US 20040075 824A1

( 12) Patent Application Publication ( 10) Pub. N o. : US 2004/ 0075824 A1

( 19 ) United States
B elenk ii et al. ( 43 ) Pub. D ate: Apr. 22, 2004
( 54) OPTICAL FLOW MON ITOR
( 76 ) Inv entors : Mik h ail B elenk ii, San D ieg o, CA ( US) ;
Ch ris Sex ton, San D ieg o, CA ( US)
Corres pondence Addres s :
JOHN R. ROSS
TREX EN TERPRISES
10455 PACIFIC CEN TER CT.
SAN D IEGO, CA 9 2121 ( US)
( 21)
( 22)
Appl. N o. : 10/ 6 85, 244
Filed: Oct. 14, 2003
Related US. Application D ata
( 6 3 ) Continuation- in- part of application N o. 10/ 155, 09 4,
? led on May 23 , 2002, noW Pat. N o. 6 , 6 83 , 6 79 .
Publication Clas s i? cation
( 51) Im. c1? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G01P 3 / 3 6
( 52) Us . 01. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 56 / 28; 3 56 / 285
( 57) AB STRACT
A How monitor th at is purely optical and non- inv as iv e and
does not pos s es s any s ig ni? cant obs truction to th e ? oW. It
creates no s ig ni? cant pres s ure drop and no puls ed pres s ure
Wav es in th e patient s airWay and can be placed clos e to th e
patient, it is not s ens itiv e to g as compos ition and contami
nation, it is eas y to clean, becaus e it us es a dis pos able or
reus able ? oW meas urement cuv ette, and it is more accurate,
rug g ed and reliable th an ex is ting s ens ors on th e mark et.
Fluid How is determined by optically monitoring th e time of
trav el of a dis turbance in th e ? uid ? oW. In one embodiment,
th e dis turbance is caus ed by h eating th e ? uid and in anoth er
embodiment, th e dis turbance in air How is caus ed by inj ect
ing minute drops of Water into th e ? oWing air.
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OPTICAL FLOW MON ITOR
[ 0001] Th is application is a continuation- in- part of Ser.
N o. 10/ 155, 09 4 ? led May 23 , 2002. Th is inv ention relates to
? oW meas urement and monitoring dev ices and in particular
to optical ? oW monitoring dev ices .
B ACK GROUN D OF THE IN V EN TION
[ 0002] Accurate meas urement and monitoring of ? uid
? oW is important in many s ituations . One important appli
cation of ? uid ? oW monitoring dev ices is th e monitoring of
res pirator g as ? oW. Res piratory circuits are typically com
pos ed of ? ex ible tubing With an ins ide diameter of 15 mm.
Th e ? oW is bi- directional and peak s as h ig h as 20 liters per
minute. Th e g as mix ture in th e circuits typically contains N 2,
O2, CO2, N 20, With v apor eth anol, anes th etic and oth er
drug s in v arying concentrations . Th e concentration of all
g as es including O2 v aries f rom th e ins pired part of th e cycle
to th e ex pired portion of th e cycle. HoWev er, at leas t 21% O2
is alWays pres ent in th e g as mix ture in th e circuit, and it
g enerally h as much h ig h er concentrations of O2. Th e CO2
concentration is approx imately Z ero on th e ins pired part of
th e cycle and as h ig h as 10% on th e ex pired portion of th e
cycle. Oth er g as es may or may not be pres ent in v arying
concentrations . For mos t patients relativ e h umidity of th e
res pirator air is maintained in th e rang e of about 3 0- 70% .
Ex is ting ? oW meas uring products on th e mark et include h ot
Wire anemometer, ? ne mes h net, and pres s ure drop s ens ors .
All of th es e products h av e as a principal s h ortcoming th at
th ey pos ition an obs truction to th e ? oW th at creates a
pres s ure drop in th e ? oW ch annel. Cleaning of th es e dev ices
is dif ? cult. Ultras onic anemometers are als o k noWn. Th eir
principal s h ortcoming s are th at th ere are s ens itiv e to g as
compos ition and contaminations . Als o, th ey are dif ? cult to
clean becaus e th ey do not alloW th e us e of a dis pos able or
reus able ? oW meas urement cuv ette. Finally, th ey create
puls ed pres s ure Wav es in th e ? oW ch annel, and th eref ore
cannot be placed clos e to th e patient. Optical dev ices f or
meas uring ? uid ? oW are k noWn. Th es e include las er D op
pler anemometers . Th es e dev ices are ex pens iv e and th ey
req uire s eeding th e ? oW With calibrated particles . In addi
tion, th ey pos ition obs truction in th e ? oW ch annel.
