US2098316A - Method of and apparatus for creating an artificial fever - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 9, 1937.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS 'FOR CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL FEVER vFiled July 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mm mw IN W Nov. 9, 1937. E. c. slTTLER 2,098,315

METHODv 0F AND APPARATUS FOR. CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL VFEVERl Filed July 22, 1933 s sheets-sheet 2 .I VEN R BY TroRNES Nov. 9, 1937. i E. c. .-arrTlE- IER METHOD pF AND APPARATUS FOR CREATY'LNG AN ARTIFICIAL FEVER 4 Filed July 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. 9, 1937 PATENT OFFICE METHOD Fl AND APPARATUS FOBVCREA-T- ING AN ARTIFICIAL FEVER Edwin c. sauer, Dayton, ohio, assignmto General Motors (iorporatioqn,y Dayton, Ohio, a oorporation of Delaware Application my zz, im, serial No. 681,750

9 claims. (ci. 12a- 373).

This invention' relates broadly to methods of and apparatus for producing and maintaining in human bodies a condition of feverfor the purpose of preventing, curing, or at least materially re- -1ieving certain diseases.

It has been found that a condition of fever, or, in other words, a body temperature at least several degrees above normal, to a maximum of about 107 F. has a decided remedial effect upon l0 certain diseases. This fact has been known to the medical ,profession for some time although the exact action in such cases is still more or less unknown. Many different ways have been suggested of producing such a fever, but all of 19 them have detrimental effects upon the patient `or are rather expensive. One of these methods which has been. tried is that of subjecting the patient to a disease which produces a fever, such as malaria. Another method is by the injection of substances such as foreign proteins which will cause a fever. However, such methods are rather dangerous to say the least, and, furthermore, the fever cannot be properly controlled by such methods. l Y A number of different types of artificial machines have been suggested for creating a fever, particularly those which produce a fever by the high frequency alternating current. Such machines are extremely expensive, dimcult to operate, and unless very carefully supervised, will subject the patient to severe burns. Other meth ods have the objection that they seriously weaken the patient. It is an object of my invention to provide a safe method of and apparatus for controlling body temperature which will make the patient as comfortable as possible while taking the treatment without weakening the patient to any serious 'de- 40 gree.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simplified and inexpensive method and apparatus for producing a fever in the human body.

It is another object of my invention to provide a method of and apparatus for controlling body temperature by circulating air over the body and controlling the temperature and humidity thereof in such a way that the body temperature can be accurately regulated.

Further` objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whereina preferred form of the V present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vvertical longitudinal sectional view through one form of apparatus for carrying out my improved method taken upon the line I-I of Fis. 2; 5

Flg. 2 is an end view of lthe cabinet shown'in Fig. 1 with the back cover removed so as to show the circulating, heating, humidifying, and control means; and

Fig. 3 isa wiring and control diagram showing 10 the electrical connections of the heating, humidifying, and air circulating apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a cabinet having a plane supporting surface 20 with supporting legs 15 2| extending to the floor for supporting the cabinet. Extending upwardly from the plane supporting surface 20 are the side walls 22 and end wall 23 at one end and a second end or partition wall 24 near the other end. Above the plane sup- 20 porting surface 20 there is provided a top wall 25. The side, end, and top walls are preferably insulated with some suitable form of insulation, such as a cellular fiber board, designated by the reference character 28. 25

yResting upon the plane supporting surface 20 there is a removable mattress support or framework 28 provided with rollers 29 which permit the framework to roll from one end to the other upon the plane supporting member 2li. The frame- 30 work 28 carries a suitable mattress, such .as an air mattress 30 upon which the patient may recline. At the end of the frame 28 adjacent the end wall 23 there is provided ahead rest 3| for supporting a pillow upon which the patients 35 head may rest and a pair of legs 32 extending downwardly and provided with suitable-castors or rollers 33 at their lower end which rest upon the iioor. Beneath the head rest 3| there are provided the brackets 34 which may serve as 40 handles so that the frame 28 with the mattress 30 may-be pulled out of the cabinet and the patient readily and easily removed from the cabinet inY this manner. The end wall 23 of the cabinet is provided with an opening in order to 45 receive the body of the patient, which opening is closed by the slide door 35 provided with a notch t'o lreceive the neck ofthe patient. Within the slide wall 22 of the cabinet there are provided suitable slide doors 36 so that the patient 50 can be properly attended to by the nurse.

At the opposite end of the cabinet there is provided a compartment or duct means which contains the air circulating and treating-means, together with suitable control means therefor. 55

This compartment 48 is formed by the end 4or partition wall 24, the side walls 22, the lower supporting surface 20, the top wall 25, as well as a removable back cover 4|. This back cover is provided with a knob 42 for facilitating its removal and also is provided with a door 48 for controlling the amount of fresh air drawn into the compartment and circulated through the cabinet.

