Systems and methods for indicating an amount of use of a sensor
First Claim
1. A noninvasive optical probe capable of indicating an amount of use in a determination of whether the noninvasive optical probe has expired from overuse, the noninvasive optical probe comprising:
- one or more emitters capable of emitting light;
at least one conductor capable of communicating an emitter drive signal to the one or more emitters;
a memory device electrically connected to the at least one conductor and capable of monitoring an amount of use of the noninvasive optical probe; and
a detector capable of detecting the light after the light has been attenuated by body tissue, wherein attenuated light is indicative of one or more physiological parameters of the body tissue.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Aspects of the present invention include systems and methods for indicating an amount of use of a pulse oximetry sensor. According to one embodiment, the system includes an oximeter that monitors the amount of use for a given sensor. The oximeter and/or the sensor may advantageously include a visual alarm, an audio alarm, a vibrational alarm, a power down function, or the like, which can be activated when a predetermined amount of use has expired. According to another embodiment, the system includes a sensor having a memory device storing a unique identifier.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A noninvasive optical probe capable of indicating an amount of use in a determination of whether the noninvasive optical probe has expired from overuse, the noninvasive optical probe comprising:
-
one or more emitters capable of emitting light;
at least one conductor capable of communicating an emitter drive signal to the one or more emitters;
a memory device electrically connected to the at least one conductor and capable of monitoring an amount of use of the noninvasive optical probe; and
a detector capable of detecting the light after the light has been attenuated by body tissue, wherein attenuated light is indicative of one or more physiological parameters of the body tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of determining an amount of use of an optical probe, the method comprising:
-
communicating with one or more emission devices of a noninvasive optical probe over at least one conductor to drive the one or more emission devices;
communicating with a timer of the noninvasive optical probe over the at least one conductor used to drive the one or more emission devices;
incrementing the timer during use of the noninvasive optical probe; and
when the timer is proximate to a predetermined amount, activating an indicator configured to illustrate that the use of the noninvasive optical probe is proximate the predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
-
Specification