Blood warming apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for warming a flow of parenteral fluid through an assembly, the assembly having an inlet and an outlet and forming a passageway for the flow of parenteral fluid through the assembly, the apparatus comprising:
- a general elongated mandrel having an exterior surface formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel;
a selectively controlled heater in conductive contact with the surface, a control circuit operably connected to the heater and including at least one first temperature sensor to sense a temperature of the mandrel at a location on the surface in close proximity to the inlet of the assembly when the assembly is placed about the mandrel and means for adjusting heat output of the heater in dependence at least in part on a rate of change of temperature sensed by the first temperature sensor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for the controlled heating of fluid comprises a general elongated electrically heating core (16) with an exterior surface (36) formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and frustoconically shaped to slidingly receive an assembly (14) so that the assembly envelops the surface along at least a portion of the length of the core. The assembly (14) forms a sealed passageway (46) for generally unidirectional sheet-like flow upward along the core (16). A control system (20) selectively operates the heating core (16) so that the fluid, under varying flow rates, is warmed to a desired temperature without overheating, before the fluid flows from the passageway (46).
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for warming a flow of parenteral fluid through an assembly, the assembly having an inlet and an outlet and forming a passageway for the flow of parenteral fluid through the assembly, the apparatus comprising:
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a general elongated mandrel having an exterior surface formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel; a selectively controlled heater in conductive contact with the surface, a control circuit operably connected to the heater and including at least one first temperature sensor to sense a temperature of the mandrel at a location on the surface in close proximity to the inlet of the assembly when the assembly is placed about the mandrel and means for adjusting heat output of the heater in dependence at least in part on a rate of change of temperature sensed by the first temperature sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An apparatus for warming a flow of parenteral fluid through an assembly, the assembly having an inlet and an outlet and forming a passageway for the flow of patenteral fluid through the assembly, the apparatus comprising:
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a general elongated mandrel having an exterior surface formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel; a selectively controlled heater in conductive contact with the surface; and a control circuit operably connected the heater and including at least one first temperature sensor to sense the temperature at a location on the surface and a means for varying the heater output based at least in part on the temperature sensed by the first temperature sensor, said varying means including first means for varying the heat output to obtain a desired temperature in at least partial dependence on the sensed temperature, and second means for shutting off power to the heater when the sensed temperature is at least one of equal to or greater than an upper limit temperature.
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6. An apparatus for warming a flow of fluid comprising:
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an assembly shaped generally frusto-conical and defining a longitudinal axis, the assembly forming an inlet and outlet and a sealed passageway for the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, the inlet being proximate one end of the assembly and the outlet being proximate the other end of the assembly, the assembly including an exterior restraint defining an outer boundary of the passageway; a general elongated heated mandrel defining a longitudinal axis, the mandrel having an exterior surface with at least a portion formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the exterior surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel, the exterior surface defining an inner boundary of the passageway, the assembly and the exterior surface of the mandrel being configured to form the passageway with a generally constant thickness over at least a portion of the length of the passageway when the assembly is disposed in a desired position relative to the mandrel. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A process for adjusting the heat output of a parenteral fluid warming heater having a heating mandrel and an assembly disposed about the mandrel, the assembly providing a sealed passageway for a flow of a parenteral fluid through the heater, the process being characterized by the fact that it comprises the steps of:
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choosing a target temperature; measuring a first temperature at a first location on the mandrel; measuring a second temperature at a second location on the mandrel; and adjusting a heat output of the mandrel in dependence on both a difference between the target temperature and the first temperature and a rate of change of the second temperature. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. An apparatus for warming a flow of fluid comprising:
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an assembly shaped generally frustum-conical and defining a longitudinal axis, the assembly forming an inlet and outlet and a sealed passageway for the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, the inlet being proximate one end of the assembly and the outlet being proximate the other end of the assembly, the assembly including an exterior restraint defining an outer boundary of the passageway; a general elongated heated mandrel defining a longitudinal axis, the mandrel having an exterior surface with at least a portion formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the exterior surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel, the assembly and the exterior surface of the mandrel being configured to form the passageway so that as fluid flows through the passageway the fluid flow forms a generally uninterrupted sheet like flow over a majority of the surface area of the mandrel when the assembly is disposed in a desired position relative to the mandrel.
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29. An apparatus for warming a flow of fluid through an assembly shaped generally frustum-conical and defining a longitudinal axis, the assembly forming an inlet and outlet and a sealed passageway for the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, the inlet being proximate one end of the assembly and the outlet being proximate the other end of the assembly, the assembly including an exterior restraint defining an outer boundary of the passageway, the apparatus comprising:
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a general elongated heated mandrel defining a longitudinal axis, the mandrel having an exterior surface with at least a portion formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity and shaped to slidingly receive the assembly so that the assembly envelops the exterior surface along at least a portion of the length of the mandrel, the mandrel forming a hollow interior cavity; and a electrical sheet heater disposed within the cavity and in conductive contact with the mandrel, the heater formed with a plurality of bands of differing heat output along the length of the mandrel. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification