DEVICE FOR OPTIMAL AIRWAY OPENING

Abstract

Described is a wearable device that combines a mechanism which is configured for modifying a head angle of the subject when in the supine position in order to achieve a head tilt position and a mechanism for causing a forward movement of the mandibles in order to obtain an optimal open airway in a subject. Embodiments of the device are configured to be attached to a bed, stretcher, or other flat surface.

Claims

1. A wearable device for opening an airway in a patient, the device comprising: a semi-rigid neck support that is positioned behind the neck and is configured to support the neck of the subject, a mechanism configured for modifying a head angle of a subject when in the supine position in order to achieve a head tilt position, and a mechanism configured for causing a forward movement of the mandibles in order to obtain an optimal open airway.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein modifying the head angle of the subject and causing a forward movement of the mandibles of the subject are performed in one of the following ways: separately or simultaneously.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the mechanism configured for modifying a head angle of a subject comprises: a) a flexible primary strap configured to be worn on a head of a subject, wherein the primary strap passes over the forehead or over the nose bridge of the subject and the neck of the subject; b) a head tilt mechanism located on one side of the head of the subject, the head tilt mechanism comprising: i) a pulley to which a first end of the primary strap is firmly affixed; and ii) a rotatable handle mechanically linked to the pulley; wherein: a) the head tilt mechanism is firmly affixed to the neck support; b) a second end of the primary strap is firmly affixed to the neck support on the side of the head of the subject opposite to the side at which the head tilt mechanism is affixed to the neck support; c) the handle is configured such that rotating it in one of a clockwise or counterclockwise direction exerts a force via a mechanical connection on the pulley wrapping the end of the primary strap around the pulley effectively applying a force via the primary strap that pulls the head downwards and rotating the handle in the opposite direction unwraps the primary strap from around the pulley effectively reducing the force that the primary strap exerts on the head allowing the head to move upwards.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the mechanism configured for modifying a head angle of a subject comprises a secondary strap that is connected to the primary strap and runs over the top of the head.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein the head tilt mechanism comprises a locking mechanism.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein mechanical connection between the handle and the pulley is one of: a) a belt; and b) a gear train.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the mechanism configured for causing a forward movement of the mandibles comprises: a) two drive mechanisms the lower ends of which are affixed to the neck support on either side of a head of a subject; b) a shaft that passes through both of the drive mechanisms; c) a handle that is affixed to one end of the shaft; d) gears that link the drive mechanisms to the shaft; e) two elongated members, one projecting upwards from each drive mechanism, the elongated members configured to be raised or lowered in relation to the neck support; f) two mandible engaging elements each configured to match the shape of the mandible on a different one of the sides of the head of the subject; wherein: i) each of the two mandible engaging elements is pivotably attached to the upper end of a different one of the two elongated members; and ii) The handle is configured such that rotating it clockwise or counterclockwise raises or lowers both of the elongated members, thereby pushing the mandible engaging elements upwards or lowering them to move the mandible forwards of backwards.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the elongated members are one of: screws or racks from rack and pinion gear assemblies.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein the distance between the two drive mechanisms can be adjusted according to the dimensions of the head of the subject.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein the mechanism configured for causing a forward movement of the mandibles comprises a locking mechanism.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is configured to be attached to both a head of a subject and to a bed, stretcher, or other flat surface.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the neck support comprises connectors configured to attach the device to anchorage points on the bed, stretcher, or other flat surface.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle of the mechanism configured for modifying a head angle of a subject and the handle of the mechanism configured for causing a forward movement of the mandibles is rotated in one of the following ways: manually or by a motor.

