Patient temperature repeating system and method
First Claim
1. A patient temperature repeating system for repeating a resistance level from a patient temperature sensor that varies its resistance level in accordance with patient temperature whereby the resistance level of the patient temperature sensor is accessible by at least one medical instrument without connecting the patient temperature sensor directly with the medical instrument, said system comprising:
- an input connector configured for connection of the patient temperature sensor thereto;
an output connector configured for connection of at least one medical instrument thereto;
a variable resistance device controllable to provide a variable resistance level to said output connector; and
a controller operable to obtain the resistance level provided by a patient temperature sensor connected to said input connector, said controller being further operable to control said variable resistance device to establish the resistance level provided by said variable resistance device to said output connector in accordance with the resistance level obtained from the patient temperature sensor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A patient temperature repeating system and a method of repeating patient temperature information from a resistive-type patient temperature sensor allow one or more medical instruments to utilize a single patient temperature sensor. In one embodiment, the patient temperature repeating system (10) includes input and output connectors (12, 14), a microprocessor (20), optical isolators (22), a coarse digital potentiometer (24) in parallel with a fine digital potentiometer (26), a current sense resistor (28), amplifiers (30A, 30B), analog-to-digital converters (32A, 32B), a filter (34), fuses (36), a non-volatile memory device (38), and a relay (40). In operation, the microprocessor (20) reads the resistance level of a resistive-type patient temperature sensor (16) connected to the input connector (12) and provides the appropriate control signals through the optical isolators (22) to the coarse and fine digital potentiometers (24, 26) in order to set the resistance seen by a medical device (18) connected to the output connector (14) to match that of the patient temperature sensor (16).
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A patient temperature repeating system for repeating a resistance level from a patient temperature sensor that varies its resistance level in accordance with patient temperature whereby the resistance level of the patient temperature sensor is accessible by at least one medical instrument without connecting the patient temperature sensor directly with the medical instrument, said system comprising:
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an input connector configured for connection of the patient temperature sensor thereto;
an output connector configured for connection of at least one medical instrument thereto;
a variable resistance device controllable to provide a variable resistance level to said output connector; and
a controller operable to obtain the resistance level provided by a patient temperature sensor connected to said input connector, said controller being further operable to control said variable resistance device to establish the resistance level provided by said variable resistance device to said output connector in accordance with the resistance level obtained from the patient temperature sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of repeating a resistance level from a patient temperature sensor that varies its resistance level in accordance with patient temperature whereby the resistance level of the patient temperature sensor is accessible by at least one medical instrument without connecting the patient temperature sensor directly with the medical instrument, said method comprising the steps of:
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monitoring the resistance level of the patient temperature sensor;
generating a control signal based on the monitored resistance level;
transmitting the control signal to a variable resistance device; and
establishing a setting of the variable resistance device in response to the control signal to provide an output resistance level to the medical instrument which corresponds with the monitored resistance level. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A system for repeating a resistance level from a patient temperature sensor that varies its resistance level in accordance with patient temperature whereby the resistance level of the patient temperature sensor is accessible by at least one medical instrument without connecting the patient temperature sensor directly with the medical instrument, said system comprising:
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input means for connecting the patient temperature sensor thereto;
output means for connecting at least one medical instrument thereto;
variable resistance means for providing a variable resistance level to said output means; and
control means for obtaining the resistance level provided by a patient temperature sensor connected to said input means and establishing the resistance level provided by said variable resistance means to said output means in accordance with the resistance level obtained from the patient temperature sensor. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification