Esophageal probe

Claim 1

An esophageal probe comprising: a shaft assembly comprising an elongated shaft having a distal end, a proximal end, an opening adjacent said distal end, an inflation lumen extending through the shaft, the lumen communicating with the opening, an inflatable balloon extending around a distal portion of the shaft and defining a cavity communicating with the opening and thus the inflation lumen, means closing the lumen at the distal end of the shaft, a flexible membrane attached to and closing the lumen at the proximal end of the shaft, a fluid sound transmitting medium filling said lumen and said balloon, inflation means comprising valve means on the shaft communicating with the inflation lumen to permit passage of the fluid into the inflation lumen to fill the lumen and inflate the balloon, the sound transmitting medium being sealed within the shaft by the lumen, membrane, balloon, valve means and means closing the lumen at the distal end of the probe, a connector at the proximal end of the shaft, at least one conductive electrode on a distal portion of the shaft, and first conductor means electrically connecting the electrode with the connector at the proximal end of the shaft; a second connector releasably attached to the first connector and having a proximal end, a distal end, an electrical sound detection device encased therein; and second electrical conductor means therein terminating at the second conductor distal end; and quick disconnect means for releasably attaching the second connector to the first connector and for simultaneously establishing electrical connection between the first and second conductor means, the quick disconnect means comprising mating means on the shaft proximal end and the second connector distal end, the flexible membrane on the proximal end of the shaft and the electrical sound detection device in the second connector being so located as to be in face to face contact when the first and second connectors are attached together by the quick disconnect means, whereby, in use, heart and/or lung sounds of a patient acoustically sensed by the sound transmitting medium are transmitted directly to the flexible membrane and thus directly to the sound detection device, for conversion into electrical signals which may be further transmitted and converted into intelligible information, and further whereby, after use, said shaft assembly may be discarded and substituted with another shaft assembly of similar construction for use on another or the same patient.