14. The device of claim 13 configured to react to a state of respiratory emergency by automatically opening an airway through activation of one or both of the mechanism configured for modifying a head angle of a subject and the mechanism configured for causing a forward movement of the mandibles in response to measurements of the subject's condition by sensors configured to evaluate the state of respiration of the subject.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] FIG. 1A schematically shows an embodiment of the device;

[0042] FIG. 1B schematically shows the direction of the forces exerted on the head of a subject by the device of FIG. 1A when the device is activated to simultaneously carry out head tilt and jaw thrust maneuvers;

[0043] FIG. 2 is a schematic view from the left side of the head 14 of the subject with the device of FIG. 1A attached;

[0044] FIG. 3 is a schematic view from the right side of the head 14 of the subject with the device of FIG. 1A attached;

[0045] FIG. 4 is a schematic view from the back of the head 14 of the subject with the device of FIG. 1A attached;

[0046] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B schematically show a device of FIG. 1A attached to a horizontal surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0047] The present invention is a wearable device for opening an airway in a patient. More specifically the device of the present invention combines a mechanism which is configured for modifying a head angle of the subject when in the supine position in order to achieve a head tilt position (also known herein as a head tilt mechanism), and a mechanism for causing a forward movement of the mandibles (also known herein as a jaw thrust mechanism) in order to obtain an optimal open airway. Head tilt and jaw thrust can be performed either separately or simultaneously.

[0048] An embodiment of the device is schematically shown in FIG. 1A. Device 10 comprises a flexible primary strap 12 configured to be worn on the head 14 of a subject passing over the forehead and the neck as shown in FIG. 1A. One side of primary strap 12 is connected to a head tilt mechanism, which will be described in detail herein below. The head tilt mechanism is attached to a semi-rigid element which is positioned behind the neck and is configured to support the neck (hereinafter neck support 16). The device 10 may include a secondary strap 22 connected to the primary strap 12 and running over the top of the head 14 to improve the attachment of the device 10 to the head 14.

[0049] Mandible engaging elements 18 configured to match the shape of the mandibles are pivotally connected on both sides of the head to components of a jaw thrust mechanisms 20, which are affixed to the neck support 16. In embodiments of the device each of the mandible engagement elements 18 can be fixed to the mandible by stickers or vacuum. The jaw thrust mechanisms 20 are configured to move the mandible engaging elements 18 forward in order to perform a jaw thrust maneuver. Embodiments of the neck support 16, the head tilt mechanism and the jaw thrust mechanism will be described in detail herein below.

[0050] The arrows in FIG. 1B schematically show respectively the directions of the forces exerted by primary strap 12, neck support 16, and mandible engaging elements 18 on the head 14 and lower jaw of the patient when device 10 of FIG. 1A is activated to simultaneously carry out head tilt and jaw thrust maneuvers.

[0051] In another embodiment of device 10 the primary strap 12 passes over the nose bridge and the neck of the subject instead of over the forehead as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0052] FIG. 2 is a schematic view from the left side, FIG. 3 is a schematic view from the right side, and FIG. 4 is a schematic view from the back showing the device of FIG. 1A attached to the head 14 of a subject.

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates how the head tilt mechanism operates to cause head 14 to tilt up and down in the direction shown by arrow 36. The end of primary strap 12 on the right side of head 14 is firmly affixed to neck support 16. The end of primary strap 12 on the left side of head 14 is firmly affixed to pulley 26. An axel of pulley 26 is connected by belt 28 to the axle of rotatable handle 32, which can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise as shown by arrow 32. Rotating handle 32 in the clockwise direction pulls the end of primary strap 12 in the direction shown by arrow 34 and wrapping the end of around of primary strap 12 around pulley 26 effectively applying a force via primary strap 12 that pulls head 14 downwards. Rotating handle 32 counterclockwise unwraps primary strap 12 from around pulley 26 effectively reducing the force that primary strap 12 exerts on the head allowing the head to move upwards. The head tilt mechanism comprises a locking mechanism, e.g. a pin or pawl, which maintains the head at an optimal angle. In other embodiments a gear train can replace belt 28 that transfers force from handle 30 to pulley 26. Handle 30 can be rotated either manually or by a motor, e.g. an electric stepping motor.