Within the upper portion of the compartment 40 there is provided a shelf 44 which supports a forced draft or air circulating means comprising a centrifugal fan or blower 45 which is driven by an electric motor 48. The fan 45 removes air from the conditioning compartment 48 and discharges it into a duct 41 which extends along the upper portion of the cabinet and which is formed by the side walls 22, the top wall 25, and a partition wall 48 which extends beneath the top wall 25 but at an angle thereto. 'I'he end portion of the partition member 48 is provided with a plurality of apertures 49 which direct and discharge the air from the duct means over the upper portion of the body of the patient resting upon the mattress 88. The air which is discharged from the duct means into this portion of the cabinet is withdrawn through a pair of openings 5| situated in the wall 24. These openings 5| .are provided with slide doors 52 for controlling the rate of air circulation within the cabinet. Thus, the fan 45 draws the air from the portion of the cabinet in which the patient rests through the openings 5| under control of the slide doors 52 into the compartment 48, and there adds whatever fresh air is desired through the opening provided by the fresh air door 48 and under the control thereof, and then discharges this air into the duct 41 and from there through the apertures 49 into the patients compartment. i

In order to produce a fever and to control body temperature, there is provided within the compartment 40 a heating and humidifying apparatus which is controlled by a suitable thermostat and humidistat. This heating and humidifying may be done in any convenient way. However, as shown, in order to heat the air, I provide a plurality of strip heaters 54 beneath an opening 55 in the shelf 44. 'I'hese strip heaters are supported by the shelf 44 and consist of electrical resistance elements which produce heat when electric energy is passed therethrough. The electric energy applied to these strip heaters 54 is preferably under the control of a suitable air thermostat 56 mounted in the compartment 40 or by a suitable rectal thermometer and thermostat 51 shown in Fig. 3, but this may also be done manually. If this is done manually, the attend- 1ant or nurse reads the temperatures of the patient by means of an indicating device or thermometer and then makes the necessary adjustments to the heating and humidifying apparatus.

I also provide water evaporating means within the compartment 40 for humidifying and controlling the humidity of the circulating air. This humidifying apparatus comprises a float tank 60 containing a float controlled valve means comprising a float means 8| and a valve means 62 operated thereby, which controls the ow of water through a supply tube 82 which supplies water to the float tank 88 from the upper reservoir 64 resting upon the tube 25 of the cabinet. The oat controlled valve means controls and maintains a certain level of water within the float tank 60, which level is designated by the reference character 85. Within the lower portion of the .float tank and beneath the level 88 of the water therein, there is provided an electrical heating means 88 which evaporates the water within the float tank preferably under the control of a suitable humidistat 81 mounted in the compartment 48 in order to add water vapor to the circulating air. In this way I have provided for the control of the humidity of the circulating air, as well as thermostatic control for the heating means and the control of air circulation including admission of fresh air to the cabinet.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 8, which shows the wiring diagram of the apparatus, there is shown electrical conductors 18 which supply electrical energy to the apparatus under the control of a suitable main switch 1|. The main switch 1| controls the ow of electrical energy to the electrical conductors 12. Connected to the electrical conductors 12 is the ian motor 48 which in this view, for the purpose of simplifying the illustration, is shown as provided with a propeller type fan 13 for providing air circulation. In the upper portion of this figure, there is shown partially diagrammatically the reservoir 84 with the tube 82 leading therefrom to the evaporating means or float tank 80.' Mounted upon the float arm of the float 5I of the float tank 80 there is provided a mercury type switch 14 which is connected by an electrical conductor 15 with one oi the electrical conductors 12 and by an electrical conductor 16 with a suitable relay 11 which control the supply of electrical energy through the electrical conductors 18 to the electrical heating means 85. When the iioat 8| is in normal position, the switch 14 remains closed and permits the electric heating means to operate under control of the humidistat 81. However, should the water level 55 be reduced a predetermined amount, the switch 14 will open the relay circuits 15, 16, and prevent the heating means from operating when the water level is too low because of some failure of the apparatus or neglect of an attendant or nurse. The humidistat 81 is in series with the switch 14 and the relay 11, and thus through the relay 11 controls the application of electric energy to the electrical heating means 88 'so as to control the amount of water vapor provided by the evaporating means 88.

