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EP-3967289-B1 - INFLATION PRESSURE GARMENTS AND CONNECTORS

EP3967289B1EP 3967289 B1EP3967289 B1EP 3967289B1EP-3967289-B1

Inventors

  • NEWTON, MICHAEL DAVID
  • CAIN, David John
  • BEACH, Donald Martin

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20150626

Claims (8)

  1. A removable extension device arranged to in use connect a pump (40, 42, 44) and an inflatable garment (10), the removable extension device comprising: at least one first connector (16, 116) configured for allowing mechanical and fluid connection to the pump (40, 42, 44); at least one second connector (50, 150) configured for allowing mechanical and fluid connection to the inflatable garment (10); and a fluidic path (25) between the first connector (16, 116) and the second connector (50, 159), wherein the first connector (16, 116) comprises an identification component (22) located in the first connector (16, 116), the identification component (22) configured to be sensed by the pump (40, 42, 44) to identify the extension device, characterised in that , the identification component (22) is made from any one of a ferrite material or a brass material and has a longitudinal length of >3 mm, and the first connector (16, 116) comprises a connector barrel (18), which barrel (18) circumferentially along its interior surface is provided with ribs (19) providing an interference fit with the identification component (22) which is located within the connector barrel (18) of the first connector (16, 116).
  2. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the first connector (16, 116) comprises a circular connector barrel (18) that has a longitudinal length, an inside diameter and an outside diameter; and wherein the longitudinal length of the barrel is dimensioned to fluidically connect inside a universal connector (50) and not with a non-universal connector (150), wherein the identification component (22) is a tube, and the tube comprises an inner diameter, an outer diameter, and a fluid path (25) that extends a length of the tube and is defined by the inner diameter, wherein the outer diameter does not exceed two times the inner diameter.
  3. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the fluidic path (25) is arranged through the identification component (22).
  4. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the fluidic path (25) between the first and second connectors (16, 116, 50, 150) is formed by a tube.
  5. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the fluidic path (25) provided by the tube is greater than 30 mm in length.
  6. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the fluidic path (25) is provided by flexible tubing.
  7. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein fluidic path (25) between the first and second connectors is <30 mm.
  8. The extension device according to claim 1, wherein the second connector (50, 150) is arranged to be connected to a type of garment fluid connector that includes a circular connector barrel (18) that has a longitudinal length, an inside diameter, and an outside diameter; and a garment identification component (22) located inside the barrel (18), wherein the longitudinal length of the barrel (18) is dimensioned to fluidically connect inside a universal connector (50) and not with a non- universal connector (150) wherein the garment identification component (22) of the inflatable garment is a tube, and the tube comprises an inner diameter, an outer diameter, and a fluid path (25) that extends a length of the tube and is defined by the inner diameter, wherein the outer diameter does not exceed two times the inner diameter.

Description

This application claims the benefit of priority of British Patent Application No. GB 1411370.8, filed on June 26, 2014. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to the connectors of inflatable pressure cuff(s) or garment(s), particularly those suitable for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, but which also have utility in other areas of medical treatment and diagnostics. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE In a clinical setting, it is advantageous that medical products - particularly systems formed from multiple separate connecting elements, automatically configure and operate together in a safe and effective manner. It is also important that incorrect or non-approved combinations of system elements are prevented from operating. In addition, the user must be provided with feedback on the status of the system configuration. This is particularly the case in areas of patient care where medical staff are busy with other essential activities, focused on more critical aspects, such as surgical and intensive care activities or where staff have a limited understanding of the operation, and function of the specific medical equipment. Further, there are many devices found in the healthcare environment that share similar types of fluidic connectors that can be easily mistaken by the user as being compatible. Many similar devices use standard commercially available connectors and tubes and these, therefore, can potentially be a source of confusion to the healthcare professional. In contrast, it is advantageous to a medical device manufacturer to be able to use a standard size of connection hose on a variety of different garments. This ensures that there is a sufficiently large path provided for fluid flow to allow for a correct inflation. This is also the case when a connector is selected, wherein it is beneficial to have a standard connector type that has a capability to be configured in some manner for product specific use. In particular, being able to maintain the same connector barrel diameter across various products allows for advantages in equipment design and management. For example, in the field of compression garments, these devices often share a standard diameter air tube (e.g. 3/16 inch (4,76 mm) diameter) and an air connector. Hence, at first inspection, many different devices appear to be readily compatible between the various different suppliers of garments and pumps. However these devices are often not readily functionally cross- compatible and, as a result, are specifically not licensed or regulatory approved for use in combination. It is also possible that there are patient hazards associated with this inappropriate use, so there is a patient safety benefit to achieve by avoiding the misuse of items in this manner. Therefore, manufacturers typically try to find methods, often involving subtle design differences involved that can be used to prevent actual misuse or incorrect compatibility - such as mechanical keying, labelling or other more advanced automatic means. However the use of these design differences is not always fully advantageous as they are often not immediately apparent to the user as the connectable items sometime initially appear to partially connect together, but the resulting operation will not be correct. The various connectors used on similar pumps, and the various mating connectors used on various garments, can all look very similar. So it is relatively easy to mistake which combination of pumps and garments are intended to operate in combination with each other. It is often the case that equipment is physically set up ready for a patient, in advance of clinical need, wherein the user mistakenly believes the equipment is connected correctly and ready for use. As a result of this error, when the equipment is eventually put into use, possibly by different members of clinical staff, the required therapy will not be delivered and the resulting lack of functionality can result in alarms and warnings generated and, therefore, cause clinical delay and complications. The automatic detection of the connected garment by a pump can provide a solution to this problem by detecting the presence of a valid connection. This approach is already well known in the prior art, indeed the applicants own patent (e.g. US 6,884,255) provides for such a mechanism using a component built into the fluid connector and this component is automatically detected and identified. This approach provides both positive and negative feedback in both a visible and audible manner regarding the suitability of the garment using the user interface of the pump. However, this approach does re- quire the user to take note of the information being provided on the user interface and is only operational when the pump is powered. US 2004/127937A1 discloses an identification and communication system for inflatable devices. Summary of the Disclosure It is an aspect of the present disclosure that this situation is addressed by com