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US 8,795,257 B2Granted
Systems and methods for electrically detecting the presence of exudate in dressings
AssigneeKCI Licensing, Inc.
InventorsRichard Daniel John Coulthard, Malcolm Thomson, Rico Jaeger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for sensing fluid in a dressing on a patient and producing an electrical signal. In one instance, a galvanic cell is used as an electronic detection device. The galvanic cell is placed in the dressing and produces voltage when the dressing is substantially saturated. In one instance, the dressing is a reduced-pressure, absorbent dressing. Other systems, methods, and dressings are presented.
Claims15
A system for treating a tissue site on a patient with reduced pressure, the system comprising:
- an absorbent layer adapted to be disposed at the tissue site to receive fluids from the tissue site in response to reduced pressure;
- a sealing member for covering the absorbent layer and a portion of an epidermis of the patient to form a seal;
- a reduced-pressure source adapted to be fluidly coupled to the absorbent layer for providing reduced pressure to the absorbent layer;
- a galvanic cell comprising a cathode and an anode attached to a base and spaced apart from each other on the base, the cathode and the anode adapted to contact the absorbent layer to form the galvanic cell;
- a load electrically coupled across the cathode and the anode to provide a signal when the absorbent layer contacts the cathode and the anode and becomes substantially saturated with fluids from the tissue site;
- and
- a monitoring unit electrically coupled to the load and adapted to receive the signal to provide an indication that the absorbent layer is saturated.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.