Methods and system for anesthetic vaporizer drop detection

A system for an anesthetic vaporizer, comprising:

• an accelerometer positioned within an external housing of the anesthetic vaporizer;
• a touch sensor positioned on the external housing of the anesthetic vaporizer;
• a sensor, wherein the sensor is an ultrasonic leak detector coupled to the anesthetic vaporizer;
• a gyroscope coupled to the anesthetic vaporizer;
• a first power source that provides continuous electrical power to the accelerometer;
• and
• a second power source that provides electrical power to a controller while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered on and not while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered off, the controller storing executable instructions in non-transitory memory that, when executed, cause the controller to:
• receive measurements from the accelerometer recorded while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered off;
• resolve a quantitative acceleration from the received measurements;
• determine an orientation of the anesthetic vaporizer from the received measurements;
• select an acceleration threshold from a plurality of different acceleration thresholds stored in the non-transitory memory based on the determined orientation;
• activate the ultrasonic leak detector in response to the quantitative acceleration exceeding the acceleration threshold to detect leakage of pressurized air from the anesthetic vaporizer;
• and
• output a first type of alert in response to the quantitative acceleration exceeding the acceleration threshold.

A method for detecting a fall of an anesthetic vaporizer, comprising:

• upon start-up of the anesthetic vaporizer, receiving, at a controller, acceleration measurements recorded by an accelerometer coupled within the anesthetic vaporizer while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered off, wherein the accelerometer is powered by a first power source that provides continuous electrical power, and wherein the controller is powered by a second power source the provides power while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered on and not while the anesthetic vaporizer is powered off;
• determining a magnitude and direction of an acceleration vector from the acceleration measurements;
• selecting an acceleration threshold based on the direction of the acceleration vector;
• activating a level sensor responsive to the quantitative acceleration exceeding the acceleration threshold, wherein the level sensor is coupled to a vaporizing chamber of the anesthetic vaporizer, and wherein the level sensor monitors the level of an anesthetic agent in the anesthetic vaporizer;
• and
• outputting a drop alert in response to the magnitude of the acceleration vector exceeding the acceleration threshold.