Apparatus and Method for Generating Nitric Oxide in Controlled and Accurate Amounts

Abstract

A nitric oxide generator generates nitric oxide from a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen such as air treated by a pulsating electrical discharge. The desired concentration of nitric oxide is obtained by controlling at least one of a frequency of the pulsating electrical discharge and duration of each electrical discharge pulse.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A nitric oxide generation system comprising:
 a housing;   a reactant gas flow path located in the housing, the reactant gas flow path configured to provide release of a pressurized reactant gas at specific flow rates to a plasma chamber;   a pair of electrodes located in the plasma chamber configured to generate a product gas containing nitric oxide using a flow of the reactant gas through the plasma chamber;   a controller configured to regulate the amount of nitric oxide generated in the reactant gas;   a disposable cartridge configured to remove NO 2  from the product gas generated by the plasma chamber, and   a connector to deliver the product gas to a patient delivery device;   wherein the controller measures a pulse frequency of a high voltage circuit and controls a pulse frequency and a PWM duty cycle of an AC voltage to maximize the effectiveness of the high voltage circuit.   
     
     
         3 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the disposable cartridge includes an inlet filter and/or an exhaust filter. 
     
     
         4 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , further comprising a filter positioned to receive NO-enriched air from the disposable cartridge and configured to filter the NO-enriched air. 
     
     
         5 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the patient delivery device is selected from a group consisting of a nasal cannula and a tube in communication with a trachea. 
     
     
         6 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the system is configured to be used with a ventilator. 
     
     
         7 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control the shape of an PWM voltage AC waveform by controlling a frequency and a duty cycle. 
     
     
         8 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , further comprising a user interface configured to allow a user to interact with the system. 
     
     
         9 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , further comprising a reactant gas source in the form of a reservoir in fluid communication with the plasma chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the reactant gas source is a pump. 
     
     
         11 . The nitric oxide generation system of  claim 2 , wherein the system is portable for use outside a hospital.