Nitric oxide delivery system
View Patent ↗An ambulatory or stationary device for delivery of a therapeutic amount of nitric oxide to an individual's lungs.
1. A system for delivering a therapeutic amount of nitric oxide, comprising:
a liquid reservoir containing dinitrogen tetroxide;
a tube coupled to the reservoir;
a first ribbed tube coupled to the tube, wherein the first ribbed tube comprises:
a plurality of hollow ribs,
wherein each rib comprises a volume, a base and a length that is a distance across the base of the rib; and
a surface-active material with a reducing agent, wherein a volume of the surface-active material is within each rib and a height of the surface-active material within each rib is a distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and wherein the length of each rib is less than twice the distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and the volume of each rib is greater than the volume of the surface-active material within each rib; and
a patient interface coupled to the first ribbed tube, wherein the first ribbed tube is configured to convert nitrogen dioxide in a gas flow into nitric oxide prior to reaching the patient interface.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir is a quartz tube.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir is silica tube.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir has a bore size of about 50 microns.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir has a bore size of about 25 microns or less.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir has a bore size of 10 microns or less.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir is sealed before use.
8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an air pump in communication with the reservoir.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the pump is a battery-driven pump.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the patient interface is a mouth piece, nasal cannula, face mask, fully-sealed face mask or an endotracheal tube.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir contains compressed nitrogen dioxide with or without a diluent gas.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir further includes nitrogen, air, oxygen-enriched air, or substantially pure oxygen.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the surface-active material is a silica gel.
14. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second ribbed tube coupled to the first ribbed tube, the second ribbed tube comprising a surface-active material and a reducing agent.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the patient interface is a delivery tube adapted to deliver the gas flow to the patient's mouth or nose or an endotracheal tube attached to a ventilator or an anesthesia machine.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is spherical.
17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is a fused silica reservoir.
18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is a non-reactive metal reservoir.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the non-reactive metal is palladium, silver, platinum, gold, aluminum or stainless steel.
20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the reservoir is an aluminum reservoir.
21. The system of claim 18 , wherein the reservoir is a stainless steel reservoir.
22. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an insulation covering the reservoir and the tube coupled to the reservoir.
23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the insulation covering further comprises an alkaline solution.
24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the alkaline solution is calcium oxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, or sodium silicate.
25. The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas is air or oxygen.
26. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reducing agent is an antioxidant.
27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the antioxidant is an aqueous solution of an antioxidant.
28. The system of claim 26 , wherein the antioxidant is ascorbic acid, alpha tocopherol, or gamma tocopherol.
29. A device for delivering nitric oxide to a patient comprising:
a liquid reservoir containing dinitrogen tetroxide;
a tube coupled to the reservoir, wherein the tube coupled to the reservoir has a bore size of about 25 microns or less;
a first ribbed tube coupled to the tube, the first ribbed tube comprising a surface-active material saturated with an aqueous solution of an antioxidant and a plurality of ribs, wherein the volume within each rib is greater than the a volume of the surface-active material within each rib
a plurality of hollow ribs, wherein each rib comprises a volume, a base and a length that is a distance across the base of the rib; and
a surface-active material saturated with an aqueous solution of an antioxidant, wherein a volume of the surface-active material is within each rib and a height of the surface-active material within each rib is a distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and the length of each rib is less than twice the distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and the volume of each rib is greater than the volume of the surface-active material within each rib; and
a patient interface coupled to the first ribbed tube, wherein the first ribbed tube is configured to convert nitrogen dioxide in a gas flow into nitric oxide prior to reaching the patient interface.
30. The device of claim 29 , comprising an air pump in communication with the reservoir.
31. The device of claim 29 , wherein the pump is a battery-driven pump.
32. The device of claim 29 , further comprising a nitrogen dioxide and/or a nitric oxide sensor.
33. The device of claim 32 , wherein the nitrogen dioxide and/or nitric oxide sensor is calibrated automatically at periodic time intervals.
34. A ribbed tube comprising a body having a first end and a second end, wherein the body comprises
multiple hollow concentric ribs, wherein each rib comprises a base and a length that is a distance across the base of the rib, and each rib comprises a volume; and
a surface-active material, wherein a volume of the surface-active material is within each rib and a height of the surface-active material within each rib is a distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and wherein the length of each rib is less than twice the distance above the base of each rib the surface-active material extends into the rib, and the volume of each rib is greater than the volume of the surface-active material within each rib.
35. The tube of claim 34 , wherein the surface-active material is saturated with an aqueous solution of an antioxidant.
36. The tube of claim 34 , wherein the surface-active material comprises a silica gel, activated charcoal, activated carbon, activated alumina or calcium sulfate.
37. The tube of claim 34 , further comprising a reducing agent.
38. The tube of claim 35 , wherein the reducing agent is an antioxidant.