[ 0003 ] Wh at is needed is a v ery reliable and accurate,
non- inv as iv e, g as - independent, eas y to clean, loW cos t and
portable ? uid ? oW meas uring and monitoring dev ice, Wh ich
can be placed clos e to th e patient.
SUMMARY OF THE IN V EN TION
[ 0004] Th e pres ent inv ention prov ides a ? oW monitor th at
is purely optical and non- inv as iv e and does not pos s es s any
s ig ni? cant obs truction to th e ? oW. It creates no s ig ni? cant
pres s ure drop and no puls ed pres s ure Wav es in th e patient s
airWay and can be placed clos e to th e patient, it is not
s ens itiv e to g as compos ition and contamination, it is eas y to
clean, becaus e it us es a dis pos able or reus able ? oW mea
s urement cuv ette, and it is more accurate, rug g ed and
reliable th an ex is ting s ens ors on th e mark et. Fluid ? oW is
determined by optically monitoring th e time of trav el of a
dis turbance in th e ? uid ? oW. In one embodiment, th e dis
turbance is caus ed by h eating th e ? uid and in anoth er
embodiment, th e dis turbance in air ? oW is caus ed by inj ect
ing minute drops of Water into th e ? oWing air. In th e ? rs t
embodiment, ? uid ? oW is determined by correlating tWo
Apr. 22, 2004
interf erence s ig nals produced by coh erent las er beams pas s
ing th roug h a ? oWing ? uid at tWo s paced- apart path s . Th e
dis tance betWeen th e tWo path s is k noWn and th e correlation
of th e tWo s ig nals is us ed to determine th e time req uired f or
th e ? uid to ? oW betWeen th e tWo path s . In a pref erred
embodiment actually built and tes ted by Applicant th e
correlation is made by h av ing an operator monitor on an
os cillos cope th e intens ities of interf erence f ring es corre
s ponding to each of th e tWo beam path s . Intens ity v ariations
in th e interf erence f ring es are caus ed by th e s ame turbulent
eddies pas s ing each of th e tWo path s . Th es e turbulent eddies
caus e ? uctuations in th e index of ref raction of th e ? uid
Wh ich produce s imilar patterns on th e os cillos cope Wh ich
are s eparated on th e os cillos cope time s cale by an amount
corres ponding to th e dis tance betWeen th e tWo beam path s
and th e ? oW rate of th e ? uid. Th e operator can determine th e
time dif f erence betWeen th e s imilar patterns in th e tWo
beams and k noWing th e actual dis tance betWeen th e beams
th e operator can calculate th e ? oW rate. In pref erred embodi
ments th e interf erence s ig nals are produced us ing s h ear
plates . In one pref erred embodiment us ef ul f or monitoring
th e ? oW rate of a res pirator, th e correlation of th e f ring e
intens ity v alues corres ponding to th e tWo beam path s is
made by a dig ital computer prog rammed With an alg orith m
f or mak ing cros s correlation analys es th at utiliZ es a Fas t
Fourier Trans f orm ( EFT) alg orith m. Th e inv ention is bas ed
on meas urements of th e ? oW of turbulent inh omog eneities in
th e ? uid ? oW at tWo locations With a k noWn s eparation. In
pref erred embodiments th e turbulent inh omog eneities of th e
? oW are increas ed by h eating th e ? uid j us t ups tream of th e
tWo beam path s . Th e ? oW v elocity is es timated f rom th e
meas ured trav el time, Wh ich is req uired f or th e ? oW to mov e
turbulent eddies f rom one location to anoth er, and th e k noWn
s eparation betWeen th e tWo locations .
B RIEF D ESCRIPTION OF THE D RAWIN GS
[ 0005] FIG. 1 is a draWing of a pref erred embodiment of
th e pres ent inv ention.
[ 0006 ] FIG. 1A s h oWs h oW s pectral f ring es are produce
With a s h ear plate.
[ 0007] FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are copies of os cillos cope
traces s h oWing actual f ring e intens ity s ig nals and demon
s trating th e eas e of correlating th e f ring e data to determine
? oW rates .
[ 0008] FIGS. 3 A and 3 B are os cillos cope traces s h oWing
inh ale and ex h ale traces s h oWing th e tWo- Way accuracy of
th e pres ent inv ention.
[ 0009 ] FIG. 4 s h oWs a calibration of th e pres ent inv ention
ag ains t a mech anical ? oW dev ice.
