user's face providing a breathing chamber between the user's face and the face mask that is sealed off from the external environment. The firefighting hood has a compliant material enclosing the wearer's head and a support frame surrounding a front opening in the firefighting hood exposing the wearer's face. The firefighting hood matingly engages the face mask such that a perimeter portion of the firefighting hood around the front opening is nested behind the rim of the face mask so as to prevent gaps between the firefighting hood and the face mask.

Abstract: A device (10) for improving the breathing of a user includes an upper arch (12) having a plate (20) and adapted to receive at least some of the user's upper teeth and a lower arch (14) adapted to receive at least some of the user's lower teeth. A line (22) removably engages the lower arch (14) and moves between the plate (20) and the upper arch (12) to adjust the forward position of the lower arch (14) when the line (22) is not secured between the plate (20) and the upper arch (12). The plate (20) secures the line (22) between the plate (20) and the upper arch (12) to at least temporarily fix the forward position of the lower arch (14). Alternatively, an adjustor (40) coupled to the upper arch (12) includes a shaft (46) having a forwardly directed channel to receive a portion of the line (22) that is inserted into the channel.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube which facilitates rapid intubation of the trachea, especially in situations where anatomical variation creates difficult intubating conditions, includes a portion that can be bent during placement to control the position of the distal end of the tube. The distal end of the endotracheal tube may be selectively curled or bent by a mechanism or fluid passage accessible from the proximal end of the endotracheal tube. The endotracheal tube provides for manipulation of the insertion end without occluding the lumen of the tube, to facilitate placement of the tube.

Abstract: A sterile cap assembly including first and second cap sections, the first cap section to be coupled to an opening of a first element and the second cap section to be coupled to an opening of a second element, upon the opening of the first element being separated from the opening of the second element. The first cap section includes a sterile engagement face exposed to an interior of the first element upon being coupled thereto and the second cap section including a sterile engagement face exposed to an interior of the second element upon being coupled thereto, the sterile engagement faces structured to be coupled with one another upon the opening of the first element being coupled to the opening of the second element, thereby maintaining the sterility of the sterile engagement faces.

Abstract: Apparatus for aerosol therapy which is designed to draw air from the environment and transmit it to the user, comprising an optional external casing housing a motor, an optional fan for cooling and a compressor group which has a terminal block interfaced with the exterior by means of an intake duct and by means of a delivery duct, wherein the terminal block incorporates the intake duct and the delivery duct and interfaces directly with the exterior by means of an intake socket and a delivery socket designed to fit the profile of the external casing.

Abstract: This disclosure describes a chemical process for dissolving medical sharps such as syringe needles, suture needles, lancets and the like. Several reagents are described with various strengths suitable for use in a syringe cap or for use in a bulk disposal container. Several types of disposing caps for syringe needles are disclosed, and also several types of containers for the disposal of bulk syringes and medical sharps.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of mixing cohesive finely divided powders such as finely divided powdered medicaments having a particle size less than about 10 &mgr;m comprising the combination of a rotating/vibrating movement with a sieving procedure, wherein the method comprises the steps of adding a finely divided powdered mixture of substances to a perforated partition in a container, subjecting the container to a rotational and preferably vibrating movement in horisontal and/or vertical directions whereby the rotational movement is performed in intervals and whereby the container is turned in a vertical direction an angle of substantially 180° during each turn. The invention also includes an apparatus for mixing finely divided powders to be used in the above mentioned method as well as the use of the method according to the invention for mixing cohesive finely divided powders.

Abstract: A pump-type dispenser for dispensing predetermined doses of medicament in droplets or in spray form to the nasal area incorporates a rigid vial for medicament, an expandable pouch located within the rigid vial, a nasal screen, a one-way actuation mechanism, a one-way valve mechanism in the nozzle area and a spring element, both the valve mechanism and the spring element being formed as integral portions of the pump body. The nasal screen aligns the dispenser nozzle with the nasal passage and also allows the user to discreetly hide the nasal area from public view. The one-way valve mechanism in the nozzle area ensures a one-way movement of medicament from the dispenser, thereby preserving substantially perfect sterility of the medicament in the dispenser regardless of the environment surrounding the dispenser, without requiring the use of preservatives.

Abstract: An interlock arrangement for evaporators in an anesthesia apparatus having at least two evaporators for setting a desired gas concentration prevents more than one evaporator from being activated at a time. The evaporators are connectable to a gas distributor. The interlock arrangement has for each evaporator, a mechanical element with the mechanical elements being arranged so that they cross each other in a crossing region. The mechanical elements are fashioned in the crossing region so that the mechanical element for one evaporator is displaced when this evaporator is activated and thereby locks the other mechanical elements in a position in which an activation of the further evaporators is prevented.

