Apparatus for determining the volume of a bellows reservoir for medication in an implantable infusion system
First Claim
1. In an implantable infusion system having a bellows reservoir for containing medication to be infused, said bellows reservoir having an inlet port, the improvement of an apparatus for determining the volume of said bellows reservoir, said apparatus comprising:
- pressure gauge means for measuring a pressure which is present exclusively in said bellows reservoir, and for generating a signal corresponding to the measured pressure; and
means for storing a predetermined relationship between pressure and volume of said bellows reservoir, to which said signal from said pressure gauge means is supplied, and for generating a signal identifying a volume corresponding to said measured pressure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method and apparatus for determining the volume of a bellows reservoir for medication in an infusion system which is implantable in a patient, the pressure in the reservoir is measured and the corresponding volume is determined from a predetermined relationship between pressure and volume. A pressure gauge is disposed for measuring the pressure in the bellows reservoir, and a signal corresponding to the measured pressure is supplied to a memory unit wherein a corresponding volume is determined from the measured pressure value by means of the predetermined relationship between pressure and volume being stored in the memory unit.
117 Citations
6 Claims
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1. In an implantable infusion system having a bellows reservoir for containing medication to be infused, said bellows reservoir having an inlet port, the improvement of an apparatus for determining the volume of said bellows reservoir, said apparatus comprising:
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pressure gauge means for measuring a pressure which is present exclusively in said bellows reservoir, and for generating a signal corresponding to the measured pressure; and means for storing a predetermined relationship between pressure and volume of said bellows reservoir, to which said signal from said pressure gauge means is supplied, and for generating a signal identifying a volume corresponding to said measured pressure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A medical infusion system comprising:
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a bellows reservoir for containing medication to be infused; pressure gauge means for measuring a pressure which is present exclusively in said bellows reservoir, and for generating a signal corresponding to the measured pressure; means for storing a predetermined relationship between pressure and volume of said bellows reservoir, to which said signal from said pressure gauge means is supplied, and for generating a signal identifying a volume corresponding to said measured pressure; an implantable unit in which said bellows reservoir and said pressure gauge means are contained; an external programmer in which said means for storing said predetermined relationship is contained; and means for telemetrically communicating between said pressure gauge means and said means for storing said predetermined relationship.
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Specification