Dual-Mode Temperature Transducer with Oxygen Saturation Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current apparatuses cannot simultaneously monitor intracranial temperature at depth and near surface temperature, as well as oxygenation of blood hemoglobin in neonatal patients wearing a cooling cap, due to spatial constraints on the forehead.
Innovation Solution
A dual-mode temperature transducer with integrated oxygen saturation sensing capability, utilizing microwave radiometry and infrared sensing, is designed to be affixed to the neonate's forehead, featuring a pair of microwave antennas and an oximeter, allowing for simultaneous measurement of intracranial and near surface temperatures, and oxygen saturation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling cap is placed on the patient's head to maintain brain temperature during circulatory arrest, then brain temperature control is improved, but there is no room to apply both the transducer and the oxygen saturation sensor to the infant's forehead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the microwave transducer and oxygen saturation sensor into a single integrated device that can be applied to the infant's forehead. This merging of functions allows both temperature monitoring (via microwave radiometry) and oxygen saturation monitoring (via light absorption) to occur simultaneously through one device, resolving the spatial conflict created by the cooling cap.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated transducer serves multiple functions: it monitors intracranial temperature at depth using microwave radiometry, monitors near surface temperature, and monitors oxygenation of blood hemoglobin using oximetry. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate devices and ensures all critical parameters can be monitored even when the patient wears a cooling cap.
2Measurement precision
If separate sensors are used for temperature monitoring and oxygen saturation monitoring, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and spatial requirements exceed available forehead area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensing functions into a single integrated transducer device. The microwave antennas for temperature monitoring and the light source/photodetector for oxygen saturation monitoring are combined in one unit, maintaining measurement precision for both parameters while reducing overall device complexity and eliminating the need for multiple separate sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated transducer achieves multi-functionality by incorporating both microwave radiometry capabilities (for temperature monitoring at depth and near surface) and oximetry capabilities (for oxygen saturation monitoring). This universal design maintains the measurement precision of separate specialized sensors while reducing the total number of devices required.
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
Enables precise control of brain cooling and oxygenation monitoring during pediatric cardiac surgery, improving patient outcomes by providing comprehensive temperature and oxygenation data without the need for separate sensors.
Implementation Method 1
It uses microwave radiometry to monitor intracranial temperature at depth and usually also near surface (skin) temperature
Implementation Method 2
The absorbance of the infrared light differs significantly between the oxygen-bound (bright red) and oxygen-unbound (dark red) blood hemoglobin in the regional tissue
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for detecting intracranial temperature and blood oxygenation includes a transducer having a working surface for placement against a patient's cranium. The transducer forms a microwave antenna having walls defining an aperture having a pair of opposite broader boundaries and a pair of opposite narrower boundaries at the working surface. The antenna is tuned to a frequency which produces a first output signal indicative of heat emanating from the cranium. An oxygen saturation sensor sharing that aperture includes a radiation emitter located at one of narrower boundaries which directs electromagnetic radiation across the aperture to a radiation detector at the other of the narrower boundaries and which produces a corresponding second output signal. A control unit includes a display and a processor for processing the signals to calculate an intracranial temperature and an oxygen saturation value for display by the control unit.