EP-4736902-A2 - NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND THERAPY LEAK ALARM SYSTEM

Abstract

One implementation of the present disclosure is a method for dynamically controlling an alarm of a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the method includes initiating NPWT, comparing an initial pump duty to a threshold value to determine a dressing application quality, monitoring a leakage rate of the NPWT, setting a leak threshold value based on the dressing application quality, determining leakage event occurrences in response to the leakage rate exceeding the leak threshold value at multiple times, adjusting the leak threshold value based on at least one of a number of the leakage events over the time period, a time duration between sequentially occurring leakage events of the leakage events, and the dressing application quality, and causing a user interface device to display a leak alert in response to the leakage rate exceeding the adjusted leak threshold value.

Inventors

• SEDDON, JAMES
• PRATT, BENJAMIN A.

Assignees

• Solventum Intellectual Properties Company

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20200220

Claims (9)

1. A method for dynamically controlling an alarm of a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, the method comprising: initiating NPWT; comparing an initial pump duty to a threshold value to determine a dressing application quality; monitoring a leakage rate of the NPWT; setting a leak threshold value based on the dressing application quality; determining a plurality of leakage event occurrences in response to the leakage rate exceeding the leak threshold value at a plurality of times; adjusting the leak threshold value based on at least one of a number of the plurality of leakage events over the time period, a time duration between sequentially occurring leakage events of the plurality of leakage events, and the dressing application quality; and causing a user interface device to display a leak alert in response to the leakage rate exceeding the adjusted leak threshold value.
2. The method of Claim 1, wherein initiating NPWT comprises increasing a vacuum pressure to draw down and seal a dressing for NPWT.
3. The method of Claim 1, wherein determining the dressing application quality comprises characterizing the dressing application as a low leak rate application in response to the initial pump duty being less than the threshold value and characterizing the dressing application as a high leak rate application in response to the initial pump duty being greater than the threshold value.
4. The method of Claim 1, further comprising receiving signals from an accelerometer to detect motion of the NPWT device.
5. The method of Claim 4, further comprising adjusting the leak threshold value based on the detected motion of the NPWT device.
6. The method of Claim 1, further comprising receiving location information from at least one of a GPS and a user device and adjusting the leak threshold value based on the received location.
7. The method of Claim 1, further comprising receiving information from a light sensor, the information from the light sensor indicating an intensity of light at the NPWT device, and adjusting the leak threshold value based on the indicated light intensity.
8. The method of Claim 1, further comprising receiving information regarding a state of charge or a remaining amount of energy of an energy storage device configured to provide the NPWT device with power, and adjusting the leak threshold value based on the information regarding the state of charge or the remaining amount of energy of the energy storage device.
9. The method of Claim 1, further comprising increasing an amount of time between sequentially occurring leak alerts based on at least one of the number of the plurality of leakage events over the time period, and the dressing application quality.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/812,088, filed on February 28, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates generally to negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices and more particularly control algorithms for NPWT devices. It would be desirable to provide a NPWT device which dynamically adjusts one or more criteria for leak alarms to reduce a frequency of alarms and tailor the leak alarms to the specific dressing application. SUMMARY One implementation of the present disclosure is a method for dynamically controlling an alarm of a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the method includes initiating NPWT, comparing an initial pump duty to a threshold value to determine a dressing application quality, monitoring a leakage rate of the NPWT, setting a leak threshold value based on the dressing application quality, determining leakage event occurrences in response to the leakage rate exceeding the leak threshold value at multiple times, adjusting the leak threshold value based on at least one of a number of the leakage events over the time period, a time duration between sequentially occurring leakage events of the leakage events, and the dressing application quality, and causing a user interface device to display a leak alert in response to the leakage rate exceeding the adjusted leak threshold value. In some embodiments, initiating NPWT includes increasing a vacuum pressure to draw down and seal a dressing for NPWT. In some embodiments, determining the dressing application quality includes characterizing the dressing application as a low leak rate application in response to the initial pump duty being less than the threshold value and characterizing the dressing application as a high leak rate application in response to the initial pump duty being greater than the threshold value. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving signals from an accelerometer to detect motion of the NPWT device. In some embodiments, the method includes adjusting the leak threshold value based on the detected motion of the NPWT device. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving location information from at least one of a GPS and a user device and adjusting the leak threshold value based on the received location. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving information from a light sensor. In some embodiments, the information from the light sensor indicates an intensity of light at the NPWT device. In some embodiments, the method includse adjusting the leak threshold value based on the indicated light intensity. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving information regarding a state of charge or a remaining amount of energy of an energy storage device configured to provide the NPWT device with power, and adjusting the leak threshold value based on the information regarding the state of charge or the remaining amount of energy of the energy storage device. In some embodiments, the method includes increasing an amount of time between sequentially occurring leak alerts based on at least one of the number of the plurality of leakage events over the time period, and the dressing application quality. Another implementation of the present disclosure is a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device for NPWT, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the NPWT device includes a pump configured to draw a negative pressure on a wound application for NPWT, and a controller. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to monitor a leak rate, compare an initial leak rate to an initial threshold value to determine a seal quality of the NPWT, compare the leak rate to a leak rate threshold value to determine a leakage event, dynamically adjust the leak rate threshold value based on any of a number of leakage events over a previous time period, a time duration between sequentially occurring leakage events, and the seal quality of the NPWT, compare the leak rate to the adjusted leak rate threshold value, and provide a leak alert via a user interface in response to the leak rate exceeding the adjusted leak rate threshold value. In some embodiments, the NPWT device includes an accelerometer. In some embodiments, the accelerometer is configured to detect motion of the NPWT device and provide the controller with detection of the motion. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to use the detection of the motion to adjust the leak rate threshold. In some embodiments, the NPWT device further includes a GPS. In some embodiments, the GPS is configured to monitor a current location of the NPWT device, monitor a current direction of motion of the NPWT device, determine a proximity of the NPWT device to a known charging location, and provide the controller with the current location, current