Vaporizer anesthesia level detector
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsKenneth J. Kuehl, Michael Jones, William Breckenridge McHenry, Shawn Thomas Whitman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vaporizer including a reservoir for storing an anesthetic liquid agent and a vaporizing element configured to vaporize the anesthetic liquid agent. A level detector is located outside of and adjacent to the exterior of the reservoir. The level detector includes at least one electrical field sensor configured to provide an output voltage signal based upon the capacitance of material within the reservoir proximate the electrical field sensor. The vaporizer includes a display providing a visual indication of the amount of liquid anesthetic agent in the reservoir
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a vaporizer including a reservoir for storing an anesthetic liquid agent and a vaporizing element configured to vaporize the anesthetic liquid agent;
- a level detector outside of and adjacent to the exterior of the reservoir, the level detector including at least one electrical field sensor configured to provide an output voltage signal based upon the capacitance of material within the reservoir proximate the electrical field sensor;
- and
- a display providing a visual indication of the amount of liquid anesthetic agent in the reservoir.
A level detector for use with an existing liquid anesthesia vaporizer having a sight glass operatively connected to a reservoir configured to hold a liquid anesthetic agent including, the level detector comprising:
- a housing supporting at least one electrical field sensor configured to provide an output voltage signal based upon the capacitance of material proximate the electrical field sensor;
- the housing being positioned proximate the vaporizer such that the electrical field sensor is adjacent the sight glass, the electrical field sensor configured to provide an output voltage signal that changes as the capacitance of material within the sight glass changes.
A method of detecting the level of liquid anesthetic agent within a vaporizer comprising;
- providing a level detector outside of and adjacent to a reservoir of the vaporizer, the level detector including plurality of electrical field sensors providing an output voltage signal based upon the capacitance of material within the reservoir proximate the electrical field sensor;
- sampling the output voltage of each electrical field sensor as the liquid anesthetic agent is being vaporized and receiving the sampled output voltage of each electrical field sensor at the processing unit;
- and
- displaying the percent of the liquid anesthetic agent remaining in the reservoir as a function of the sampled output voltage values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.