BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a negative pressure chamber that can be used to protect a practitioner during procedures releasing virus, bacteria, or other contaminants from a patient, such as tracheal intubation of a patient, wherein the chamber is configured to be easily transported between patient beds.

2. Background Art

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has been determined to be responsible for an outbreak of potentially fatal atypical pneumonia. This novel COVID-19, termed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2, was found to be similar to the particular coronavirus that was responsible for the SARS pandemic that occurred in 2002.

The coronaviruses, Coronaviridae, are a large family of enveloped, non-segmented, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses that infect a broad range of vertebrates. They are found in many birds and mammals, especially in bats. In humans, most coronaviruses tend to cause mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold. However, some strains of coronaviruses can exhibit stronger virulence and can be quickly passed from human to human. In some cases, the infection is mild but in others the response can be severe. In extreme cases, death occurs due to gradual respiratory failure as the result of alveolar damage by the virus.

The coronavirus known as COVID-19 has been found to be highly contagious and is believed to be spread through droplets expelled into the air by a sick patient. The highly infectious nature and ease of spreading between humans has increased the number of patients sick COVID-19 at such a rate, they have been overwhelming the hospitals to the point that there is not enough protective gear to adequately protect the medical personnel (including doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and various people serving in emergency medical services, including firefighters, paramedics, and the like). As such, many medical personnel are being unnecessarily and dangerously exposed to COVID-19.

One of the times of highest exposure for medical personnel is when they perform tracheal intubation of a patient, which is the placement of a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway or assist a patient with breathing. As is well known almost all critical patients of COVID-19 may need ventilators and most of those will be intubated at some point in time to facilitate ventilation of the lungs. The most widely used method of intubation is orotracheal, in which an endotracheal tube is passed through the mouth and vocal apparatus into the trachea. It is during this process that the medical personnel get close to the patient, and droplets may be expelled from the patient. Therefore, the very act of trying to save the patient through ventilation may create a very high risk of exposure to the medical personnel, and given the current lack of protective gear, the protective gear while protecting the medical personnel, if reused as currently suggested in some medical settings, may expose subsequent patients to COVID-19.

Other professionals work with either people or bodies in performing procedures that could release viruses or other undesired substances into the air. For example, dental hygienists or dentists can aspirate particles from a person's mouth into the air when performing a cleaning or dental procedure. Coroners performing work on a corpse may cause undesired particles to enter the air.

It is desirable to provide a safe way to intubate or perform medical procedures on patients that could release infectious agents, such as COVID-19 patients, which is not dependent solely on the protective gear of the medical personnel, such as mask, glasses, and gloves alone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a chamber for placement over a patient while allowing medical personnel to perform various medical procedures releasing virus, bacteria, or other contaminants, such as tracheal intubation, on the patient, including a frame forming and supporting two sidewalls and a curved center portion extending between the sidewalls of a transparent body, wherein the body includes at least one access hole, and wherein the chamber surrounds the patient's head and one of the sidewalls deforms around the patient's body in order to capture and exhaust any of the virus, bacteria, or other contaminants released by the patient during the medical procedure through negative pressure.

The present invention provides for a method of using a chamber of to perform a medical procedure on a patient releasing virus, bacteria, or other contaminants, by placing a chamber over a patient's head on a bed, wherein the chamber includes a frame forming and supporting two sidewalls and a curved center portion extending between the sidewalls of a transparent body, wherein the body includes at least one access hole, and wherein the one of the sidewalls deforms around the patient's body, providing negative pressure within the chamber, and medical personnel providing intubation to the patient through the at least one access hole in the body of the chamber while capturing and exhausting any of the virus, bacteria, or other contaminants released by the patient during the medical procedure.

