Sensor module for a catheter
First Claim
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1. A catheter, the catheter comprising:
- a tubular element enclosing a lumen;
a plurality of sensor modules spread out spatially along the length of the tubular element, wherein each of the sensor modules comprises;
a biofilm detection unit configured to detect a characteristic of a biofilm, wherein the biofilm detection unit includes a first sensor located at an inner surface of a tubular wall of the catheter and a second sensor located at an outer surface of the tubular wall of the catheter;
electric circuitry configured to provide an output signal indicative of a result of the detection,wherein one of the sensor modules comprises a processing unit integrated in a tubular wall of the tubular element sandwiched between the first sensor and the second sensor, and wherein the plurality of sensor modules enable determination of a spatial dependence in the formation of the biofilm.
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Abstract
A sensor module (130) for a catheter (110), the sensor module (130) comprising a biofilm detection unit (131) adapted for detecting a characteristic of a biofilm (132) and electric circuitry (135, 800) for providing an output signal indicative of a result of the detection.
25 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A catheter, the catheter comprising:
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a tubular element enclosing a lumen; a plurality of sensor modules spread out spatially along the length of the tubular element, wherein each of the sensor modules comprises; a biofilm detection unit configured to detect a characteristic of a biofilm, wherein the biofilm detection unit includes a first sensor located at an inner surface of a tubular wall of the catheter and a second sensor located at an outer surface of the tubular wall of the catheter; electric circuitry configured to provide an output signal indicative of a result of the detection, wherein one of the sensor modules comprises a processing unit integrated in a tubular wall of the tubular element sandwiched between the first sensor and the second sensor, and wherein the plurality of sensor modules enable determination of a spatial dependence in the formation of the biofilm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of operating a catheter, the method comprising:
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detecting a characteristic of a biofilm using a plurality of sensor modules spread out spatially along the length of a tubular element of the catheter, wherein each of the sensor modules includes a first sensor located at an inner surface of a tubular wall of the catheter and a second sensor located at an outer surface of the tubular wall of the catheter, wherein one of the sensor modules comprises a processing unit integrated in a tubular wall of the tubular element sandwiched between the first sensor and the second sensor; providing output signals indicative of a result of the detection; and deriving spatially dependent biofilm formation information from the output signals using a processor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A catheter, the catheter comprising
a tubular element enclosing a lumen; a sensor module coupled to the tubular element, the sensor module comprising a biofilm detection unit configured to detect a characteristic of a biofilm, wherein the biofilm detection unit includes an inner lumen electrode and an outer surface electrode for measuring impedance; and electric circuitry configured to provide an output signal indicative of a result of the detection.
Specification