NO Dispensing Apparatus with Integrated Calibration Line
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas delivery devices for nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) require frequent and resource-intensive calibration, involving the use of calibrated gas cylinders, which is burdensome for hospital staff and costly, and can lead to calibration errors due to expiration dates.
Innovation Solution
A gas delivery apparatus with an integrated calibration line that allows for direct passage of gas from the injection line to the analysis line, utilizing solenoid valves and a microprocessor-controlled system to automate calibration, reducing the need for standard cylinders and simplifying the calibration process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If frequent calibration using calibrated gas cylinders is performed, then measurement precision is maintained, but device complexity and operational burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the calibration gas source function into the main gas delivery system by using the patient circuit itself as the calibration gas source. The Y-piece connector allows the patient circuit to serve dual purposes: delivering therapeutic gas to the patient and providing calibration gas to the analyzer, thereby eliminating the need for separate calibrated gas cylinders and reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient circuit is given a universal function, serving both as the therapeutic gas delivery pathway and as the calibration gas source. The Y-piece connector enables the same circuit to fulfill multiple roles, making the calibration system simpler while maintaining measurement precision through automatic self-calibration.
2Measurement precision
If calibrated gas cylinders are used for calibration, then measurement precision is ensured, but operational costs and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service calibration by using its own patient circuit as the calibration gas source. The automatic calibration feature allows the analyzer to calibrate itself without requiring external calibrated gas cylinders, thereby eliminating the consumption of these resources and reducing operational costs while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding calibrated gas cylinders after use, the system recovers and reuses the patient circuit itself as an ongoing calibration source. The continuous availability of the patient circuit as a calibration gas source eliminates the need to repeatedly acquire and discard calibrated gas cylinders.
3Measurement precision
If manual calibration procedures are performed, then measurement precision can be maintained, but productivity and operational efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control through automatic calibration, where the analyzer continuously monitors gas concentrations and automatically adjusts its calibration using the patient circuit as the reference source. This eliminates manual intervention, maintains measurement precision through continuous feedback, and significantly improves operational efficiency by freeing staff from repetitive calibration tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The analyzer performs self-service calibration automatically without requiring manual intervention from hospital staff. The system autonomously uses the patient circuit as a calibration source, maintaining measurement precision while eliminating the time-consuming manual calibration procedures that reduce productivity.
4Measurement precision
If calibrated gas cylinders with expiration dates are used, then initial calibration accuracy is achieved, but reliability decreases over time due to expiration
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously self-calibrates using the patient circuit as a permanent, non-expiring calibration source. This eliminates the reliability issues associated with expired calibrated gas cylinders, as the patient circuit provides an ongoing, stable reference that does not degrade over time, ensuring both initial and long-term calibration accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
The apparatus has a gas injection line (4) comprising a gas inlet (4a) and a gas outlet (4b), where the injection line conveys gas from the gas inlet to the gas outlet. A gas analysis line fluidly connects a gas analyzer to a gas sampling inlet (6a). A control device (70) e.g. CPU, controls passage of gas into the gas injection line and sampling of the gas from the gas analysis line. A calibration line (605) is fluidly connected to the gas injection line and the gas analysis line to allow direct passage of gas from the gas injection line to the gas analysis line.