Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021 - ST-26

Applications
tions of the ventilator. The CO2 sensor
is the only one monitoring a function of
the patient.
Home Healthcare
There is a trend in medicine to move
patients out of hospitals and into home
healthcare settings. Patients are more
comfortable at home. They get attention
from familiar caregivers and recover
more quickly from ailments. The sensors
built into home healthcare equipment
make the machines reliable, simple to
operate, and eliminate the need for constant
attention from medical professionals.
The results are improved patient
safety and better medical outcomes.
Figure 4. TES smart medical chair. (Image courtesy of TES)
weight data, a body-mass index (BMI)
can be calculated. This chair becomes
an excellent tool for home healthcare
applications because no trained medical
professional is needed, and a mini
" check-up " can be performed anytime
- just sit down quietly and relax.
Medical Equipment Self-Monitoring
Therapeutic and surgical medical
machines must perform with very high
levels of accuracy. To ensure the instrument
is operating properly, designers
are now adding sensors that keep track
of critical machine functions. These
sensors can operate in one of two ways.
They can be made part of a feedback
and control loop that measures a
parameter and then makes adjustments
to the equipment to keep it
operating within specified ranges. The
sensor can also be used as a limit
alarm. When a parameter goes out of
specification or the machine malfunctions
in some way, the sensor alerts the
operator about the fault condition and
can even shut down the machine to
protect patient safety.
The sensors built into modern medical
ventilators are good examples of
this technique. The block diagram in
Figure 5 shows the inner workings of a
typical machine. Note that all but one of
the sensors are monitoring the funcThe
Future
Work is underway throughout the
medical industry to incorporate more
sensors into the machines and procedures
used by doctors and their teams.
The addition of sensors helps keep an
eye on the functions and performance
of the equipment, which allows the medical
professionals to turn their eyes
toward the patient and create better
clinical results. Whether being used to
monitor a patient, or monitor the medical
machine being used to treat
patients, the growing use of sensors will
bring significant benefits to the world of
medicine.
This article was written by Pete Smith, Sr.
Manager, Sales and Marketing Support, TE
Connectivity Sensor Solutions - TES
(Schaffhausen, Switzerland/Berwyn, PA).
For more information, contact Mr. Smith at
pete.smith2@te.com or visit http://info.
hotims.com/79414-165.
Hospital Regulated Air
Control
Valve
Flow
Sensor
Mixing
Chamber
Hospital Regulated Oxygen
Control
Valve
Flow
Sensor
Pressure
Sensor
Control Electronics
Differential
Pressure
Exhaust to room
PEEP Valve
Figure 5. Block diagram of a typical medical ventilator. (Image courtesy of TES)
26
Cov
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
Sensor Technology, June 2021
Filter
Expiration
Valve
CO2 Sensor
Humidity
Sensor
Inspiration
Valve
http://info.hotims.com/79414-165 http://www.techbriefs.com http://www.abpi.net/ntbpdfclicks/l.php?202106TBNAV
Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021
