Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CLOSED-CIRCUIT BRONCHOASPIRATION DEVICE APPLICABLE TO A
VENTILATION CIRCUIT
The present invention relates to a closed-circuit
bronchoaspiration device applicable to a ventilation
circuit.
Conventional closed-circuit bronchoaspiration systems
are based on the use of a patient-insertable tube which is
connected to the coupling that can be connected to the
ventilation circuit and to the tracheal tube. The insertable
tube is protected inside a tubular element made of
polyethylene or polyurethane, which covers said tube and is
supported between said coupling and the valve for cutting
off the connection of the insertable tube to the suction.
The inside of the tubular element is therefore in
practice a substantially closed space, which must however be
connected to the outside since, when the insertable tube is
inserted in the tracheal tube to perform bronchoaspiration,
the air contained in the tubular element, which is in
practice folded up in an accordion-like configuration, must
be discharged so that it is possible to compress said
tubular element in an accordion-like fashion.
Likewise, when the insertable tube is removed from the
tracheal tube to extend the tubular element again, it is
necessary to draw air from outside.
Since it is not possible to draw air from the
ventilation circuit, since the ventilation pressure could
burst the tubular element, a scraper gasket is provided on
the point where the insertable tube is inserted in the
coupling.
Accordingly, in order to evacuate and subsequently
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aspirate the air that is present inside the tubular element,
it is necessary to provide holes or slots which connect to
the outside environment the interspace formed between the
insertable tube and the tubular element.
~ t is evident that this solution entails the permanent
exposure of the insertable bronchoaspiration tube to ambient
air, which may be contaminated.
In view of the moist state of the insertable tube after
bronchoaspiration, it is easily imaginable that exposure to
cont~m;n~ted ambient air can cause bacterial colonization of
the insertable tube by microorganisms which are foreign to
the patient; in the subsequent bronchoaspiration, these
bacteria are conveyed with the insertable tube directly into
the air passages of the patient, with a true serious risk of
infection for the patient.
A principal aim of the invention is to eliminate the
drawbacks described above, by providing a closed-circuit
bronchoaspiration device in which it is possible to fully
avoid contA~in~tion of the air contained in the interspace
between the insertable tube and the tubular element.
Within the scope of this aim, a particular object of
the invention is to provide a bronchoaspiration device in
which absolute safety from a hygienic point of view can be
achieved with extremely simple means.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a
bronchoaspiration device which, by virtue of its particular
constructive characteristics, is capable of giving the
greatest assurances of reliability and safety in use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a
closed-circuit bronchoaspiration device which can be easily
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obtained starting from commonly commercially available
elements and materials and is furthermore competitive from a
merely economical point of view.
This aim, these ob~ects and others which will become
' apparent hereinafter are achieved by a closed-circuit
bronchoaspiration device which can be applied to a
ventilation circuit, according to the invention, which
comprises a coupling which can be associated with a
ventilation circuit and supports, through scraper means, a
tube which can be inserted in the tracheal tube that can be
coupled to said coupling, said insertable tube being
arranged inside a tubular element which is connected between
said coupling and a suction cutoff valve associated with
said insertable tube, characterized in that it comprises
filtering means which control the external connection
opening of the interspace formed between said insertable
tube and said tubular element.
Further characteristics and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a
closed-circuit bronchoaspiration device applicable to a
ventilation circuit, illustrated only by way of non-
limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
figure 1 is a schematic view of the bronchoaspiration
device in the extended configuration;
figure 2 is a partially sectional view of the device
~during the insertion of the insertable tube;
figure 3 is a view of a first embodiment of the
filtering means;
figure 4 is a view of the filtering means of figure 3,
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4 _ =
connected to the cutoff valve;
figure 5 is a partially exploded schematic perspective
view of a different embodiment of the filtering means;
figure 6 is a sectional view of the filtering means of
figure 5. .
With reference to the above figures, the closed-circuit
bronchoaspiration device applicable to a ventilation
circuit, according to the invention, generally designated by
the reference numeral 1, comprises a coupling 2 which can be
connected to a ventilation circuit and to an endotracheal
tube generally designated by the reference numeral 3.
An insertable tube 10 is connected to the coupling 2
through the interposition of scraper means constituted by a
scraper gasket 4; said insertable tube can be inserted in
the endotracheal tube and is connected, at its other end, to
a suction cutoff valve, which is generally designated by the
reference numeral 11 and is capable of connecting the inside
of the insertable tube to a suction pump when
bronchoaspiration must be performed.
A tubular element 20 of the flexible type is provided
between the coupling 2 and the cutoff valve 11 and in
practice internally accommodates the insertable tube 10,
forming an interspace 21 therewith.
The particularity of the invention is constituted by
the fact that filtering means are provided which control the
opening that connects the interspace 21 to the outside.
Said filtering means, as shown in figures 1 to 4, are
provided by means of a cylindrical filter body 30 which has
a circular filter 31 and is inserted by pressing on a
branch-off duct 32 which is formed in the cutoff valve and
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is connected to the interspace 21.
Likewise, as shown in figures ~ and 6, it is possible
to provide filtering means which are formed directly in the
cutoff valve or in the coupling for connection to the valve
and have a substantially crescent-shaped filter, designated
by the reference numeral 40, which can be inserted by means
of a tab 41 which can be arranged radially and also controls
the duct for connection to the interspace, which is again
designated by the reference numeral 32.
With the described arrangement, therefore, when the
insertable tube is inserted in the tracheal tube, arranging
in an accordion-like fashion the tubular element, which is
generally made of polyethylene or polyurethane and in any
case so that it is particularly flexible, the air escapes
out through the duct 32 without any problem.
When the insertable tube is retracted from the
endotracheal tube, the air can reenter the interspace 21 by
passing through a filtering surface, so that it is not
possible to contaminate the environment inside the
interspace with bacteria from outside.
This fact, as mentioned earlier, is particularly
important, since by virtue of extremely simple solutions it
allows to absolutely avoid bacterial colonization in the
moist environment produced in the interspace after using the
insertable tube.
The fact is particularly important that these
considerable advantages are provided ~y a very simple means,
such as the filtering element, which provides for a true
separation between the internal environment of the patient
and the outside yet allows the air exchanges which
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inevitably occur between the inside and the outside.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the
scope of the inventive concept.
All the details may also be replaced with other
technical~y equivalent elements
In practice, the materials employed, 50 long as they
are compatible with the specific use, as well as the
contingent shapes and ~lm~n~ionS~ may be any according to
requirements.
