초록 ▼

A personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus includes at least two membranes adapted to produce a conditioned gas. At least a first of the membranes is adapted to produce a first gas and at least a second of the membranes is adapted to produce a second gas having an oxygen conten

A personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus includes at least two membranes adapted to produce a conditioned gas. At least a first of the membranes is adapted to produce a first gas and at least a second of the membranes is adapted to produce a second gas having an oxygen content higher than the first gas. The conditioned gas includes the first gas, the second gas, or a combination thereof from the membranes. The membranes are adapted to produce the first gas and the second gas so that the conditioned gas contains gaseous water to about 100 percent saturation. The apparatus includes means for delivering water to the membranes, means for delivering an initial gas to the membranes, and a delivery hose adapted to receive the conditioned gas from one or more of the membranes and deliver the conditioned gas to a delivery device.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus that produces and delivers a breathable conditioned gas at a delivered temperature of at least 24° C. to the respiratory tract of a patient through a delivery device, the apparatus comprising: at least two containers each containing

1. A personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus that produces and delivers a breathable conditioned gas at a delivered temperature of at least 24° C. to the respiratory tract of a patient through a delivery device, the apparatus comprising: at least two containers each containing a membrane, the membrane of a first of the at least two containers comprising a first hollow fiber material adapted to produce a breathable first gas containing gaseous water at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature but does not contain droplets or micro-droplets of water, and the membrane of a second of the at least two containers comprising a second hollow fiber material that is different from the first hollow fiber material and adapted to produce a breathable second gas containing oxygen-enriched air having an oxygen content by volume higher than the first gas and gaseous water at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature but does not contain droplets or micro-droplets of water;a tubing connected to outlets of the at least two containers to selectively receive the first and second gases therefrom and yield at an outlet of the tubing, the conditioned gas comprising the first gas, the second gas, or a combination thereof from the at least two containers, the membranes of the at least two containers being adapted to produce the first gas and the second gas so that the conditioned gas at the outlet of the tubing contains gaseous water at about 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature but not droplets or micro-droplets of water;means for delivering an initial air to each of the at least two containers;means for delivering water to each of the at least two containers, wherein the water travels through a series of liquid-vapor and gas-vapor boundaries within the membranes to increase a humidity level of the initial air and produce the first and second gases with the gaseous water thereof at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature; anda delivery hose coupled to the outlet of the tubing to receive the conditioned gas and deliver the conditioned gas directly to the respiratory tract of the patient through the delivery device at the delivered temperature and with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation. 2. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the membrane of the first of the at least two containers is adapted to produce atmospheric air with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation and the membrane of the second of the at least two containers is adapted to produce oxygen-enriched air with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation and having up to about forty percent oxygen by volume. 3. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for selectively switching between the at least two containers to provide the capability of producing the conditioned gas with one or more of the membranes of the at least two containers. 4. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for regulating the delivered temperature of the conditioned gas. 5. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for regulating the temperature of the initial air supplied to at least one of the at least two containers. 6. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for regulating the temperature of the water supplied to at least one of the at least two containers. 7. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing pressure to the flow of the initial air through at least one of the at least two containers. 8. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for regulating the flow rate of the initial air through at least one of the at least two containers. 9. The personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for regulating the flow rate of the conditioned gas through the delivery hose to the delivery device. 10. A method of personal airway humidification and oxygen-enrichment by producing and delivering a breathable conditioned gas at a delivered temperature of at least 24° C. to the respiratory tract of a patient through a delivery device, the method comprising: providing a system comprising at least two containers each containing a membrane, the membrane of at least a first of the at least two containers comprising a first hollow fiber material adapted to produce a breathable first gas containing gaseous water at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature but does not contain droplets or micro-droplets of water, the membrane of at least a second of the at least two containers comprising a second hollow fiber material that is different from the first hollow fiber material and adapted to produce a second gas containing oxygen-enriched air having an oxygen content by volume higher than the first gas and gaseous water at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature, the at least two containers having outlets coupled to a tubing that selectively receives the first and second gases therefrom and yields at an outlet of the tubing, the conditioned gas comprising the first gas, the second gas, or a combination thereof from the at least two containers, the membranes of the at least two containers being adapted to produce the first gas and the second gas so that the conditioned gas at the outlet of the tubing contains gaseous water at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature but no droplet or micro-droplets of water;delivering an initial air to each of the at least two containers;delivering water to each of the at least two containers, wherein the water travels through a series of liquid-vapor and gas-vapor boundaries within the membranes to increase a humidity level of the initial air and produce the first and second gases with the gaseous water thereof at 100 percent saturation at the delivered temperature; andreceiving the conditioned gas from the outlet of the tubing and delivering the conditioned gas directly to the respiratory tract of the patient through the delivery device at the delivered temperature and with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the membrane of the first of the at least two containers is adapted to produce atmospheric air with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation and the membrane of the second of the at least two containers is adapted to produce oxygen-enriched air with the gaseous water at 100 percent saturation and having up to about forty percent oxygen by volume. 12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising controlling a level of oxygen in the conditioned gas by varying relative amounts of the first and second gas provided from one or more of the at least two containers. 13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising regulating the delivered temperature of the conditioned gas with a heating control device of the system. 14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the conditioned gas is 100 percent saturated with gaseous water and has a percent oxygen by volume of greater than atmospheric air. 15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising regulating the temperature of the water supplied to at least one of the at least two containers with a water heating control device. 16. The method according to claim 10, further comprising providing the conditioned gas to the patient with the delivery device, maintaining the delivered temperature of the conditioned gas with a heating control device of the system such that the conditioned gas is provided to the patient at a temperature of at least 29° C., wherein the conditioned gas is 100 percent saturated with gaseous water at the delivered temperature. 17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising regulating the flow rate of the initial air through at least one of the at least two containers with controls on the system. 18. The method according to claim 10, further comprising providing the conditioned gas from the delivery device to the patient and maintaining the delivered temperature of the conditioned gas with a heating control device of the system such that the conditioned gas is provided to the patient at a temperature above the core body temperature of the patient.