Endotracheal cuff and technique for using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10485942-B2
Application number	US-201615057891-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2016
Priority date	Jun 22, 2006
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

An inflatable balloon cuff may be adapted to seal a patient's trachea when associated with an endotracheal tube. Configurations of these cuffs that include tapered regions with certain characteristics, such as cuff wall diameter and thickness, may provide improved sealing of the trachea.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An inflatable balloon cuff comprising:
a tapered section of the inflatable balloon cuff, wherein at least a portion of the tapered section is adapted to form a seal against a tracheal wall of a patient, wherein the inflatable balloon cuff is characterized in that the tapered section comprises:
a sealing portion, wherein the sealing portion is adapted to form a wrinkle-free band against a patient's tracheal wall when inflated, such that a portion of the tapered region is configured to form a seal against the patient's trachea and-wherein the seal reduces microaspiration of fluids by an average of 90% relative to an inflatable balloon cuff having a barrel shape when coupled to a tracheal tube having a 7.5 mm inner diameter; and
a wrinkled portion, wherein a largest diameter of the wrinkled portion is larger than a tracheal diameter such that the wrinkled portion forms a wrinkled band against a patient's tracheal wall when inflated and wherein the wrinkled band is longer than the wrinkle-free band.

2. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the tapered section comprises a substantially constant taper rate along the length of the tapered section.

3. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the balloon cuff is configured to be inflated to intra cuff inflation pressures of 10-30 cm H 2 O.

4. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is between 1-3 millimeters in length.

5. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is between 3-6 millimeters in length.

6. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the balloon cuff comprises one or more of polyethylene teraphthalate (PETP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone, neoprene, polyisoprene, polypropylene, or polyurethane (PU).

7. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein narrowest portion of the tapered section has a balloon wall diameter that is less than 0.60 inches when the balloon cuff is fully inflated.

8. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the tapered section comprises balloon wall diameters between 1.75 inches and 0.15 inches when the balloon cuff is fully inflated.

9. The inflatable balloon cuff of claim 1 , wherein the tapered section comprises balloon wall thicknesses between 0.5 mils and 3 mils.

10. A balloon cuff comprising:
a tapered section, wherein at least a portion of the tapered section is adapted to form a seal against the patient's trachea that reduces microaspiration of fluids by an average of 90% relative to a barrel-shaped cuff when the balloon cuff is inflated to an intracuff pressure of 10-30 cm H 2 O and wherein the barrel-shaped cuff is coupled to a tracheal tube of a same inner diameter in a same size trachea for the comparison;
and wherein at least a portion of the tapered section is adapted to form a wrinkled band against the tracheal wall, wherein the wrinkled band is longer than the wrinkle-free sealing band when the balloon cuff is inflated within the trachea.

11. The balloon cuff of claim 10 , wherein the wrinkled portion is disposed on the cuff proximally of the wrinkle-free sealing band.

12. The balloon cuff of claim 10 , wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is formed when the inflatable balloon cuff is inflated to an intracuff pressure of 20-25 cm H 2 O.

13. The balloon cuff of claim 10 , wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is between 1-3 millimeters in length.

14. The balloon cuff of claim 10 , wherein the balloon cuff is coupled to a tracheal tube.

15. A tracheal tube comprising:
a conduit; and
a balloon cuff coupled to the conduit, wherein the balloon cuff comprises:
a tapered section comprising:
a sealing portion, wherein the sealing portion is adapted to form a wrinkle-free band against a patient's tracheal wall when inflated, wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is configured to prevent leakage of fluid past the wrinkle-free sealing band when inflated by an average of 90% relative to a barrel-shaped cuff having a largest diameter that is greater than a tracheal diameter along a majority of a length of the barrel-shaped cuff; and
a wrinkled portion, wherein a largest diameter of the wrinkled portion is larger than a tracheal diameter such that the wrinkled portion forms a wrinkled band against a patient's tracheal wall when inflated and wherein the wrinkled band is longer than the wrinkle-free band.

16. The tracheal tube of claim 15 , wherein the wrinkled portion is disposed on the cuff proximally of the wrinkle-free sealing band.

17. The tracheal tube of claim 15 , wherein the wrinkle-free sealing band is formed when the inflatable balloon cuff is inflated to an intracuff pressure of 20-25 cm H 2 O.

18. The tracheal tube of claim 15 , wherein the tracheal tube is an endotracheal tube.

19. The tracheal tube of claim 15 , wherein the tracheal tube is a tracheostomy tube.

20. The tracheal tube of claim 15 , wherein the balloon cuff comprises one or more of polyethylene teraphthalate (PETP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone, neoprene, polyisoprene, polypropylene, or polyurethane (PU).

Assignees

• Covidien Lp

Inventors

• Nelson Donald S
• Mehta Dhairya

Classifications

• A61M16/0484

  at the distal end · CPC title

• A61M16/0443

  Special cuff-wall materials (A61M16/0481, A61M16/0422 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61M16/0057

  Pumps therefor · CPC title

• A61M2207/10

  Device therefor · CPC title

• B29K2105/258

  Tubular · CPC title