Physiological Sensor Refurbishing With Replaceable Sensor Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reprocessing of physiological sensors often results in reduced reliability due to the reuse of worn-out sensing components, and the existing methods of replacing only the adhesive portions do not effectively address the degradation of sensing performance, leading to unnecessary disposal of functional sensor parts.
Innovation Solution
A refurbishing process that replaces the entire sensor assembly, including pre-tested and calibrated components, while retaining the sensor cable and patient monitor attachments, allowing for cost-effective refurbishment by eliminating the need for disassembly and component testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If only the adhesive portion of the sensor is replaced during reprocessing, then material costs are reduced, but the reliability of the sensor decreases due to wear and damage of retained sensing components
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is divided into two distinct segments: a reusable cable assembly and a disposable sensor portion. This segmentation allows the cable assembly to be retained and reused multiple times, while the sensor portion is replaced with each patient to ensure reliability. The sensor portion includes the sensing components (emitters and detectors) that are discarded after single use, while the cable assembly with its connectors and wiring is reused.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor portion is designed as a disposable, single-use component that is discarded after one patient use. This disposable portion contains the sensing components that are most susceptible to wear and damage. By making this portion disposable rather than reusable, the system ensures high reliability for each measurement while keeping the overall cost manageable through reuse of the more expensive cable assembly.
2Reliability
If the entire sensor assembly is replaced during refurbishment, then reliability is improved, but material costs increase and functional parts are unnecessarily disposed
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into a reusable cable assembly and a disposable sensor portion. This allows selective replacement of only the necessary components (sensor portion) while retaining functional parts (cable assembly), thereby reducing material waste and costs while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the entire sensor assembly, the system recovers and reuses the cable assembly which remains functional after the sensor portion is discarded. This recovery process eliminates the need to dispose of working components and reduces material costs for refurbishment.
3Reliability
If sensing components are tested and evaluated during reprocessing, then reliability can be maintained, but the complexity and time of the reprocessing procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor portion is designed as a disposable component that is replaced rather than tested. This eliminates the need for complex testing procedures during reprocessing, as each new sensor portion is guaranteed to be functional when opened. The simplicity of replacement outweighs the cost of testing individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor portion is pre-tested and pre-packaged by the manufacturer before reaching the reprocessing facility. This preliminary action ensures that when the sensor portion is opened and attached to the cable assembly, it is already verified to be functional, eliminating the need for additional testing during the reprocessing procedure.
4Reliability
If strict functional testing is implemented during reprocessing, then sensor reliability improves, but productivity decreases due to extended processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable sensor portion eliminates the need for time-consuming functional testing during reprocessing. Each new sensor portion is replaced in place of testing, ensuring reliability while maintaining high reprocessing throughput. The cable assembly is quickly prepared by cleaning and attaching a new sensor portion.
Solution Approach 2:
Functional testing is performed in advance by the manufacturer during sensor portion production and packaging. This preliminary verification ensures that all sensor portions leaving the factory are functional, so no additional testing is needed during reprocessing, thereby maintaining both reliability and productivity.
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 approach enhances the reliability of refurbished sensors, reduces material costs, and extends the number of sensors eligible for refurbishment by ensuring that only functional components are reused, thereby maintaining performance and reducing waste.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor is attached to a tissue site, such as a finger, toe, ear lobe, nose, hand, foot, or other site having pulsatile blood flow which can be penetrated by light from the emitters. The detector is responsive to the emitted light after attenuation by pulsatile blood flowing in the tissue site.
Data Source
AI summary
Because reprocessing or refurbishing of physiological sensors reuses large portions of an existing sensor, the material costs for refurbishing sensors is significantly lower than the material costs for making an entirely new sensor. Typically, existing reprocessors replace only the adhesive portion of an adhesive physiological sensor and reuse the sensing components. However, re-using the sensing components can reduce the reliability of the refurbished sensor and/or reduce the number of sensors eligible for refurbishing due to out-of-specification sensor components. It is therefore desirable to provide a process for refurbishing physiological sensors that replaces the sensing components of the sensor. While sensing components are replaced, generally, sensor cable and/or patient monitor attachments are retained, resulting in cost savings over producing new sensors.