Medical-electronic body fluid accounting system
First Claim
1. A body fluid medical-electronic accounting system for use in surgical procedures to afford a running account of fluid balance constituted by the ratio of the total fluid intake to a patient to the total fluid outtake therefrom, said system comprising:
- A. a digital computer;
B. a plurality of data channels coupled to the computer related to the prevailing fluid input and output sources associated with the patient in the course of a given surgical procedure, each data channel including a sensor to sense a respective fluid to produce an analog signal as a function thereof, one of said output source channels having its sensor coupled to means for measuring the amount of blood and other fluids extracted from the patient by a sponge in the course of said surgical procedure, and means to convert the signal from each of the sensors in the system into a corresponding digital value to be entered into the computer, the computer digesting the data acquired by the respective channels and performing computations to yield a fluid input total and a fluid output total; and
C. display means coupled to the computer to indicate said input and output totals to provide a reading of the fluid balance.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A medical-electronic body fluid accounting system for use in surgical procedures and in post-operative and non-surgical care to afford a running account of the fluid intake to a patient and fluid outtake therefrom. The system is provided with a microcomputer to which is applied digital data derived from a plurality of fluid input source channels and fluid output source channels which together represent the prevailing fluid input and output sources associated with the patient. Included in the input source channels are those monitoring the flow of fluids being fed intraveneously into the patient, each such input channel having a sensor which generates a signal representing the volume of a particular fluid, such as a saline solution, being infused into the patient, this signal being converted into a corresponding digital value. Included in the output source channels is one having a sensor generating a signal representing the amount of fluid discharged through a urinary or other catheter, and another generating a signal representing the amount of exudate drawn from the surgical site, and still another to measure the amount of blood taken from the patient by sponges. On the basis of data acquired by the input and output channels, the computer yields a fluid intake total and a fluid outtake total, which totals are displayed to indicate the prevailing fluid balance.
179 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A body fluid medical-electronic accounting system for use in surgical procedures to afford a running account of fluid balance constituted by the ratio of the total fluid intake to a patient to the total fluid outtake therefrom, said system comprising:
-
A. a digital computer; B. a plurality of data channels coupled to the computer related to the prevailing fluid input and output sources associated with the patient in the course of a given surgical procedure, each data channel including a sensor to sense a respective fluid to produce an analog signal as a function thereof, one of said output source channels having its sensor coupled to means for measuring the amount of blood and other fluids extracted from the patient by a sponge in the course of said surgical procedure, and means to convert the signal from each of the sensors in the system into a corresponding digital value to be entered into the computer, the computer digesting the data acquired by the respective channels and performing computations to yield a fluid input total and a fluid output total; and C. display means coupled to the computer to indicate said input and output totals to provide a reading of the fluid balance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
Specification