Method for transcutaneous measurement of a blood parameter and an electrochemical measuring electrode device for carrying out the method
First Claim
1. An electrochemical measuring electrode device for transcutaneous measurement of a blood parameter, said device comprising:
- a body formed of a heat conductive material, said body including a surface part for application to a skin surface in heat conductive relationship therewith, sensor means for operatively responding to said blood parameter, and first thermostating means for thermostating said body to a predetermined temperature,said device further comprising, a container-shaped jacket formed of a heat conductive material, said jacket including an annular surface part defining an opening in said jacket, said body being mounted within said jacket in spaced heat-insulating relationship therewith, said surface part of said body being substantially flush with said annular surface part so that said annular surface part is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface when said surface part of said body is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface, said jacket further including second thermostating means for thermostating said jacket to such a temperature that the heat transport or heat flux from said body is substantially unidirectional, whereby the spaced heat-insulating relationship between said body and said jacket enables said jacket to establish, in operation, a virtual heating jacket in the skin beneath said annular surface part so as to substantially direct all heat flow from said body to skin layers directly beneath said body.
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Abstract
In accordance with the principles for transcutaneous measurement of a blood parameter, such as the partial pressure of a blood gas, an electrochemical measuring electrode device (1) is applied to the skin surface (2) of a person. The electrode device has a body (10), e.g. a thick film substrate, which is thermostated to a predetermined temperature and, furthermore, includes a sensor (11) together with a membrane (14) confining an electrolyte solution within an electrolyte reservoir (15). Furthermore, the electrode device includes a jacket having an annular metallic body (16), a metallic body (4) and a thick film substrate (8), which is thermostated to the same temperature as the body (10) of the electrode device. When the body is brought into contact with the skin surface, an annular surface part of the jacket is also brought into contact with the skin surface so that a virtual heating jacket is established in the skin beneath the annular surface part so as to substantially direct all heat flow from the body to tissue directly beneath the skin surface. By measuring the power supplied for thermostating the body to the predetermined temperature, the local capillary blood flow in the tissue (2) beneath the skin is measured, and the blood parameter in question is measured by means of the sensor (11). In an alternative operational mode, the electrode device is adapted to measure deep body temperature by thermostating the jacket to a temperature so that the temperature registered by a temperature sensor of the body and the temperature registered by a temperature sensor of the jacket are identical to one another and, consequently, identical to the deep body temperature.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An electrochemical measuring electrode device for transcutaneous measurement of a blood parameter, said device comprising:
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a body formed of a heat conductive material, said body including a surface part for application to a skin surface in heat conductive relationship therewith, sensor means for operatively responding to said blood parameter, and first thermostating means for thermostating said body to a predetermined temperature, said device further comprising, a container-shaped jacket formed of a heat conductive material, said jacket including an annular surface part defining an opening in said jacket, said body being mounted within said jacket in spaced heat-insulating relationship therewith, said surface part of said body being substantially flush with said annular surface part so that said annular surface part is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface when said surface part of said body is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface, said jacket further including second thermostating means for thermostating said jacket to such a temperature that the heat transport or heat flux from said body is substantially unidirectional, whereby the spaced heat-insulating relationship between said body and said jacket enables said jacket to establish, in operation, a virtual heating jacket in the skin beneath said annular surface part so as to substantially direct all heat flow from said body to skin layers directly beneath said body. - 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)
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25. A method of transcutaneous measurement of a blood parameter, comprising:
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applying, to a skin surface of a person, an electrochemical measuring device comprising, in combination; a body formed of a heat conductive material, said body including a surface part for application to the skin surface in heat-conductive relationship therewith, sensor means for operatively responding to said blood parameter, and first thermostating means for thermostating said body to a predetermined temperature, and a container-shaped jacket formed of a heat-conductive material, said jacket including an annular surface part defining an opening in said jacket, said body being mounted within said jacket in spaced heat-insulating relationship therewith, said surface part of said body being substantially flush with said annular surface part so that said annular surface part is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface when said surface part of said body is in heat conductive relationship with the skin surface, and said jacket further including second thermostating means for thermostating said jacket to a particular temperature, thermostating said body to a predetermined temperature with said first thermostating means, thermostating said jacket to such a temperature with said second thermostating means that the heat transport or heat flux from said body is substantially unidirectional so that said jacket establishes a virtual heating jacket in the skin surrounding the periphery of said body to substantially direct all heat from said body to skin layers directly beneath said body, measuring the power supplied for thermostating said body to said predetermined temperature to enable estimation of the blood flow in the skin with which the body is in heat conductive relationship, and measuring the blood parameter by means of said sensor means. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification