METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COUPLING A SAMPLE PROBE WITH A SAMPLE SITE
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Abstract
The invention comprises method and apparatus for fluid delivery between a sample probe and a sample. The fluid delivery system includes: a fluid reservoir, a delivery channel, a manifold or plenum, a channel or moat, a groove, and/or a dendritic pathway to deliver a thin and distributed layer of a fluid to a sample probe head and/or to a sample site. The fluid delivery system reduces sampling errors due to mechanical tissue distortion, specular reflectance, probe placement, and/or mechanically induced sample site stress/strain associated with optical sampling of the sample.
429 Citations
40 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A sample probe configured to communicate with a patient monitor to determine one or more physiological conditions of a patient, the sample probe comprising:
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a manifold terminating proximate a probe tip and configured to receive a coupling fluid from a fluid reservoir, the manifold including a fluid redirecting surface configured to dissipate kinetic energy of the coupling fluid as the coupling fluid is received from the fluid reservoir; and at least one channel extending from the manifold to a surface of the probe tip, the at least one channel configured to distribute the coupling fluid by capillary action from the manifold to the surface of the probe tip, the surface of the probe tip forming a pathway for dispersion of the coupling fluid; a light transmitter configured to transmit light to a sample site of a patient being monitored; and a light receiver configured to receive the light for processing by a patient monitor after the light is influenced by the sample site, the received light responsive to one or more physiological conditions of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of operating a sample probe configured to communicate with a patient monitor to determine one or more physiological conditions of a patient, the method comprising:
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delivering a coupling fluid from a fluid reservoir to a manifold within a sample probe, the manifold terminating proximate a sample probe tip of the sample probe and comprising a fluid redirecting surface, the fluid redirecting surface configured to dissipate kinetic energy of the coupling fluid as the coupling fluid is received from the fluid reservoir; delivering the coupling fluid by capillary action from the manifold to a surface of the sample probe tip through at least one channel extending from the manifold and to the surface of the sample probe tip, the surface of the sample probe tip forming a pathway for dispersion of the coupling fluid; transmitting light, using the sample probe, to a sample site of a patient being monitored; and receiving the light, using the sample probe, for processing by a patient monitor after the light is influenced by the sample site, the received light responsive to one or more physiological conditions of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification