Flow meter and related method

• US 10,436,342 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2018
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deka Products Limited Partnership
• Original Assignee: Deka Products Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Peret, Bob D., Kane, Derek G., Kamen, Dean, Murphy, Colin H., Kerwin, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pontius, James M
• Application Number:
  US16/162,609
• Publication Number:
  US 20190049029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 356 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14208 with a programmable infusion control system, characterised by the infusion program
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3306 Optical measuring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3334 Measuring or controlling the flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3576 with non implanted data transmission devices, e.g. using external transmitter or receiver
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/502 User interfaces, e.g. screens or keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/281 Automatic tube cut-off devices, e.g. squeezing tube on detection of air
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/284 Lever clamps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14 Infusion devices, e.g. infusing by gravity; Blood infusion; Accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1411 Drip chambers A61M5/162, A61M5/1689, A61M5/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14212 Pumping with an aspiration and an expulsion action
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16804 Flow controllers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16877 Adjusting flow; Devices for setting a flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16881 Regulating valves on-off valves, e.g. clamps A61M39/28
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16886 for measuring fluid flow rate, i.e. flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1689 Drip counters
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/172 electrical or electronic A61M5/16804, A61M5/16831 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/2018 comprising a valve or like element which is opened or closed by deformation of the container or closure
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 1/00 Lift valves or globe valves, i.e. cut-off apparatus with closure members having at least a component of their opening and closing motion perpendicular to the closing faces in combination with sliding valves F16K3/246, F16K3/267 ; diaphragm valves F16K7/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 27/00 Construction of housing methods for welding housings B23K; Use of materials therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/02 : electric F16K31/004 takes precedence; magnetic
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 7/04 : constrictable by external radial force
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 7/06 : by means of a screw-spindle, cam, or other mechanical means F16K7/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/041 : Allowing quick release of the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/00 : Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles heads thereof F16M11/02 ; undercarriages thereof F16M11/20 ; adapted to be stuck in the ground A45F3/44 ; sockets or holders for poles or posts E04H12/22; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles supports for measuring instruments G01D11/30; supports for casings of remote control switching devices H01H9/025
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/022 : repositionable
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/661 : using light
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 11/30 : with supply and discharge valves of the lift or plug-lift type
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 : electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/0635 : by action on throttling means G05D7/0688, G05D7/0694 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 : Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20182 : Noise reduction or smoothing in the temporal domain; Spatio-temporal filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20224 : Image subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 : Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 : Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/18 : Image warping, e.g. rearranging pixels individually
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 : using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 : Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 : Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 : Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/60 : Analysis of geometric attributes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/141 : Control of illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/30 : Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/42 : Global feature extraction by analysis of the whole pattern, e.g. using frequency domain transformations or autocorrelation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/75 : Organisation of the matching processes, e.g. simultaneous or sequential comparisons of image or video features; Coarse-fine approaches, e.g. multi-scale approaches; using context analysis; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/758 : Involving statistics of pixels or of feature values, e.g. histogram matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/761 : Proximity, similarity or dissimilarity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/19073 : Comparing statistics of pixel or of feature values, e.g. histogram matching
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 : delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 : for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 : for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7287 : Liquid level responsive or maintaining systems

Abstract

A flow meter, and related method, include a coupler adapted to couple to a drip chamber, a support member operatively coupled to the coupler, an image sensor and a backlight. The image sensor has a field of view and is operatively coupled to the support member. The backlight is adapted to illuminate the image sensor to expose the image sensor such that the field of view of the image sensor at least partially images at least a portion of the drip chamber. A processor receives image data from the image sensor to select a region of interest of the image sensor, determine whether a pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest, activate the at least one light of the backlight when the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest, and expose the pixel of the image sensor.

Claims

1. A method for exposing an image sensor implemented by an operative set of processor executable instructions configured for execution by at least one processor, the method comprising:

selecting a region of interest;

determining when a pixel is within the region of interest;

activating a light of a backlight when the pixel is within the region of interest; and

exposing the pixel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operative set of processor executable instructions is stored on a non-transitory processor-readable memory in operative communication with the at least one processor such that the at least one processor can perform the method.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor performs the method using the image sensor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the region of interest is a region of the image sensor that images a drip chamber.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the region of interest corresponds to a drip chamber.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the activating act activates a subset of lights including the light of the backlight.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light of the backlight forms a uniform backlight.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a vertical sync signal from the image sensor; and

receiving a horizontal sync signal from the image sensor.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one processor receives the vertical and horizontal sync signals from the image sensor.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one processor activates the light of the backlight in accordance with at least one of the vertical and horizontal sync signals.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the light is a light-emitting diode.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor includes the region of interest and the pixel.

13. A flow meter, comprising:

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;

a backlight having at least one light, wherein the backlight is coupled to the support member, wherein the backlight is adapted to illuminate the image sensor to expose the image sensor such that the field of view of the image sensor at least partially images at least a portion of the drip chamber; 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;

select a region of interest of the image sensor,

determine whether a pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest,

activate the at least one light of the backlight when the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest, and

expose the pixel of the image sensor.

14. The flow meter according to claim 13, further comprising a non-transitory processor-readable memory readable by the at least one processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable memory includes an operative set of processor executable instructions stored thereon configured to cause the at least one processor, when executed, to:

select the region of interest of the image sensor;

determine whether the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest;

activate the at least one light of the backlight when the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest; and

expose the pixel of the image sensor.

15. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the at least one processor selects the region of interest and determines if the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest in accordance with the image data.

16. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the region of interest is a region of the image sensor that images the drip chamber.

17. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the region of interest corresponds to the drip chamber.

18. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the at least one processor activates a subset of lights including the at least one light of the backlight.

19. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the at least one light of the backlight forms a uniform backlight.

20. The flow meter according to claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive a vertical sync signal from the image sensor; and

receive a horizontal sync signal from the image sensor.

21. The flow meter according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to activate the at least one light of the backlight in accordance with at least one of the vertical and horizontal sync signals.