In the lower portion oi' Fig. 3 is shown the strip heaters 54, each of which is provided with a suitable manual switch 88 in order to provide a manual control of the heating means and of the application of electric energyto each of the strip heaters. The strip heaters 54 are connected to one of the electrical conductors 12 and through a relay switch 8| to the other of the electrical conductors 12. The relay switch 8|, which controls the application of electric energy to the strip heaters 54, is controlled either by the manual switches or by either of the thermosaic swiches 55 or 51. The relay 8l is provided with electric energy for its operation through electrical conductors 82 which supply electric 'energy from the electrical conductors 12. The

rectal thermometer 51, which may be an indicating recording potentiometer with suitable control devices in order to provide a thermostatic control of the flow oi' electric energy is connected in series with one of the electrical conductors 82. This rectal thermometer and thermostat 51 must be very accurate. A manual switch 85 is shunted around the rectal thermometer and thermostat 51 so that this may be cut out and the heating controlled either manually or by the air thermostat 58. Within this 9,098,810 `portion of the electric circuit provided by the electrical conductors 82 there is also provided a special safety fuse Il which is so made that it will blow out or prevent the flow of current and thus permit the relay li lto open when its tem- .perature reaches some suitable figure, such as In series with this safety fuse and the rectal thermostat 51 and` switch Il is. the air thermostat 56 which is situated within the compartment 48.1 This thermostat 56 is also adapted to control the electric energy flowing to the strip heaters Il through the medium. of the relay 8|.

.- nThis thermostat 6G is also provided with-a shunt under-the control of the switch 85 which permits the thermostat to be cut out of this portion of the circuit so that either a manual control or a control by the rectal thermostat 5T may be employed. As stated before, these thermostats control the energization of the relay 8i a fever is produced which can be accurately controlled both manually and by the automatic control devices which I have provided. TheYA temperature of the air and the percentage humidity thereof may be varied through rather wide limits.

In general any temperature ranging from a temperature slightly above the fever temperature desired up to the highest temperature endurable by the human body,I with percentage humidity coordinated therewith, may be used, although -from a comfort standpoint I prefer to avoid eX- treme high limits of temperature and humidity. I have found that very good results are obtained when the air temperature is maintained between 130 F.-150 F. with percentage humidity between 89%49%. In this range, when it is desired to bring about the condition of fever within a period of about one hourfI recommend the use of a Awet bulb temperature of 126 corresponding to the following temperatures and humidities as indicated on any standard temperature-humidity chart:

Percent Temperature humidity asss'a'aaeaae 'I'he forced draft air circulation aids materially in making the patient comfortable while the fever is being produced and maintained.- As soon as the treatment 4is over, the heaters and the humidier may be turned off so that the patient may `return gradually to normal condition. I ind that my apparatus by reason of its excellent air circulation, temperature control, and humidity control will rapidly raise the body temperature to the desired gure in a very short time and willmaintain that temperature as long as des ired. Thus, I have provided a method of and apparatus for producing a fever within a short time and maintaining the fever as long as desired while keeping the patient as 'comfortable as possible during the febrile period.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be-adopted, all coming -within Lthe scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

l. A body temperature controlling apparatus comprising walls forming a cabinet having a main compartment for receiving the body portion of a human body with the head extending without the main compartment at one end thereof and with the feetat the other end thereof, means for creating an artificial fever in the human body including means for` heating and humidifying air, duct means for conducting air between the foot end of the main compartment and the head end of the main compartment, and forced draft means for circulating air through said duct means.

of, means for creating an artificial fever in the human body including means for heating and humidifying air, duct means for conducting air between the foot end of the main compartment and the head end of the main compartment, and

forced draft means forcirculating air through .said duct means and means for controlling the circulation of air.

3. A body temperaturel controlling apparatus comprising walls forming a cabinet having a main compartment for receiving the body portion of a human body with the head extending'without the main compartment at one end thereof and with the feet at the other end thereof, means for creating an artificial fever in the human body including means for heating andY humidifying air, duct means for conducting air between the foot end of the main compartment and the head end of the main compartment, and forced draft means for circulating air through 'said duc't means and adoor and door opening for admittingfresh air to the duct means when desired. r v

4. 'I'he method of artificially inducing fever in the human body which method comprises subjecting the human body to a surrounding atmosphere by circulating said atmosphere over the body, and controlling and correlating the relative l I and humidity of the air in accordance with the body temperature of the human body. 6. The methodof artiicially inducing fever in a human body which comprises subjecting the human body to circulatory currents of air therearound, and in coordinating the temperature and humidity of such circulatory air so as to articially induce a controllable fever in the body. 7. The method of articially inducing fever v in thehuman body which method comprises sub- A temperature limit o! about the ultimate body temperature desired and a higher' temperature limit endurablebythehumanbody.andahu midity oi the order of 50% to '15%, and circulating the said atmosphere over the body. t

9. The method of artificially inducing fever in the human body which comprises subjecting the human body to a surrounding atmosphere maintained at a temperature of about 135 Il'. to 155 F. and at ahumidity oi the order oi' 50% to 75%, and circulating the said atmosphere over the IDWIN'GSITILIR.

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