Abstract: An improved vest design for cardiopulmonary resuscitation is disclosed. The vest includes an inflatable bladder capable of radial expansion to first conform to a patient's chest dimensions and then to apply circumferential pressure. The improved vest design affords ease of placement on a patient without concern for how tightly the vest is initially applied. Also disclosed are various vest designs that reduce the amount of compressed air that must be used for each compression/decompression cycle of the vest. These improvements lower the energy consumption and make smaller and portable cardiopulmonary resuscitation systems possible.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 15, 1995
Date of Patent:
June 23, 1998
Assignees:
The Johns Hopkins University Inc., Cardiologic Systems
Inventors:
Mark Gelfand, Kreg George Gruben, Henry Halperin, Jeff Koepsell, Neil Rothman, Joshua E. Tsitlik