The present invention relates to a device and a method for alternately measuring the thoracic and pleural pressure and for gastropharyngeal or tracheal sealing, wherein the balloon component of a tube or catheter placed in the trachea or oesophagus alternates between two filling or functional states, wherein the filling state of the balloon component in the measuring mode assumes a value of constant, defined volume during the measurement, said value corresponding to a flaccid filling state, and the filling state of the balloon in the oesophageally or tracheally sealing functional mode maintains a constant, sealing pressure specified by the user. The controller device connected to the tube unit or catheter unit ensures rapid displacement of filling medium into and out of the tube balloon or catheter balloon in the state of tracheal or oesophageal sealing, wherein the tracheally or oesophageally sealing target pressure is maintained continuously by compensating pressure fluctuations in the balloon caused by respiratory mechanics by a continuous, compensating displacement of filling volume. The user can switch between the two functional states by means of a manual switchover function or by means of a programmable, chronological cycle. In addition to the possibility of an intermittent monitoring of the respiratory mechanics and a continuous, tracheally or oesophageally sealing balloon tamponade, the balloon placed in the trachea or oesophagus allows, in both functional states, the thoracic derivation of a triggering, respiratory-mechanical signal which can trigger a ventilating stroke assisting the patient in a ventilator connected to the device. The invention also describes structural and functional options for the simultaneous derivation of a neural and/or muscular electrical signal from the diaphragm of the patient and a respiratory-mechanical signal on the basis of thoracic or pleural pressure fluctuations derived tracheally or oesophageally.

A living-body-mounted apparatus includes an apparatus main body, an electric-related attachment portion, and a flexible elongated member. The elongated member includes a living-body-side connector and an apparatus-main-body-side connector at a position midway through an electric cable thereof, and electrical conduction between the apparatus main body and the electric-related attachment portion is established while the connectors are connected. A condition of F1<F2 is satisfied, where F1 represents a minimum value of tensile load required for disconnection by moving the living-body-side connector and the apparatus-main-body-side connector relatively away from each other in a connected state and F2 represents a minimum value of tensile load required to detach the elongated member from the apparatus main body.

A wheezing-related information display apparatus includes a breathing sound detection unit that detects a breathing sound of a measurement subject and acquires a breathing signal in a time series indicating the breathing sound. The wheezing-related information display apparatus includes a determination processing unit that, based on the breathing sound signal, determines whether or not wheezing is included in the breathing sound in each predetermined processing unit period. The wheezing-related information display apparatus includes a display processing unit that displays information indicating temporal change in the frequency of wheezing on a display screen based on the result of the determination performed by the determination display unit.

A system includes a sensor device having a body configured to be inserted into an airway of a patient and one or more sensors mounted in or on the body. The one or more sensors are configured to collect sensor data associated with the airway of the patient. The system also includes a signal analyzer configured to analyze the sensor data. The one or more sensors could include one or more microphones. The signal analyzer could identify volume and/or pitch characteristics of the sensor data, perform pattern recognition to identify one or more patterns using the volume and/or pitch characteristics, and use the one or more patterns to identify a type, a location, and/or a degree of airway obstruction. This could be done, for instance, to determine if the patient suffers from obstructive sleep apnea or other condition that affects his or her airway.

A respiration monitoring system has deformation transducers on a flexible substrate arranged to adhere to a patient's torso. A processor receives signals in channels from the transducers and processes them to eliminate, reduce or compensate for noise arising from patient motion artefacts, to provide an output representative of respiration. The transducers have a size and a mutual location on the substrate so that a first transducer can overlie at least part of the 10th rib and a second transducer can overlie at least part of the 11th rib or the abdomen, and the processor processes data from the first transducer as being primarily representative of rib distending respiration and from the second transducer as being primarily representative of either diaphragm respiration or patient motion artefacts.

A wheezing detection apparatus includes a breathing sound detection unit that detects a breathing sound of a measurement subject and acquires a breathing sound signal in a time series expressing the breathing sound. The wheezing detection apparatus includes a determination processing unit that, in each pre-determined processing unit period, converts the breathing sound signal into a frequency space to acquire a frequency spectrum of the breathing sound, and based on a height and a width of a peak in the frequency spectrum, determines whether or not the peak indicates wheezing.

A method of assessing a subject including: measuring a plurality of respirations of the subject; determining one or more respiration parameter from the plurality of respirations; and determining, using the one or more respiration parameter, one or more of: a state of consciousness of the subject; and a prognosis of the subject.

Disclosed is a method for selectively capturing one or more portions of a patient's breath, comprising: detect one or more parameters regarding the patient's breath during a breathing routine; determine one or more data points from the detected one or more parameters wherein the one or more data points identifies one or more portions of the patient's breath to capture; and capture one or more portions of the patient's breath during the breathing routine.

A system for measuring the vital parameters of low care patients is described. The system includes a connecting element for a nasal cannula or breathing mask for providing a fluidic connection with the patient and a flow and/or pressure sensor in fluidic connection with the nasal cannula or breathing mask, for sensing, when the nasal cannula or breathing mask is connected to the system, at least a negative pressure signal. The system also includes a processor configured for deriving, directly based on said at least a negative pressure signal, information related to the breathing cycle, and an output means configured for outputting at least one vital parameter of the patient, the outputting comprising outputting information related to the breathing cycle.

A breathing biofeedback device, having a microphone configured to acquire sounds of a user's breathing; a controller communicatively connected with the microphone, the controller processing the signals acquired by the microphone to produce an output signal, the controller processing the signal whereby the microphone signal is first pre-amplified to a voltage level that can be processed by an audio envelope detector circuit, the envelope detector signal is then fed into the analog-to-digital converter input of the controller allowing it to constantly sample the input volume level, the controller then controlling the output volume level fed to the headphones utilizing a digitally controlled variable-gain amplifier, wherein the output signal is not modified in any manner from the original input, except in volume; and a pair of earphones connected with the controller and configured to convey the output signal to the user.