Negative pressure dressing and method of using same

Abstract

Disclosed herein are apparatuses and methods for treating, a wound by applying reduced or negative pressure to the wound. The apparatus can include a wound cover, a fluid collection container, a vacuum pump, an inflation pump, and one or more conduits. The wound cover can be configured to move between at least a relatively rigid, generally raised position and a relatively flexible, generally collapsed position according to a predetermined program or in response to input from a user or one or more sensors. In some embodiments, the wound cover can be configured to move between at least the relatively rigid, generally raised position and the relatively flexible, generally collapsed position by adjusting the air pressure in one or more channels in the wound cover or by adjusting the length of piezoelectric or other length changing material supported by the wound cover.

1 - 77 . (canceled) 
     
     
         78 . A method of treating a wound, comprising:
 positioning a wound cover over a wound to define a space between at least a portion of the wound cover and the wound;   applying negative pressure to a space between the wound cover and the wound;   detecting blood flow rate adjacent to the wound; and   selectively controlling the level of negative pressure between the wound cover and the wound based on the blood flow rate.   
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected blood flow rate exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         80 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected blood flow rate exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         81 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected blood flow rate falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         82 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected blood flow rate falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         83 . The method of  claim 78 , wherein the blood flow rate is detected via a sensor. 
     
     
         84 . The method of  claim 83 , wherein the sensor comprises a light emitting sensor. 
     
     
         85 . The method of  claim 83 , wherein the sensor comprises a laser Doppler sensor. 
     
     
         86 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising changing the configuration of the wound cover when the detected blood flow rate crosses a threshold determined by a second sensor. 
     
     
         87 . The method of  claim 83 , wherein the sensor is configured to detect an amount of oxygen in a portion of the blood flowing into or adjacent to the wound. 
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 78 , further comprising a second sensor configured to detect an amount of oxygen in a portion of the blood flowing into or adjacent to the wound. 
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 92 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 92 , further comprising increasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 92 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen exceeds a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 92 , further comprising decreasing the amount of negative pressure when the detected amount of oxygen falls below a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising changing the configuration of the wound cover when a detected amount of oxygen in a portion of the blood flowing into or adjacent to the wound is above or below a predetermined value.