Oral airway with inflatable cuff

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to an oral airway and, more particularly, to a type thereof attached, to and encircled by membrane means capable of being inflated while positioned within the mouth of a patient for the purpose of holding the cheeks in a proper position for engagement thereof by a face mask used to administer an anesthetic. The inflated membrane means also provides a seal against the wails of the mouth between the inner and outer ends of the airway.

Persons, such as doctors, nurses and medical technicians, who are acquainted with the procedures for administering an anesthetic to a human patient by means of a conventional face mask, have long been aware that the external facial contours of certain patients result in excessive leakage of the anesthetic between the edge of the mask and the face of the patient. For example, there is a strong tendency for the Cheeks to sag inwardly between the gums of edentulous patients. Other patients have naturally sunken cheeks, rather high cheekbones and/or other prominent adjacent bone structures which also cause such leakage.

In the course of studying the foregoing^ problems, I discovered that leakage between the surface of the face and the edge of the mask could be overcome by puffing the cheeks outwardly against the mask.

Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to connect the outer end of the airway to a tube which is in turn connected to a source of anesthetic, therebyeliminating the need for a face mask; However, unless the airway extends into the trachea, which may be undesirable, the anesthetic can escape along the outer surface of the airway and between the lips of the patient.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provision of a device by means of which the cheeks of a patient can be urged outwardly against the edges of the mask used in the administration of an anesthetic and thereby preventing leakage between the mask and the patient’s faCe.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a membrane adapted for attachment to and use with a substantially conventional oral airway to provide a chamber capable of being inflated within the oral cavity of the patient by an external source of pressure fluid, whereby the patient’s cheeks are moved outwardly without obstructing the normal function of the airway and whereby movement of air between the ends of the airway along its outer surface is effectively blocked.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with medical equipment of this type upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken, side elevational view of a device embodying the invention as applied to a human patient.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, bottom view of said device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III—III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to that appearing in FIG. 3 and showing the expandable membrane in its inflated condition.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line V-V in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to that appearing in FIG. 3 and showing an alternate membrane construction.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in

FIG. 6. _

For convenience in description, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “front, “rear’’ and words of similar import will have reference to the device of the invention as appearing in FIG· 1 wherein the front end of the device is at the left side of the figure, The terms “inner”, outer” and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of the device and parts therewith.

3,543, Λ' dicates when the chamber 27 is fully inflated or has lost its inflation.

The bulb 29 also acts as a safety device by preventing overinflation, and can be used as a reserve source of gas should any leakage occur from chamber 27 during administra- 5 tion of the anesthetic. Once membrane 13 has been properly inflated, the inflating conduit 14 is closed to prevent the escape of gas. ·

Where the source of anesthetic is connected directly, as by a tube, to the outer end of the .airway 10, the inflated mem- 10 brane 13 serves substantially as a seal between the tubular member 12 and the walls of the oral cavity 31. Thus, the anesthetic discharged at the inner end of the airway cannot escape along the outside thereof, even though the inner end of the airway is spaced from the walls of the pharynx. ¹⁵

Before the oral airway 10 is removed from the mouth of the patient, the chamber 27 is deflated through conduit 14. The tubular member 12 is then withdrawn from the mouth of the patient. 2θ

ALTERNATE EMBODIMENT

The alternate embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, has an oral airway 10A which is similar to oral airway 10. Thus, certain parts of oral airway 10A will be 25 referred to by the same reference numerals designating the corresponding parts of the oral airway 10, but with the suffix “A” added thereto.

The oral airway 10A has a tubular member 12A including a rear curved portion 17A, a front straight portion ISA and a 30 radially extending flange ISA. The front portion 18A includes an internal, rigid sleeve 21A. The expandable membrane 35, which encircles a major portion of tubular member 12A, has an inner sleeve 36 integral at its forward edge 37 and rearward edge 38 with the front and rear edges, respectively, of an outer elastic sleeve 39. The sleeves 36 and 39 define a sealed chamber 27A. The inflating conduit MA extends through the edge 37 of membrane 35 into communication with chamber 27A and is connectable to a pump 16.

The operation of oral airway 10A is identical to the abovedescribed operation of oral airway 1® with the exception that, when inflated, the pressurized gas is contained between the sleeves 36 and 39. The expandable membrane 35 may be releasably secured to tubular member 12A, thereby being replaceable. If desired, sleeve 36 may be permanently secured to tubular member 12A by an adhesive.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated..