METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE PRESENCE AND CONCENTRATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL SUBSTANCES IN A MEDICAL FLUID ADMINISTERED BY A MEDICATION DELIVERY SYSTEM
First Claim
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1. A testing mechanism, comprising:
- a light source located adjacent to a medical fluid, the medical fluid within a medical delivery system and the light source configured to generate a light beam directed through a portion of the medical delivery system and the medical fluid;
a first polarizer configured to receive the light beam and to allow a portion of the light beam optically rotated by a pharmaceutical substance within the medical fluid to be transmitted through the first polarizer;
a photodetector to provide a measurement of an intensity of the portion of the light beam transmitted through the first polarizer; and
a computer configured to use the measurement of the intensity to perform a matching check to determine whether the pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid.
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Abstract
Test equipment determines the contents of medical fluids to be delivered to a patient by a medication delivery system by measuring optical properties of the fluids. One system provides a non-invasive test that uses optical rotation caused by optically active pharmaceutical substances to determine the presence or absence of the pharmaceutical substances within a medical fluid. Another system provides a non-invasive test that uses refractive index properties to determine the concentration of a pharmaceutical substance within the fluid. A method for use is also disclosed.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A testing mechanism, comprising:
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a light source located adjacent to a medical fluid, the medical fluid within a medical delivery system and the light source configured to generate a light beam directed through a portion of the medical delivery system and the medical fluid; a first polarizer configured to receive the light beam and to allow a portion of the light beam optically rotated by a pharmaceutical substance within the medical fluid to be transmitted through the first polarizer; a photodetector to provide a measurement of an intensity of the portion of the light beam transmitted through the first polarizer; and a computer configured to use the measurement of the intensity to perform a matching check to determine whether the pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A testing mechanism, comprising:
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a light source located adjacent to a medical fluid, the fluid within a medical delivery system and the light source configured to generate a light beam having a propagation axis; a prism having an incidence surface, a reflective surface, and an interface surface for receiving, reflecting and refracting the light beam from the light source; a photodetector configured to receive and measure at least one of an intensity and a position of the light beam transmitted or refracted through the medical fluid and a portion of the medical delivery system, the photodetector configured to generate an output signal representing at least one of the intensity and position of the light beam; and a computer operatively connected to the photodetector, the computer configured to receive the output signal and perform a matching check to determine a quantity of a pharmaceutical substance within the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A testing mechanism, comprising:
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a light source positioned adjacent to a medical fluid, the medical fluid within a medication delivery system and the light source configured to generate a polarized light beam directed through the medical fluid and a portion of the medical delivery system; a photodetector for providing a measurement of at least one of intensity, relative position, and relative optical rotation, of the light beam that was transmitted through the medical fluid and the portion of the medical fluid; a memory configured to store signals from the photodetector or results from calculations performed on the signals, including signals or calculations from a baseline measurement, the baseline measurement optionally including a portion of the medical delivery system present between the light source and the photodetector; and a computer operably connected to the memory and configured to use the signals or results stored in the memory to perform a matching check with respect to the baseline measurement to determine at least one of;
(i) whether a pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid; and
(ii) if the pharmaceutical substance is present, a concentration of the pharmaceutical substance present in the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of testing a medical fluid, the method comprising:
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furnishing a first medical fluid in a medical container, the first medical fluid having an expected concentration of at least one pharmaceutical substance; calibrating a testing device for optical properties using light rotation properties or refractive index of at least two test concentrations of the at least one pharmaceutical substance in the first medical fluid; calculating a lookup table of optical property values for a plurality of concentrations of the at least one pharmaceutical substance in the first medical fluid; storing the lookup table of optical property values in a computer or in a memory accessible to the computer; optionally, calibrating the testing device for an optical property of at least a portion of the medical container; introducing a second medical fluid having an expected concentration of at least one pharmaceutical substance into the testing device, wherein the second medical fluid may be the same as the first medical fluid or may be different; testing the second medical fluid for a presence of the at least one pharmaceutical substance using the optical property and determining a concentration of the at least one pharmaceutical substance; and determining whether the determined concentration is within a desired range for the second medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification