Medical gas cylinder alarm and monitoring system and method

• US 20080150739A1
• Filed: 12/26/2006
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Praxair Technology Incorporated (Linde Plc)
• Original Assignee: Praxair Technology Incorporated (Linde Plc)
• Inventors: Gamard, Stephan C.F.
• Application Number:
  US11/645,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20080150739A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/626
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 13/003 Means for coding or identifying them and/or their contents
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2205/05 Vessel or content identifications, e.g. labels
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/032 using computers
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/036 using alarms
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/043 Pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/0443 Flow or movement of content
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/0473 Time or time periods
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2270/02 for medical applications
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2270/025 Breathing

Abstract

A medical gas cylinder monitoring and alarm device is provided. The medical gas cylinder monitoring and alarm device is a portable device that provides a monitoring function for one or more cylinders and may be carried by a patient or respiratory therapist or may be removably affixed to a medical gas cylinder. The monitoring device is a processor based device adapted to receive selected user inputs for a specific medical gas cylinder application and determine the estimated time remaining before the medical gas cylinder is emptied. The device displays the time remaining for the medical gas cylinder and is also adapted to provide visual and audible alarm notifications when the gas cylinder is near empty.

Claims

1. A medical gas cylinder alarm and monitoring device comprising:

a portable housing adapted to be removably affixed to a medical gas cylinder;

a user interface coupled to the housing and adapted to receive selected user inputs;

an output disposed within the housing and adapted to provide an alarm notification; and

a processor disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the user interface and the output, the processor adapted to ascertain the remaining duration until the pressure in the medical gas cylinder reaches a prescribed pressure threshold value based on the user inputs and provide a signal to the output when remaining duration reaches an alarm threshold.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the output further comprises a visual display.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the output further comprises an audible alarm.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein the output is further adapted to display the duration remaining until the gas cylinder pressure reaches the prescribed pressure threshold.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the selected user inputs include gas cylinder size, gas cylinder pressure, and flow rate.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the prescribed threshold value is 500 psig.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the housing is magnetically affixed to the medical gas cylinder.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the housing is affixed to the medical gas cylinder with a hook and loop attachment mechanism.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the housing is attached to the medical gas cylinder with a strap.

10. A gas cylinder alarm and monitoring device comprising:

a portable housing;

a user interface coupled to the housing and adapted to receive selected user inputs;

a processor disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the user interface, the processor adapted to ascertain a remaining duration until a medical gas cylinder is near empty and an alarm threshold value based on the user inputs and produce an alarm command when the remaining duration reaches the alarm threshold; and

an output display operatively coupled to the processor and adapted to visually display the remaining duration and display an alarm notification in response to the alarm command from the processor.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the selected user inputs include gas cylinder size, gas cylinder content, and flow rate.

12. The device of claim 10 wherein the device further comprises an audible alarm operatively coupled to the processor and adapted to provide an audible alarm warning in response to the alarm command from the processor.

13. The device of claim 10 wherein the device is further adapted to monitor a plurality of medical gas cylinders and the selected user inputs for each medical gas cylinder include gas cylinder size, gas cylinder contents, flow rate, and patient identification.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the output display is further adapted to display for each medical gas cylinder the duration remaining until the medical gas cylinder is near empty.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein the output display is further adapted to display for each medical gas cylinder the duration remaining until the medical gas cylinder is near empty.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of affixing the processor based portable monitoring device to the medical gas cylinder.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the alarm notification further comprises an audible alarm.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the alarm notification further comprises a visual alarm

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the processor based portable monitoring device is further adapted to monitor a plurality of medical gas cylinders and the steps further comprise:

inputting selected user inputs including gas cylinder size, gas cylinder pressure, flow rate and patient identification for each medical gas cylinder to the processor based portable monitoring device;

calculating the duration remaining for each medical gas cylinder;

setting the alarm threshold for each medical gas cylinder; and

displaying the duration remaining for each medical gas cylinder on the output display of the processor-based portable monitoring device.

15-1. A method of monitoring a medical gas cylinder comprising the steps of:

inputting selected user inputs including gas cylinder size, gas cylinder content, and flow rate to a processor based portable monitoring device;

calculating a duration remaining until the medical gas cylinder is near empty based on the selected user inputs;

setting an alarm threshold; and

displaying the duration remaining until the medical gas cylinder is near empty on an output display of the processor-based portable monitoring device; and

providing an alarm notification when the duration remaining reaches the alarm threshold value.