[ 0010] FIG. 5 s h oWs a block diag ram and bas ic eq uation
f or mak ing a cros s - correlation of tWo s ets of s pectral inter
f erence f ring e data to determine ? oW rate.
[ 0011] FIG. 6 s h oWs h oW a pref erred ? oW monitor ? ts into
a res pirator tube.
[ 0012] FIG. 7 s h oWs a tech niq ue f or practicing th e pres ent
inv ention by us ing s eparate portions of a s ing le las er beam
to monitor ? uid ? oW.
[ 0013 ] FIG. 8 pres ent ch arts ex plaining a tech niq ue f or
meas uring ? oW us ing tWo dif f erent meth ods .
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
[ 0014] FIG. 9 is a drawing s h owing f eatures of a Water
droplet embodiment.
[ 0015] FIG. 10 s h oWs a path of Water droplets in air f low.
[ 0017] FIG. 12 s h oWs tes t res ults of th e FIG. 11 type
embodiment.
FIG. 11 s h oWs h oW to deal With tWo- direction
D ETAILED D ESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
EMB OD IMEN TS
Firs t Pref erred Embodiment
[ 0018] A ? rs t pref erred embodiment of th e pres ent inv en
tion is s h oWn in FIG. 1. An optical res pirator ? oW monitor
2 repres ented by components With in th e das h ed lines in FIG.
1 is s ubs tituted f or a s ection of res pirator breath ing tube 4 as
s h oWn als o in FIG. 6 . Heating elements 6 A and 6 B are
located on th e patient s ide and th e res pirator s ide of th e
optical portion of th e monitor. D iode las er s ys tem 8 pro
duces a collimated coh erent las er beam at a Wav eleng th of
6 3 3 nm. B eam s plitter 10 and mirror 12 s eparate th e s ing le
beam f rom th e las er s ys tem into tWo beams 14A and 14B
both of Wh ich pas s th roug h WindoWs 16 A and 16 B and th e
f lowing ? uid th e f low rate of Wh ich is to be monitored.
Interf erence f ring es are produced in both beams 14A and
14B by s h ear plates 18A and 18B as s h oWn in FIG. 1A.
D etectors 20A and 20B are ph otodiode detectors and each
are pos itioned to monitor th e s pectral intens ity of a s ing le
s elected interf erence f ring e as s h oWn in FIG. 1B . Th e s patial
s eparation of beams 14A and 14B is precis ely meas ured. An
analog - to- dig ital conv erter board 22 conv erts both s ets of
s ig nals to dig ital and th es e s ig nals are correlated by dig ital
proces s or 24 to determine th e time dif f erence betWeen
s imilar f ring e intens ity patterns and f rom th es e time dif f er
ence v alues and th e k noWn s patial s eparation of th e tWo
beams th e res pirator How and direction is determined. In th is
pref erred embodiment Applicant us ed a s ing le mode diode
las er: 5 mW, 6 3 3 nm Wav eleng th , 8 mm beam diameter,
av ailable f rom PoWer Tech . Inc. , Part N umber:
PM( LD 1212) TC5. Th e detectors each Were a s ilicon ph o
todiode: SiPIN , 1 mm diameter, 1 ns res pons e time, av ail
able f rom Th orlabs Inc. , Part N umber: FD SOlO. Th e
receiv er aperture diameter Was 1 mm. FIG. 1A is a s k etch
s h oWing h oW s h ear plate 18A produces f ring e patterns 26 .
D etector 20A is pos itioned to monitor only th e peak inten
s ity of only one of th es e f ring es s uch as f ring e 26 A as s h oWn
in FIG. 1B .
Os cillos cope D ata
[ 0019 ] Applicant h as prov en th e ef f ectiv enes s of th e
pres ent inv ention by monitoring th e output s ig nals of detec
tors 20A and 20B With an os cillos cope. Typical traces are
s h oWn in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C. Th es e ch arts s h oW traces
With res pirator f low at 4. 5 l/ min, 6 . 8 l/ min and 16 . 8 l/ min. In
th es e cas es th e correlations betWeen th e s imilar patterns are
obv ious and th e f low rates can be con? rmed manually by an
operator. FIGS. 3 A and 3 B s h oW s imilar traces With a
comparis on betWeen inh ale and eXh ale to prov e th at th is
inv ention Work s eq ually Well f or How in eith er direction.
