System and method for detecting occlusions in a medication infusion system using pulsewise pressure signals

摘要

A medical fluid communication system is disclosed comprising a pump controller and a fluid detector. The fluid detector detects characteristics of the fluid and provides fluid measurements to the pump controller, which detects if the fluid is flowing in the medication delivery system. In the event fluid is not flowing due to an occlusion, the pump controller may attempt to resolve the occlusion or may provide a warning to a user that an occlusion is occurring.

主权项

1. A method of detecting occlusions in a medical fluid communication system comprising a fluid reservoir, a fluid path connected between the fluid reservoir and a patient, a fluid delivery device, and a pressure sensor having a sensing surface within the fluid path in contact with the medical fluid for directly measuring a pressure of the fluid within the fluid path, the method comprising the steps of:
measuring pressure of a medication fluid in a fluid path of a medical fluid communication system during a current interval with the in-line pressure sensor directly sensing pressure of the medication fluid; based on the pressure measurements, determining if a flow of the medication fluid is successful or unsuccessful; wherein determining if the medication fluid is flowing further comprises: calculating a minimum pressure of the current interval; and comparing the minimum pressure of the current interval to pressure data of a previous interval, wherein the flow of the medication fluid is not successful if the minimum pressure exceeds the pressure data of the previous interval; wherein the pressure data of the previous interval is based on a calculation of a peak pressure of the previous interval and a minimum pressure of the previous interval; and wherein the calculation is W*PMAX+(1−W)*PMIN, where PMAX is the maximum pressure of the previous interval, PMIN is the minimum pressure of the previous interval, and W is a weighting factor set based on the sensitivity.