System, method, and apparatus for monitoring, regulating, or controlling fluid flow
First Claim
1. A method for adjusting a flow rate of a fluid line, the method comprising:
- capturing an image of a drip chamber using an image sensor;
identifying a plurality of pixels of interest within the image;
determining a subset of pixels within the plurality of pixels of interest, wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels of interest is determined to be within the subset of pixels when there is a path to a baseline corresponding to the drip chamber;
performing a rotation operation on the subset of pixels;
estimating a volume of a drop within the drip chamber by counting a number of pixels within the rotated subset of pixels; and
adjusting a flow rate of fluid flowing through the fluid line.
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Abstract
A method for adjusting a flow rate of a fluid line is disclosed that includes one or more acts of: capturing an image of a drip chamber using an image sensor; identifying a plurality of pixels of interest within the image;
determining a subset of pixels within the plurality of pixels of interest, wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels is determined to be within the subset of pixels when there is a path to a baseline corresponding to the drip chamber; performing a rotation operation on the subset of pixels; estimating a volume of the drop within the drip chamber by counting a number of pixels within the rotated subset of pixels; and/or adjusting a flow rate of fluid flowing through a fluid line.
385 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method for adjusting a flow rate of a fluid line, the method comprising:
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capturing an image of a drip chamber using an image sensor; identifying a plurality of pixels of interest within the image; determining a subset of pixels within the plurality of pixels of interest, wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels of interest is determined to be within the subset of pixels when there is a path to a baseline corresponding to the drip chamber; performing a rotation operation on the subset of pixels; estimating a volume of a drop within the drip chamber by counting a number of pixels within the rotated subset of pixels; and adjusting a flow rate of fluid flowing through the fluid line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A flow meter, comprising:
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a coupler adapted to couple to a drip chamber; a support member operatively coupled to the coupler; an image sensor having a field of view and operatively coupled to the support member, wherein the image sensor is positioned to view the drip chamber within the field of view; and at least one processor operatively coupled to the image sensor to receive image data therefrom, wherein the at least one processor is configured to; capture an image of the drip chamber using the image sensor; identify a plurality of pixels of interest within the image; determine a subset of pixels within the plurality of pixels of interest, wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels of interest is determined to be within the subset of pixels when there is a path to a baseline corresponding to the drip chamber; perform a rotation operation on the subset of pixels; and estimate a volume of a drop within the drip chamber by counting a number of pixels within the rotated subset of pixels. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification