Medical thermometer for determining body core temperature
First Claim
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1. A temperature sensing device for determining body core temperature by contacting skin of a patient comprising:
- a housing;
an extension of said housing having a longitudinal axis;
a shaft having an outer end and being mechanically non-rotatably coupled to said housing and adapted for moving within said extension along said longitudinal axis;
a first contact type temperature sensing element supported by the outer end of the shaft and including a first contact type temperature sensor, wherein the first contact type temperature sensor generates at least a first temperature data signal representative of a temperature measurement made at the first contact type temperature sensor when the first contact type temperature sensing element is placed in contact with skin of a patient;
an electronic circuit electrically coupled with the first contact type temperature sensing element, wherein the electronic circuit uses the first temperature data signal generated at the first contact type temperature sensor to estimate a skin temperature and determines a body core temperature for the patient using the estimated skin temperature; and
an indicator coupled to the electronic circuit and operable to indicate the body core temperature.
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Abstract
A temperature sensing device including at least a first contact type temperature sensing element determines body core temperature of a warm blooded animal or human based on an estimated skin temperature of the patient which is computed based on temperature measurements obtained by the first sensing element.
163 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A temperature sensing device for determining body core temperature by contacting skin of a patient comprising:
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a housing; an extension of said housing having a longitudinal axis; a shaft having an outer end and being mechanically non-rotatably coupled to said housing and adapted for moving within said extension along said longitudinal axis; a first contact type temperature sensing element supported by the outer end of the shaft and including a first contact type temperature sensor, wherein the first contact type temperature sensor generates at least a first temperature data signal representative of a temperature measurement made at the first contact type temperature sensor when the first contact type temperature sensing element is placed in contact with skin of a patient; an electronic circuit electrically coupled with the first contact type temperature sensing element, wherein the electronic circuit uses the first temperature data signal generated at the first contact type temperature sensor to estimate a skin temperature and determines a body core temperature for the patient using the estimated skin temperature; and an indicator coupled to the electronic circuit and operable to indicate the body core temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A medical thermometer for use by an operator and intended for noninvasive determination of body core temperature by way of contacting skin of a patient, comprising:
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a housing; a shaft having a tip and being capable of moving in a direction toward the housing from a first position to a second position, wherein the tip is positioned relatively closer to the housing in the second position than in the first position; a first temperature sensor positioned at the tip of said shaft and adapted for contacting the skin of the patient and generating signals in response to temperature of the skin; a guard being adapted to surround said first temperature sensor when the shaft is in the first position; a mechanism supported by said housing and capable of moving said shaft from said first position to said second position with a predetermined rate of motion; and a computational means for computing the core temperature of the patient from the signals generated by the first temperature sensor; wherein the first position is adapted for preventing the first temperature sensor from contacting the skin of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification