Disposable airway adapter for use with a carbon dioxide detector
AssigneeNonin Medical, Inc.
InventorsPhillip O. Isaacson, Timothy L. Johnson, William F. Kratoska, Kathlean Cain Zinnel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is directed to a disposable airway adapter which includes two optical windows and a reflector, positioned such that radiation transmitted through the first optical window into the airway passage will be reflected by the reflector and be transmitted through the second optical window and out of the airway passage. the disposable airway adapter is for use in connection with a carbon dioxide detector for determining the concentration of carbon dioxide present in the mixture of gases present in the airway passage.
Claims36
A disposable airway adapter tube comprising:
- an adapter tube body defining an airway passage, the adapter tube body including first and second optical windows;
- a reflector positioned in the airway passage;
- the first and second optical windows being positioned relative to the reflector such that radiation transmitted through the first optical window into the airway passage will be reflected by the reflector and be transmitted through the second optical window and out of the airway passage.
In combination, a gas detector and a disposable airway adapter tube, the gas detector for determining the concentration of a predetermined gas in a mixture of gases in the airway adapter tube, comprising:
- a gas detector including a sensor module;
- a disposable airway adapter tube body defining an airway passage, the disposable airway adapter tube body being removably connected to the sensor module, the disposable adapter tube body further including first and second optical windows;
- a reflector positioned in the airway passage;
- the sensor module including an emitter positioned for transmitting infrared radiation into the airway passage through the first optical window and an infrared detector positioned for detecting infrared radiation transmitted out of the airway passage through the second optical window;
- gas concentration circuitry for determining the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the predetermined gas in the mixture of gases in the airway passage, which is proportional to the gas concentration in the mixture of gases.
A method of measuring a concentration of a designated gas present in a mixture of gases, the method comprising the following steps:
- a) connecting a disposable airway adapter to a gas source, the airway adapter defining an airway passage and the airway adapter including first and second optical windows and a reflector positioned in the airway passage, the first and second optical windows being positioned relative to the reflector such that radiation transmitted through the first optical window into the airway passage will be reflected by the reflector and be transmitted through the second optical window and out of the airway passage;
- b) transmitting infrared radiation through the first optical window so that it reflects off of the reflector and is transmitted out the second optical window;
- c) determining the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the designated gas in the mixture of gases in the airway passage, which is proportional to the gas concentration in the mixture of gases.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.