Abstract:
A portable, battery powered, hand-held system for releasing a controlled dose of aerosol medication for inhalation by a patient including a durable body and a medication cassette inserted in the durable body. The cassette includes a housing for containing a canister of medication, bears an identification code, and permits the canister to be manually depressed to release a dose, e.g., a metered dose, when out of the durable body. The durable body includes an actuator mechanism for engaging an inserted cassette and its canister, and an actuator release mechanism for controlling the actuator mechanism to depress the canister for a selected period of time to release the desired dose of medication and then the release the canister. The actuator mechanism, includes a compression spring for depressing the canister and a torsion spring for reloading the compression spring. The torsion spring is reloaded by rotating the cassette from an open position for delivering aerosol to a closed position. The actuator release mechanism includes a motor and trigger pin assembly that controls the release of the compression spring and the torsion spring, and, hence, the time that the canister is depressed. The motor operates in response to sensed flow satisfying a selected delivery threshold. The durable body includes a flow sensor having an asymmetrical orifice that is calibrated, independent of the cassette, to convert the sensed pressure due to flow into a flow rate. The orifice is separately calibrated for an inhalation flow rate range and an exhalation flow rate range over a selected number of known flow rates. The sensed pressure value is corrected for transducer offset drift and converted to a flow rate using the calibration data and piecewise linear interpolation.
Abstract:
Fluid flow in a conduit is measured by placing a flow block in the conduit which introduces variations in the flowpath which cause local pressure variations. The pressure variations are converted to electrical signals by transducers, and the electrical signals are processed to obtain flow rate values. To provide a correction for transducer drift, the transducer signals are examined during a time when there is known to be zero flow in the conduit. The difference between the transducer signals during a time when there is zero flow is used as a measure of transducer drift. A value for the drift is stored in computer memory and used subsequently, when fluid flow is resumed. This invention is specifically intended for use in railroad airbrake systems, where it is used in a locomotive to provide an accurate and reliable measurement of air supplied to the brake pipe of the air brake system.
Abstract:
Apparatus and methods for delivering an amount of aerosolized medicine for inspiration by a patient in response to the occurrence of appropriate delivery point or points in the patient's detected breath flow. The aerosol medication may be administered as one or more pulses having a pulse width, shape, and frequency that will maximize the respirable fraction of the aerosolized compound being administered. The delivery point or points may be predetermined or determined from a prior inspiratory flow for depositing the selected medication at one or more desired locations in the patient's airway. Determined delivery points are recursively lowered for each inspiratory flow that does not satisfy one of the predetermined and previously lowered threshold. Changes in the patient's breath flow patterns during the course of an aerosolized medication inspiration therapy program may be detected and used to adjust the controlled amount of medication to be delivered in a given administration and/or to inform the patient of the patient's condition or change in condition. The device also may contain a library of administration protocols or operating parameters for different medications and a means for identifying from the canister the medicinal contents of the canister for customizing operation of the apparatus.
Abstract:
The volumetric flow rate of a fluid is determined essentially independently of the properties of the fluid by guiding the volumetric fluid flow to be measured through an essentially linear flow resistor. An alternating flow of the fluid is superimposed on the volumetric fluid flow to be measured. Steady and alternating components of a pressure drop across the flow resistor are detected. A quantity representative of a property of the fluid is determined in response to the determined alternating component. The volumetric flow rate is calculated on the basis of the determined steady component and the quantity representing fluid property.
Abstract:
An improved probe useful for measuring emissions of stack gases is equipped with a means for measuring moisture content and molecular weight of stack gases. A water feed tube is provided through the distal end of the probe and is fed water via a water feed line. An electrical temperature measuring device and water soaker device having spaced apart soaker feed holes is provided near the distal end of the water feed tube while a dry tubing encases the water feed tube below the temperature measuring device. A soaker wick encases part of the water feed tube and covers all of the temperature measuring device. Finally, an internal seal is provided between the dry tubing and the temperature measuring device to prevent thermally conductive heat from reaching the temperature measuring device. This structure enables the probe to make wet bulb-dry bulb measurements of stack gases.