[0054] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate the jaw thrust mechanism 20, which, in the embodiment shown comprises two drive mechanisms 42 that are connected by a shaft 50 having a handle 38 affixed to one side and gears (not shown inside a housing of the drive mechanisms) that mate with the drive mechanism 42. Rotating handle 38 clockwise or counterclockwise advances or withdraws elongated members 44, which in the embodiment shown are screws in the direction indicated by arrow 46 pushing the mandible engaging elements 18 upwards or lowering them to move the jaw in the direction indicated by arrow 48. In order to be used with subjects having different dimensions, the distance between drive mechanisms 42 can be adjusted as indicated by arrow 52. The button 54 symbolically represents a locking mechanism configured to lock the jaw thrust mechanism 20 to maintain optimal jaw thrust. Other embodiments of the elongated members 44 can comprise other types of mechanical arrangement for raising and lowering mandible engaging elements 18, e.g. a rack and pinion gear. Handle 40 can be rotated either manually or by a motor, e.g. an electric stepping motor.

[0055] The device may be configured to be attached to a bed a stretcher or any other surface 56 in order to improve the fixation of the patients head as shown in FIG. 5A. The fixation of the head is beneficial in maintaining the required neck angle for optimal opening of the airway which is achieved both by the jaw thrust maneuver and the head tilt. In order to achieve this, the device may include connectors that allow attachment of the device to the surface. In an embodiment the connectors are attached to the device through connection to the neck support portion of the device at each extremity and are configured to be connected to two anchorage points, which are positioned on the surface at both sides of the patient's neck. The distance between the two anchorage points on the surface 56 may be adjustable to the size of a patient's neck by allowing their movement on the horizontal axis of the surface 56. This may be achieved by forming the anchorage points on two elements that are configured to be attached to a rail on the surface, e.g. a dovetail rail 58 as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0056] The anchorage points may be an integral part of the surface such as in the case of a hospital bed or a stretcher. Alternatively, a universal mounting device is configured to be firmly attached to a flat surface of choice. The universal mounting device comprises two adjustable anchorage points as described above. After attachment of the mounting device to the desired surface the gap between the two anchorage points may be adjusted to the size of a subject's neck. Once adjusted the connectors on the neck support of the head mounted device are connected to the anchorage points on the mounting device in order to achieve fixation of the patient's head to any chosen surface. The device 10 may also include a head support, which is mounted on the surface and supports the distal part of the patient's head. The head support may be a cushion or a rigid element that is connected to the surface either directly or as part of the universal mounting device that is configured to be attached to a flat surface of choice.

[0057] As said, the operation of the airway opening mechanism may be manual or may be powered by motors. Opening of the airway may be done automatically in response to measurements of the patient's condition by sensors such as pulse oximeter, audio sensors or any other sensor configured to evaluate the state of respiration of the patient and to react to a state of respiratory emergency by automatically opening an airway through optimization of jaw thrust maneuver and/or head tilt.

[0058] The intention of the inventors is for the device to be used by an anesthetist to aid in intubation while treating a patient before a surgical procedure, to continue to accompany the patient during the operation and after the operation to preserve an open airway during recovery in the recovery room.

[0059] The anesthetist can make use of the device to aid in the process of intubation. The device will be implemented on the patient and secured to the operating table as described herein above. The device fastened to the table will allow the anesthetist by rotating the two knobs (?,?) to move the jaw forward (JAW THRUST) and to tilt the head just the amounts needed to position the epiglottis ideally to carry out intubation and to introduce the tube into the trachea.

[0060] After the operation and removal of the anesthesia tube the device will maintain the airway of the patient open during the recovery process. After the patient wakes up, the device can be unsecured from the operating table but will remain on him/her until the device is no longer needed to maintain an open airway.

[0061] For Ear-Nose-Throat procedures the device can be used not only to aid in intubation but also to prevent movement of the head and the mouth open according to the medical requirements.

[0062] The device can also be used to aid in maintaining open upper airways during operations carried out with partial anesthesia, such as in cosmetic surgery. For operations carried out with local anesthesia in which intubation is not required, the device can be used wither fastened or not fastened to the bed. By rotating the knobs (?,?) the epiglottis can be positioned to maintain the upper airways open.

[0063] Additionally the device can also be used to aid in maintaining open upper airways for patients undergoing examinations, such as MRI and CT and for patients in hospital wards that suffer from breathing problems, such a shortness of breath, apnea, and lung diseases.

[0064] Although embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be understood that the invention may be carried out with many variations, modifications, and adaptations, without exceeding the scope of the claims.