Abstract: A device for securing a nasal cannula to a patient's head is disclosed. The device utilizes a thin round elastic band placed behind the patient's head and is attached to the cannula gas supply tube by cord couplers. The cord couplers are slidably attached to the gas supply tubes to allow fast and easy adjustment to size. The device is light, comfortable, inexpensive and simple to use. It prevents painful hair entanglement and allows single handed deployment and adjustment of a nasal cannula, while affording secured placement of the cannula during patient movement or sleep. Additionally, a nosepiece having a downwardly oriented U shape or arcuate fold in its center portion is disclose to prevent the cannula nosepiece from exerting excessive pressure against the patient's septum. A method of use is also disclosed.

Abstract: In one aspect, the present invention provides an inhaler apparatus comprising interior surfaces having contact with a medicament for inhalation, the interior surfaces including an interior surface of a mouthpiece and a substrate with medicament deposited thereon, at least one of such interior surfaces comprising indentations or raised areas therein, the raised areas having valleys therebetween. In certain preferred embodiments, the interior surface is a surface on a substrate having medicament deposited thereon, and in other preferred embodiments, the interior surface is an interior surface of the mouthpiece of the inhaler. In addition to providing surface topology for minimizing the area of contact between the medicament and the surfaces of the inhaler, the surfaces are preferably made of a material having a low surface energy, and more preferably, also having, when uncharged, no substantial van der Waals or electrostatic interaction with the medicament.

Abstract: A portable anaesthetic machine allows dispensing of a liquid anaesthetic to a patient, which is sometimes desirable and may be hard to achieve, especially with portable equipment. This portable anaesthetic machine has a gas flow generator for generating a flow of gas at an adjustable pressure and/or flow rate, an inspiratory line and an expiratory line. The gas flow generator, inspiratory line and expiratory line constitute the gas flow pathways for the respirator. A membrane is arranged in the gas flow pathways, made of a self-sealing material. The membrane can be punctured by a syringe needle for dispensing the liquid anaesthetic into the gas flow pathways an optional number of times.

Abstract: A disposable inhaler that includes a deagglomeration section is disclosed. The deagglomeration section has a section inlet, a section outlet, and a divider for splitting the stream of air into two flow parts. The divider has a surface that faces the section inlet at an angle substantially perpendicular to the stream of air passing through the section inlet, and the walls of the inhalation channel within the inhaler are shaped so as to cause substantially no resistance to or turbulence in the air flow through the inhaler.

Abstract: A hyperbaric resuscitation system (10) includes a hyperbaric chamber (20) having a volume sufficient to enclose a human patient (1) and at least two operating personnel (60). The system (10) also includes a device for pressurizing the hyperbaric chamber (20) to at least 1.5 atmospheres with air. The concentration of oxygen in high pressure, oxygen-rich gas to be breathed by the patient (1) provided by an independent system (41) at chamber pressure is automatically regulated by a regulating system (33) which receives information about the amount of oxygen in cerebral tissue of the patient (1) from a spectrophotometer (51, 52). Although devices for measuring the exact amount of oxygen in cerebral tissue do not yet exist, the presently available devices can show trends in the amount of oxygen in the tissue. Since the physician working on a patient in a hyperbaric resuscitation system is more concerned about trending than exact values, the present system can still be of great benefit in resuscitating patients.

Abstract: A compressor driven by a motor sends to a nasal mask a breathable gas at a low positive relative pressure whereby the motor is controlled to maintain the pressure in the delivery pipe of the compressor substantially equal to a set point, independently of the inspiration and expiration of the patient, a computer receiving on an input a motor speed signal as a parameter representative of the respiratory activity of the patient and analyzing the motor speed variations whereby the computer will increase the pressure set point if necessary or reduces the pressure set point by a predetermined amount depending upon whether there is a hypopnoea or the absence thereof.

Abstract: A dry powder inhaler has a lid pivotally attached to an inhaler housing. A medicine containing cartridge is attached to the top of the housing and includes a cartridge ring with apertures for holding dry powdered medicine. A slide-groove assembly located on the underside of the lid advances the cartridge ring to a next aperture when a user first opens, then closes the lid. A venturi air passageway assembly is contained within the housing of the dry powdered inhaler. The venturi air passageway assembly includes a tapered inlet section, a throat section, and a tapered outlet section. A pressure switch is advantageously located within the housing for actuating the mixing process within the mixing chamber. During inhalation, the pressure switch contained within the housing actuates the motor driven impeller within the mixing chamber of the inhaler when the pressure within the venturi air passageway reaches a predetermined level.