Abstract:
A mounting plate is disclosed that is adapted to be positioned between a main flow line and at least two differential pressure transmitters, to place the two differential pressure transmitters in fluid communication with a pair of pipeline taps on opposite sides of a flow reducing orifice plate in the main flow line is disclose. The mounting plate includes a plate-like body generally rectangular in cross section along its longitudinal axis and longer than it is wide along its transverse axis. The plate-like body includes a pair of ports that extend through the body and are in fluid communication with the pair of pressure taps with the longitudinal axis of the body parallel to the main flow line. A plurality of passageways or bores extend into the body to connect the ports to various combinations of pressure transmitters. One or more mounting holes for the transmitters are on a line that intersects the longitudinal axis of the body at an angle to allow some of the passageways or bores to be drilled straight and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body between the mounting holes.In another embodiment, a sub plate is used to supply pressure to a third pressure transmitter. In another embodiment, a plate-like adapter, as well as the sub plate, is used to mount four differential transmitters or three differential pressure transmitters and a static pressure transmitter.
Abstract:
An airflow sensor is designed with features which enhance the accuracy of measurement. The central hub of the airflow sensor is made in an air foil shape to reduce noise and turbulence at that region. The airflow sensing tubes extend radially outwardly from the central hub and are made extremely thin in profile to minimize turbulence. Each airflow sensing tube has a plurality of spaced airflow receiving openings therethrough which are spaced from one another in a manner permitting each opening to receive air from a volume of air equal to the volumes of air from which other holes receive air flow. The downstream air collection tubes are circumferentially spaced between the first-mentioned airflow sensing tubes and have open ends to receive air from the open areas between the first-mentioned airflow sensing tubes. The airflow sensor is designed to be mounted within a conduit of generally circular cross-section and the mounting devices which mount the outer ends of the tubes to the inner walls of the conduit have turbulence-reducing air foil shapes.
Abstract:
Apparatus and methods for delivering an amount of aerosolized medicine for inspiration by a patient in response to the occurrence of appropriate delivery point or points in the patient's detected breath flow. The aerosol medication may be administered as one or more pulses having a pulse width, shape, and frequency that will maximize the respirable fraction of the aerosolized compound being administered. The delivery point or points may be predetermined or determined from a prior inspiratory flow for depositing the selected medication at one or more desired locations in the patient's airway. Determined delivery points are recursively lowered for each inspiratory flow that does not satisfy one of the predetermined and previously lowered threshold. Changes in the patient's breath flow patterns during the course of an aerosolized medication inspiration therapy program may be detected and used to adjust the controlled amount of medication to be delivered in a given administration and/or to inform the patient of the patient's condition or change in condition. The device also may contain a library of administration protocols or operating parameters for different medications and a means for identifying from the canister the medicinal contents of the canister for customizing operation of the apparatus.
Abstract:
A differential pressure sensor for measuring respiratory gas flow including a tubular housing containing a diametrically-oriented, longitudinally extending strut containing first and second lumens having longitudinally-spaced pressure ports opening into respective axially-located notches at each end of the strut.
Abstract:
Highly reliable measurements of the fluid and/or fluid flow in a conduit are obtained by insertion within the conduit, upstream of a fluid measuring or sampling device, of a fluid flow straigntening and displacement apparatus which serves to stabilize, homogenize and condition the fluid flow and form at the device a uniform, axially centered, axially symmetrical, well defined and accurately measurable flow profile of large means flow diameter. The flow straightening and fluid displacement apparatus comprises, in sequence in the direction of fluid flow, a first swirl mitigating and flow straightening device, a fluid displacement member comprised of two oppositely facing frustums jointed at their larger ends and mounted coaxially within the conduit, and a second flow straightening device. Advantageous combinations of the flow straightening and fluid displacement apparatus with known measuring and sampling devices are provided.