Appeal No. 2003-1548 Page 3
Application No. 08/786,957
an elongate wall enclosing and defining an
unobstructed elongate passage for delivery of ventilating gas
through an open end thereof to a patient airway,
a chamber formed in said elongate wall adjacent said
open end of said elongate passage, said chamber having a
highly pliant exterior wall which permits airway pressure to
be transmitted directly to the chamber, and
a lumen formed in said elongate wall extending from
said chamber to a location remote from said chamber
connected at such a remote location to a pressure
measuring apparatus for measuring airway pressure
determined by movement of the exterior wall of said
chamber causing compression and decompression of gas in
said chamber in response to changes in airway pressure
and the presence of gas in the lumen.
McGrail discloses an endotracheal tube comprising a plastic tube 4 having a
distal end 6, a central body portion 8 and a proximal end 7. McGrail’s tube comprises a
plurality of lumens, including an irrigation or monitoring lumen 40 for monitoring
pressure (see column 6, lines 40-42) formed in the wall 35 of the tube, as shown in
Figures 2-4. The lumen 40 ultimately communicates at the distal end of the tube with
the inner wall 32 such that the distal opening 42 thereof is located just inside the distal
tip of the tube. While McGrail does mention the use of “pressure sensitive devices”
(column 5, line 52) in connection with the lumen 40, McGrail does not specify the
details of such pressure sensitive devices.
Lee discloses a catheter-tip gauge-pressure transducer system for measurement
of pressure within a body conduit or vessel (column 1, lines 41-42) including a
pressure-responsive diaphragm having a “front” or “pressure-measuring” side 12 and a
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007