Patent EP0121931A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0121931A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Fault detection apparatus for parenteral infusion system
Assignee: Ivac Medical Systems Inc
•
Filing: 1984-04-10
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2004-04-10
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus and related method for use in a parenteral administration system, for detecting fault conditions such as an infiltration, an open fluid line or an air bubble in the fluid line. The apparatus is particularly adapted for use with a parenteral administration system of the type that includes a pulsing infusion device for incrementally infusing fluid through a fluid tube to a patient's venous or arterial system. The apparatus qualitatively evaluates the pressure in the fluid tube to detect characteristic patterns indicative of each such fault condition and actuates an alarm whenever one is detected.
Inventors
- 👤 Peter E. Nelson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 01:19
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M5/00; A61M5/14; A61M5/168; A61M5/16831; A61M5/16854; A61M5/16859; A61M5/36; A61M5/365
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
86 words
Fault detection apparatus for use with a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the vascular system of a patient, comprising: pressure transducer means for monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and fault detection means for qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect when the fluid tube is not in proper fluid communication with the vascular system of the patient and for producing a corresponding alarm signal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
86 words
Fault detection apparatus for use with a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the vascular system of a patient, comprising: pressure transducer means for monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and fault detection means for qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect when the fluid tube is not in proper fluid communication with the vascular system of the patient and for producing a corresponding alarm signal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
Fault detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein: the parenteral administration system is arranged to administer the parenteral fluid to the venous system of the patient; and the fault detection means produces the alarm signal whenever it detects an infiltration of the parenteral fluid into body tissue separate from the venous system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
58 words
Fault detection apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein: the infusion device infuses the parenteral fluid to the venous system of the patient in a pulsing fashion; and the fault detection means detects an infiltration by determining if the pressure signal does not return to its steady state level within a prescribed time duration following an infusion pulse.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
116 words
Fault detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the fault detection means detects a disconnection of the fluid tube or an air bubble in the fluid tube between the infusion device and the patient: the infusion device infuses the parenteral fluid to the vascular system of the patient in a pulsing fashion; and the fault detection means includes means for high-pass filtering the pressure signal to produce an ac pressure signal, and means for comparing the ac pressure signal with a predetermined negative threshold, a disconnection in the fluid tube or an air bubble in the fluid tube being detected whenever the ac pressure signal is more negative than the threshold following each infusion pulse.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
101 words
A parenteral administration system for infusing a parenteral fluid into the vascular system of a patient, comprising: an infusion device; a fluid tube coupled between the infusion device and the vascular system of a patient, such that the device can infuse a parenteral fluid into the vascular system; pressure transducer means for monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and fault detection means for qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect when the fluid tube is not in proper communication with the patient's vascular system and for producing a corresponding alarm signal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
101 words
A parenteral administration system for infusing a parenteral fluid into the vascular system of a patient, comprising: an infusion device; a fluid tube coupled between the infusion device and the vascular system of a patient, such that the device can infuse a parenteral fluid into the vascular system; pressure transducer means for monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and fault detection means for qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect when the fluid tube is not in proper communication with the patient's vascular system and for producing a corresponding alarm signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
114 words
A parenteral administration system as defined in claim 5, wherein: the fluid tube couples the infusion device to the patient's venous system; the fault detection means detects an infiltration of parenteral fluid into body tissue separate from the patient's venous system; and the fault detection means includes means for differentiating the pressure signal to produce a pressure derivative signal, comparator means for determining if the pressure derivative signal exceeds a predetermined level and for producing a corresponding trigger signal, and means for detecting if the pressure signal increases by more than a predetermined amount within a predetermined time period following initiation of the trigger signal and for producing the alarm signal whenever it does.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
92 words
A parenteral administration system as defined in claim 5, wherein: the fluid tube couples the infusion device to the patient's arterial system; the fault detection means detects an infiltration of parenteral fluid into body tissue separate from the patient's arterial system; and the fault detection means includes means for high-pass filtering the pressure signal to produce an ac pressure signal, and means for evaluating the ac pressure signal to detect a dropout in signal components attributable to the patient's heartbeats and for producing the alarm signal if it detects such a dropout.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
79 words
A parenteral administration system as defined in claim 5, wherein: the infusion device infuses the parenteral fluid in a pulsing fashion; and the fault detection means determines that the fluid tube is disconnected from the patient or that an air bubble is present in the fluid tube by detecting an underdamped characteristic in the pressure signal following each infusion pulse of the infusion device, the fault detection means producing the alarm signal whenever it detects such an underdamped characteristic.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
93 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations suitable for use in a parenteral administration system having a pulsing infusion device for incrementally infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the venous system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if the signal fails to return substantially to its steady state level within a predetermined time period following an infusion pulse, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever that occurs.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
93 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations suitable for use in a parenteral administration system having a pulsing infusion device for incrementally infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the venous system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if the signal fails to return substantially to its steady state level within a predetermined time period following an infusion pulse, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever that occurs.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
86 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations for use in a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the venous system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if the pressure signal ever increases by more than a predetermined amount during a predetermined time period, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever that occurs.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
86 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations for use in a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the venous system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if the pressure signal ever increases by more than a predetermined amount during a predetermined time period, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever that occurs.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
75 words
ll. A method for detecting fluid infiltrations as defined in claim 10, wherein the step of qualitatively evaluating includes steps of differentiating the pressure signal to produce a pressure derivative signal, and comparing the pressure derivative signal with a prescribed threshold and producing a trigger signal whenever the pressure derivative signal first exceeds the threshold; and the step of qualitatively evaluating produces the alarm signal only when the step of comparing produces the trigger signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
89 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations as defined in claim 11, wherein the step of qualitatively evaluating further includes steps of: sampling the pressure signal immediately after the step of comparing produces the trigger signal, to produce a first sample; sampling the pressure signal a prescribed time period after the step of comparing produces the trigger signal, to produce a second sample; comparing the first sample with the second sample and producing the alarm signal whenever the second sample exceeds the first sample by more than a predetermined amount.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
78 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations for use in a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the arterial system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if its mean value drops below a predetermined threshold, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever it does.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
78 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations for use in a parenteral administration system having an infusion device for infusing a parenteral fluid through a fluid tube to the arterial system of a patient, comprising steps of: monitoring the pressure of the fluid in the fluid tube and producing a corresponding pressure signal; and qualitatively evaluating the pressure signal to detect if its mean value drops below a predetermined threshold, and producing an infiltration alarm signal whenever it does.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method for detecting fluid infiltrations as defined in claim 13, wherein the step of qualitatively evaluating includes steps of: low-pass filtering the pressure signal to remove signal components attributable to the patient's heartbeats; and comparing the filtered pressure signal with a prescribed threshold, and producing the alarm signal whenever the filtered pressure signal drops below the threshold.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4277227A
Cited
EP0096849A2
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.