Patient respiration stimulation system - uses catheters with electrodes near phrenic nerves thrust into subclavian vein to receive electrical impulses

摘要

The system control the respiratory movements of a patient into whose veins two cathodes are inserted, each equipped with an electrode. These are thrust as far as the subclavian vein, adjacent to the right and left phrenic nerves, which are then stimulated by electrical impulses. The impulses can consist of salvos of impulses whose duration is only a few microseconds. Patient respiration can be monitored, impulses being delivered only when it is insufficient, or does not resume after a preset period of stoppage. The respiration monitor delivers a signal to a logic unit, which compares it with values fed by an operator. It then issues commands to a waveform generator supplying the salvos of impulses to the electrodes.