Patent · US Expired

Blood constituent measuring device and method

US4819752A · kind A · utility

279Cited by
6References
60Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 2, 1987
Grant dateApr 11, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 2, 2007

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B5/14551
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A blood constituent measuring apparatus and method, which can be used to measure the oxygen (or other blood constituent) content of the blood. The apparatus includes sources of two or more wavelengths of light for transmitting, e.g., red and infrared light through a portion of the body, and a photodetector for generating respective signals representing each wavelength of light transmitted through the body portion. The photodetector signals have pulsatile and non-pulsatile components. The oxygen content of the blood is computed based on the light transmitted through the body portion at each wavelength, as determined from the pulsatile component, amplified alone after the much larger non-pulsatile component is subtracted from it. The apparatus can compute the oxygen content of patients with weak pulses, or unstable physiological states, or both, by using, preferably, a plurality of independently settable gains, to maintain the signal level within a range suitable for accurate measurement. In addition, the apparatus preferably compensates for drift in the non-pulsatile component which can be caused when the patient's blood pressure, for example, becomes erratic, thereby increasing the…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.