Bypass Flow Element for Ventilator Gas Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ventilators face challenges in accurately measuring and providing a mixture of air and oxygen due to oxygen contamination in the air pathway during exhalation, leading to higher oxygen concentrations in the inspiratory gas flow, and existing flow meters and sensors face limitations in accurately determining the flow rates and volumes, causing obstructions and compromised flow.
Innovation Solution
A ventilator design incorporating a bypass element with ribs adjacent to a bypass conduit, which directs a portion of the air and oxygen flows to a flow sensor, ensuring laminar fluid flow and reducing pressure drop, allowing for accurate measurement of gas flow rates and volumes using a mass flow sensor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sample of the gas mixture is taken for measurement, then the flow rate or flow volume can be determined, but the flow rate of the sample is much smaller than that of the ventilator, causing limitations in sensing accuracy and potential obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The gas flow is divided into multiple pathways: a main pathway for the bulk gas flow and a bypass pathway for the sampled flow. The bypass element segments the total flow to direct a portion through the flow sensor, enabling accurate measurement without restricting the main ventilator output.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass element acts as an intermediary device that creates a separate measurement pathway. It extracts a sample flow from the main gas mixture and directs it through the flow sensor, allowing indirect measurement of the main flow while maintaining the integrity and volume of the primary gas delivery system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the gas from the air pathway is mixed with additional oxygen from the oxygen pathway, then the desired oxygen mixture is provided, but the oxygen concentration becomes higher than desired due to oxygen contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The air and oxygen pathways are segmented and measured separately before mixing. The bypass element provides separate flow measurement paths for air and oxygen, allowing independent control and verification of each gas component's flow rate, preventing contamination errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow sensor provides feedback on the actual flow rates of air and oxygen through the bypass pathways. This information is used to adjust the mixing proportions, ensuring the desired oxygen concentration is achieved while compensating for any contamination or measurement variations.
3Measurement precision
If sensing of oxygen and air in both inspiration and expiration is implemented, then the mixture can be monitored, but obstructions and compromised flow occur
Solution Approach 1:
The bypass element serves as an intermediary measurement system that monitors gas composition without placing sensors in the main inspiratory and expiratory pathways. By measuring a sampled flow through a separate bypass route, it provides monitoring capability without causing obstructions or disrupting the primary gas flow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables precise measurement and calibration of gas flow rates, reducing oxygen contamination and ensuring the delivery of a desired oxygen concentration to the patient, while minimizing flow noise and turbulence, thus improving the accuracy of gas mixture delivery.
Implementation Method 1
a bypass element configured to direct a first gas and a second gas from a ventilator, the bypass element comprising: a rib adjacent to a bypass conduit, wherein fluid flow is substantially laminar adjacent to the conduit
Data Source
AI summary
A ventilator includes a first pathway configured to supply a first gas; a second pathway configured to supply a second gas; a bypass element configured to provide a portion of the first gas and a portion of the second gas, the bypass element comprising a rib adjacent to a bypass conduit, wherein fluid flow is substantially laminar adjacent to the conduit. A bypass element is described.