Detection of blood leakage by detecting a volatile agent
Inventors
Engvall, Daniel • Stroemsten, Patrik
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-9492091-B2
Publication Date
2016-11-15
Expiration Date
Abstract
A method of detecting bleeding from a wound including: providing, on a support, a substantially non-volatile agent capable of forming a volatile agent on contact with blood; disposing the non-volatile agent on the support at or near the wound; providing a probe for detection of the volatile agent; disposing the probe for detection of the volatile agent at a distance from the support; generating a flow of air in a direction from the support to the probe; monitoring the formation of volatile agent by the probe, thereby detecting a bleeding of the wound. Also disclosed are a system and a disposable device for use in the method.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a method of detecting bleeding from a wound by using, on a support at or near the wound, a substantially non-volatile agent that is capable of forming a gaseous volatile agent given off to the surrounding air on contact with blood. A probe detects the volatile agent from the air surrounding the support, with the probe disposed at a distance from the support, and a flow of air is generated in a direction from the support to the probe.
Bleeding is detected by monitoring the formation of the volatile agent with the probe, so that volatile-agent detection corresponds to wound bleeding. In the described examples, the non-volatile agent/volatile agent pairings include calcium hydride to hydrogen, calcium carbide to acetylene, sodium borohydride to hydrogen, sodium sulfide plus acid components to hydrogen sulfide, and NH3BH3 to ammonia. The disclosed system includes selective gas sensing for the volatile agent and an alarm unit.
The disclosed support implementation uses layered or disposable support arrangements with layers that include the substantially non-volatile agent and, in some embodiments, an adjacent acid, base, and/or catalyst positioned to enhance formation of the volatile agent. The volatile agent is transported from the wound region to the detection probe using an airflow generated by a fan, optionally via an air stream conducting tube, while a gas detector monitors the transported volatile agent and can trigger alerting functions.
Claims Coverage
The document includes two independent claims, a method claim and a system claim, each defined by an airflow-and-distant-probe scheme combined with a substantially non-volatile agent that forms a gaseous volatile agent upon contact with blood. Across the dependent claims, inventive features are refined by enumerating selectable non-volatile and volatile agent species and by adding optional adjacent acid/base/catalyst components and specific flow-generator and support structures.
Substantially non-volatile agent on support forming a gaseous volatile agent from blood
Providing, on a support, a substantially non-volatile agent capable of forming a gaseous volatile agent given off to the surrounding air on contact with blood; disposing the non-volatile agent on the support at or near the wound.
Distant probe detection with airflow from support to probe
Providing a probe for detection of the volatile agent from the air surrounding the support; disposing the probe for detection of the volatile agent at a distance from the support; generating a flow of air in a direction from the support to the probe; monitoring the formation of said volatile agent with the probe, to thereby detect bleeding of the wound.
System including non-volatile agent, probe, and flow generator from support to probe
A system for detecting bleeding from a wound comprising a substantially non-volatile agent arranged on a support, a probe for detection of the volatile agent, and a flow generator generating a flow of air from the support to said probe, where the non-volatile agent is capable of forming a gaseous volatile agent which is given off to the surrounding air on contact with blood.
Collectively, the independent claims cover a bleeding-detection method and a bleeding-detection system that generate a volatile gaseous agent from blood using a substantially non-volatile agent on or near a wound, with a probe placed at a distance and an air flow from the support toward the probe. Dependent claims further narrow candidate agents and volatile species, specify airflow generation using a fan, add guide or tube directing features, and include optional adjacent acid, base, or catalyst on layered support structures.
Stated Advantages
Alarm triggering based on detection of the volatile agent.
Optional stopping of dialysis is described as an effect linked to detection and alerting.
Documented Applications
Wound bleeding detection in connection with hemodialysis, including use with a cannula and a dialyzer.
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