Technical Field

The invention relates to a system which is developed for use in medical/health field and neonatal intensive care units and performs the darkening process electrooptically for maintaining a feeling of mother’s womb in infants.

Prior Art

Today, a darkening process in neonatal intensive care units is performed in incubators in order for the term and preterm infants to feel as in the mothers’ womb and peaceful, to be supported for secreting growth hormone with a dark-light balance and to be adapted to the environment with a day-night balance. Besides, protection of the sensitive retinas of infants and blockage of the UV light transmittance are among the objects of the darkening process.

In the state of the art, said darkening process is achieved by covering incubator with materials such as a cover, a cloth, a fabric. These materials both cause an untidy appearance and difficulty in intervention and disrupt sterility of the environment which should be sterile. This is because said materials are among the primitive materials which are untidy and do not remain sterile.

In addition, a problem with non-homogeneity of the light filtered through the incubator arises in the systems/methods used for darkening process, leading to the inability to provide a suitable environment especially for infants with life-threatening risks.

Sterilization is an important issue in the hospital environments, specifically in the neonatal units, and a sterile environment should be provided in a best way possible to protect the immune system of the infant, which is not yet developed.

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, there is a need for developing incubators to eliminate said disadvantages. Brief Description of the Invention

The object of the invention is to develop an electrooptical system compatible with all kinds of incubators, wherein the system is sterile, eliminates the untidiness, operates by changing the optical properties thereof with the voltage applied thereon, enables the light filtered therethrough to be homogeneous and provides ease of use, in order to maintain a feeling of mother’s womb in infants.

Description of Figures

Figure 1 is a representative view of a block diagram of the system according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a view of a flow chart of the system according to the invention.

Description of the References in the Figures

In order to provide a better understanding of the invention, the numerals in the flow chart are provided below:

1. System

1.1 Electrooptical material

1.2 Control unit

1.3 Converting unit

1.4 Power management and storage unit

1.5 Keypad

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention relates to a system (1) in which a structure with an electrooptical characteristic operates by changing its optical properties within milliseconds with a voltage applied preferably on a Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal or Suspended Particle Device. Said system (1) is resistant to the disinfection procedures such as application of chemicals, alcohol, disinfectants, soaps and water, in the hospital environments. The system (1) of the invention developed for electrooptical darkening process comprises an electrooptical material (1.1) which allows light transmittance by the particles in its structure being become regular with a voltage applied thereon, blocks light transmittance to a certain extent by being irregular when there is no voltage and is located along all surfaces of the incubator glass; at least one control unit (1.2) which enables the incubator to operate stable and allows the information input by the users to be processed; at least one converting unit (1.3) which converts the energy from a power management and storage unit (1.4) into AC voltage needed by the system (1); at least one power management and storage unit (1.4) which is activated in case of a power failure; and at least one keypad (1.5) which allows users to select a mode.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrooptical material (1.1) is a film material. In the system (1) of the invention, the electrooptical material (1.1) is a Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal or a Suspended Particle Device. It preferably operates at a voltage of 36VAC and preferably has a switching time of 10 ms. When a voltage is applied thereon, the particles in the film structure become regular and allow light transmittance. When there is no voltage, the particulate structure becomes irregular and blocks the light transmittance. As a result of the optical tests, the visible light transmittance is reduced by 78.8% in the irregular state.

The system (1) is fed by city electricity of 220VAC(+-10%)/60Hz as a primary source. A power management and storage unit (1.4) is activated, which is a secondary source in case of a power failure and is preferably an internal lead-acid battery of 12VDC, and the AC voltage suitable for the system (1) is converted into a modified signal of 220VAC by the converting unit (1.3). The selection between these two sources is made automatically by the control unit (1.2) according to the power failure situation. The system (1) is fed by the primary source, i.e. The mains voltage, whereas it also charges the power management and storage unit (1.4) which is the secondary source. The charging system has a reverse voltage protection and a current limiting circuit and is fully protected against any high current draw or fire possibility.

The system (1) may restart itself within very short periods of time (millisecond) instantaneously during the source selection. In this case, at least one ARM-based micro-controller (not shown and enumerated in figures) which is located on the control unit (1.2) and comprises an embedded software re-designed specific to the system (1) keeps the latest situation before the power failure of the system (1) in the memory thereof and enables the system (1) to resume automatically after an instant power loss. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as the operating voltage of the electrooptical material (1.1) is 36VAC, a common voltage of 220VAC provided to the system (1) is enabled by being converted into 36VAC by at least one transformer (not shown and enumerated in figures).

The right, left, front, rear and hood parts of the system (1) may be managed separately. Said management process may be carried out by selecting the parts desired to be activated via the keypad (1.5), preferably with 3 separate mods as Dark-light, Phototherapy and Key Lock. After the selection, the voltage of 36VAC is driven by the solid state relay (SSR) of the part to be managed. The electromagnetic interference and compatibility criteria are fulfilled by coating the electrooptical material (1.1) with a “thermoplastic polyurethane material” with a high dielectric strength coefficient. The thermoplastic polyurethane material has a dielectric strength coefficient higher than the plexiglass which is the hood material of the incubators in the current art.

An electrooptical film coating is applied on the hood of the current plexiglass incubators. This is driven by an electronic card designed specific to the system (1) of the invention and changes the optic properties thereof depending on the voltage applied thereon.

According to the flow chart shown in the figure, first the system (1) is started. Then, whether a power failure occurred is checked. Depending on the situation, the power management and storage unit (1.4) of the system (1), or the relays for being operated via the mains are activated. Then, the control unit (1.2) checks if the key lock mode is switched or not. In the key lock mode, the system (1) is not able to receive any commands and keeps the current situation thereof. When the key lock is not active, it is checked if the dark mode is active. If no, it returns to the Key lock block. If yes, the relays to be located on the electrooptical material (1.1) darken the hood part, and then, the software in the control unit (1.2) controls the phototherapy mode. If the phototherapy mode is no, it closes the hood part and returns to the key lock control block. If the phototherapy mode is yes, it opens the hood part and returns to the key lock control block. Industrial Applicability of the Invention

The invention relates to a system (1) developed for use in medical/health field and neonatal intensive care units, which is sterile, eliminates the untidiness, operates by changing the optical properties thereof with the voltage applied thereon, enables the light filtered therethrough to be homogeneous and provides ease of use, in order to maintain a feeling of mother’s womb in infants, and may be applied to the industry.

The invention is not limited to the foregoing exemplary explanations, and one person skilled in the art may easily reveal the different embodiments of the invention. These should be considered within the scope of protection of the invention claimed in the claims.