Detecting insertion of needle into simulated vessel using a conductive fluid
US10037715B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 16, 2014 |
| Grant date | Jul 31, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 19, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09B23/32
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A medical trainer simulator includes a plurality of simulated vessels filled with a conductive fluid representing, for example, veins or arteries. While performing a procedure using the medical trainer, a person inserts a medical instrument, e.g., a needle or scalpel, into a selected vessel, causing the medical instrument to contact the conductive fluid. A circuit board detects when a circuit is thus created by detecting an electrical current flowing through the medical instrument and the conductive fluid it has contacted. A software program executing on a computer excludes any phantom circuit occurring when the medical instrument contacts conductive fluid from a previous procedure that is not within one of the vessels. A phantom circuit is detected if the resistance of the resulting circuit exceeds a predetermined threshold. The computer visually and/or audibly indicates whether the correct vessel was pierced or excized by the medical instrument.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.