Automated pediatric defibrillator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9592401-B2
Application number	US-201414269572-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2014
Priority date	Apr 12, 2004
Publication date	Mar 14, 2017
Grant date	Mar 14, 2017

Abstract

A device for assisting a rescuer in delivering therapy to an adult or pediatric patient, the device including a user interface comprising a display and/or audio speakers, the user interface being configured to deliver prompts to a rescuer to assist the rescuer in delivering therapy to a patient; a processor configured to provide prompts to the user interface and to perform an ECG analysis algorithm on ECG information detected from the patient; at least one detection element configured to determine without rescuer input via the user interface that a pediatric patient is being treated; wherein, if a pediatric patient is detected, the processor modifies the ECG analysis algorithm or the prompts provided to the user interface to use an ECG analysis algorithm or prompts adapted for a pediatric patient rather than for an adult patient.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An external defibrillation device for assisting a rescuer in delivering defibrillation therapy to an adult or pediatric patient, the device comprising
a user interface comprising a display or audio speakers, the user interface being configured to deliver prompts to a rescuer to assist the rescuer in delivering therapy to a patient;
processing circuitry configured to provide prompts to the user interface and to perform an ECG analysis algorithm on ECG information detected from the patient;
defibrillation electrodes for placement on the chest of the patient;
one or more sensors located in and/or supported by one or both of the defibrillation electrodes, the sensors and processing circuitry being configured to use at least one output from one of the sensors to determine a distance between the electrodes after they are placed on the patient's chest;
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine information pertaining to the size of the patient from the distance determined from the output of one or more sensors, and
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to vary the prompts, or the ECG analysis algorithm, or the energy delivered to the patient based on the information pertaining to the size of the patient.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to estimate the circumferential girth of the patient from the information obtained from the sensors.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to estimate an age or age range, such as pediatric and adult, of the patient from the information obtained from the sensors.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein there are at least two sensors, one located in and/or supported by each of two of the defibrillation electrodes, and the sensors and processing circuitry are configured to use the one output from one of the sensors and another output from the other sensor to determine the distance between the electrodes.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensors and processing circuitry are configured so that the sensors automatically provide the at least one output to the processing circuitry after the electrodes are electrically connected to the processing circuitry, without user interaction with the device beyond making the electrical connection.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the sensors function without mechanical movement of elements of the sensors.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the sensors function without a mechanical connection between the two electrodes other than an electrical cable.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the sensors comprise electromagnetic elements configured so that relative movement of the electrodes decreasing or increasing the distance between the electrodes produces a change in an electrical or magnetic field that is detectable by at least one of the sensors.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the sensors detects change in the distance between the electrodes without mechanical movement of elements in the sensors.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the sensors detects change in the distance between the electrodes by sensing a change in one or more of light, sound, electrical field, and magnetic field.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the one or more sensors comprise Hall Effect sensors.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein there are one or more Hall Effect sensors and one or more magnets located in and/or supported by the electrodes so that relative motion between the two electrodes produces a change in the outputs of the Hall Effect sensors.

13. The device of claim 11 wherein there are two or more Hall Effect sensors located in and/or supported by one of the defibrillation electrodes and at least one magnet located in and/or supported by the other of the defibrillation electrodes.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein sensors comprise a linear encoder.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the linear encoder is an optical encoder or a magnetic based encoder.

16. The device of claim 1 wherein the distance is any of the following: a relative lateral distance in the direction in which a girth measurement is taken, a physical separation between the electrodes, a straight line distance between a predetermined location on each of the electrodes.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein each defibrillation electrode comprises an assembly of at least the following: a skin-contacting conductive gel layer, an adhesive element surrounding the gel layer for adhering the electrode to the skin of the patient, a metallic current spreading element above the gel layer, and a non-conductive flexible base layer.

Assignees

• Zoll Medical Corp

Inventors

• Freeman Gary A
• Elghazzawi Ziad F
• Geheb Frederick J
• Parascandola Michael

Classifications

• A61N1/046 Primary

  Specially adapted for shock therapy, e.g. defibrillation · CPC title

• A61N1/3925

  Monitoring; Protecting · CPC title

• A61N1/3906

  characterised by the form of the shockwave · CPC title

• A61N1/3993

  User interfaces for automatic external defibrillators · CPC title

• A61N1/0492

  Patch electrodes (A61N1/0412, A61N1/0428 take precedence) · CPC title