Apparatus for monitoring, regulating, or controlling fluid flow

A fluid monitoring system comprising:

• a drip chamber in a fluid path;
• an image sensor positioned to capture a sequence of images of at least a portion of the drip chamber;
• and
• control circuitry that:
• determines an outline of a drop in successive images using contrast;
• identifies image elements corresponding to the drop based on the outline;
• estimates a volume of the drop based on the image elements corresponding to the drop;
• and
• updates a flow rate through the drip chamber based on changes in the outline or the image elements while the drop remains attached to the drip chamber.

A method of monitoring fluid flow comprising:

• capturing a sequence of images of a drip chamber in a fluid path using an image sensor;
• determining an outline of a drop in successive images using contrast;
• identifying image elements corresponding to the drop based on the outline;
• estimating a volume of the drop based on the image elements corresponding to the drop;
• and
• updating a flow rate based on changes in the outline or the image elements while the drop remains attached to the drip chamber.