Fluid detection in an enteral feeding set
First Claim
1. A system for detecting fluid in a feeding tube, said system comprising:
- a light source transmitting light through the feeding tube and any fluid therein;
a sensor sensing an intensity of the light transmitted through the feeding tube and through any fluid therein and generating an output signal having a frequency, wherein the frequency of the output signal is a function of the sensed intensity of the light transmitted through the feeding tube; and
a processor receiving the generated output signal and determining the frequency of the generated output signal, wherein said processor is configured to compare the determined frequency of the generated output signal to one or more threshold frequency ranges stored in a memory, and determine whether the feeding tube has fluid or no fluid as a function of the determined frequency as compared to the threshold frequency ranges.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Detection of fluid conditions in an administration set. A light source is positioned to transmit an infrared light through administration set tubing and any fluid therein. A light sensor senses the infrared light transmitted through the tubing and generates an output signal. A frequency of the output signal is a function of an intensity of the light transmitted through the tubing. A processor receives and determines the frequency of the output signal, and compares the determined frequency to threshold frequency values to determine whether fluid is in the tubing. The processor also monitors the generated output signal to determine if the frequency of the output signal changes over time, and determines whether fluid is flowing in the tubing as a function of the determined change in frequency.
52 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for detecting fluid in a feeding tube, said system comprising:
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a light source transmitting light through the feeding tube and any fluid therein; a sensor sensing an intensity of the light transmitted through the feeding tube and through any fluid therein and generating an output signal having a frequency, wherein the frequency of the output signal is a function of the sensed intensity of the light transmitted through the feeding tube; and a processor receiving the generated output signal and determining the frequency of the generated output signal, wherein said processor is configured to compare the determined frequency of the generated output signal to one or more threshold frequency ranges stored in a memory, and determine whether the feeding tube has fluid or no fluid as a function of the determined frequency as compared to the threshold frequency ranges. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for detecting fluid in a feeding tube, said system comprising:
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a light source transmitting light through the feeding tube and any fluid therein; a sensor sensing at different times intensities of the light transmitted through the feeding tube and through any fluid therein and generating output signals having frequencies, wherein the frequencies of the output signals are a function of the sensed intensities of the light transmitted through the feeding tube; and a processor receiving the generated output signals and determining the frequencies of the generated output signals, the processor being configured to determine whether fluid is flowing in the feeding tube as a function of a change in the frequency of the generated output signals over a predetermined period of time. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored therein that, when executed by a processor, facilitates a method of detecting a fluid in a feeding tube on a pump having a light source, a sensor configured to sense intensity of light transmittable from the light source and further configured to transmit an output signal corresponding to the sensed intensity, a processor and a memory, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving signal data from the sensor in the form of a frequency representative of a detected light intensity from the light source and storing the frequency in the memory, instructions for using the processor to compare the stored frequency from the memory with frequency ranges stored in the memory, and instructions for causing the processor to produce a signal to provide an indication that no fluid is in the tube if the stored frequency is in a first frequency range of the stored frequency ranges for at least a predetermined period. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification