Method and apparatus for measuring the presence and concentration of pharmaceutical substances in a medical fluid administered by a medication delivery system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for detecting a presence of a pharmaceutical substance during a medical therapy, comprising:
- a light source configured to generate a light beam;
a prism for receiving the light beam from the light source, the prism adjacent the medical fluid;
a polarization rotator disposed between the light source and the medical fluid;
a first photodetector and a second photodetector to provide a measurement of an intensity of a portion of the light beam influenced by contact with the medical fluid; and
a computer configured to use the measurement of the intensity to perform a matching check to determine whether the pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Test equipment determines the contents of medical fluids to be delivered to a patient by a medication delivery system by measuring optical properties of the fluids. One system provides a non-invasive test that uses optical rotation caused by optically active pharmaceutical substances to determine the presence or absence of the pharmaceutical substances within a medical fluid. Another system provides a non-invasive test that uses refractive index properties to determine the concentration of a pharmaceutical substance within the fluid. A method for use is also disclosed.
9 Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A system for detecting a presence of a pharmaceutical substance during a medical therapy, comprising:
-
a light source configured to generate a light beam; a prism for receiving the light beam from the light source, the prism adjacent the medical fluid; a polarization rotator disposed between the light source and the medical fluid; a first photodetector and a second photodetector to provide a measurement of an intensity of a portion of the light beam influenced by contact with the medical fluid; and a computer configured to use the measurement of the intensity to perform a matching check to determine whether the pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A system for detecting a presence of a pharmaceutical substance during a medical therapy, comprising:
-
a light source located adjacent to a medical fluid, the fluid within a medical delivery system and the light source configured to generate a light beam having a propagation axis; a prism having an incidence surface, a reflective surface, and an interface surface for receiving, reflecting and refracting the light beam from the light source; a polarization rotator between the light source and the prism; a first photodetector and a second photodetector configured to receive and measure at least one of an intensity and a position of the light beam transmitted or refracted through the medical fluid and a portion of the medical delivery system, the photodetectors each configured to generate an output signal representing at least one of the intensity and position of a portion of the light beam, wherein the first and second photodetectors are positioned adjacent different surfaces of the prism; and a computer operatively connected to the photodetectors, the computer configured to receive the output signals and perform a matching check to determine a quantity of the pharmaceutical substance within the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A system for detecting a presence of a pharmaceutical substance during a medical therapy, comprising:
-
a light source positioned adjacent to a medical fluid, the medical fluid within a medication delivery system and the light source configured to generate a light beam directed through the medical fluid and a portion of the medical delivery system; a first polarization rotator configured to receive the light beam, rotate at least a portion of the light beam, and pass the light beam to a medical delivery system and a medical fluid; a photodetector for providing a measurement of at least one of intensity, relative position, and relative optical rotation, of the light beam that was transmitted through the medical fluid and the portion of the medical fluid; a second polarization rotator disposed between the medical fluid and the photodetector; a memory configured to store signals from the photodetector or results from calculations performed on the signals, including signals or calculations from a baseline measurement, the baseline measurement optionally including a portion of the medical delivery system present between the light source and the photodetector; and a computer operably connected to the memory and configured to use the signals or results stored in the memory to perform a matching check with respect to the baseline measurement to determine at least one of;
(i) whether the pharmaceutical substance is present in the medical fluid; and
(ii) if the pharmaceutical substance is present, a concentration of the pharmaceutical substance present in the medical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
-
Specification