Metabolic rate analyzer
First Claim
1. A CO2 gas analyzer comprising:
- a test chamber;
a means for charging said test chamber with a sample gas;
a selectively-permeable membrane disposed in said test chamber, said membrane being provided with a selective permeability for CO2, said membrane being disposed in said test chamber for selectively venting CO2 from said test chamber;
a pressure sensor for monitoring the pressure of the sample and determining the rate of pressure decay in said test chamber due to selective venting of CO2 through said selectively-permeable membrane; and
an analyzing means for determining the CO2 content of the sample gas from the rate of pressure decay in said test chamber.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The metabolic rate analyzer comprises a flow proportioning valve for producing a proportional sample of the expired gas of the subject being studied. A sample cylinder is provided for drawing a proportional sample of the expired gas of the subject being studied from the flow proportioning valve. A test chamber is provided and an O2 sensor is provided. The test chamber is provided with a selectively-permeable membrane, the selectively-permeable membrane having a selective permeability for CO2, whereby CO2 is selectively vented from the test chamber. The sample cylinder is also used for charging the test chamber with the proportional sample of the expired gas of the subject. A pressure sensor is provided for monitoring the pressure of the sample and determining the rate of pressure decay in the test chamber due to the selective venting of CO2 through the permeable membrane. An analyzing means is provided for determining CO2 content in the expired gas from the rate of pressure decay in the test chamber, conducting a volumetric analysis of the proportioinal sample to determine total volume of expired gas, and then correlating O2 content, CO2 content and total volume of expired gas to provide a measure of the metabolic rate of the subject being studied.
92 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A CO2 gas analyzer comprising:
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a test chamber; a means for charging said test chamber with a sample gas; a selectively-permeable membrane disposed in said test chamber, said membrane being provided with a selective permeability for CO2, said membrane being disposed in said test chamber for selectively venting CO2 from said test chamber; a pressure sensor for monitoring the pressure of the sample and determining the rate of pressure decay in said test chamber due to selective venting of CO2 through said selectively-permeable membrane; and an analyzing means for determining the CO2 content of the sample gas from the rate of pressure decay in said test chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A gas analyzer comprising:
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a first test chamber; a means for charging said test chamber with a sample gas; a first selectively-permeable membrane disposed in said first test chamber, said first membrane being provided with a selective permeability for a first gas of interest, said first membrane being disposed in said first test chamber for selectively venting the first gas of interest from said first test chamber; a first pressure sensor for monitoring the pressure of the sample and determining the rate of pressure decay in said first test chamber due to selective venting of the first gas of interest through said first selectively-permeable membrane; and an analyzing means for determining the concentration of the first gas of interest in the sample gas from the rate of pressure decay in said first test chamber. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for determining CO2 concentration in a gas mixture comprising the steps of:
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providing a test chamber; providing the test chamber with a pressure sensor and a selectively-permeable membrane, the membrane being provided with a selective permeability for CO2, the membrane being disposed in the chamber for selectively venting CO2 from the test chamber; charging the test chamber with a sample of the gas mixture; monitoring the pressure of the sample in the test chamber; determining the rate of pressure decay in the test chamber due to the selective venting of CO2 through the selectively-permeable membrane; and determining the CO2 concentration in the gas mixture from the rate of pressure decay in the test chamber. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of gas analysis comprising the steps of:
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providing a first test chamber; providing the first test chamber with a first pressure sensor and a first selectively-permeable membrane, the first membrane having a selective permeability for a first gas of interest, the first membrane being disposed in the first test chamber for selectively venting the first gas of interest from the test chamber; charging the first test chamber with a sample of a gas mixture; monitoring the pressure of the sample in the first test chamber; determining the rate of pressure decay in the first test chamber due to the selective venting of the first as of interest through the first selectively-permeable membrane; and determining the concentration of the first gas of interest in the gas mixture from the rate of pressure decay in the test chamber. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification