Intravenous Flow Rate Controller
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining a rate of fluid flow in a fluid delivery system comprising a drip chamber and a length of tubing, the apparatus comprising:
- a. a cradle configured to receive the drip chamber;
b. a valve configured to receive the length of tubing and to control a rate of fluid flow through the length of tubing; and
c. a flow rate determination element configured to determine a flow rate of fluid passing through the drip chamber, the flow rate determination element comprising, a camera for imaging activity within the drip chamber, a computing device, a memory storage coupled to the computing device, and a set of software instructions stored in the memory storage which when executed by the computing device causes the apparatus to carry out functions, the functions comprising;
detecting a presence of a drop of fluid falling within the drip chamber;
in response to the detecting, triggering the camera to capture a first image of the drip chamber with the drop falling therein;
capturing a second image of the drip chamber with no drop falling therein;
subtracting from the first image portions of the second image that appear in substantially the same position in each of the first and second images in order to create a drop image; and
determining a volume of the drop based on the drop image.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Tilting of a drip chamber from its vertical axis during fluid administration can have negative effects upon the accuracy of systems configured for drop counting and/or for volumetric measurement of individual drops passing through the drip chamber. To address these negative effects, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a fluid delivery system that measures the flow volume of a fluid delivery system is disclosed, which includes an imaging apparatus that captures a first image of a drip chamber while a drop is falling therein and a second image of the drip chamber with no drop. Portions of each image that are in substantially the same position in each image are subtracted.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for determining a rate of fluid flow in a fluid delivery system comprising a drip chamber and a length of tubing, the apparatus comprising:
-
a. a cradle configured to receive the drip chamber; b. a valve configured to receive the length of tubing and to control a rate of fluid flow through the length of tubing; and c. a flow rate determination element configured to determine a flow rate of fluid passing through the drip chamber, the flow rate determination element comprising, a camera for imaging activity within the drip chamber, a computing device, a memory storage coupled to the computing device, and a set of software instructions stored in the memory storage which when executed by the computing device causes the apparatus to carry out functions, the functions comprising; detecting a presence of a drop of fluid falling within the drip chamber; in response to the detecting, triggering the camera to capture a first image of the drip chamber with the drop falling therein; capturing a second image of the drip chamber with no drop falling therein; subtracting from the first image portions of the second image that appear in substantially the same position in each of the first and second images in order to create a drop image; and determining a volume of the drop based on the drop image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method for determining a flow rate of fluid delivered by a fluid delivery system, the fluid delivery system including a drip chamber, the method comprising:
-
detecting a presence of a drop in the drip chamber; in response to the detecting, capturing a first image of the drip chamber and the drop falling therein; capturing a second image of the drip chamber with no drop falling therein; subtracting from the first image any portions of the second image that appear in substantially the same position in both the first and second images in order to create a drop image; determining a volume of the drop based on said drop image; repeating the preceding steps for successive detected drops over a predetermined period of time; and summing the determined volumes of successive detected drops and dividing the sum by the predetermined period of time to provide a flow rate. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
-
Specification