FIG. 4 is a ch art, Wh ich compares tes t res ults f rom th e
pres ent inv ention With a prior art mech anical s ens or s h oWing
Apr. 22, 2004
th at th e f low meas urements correlate in th e rang e f rom les s
th an one litter/ min to more th an 100 litters / min.
Cros s - Correlations
[ 0020] FIG. 5 s h oWs a pref erred tech niq ue f or mak ing th e
correlations automatically With a dig ital computer. Th e tWo
analog s ig nals V 1( t) and V 2( t) as s h oWn at 28A and 28B are
dig itiZ ed as s h oWn at 29 in FIG. 5 With A to D conv erter
board 22. Th e s ig nals are th en conv erted to f req uency
s ig nals V 1( u) ) and V 2( u) ) us ing a FFT alg orith m as s h oWn at
3 0A and 3 0B . Th en th e auto s pectra S11 and S22 are com
puted and th e s ig nals are correlated to compute th e cros s
s pectrum S12 as s h oWn at 3 2. An inv ers e Fourier trans f orm
is th en perf ormed on th e cros s - s pectrum as s h oWn at 3 4 and
th e time delay At of th e peak of th e cros s - correlation is
determined as s h oWn at 3 6 . Th e proces s or th en calculates
and dis plays th e res pirator f low rate as r/ At, Wh ere r is th e
dis tance betWeen tWo detectors .
Cros s - Spectra
[ 0021] How direction and f low v elocity is determined by
calculating th e ph as e s pectrum and coh erence s pectrum of
th e intens ities of th e interf erence f ring es caus ed by th e s ame
turbulent inh omog eneities pas s ing each of th e tWo path s .
Th e f low direction is determined by th e s ig n of th e ph as e
delay betWeen intens ity v alues in tWo meas urement ch annels
and th e f low v elocity is determined f rom th e ratio
[ 0022] Wh ere r is th e dis tance betWeen tWo detectors ,
_ 27r
f - I
[ 0023 ] is th e f req uency, and 0 is th e ph as e s pectrum of th e
intens ity v alues in tWo meas urement ch annels . Th e cros s
s pectrum of th e s ig nals acq uired With tWo s paced detectors
is a Fourier trans f orm of th e cros s - correlation f unction
[ 0024] Wh ere r is th e dis tance betWeen tWo detectors , f is
th e f req uency, B 12 ( r, " c) is th e time- lag g ed cros s - correlation
f unction. Th e cros s - s pectrum is th e complex v alue
[ 0025] Wh ere y( r, f ) is th e modulus called th e coh erence
s pectrum, and 0( r, f ) is th e ph as e s pectrum. Th e ph as e
s pectrum determines th e ph as e delay betWeen tWo s ig nals
and relates to th e f low v elocity V by eq uation
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
[ 0026 ] Th eref ore, th e How v elocity is g iv en by
Z ero Cros s ing Points Meth od
[ 0027] Th e ph ys ical meaning of th is eq uation is th e f ol
loWing . Let us s elect in th e mov ing pattern of optical
turbulent dis turbances a Fourier component With a s patial
period A. If th is component is mov ed with How v elocity V ,
th en at tWo locations s eparated at dis tance r th e f req uency
component With temporal f req uency f = AV Will h av e a ph as e
s h if t of 0= 2rcf At, Wh ere At= r/ V . Th eref ore, th e How v elocity
is determined by
V
0
[ 0028] Th e How direction may be determined by calculat
ing th e cumulativ e dif f erence betWeen th e v alues of th e
pos itiv e part of th e cros s - correlation f unction to th e neg ativ e
part th ereof , Wh ereby th e direction of th e How is de? ned by
th e s ig n of th e res ult of calculation and How v elocity is
determined by computing f or each of s aid s ig nals th e
number of Z ero cros s ing points . Th e number of times th e
ins tantaneous s ig nal cros s th e av erag e s ig nal in each detec
tor us ing a proper calibration f unction is conv erted to th e
How v elocity. Since th e number of Z ero cros s ing is a
meas ure of th e temporal s pectrum of th e meas ured s ig nal,
Wh ich is proportional to th e How rate, it is clear th at th e How
rate can be es timated by us ing th e Z ero cros s ing points
meth od. Th is meth od h as an adv antag e th at it is ins ens itiv e
to ev olution of optical dis turbances betWeen tWo s paced
locations .
[ 0029 ] For more details concerning pref erred cros s - corre
lation and cros s - s pectral tech niq ues , th e reader is ref erred to
one of th e f olloWing teXts :
[ 003 0] 1. B endat J. and Piers ol A. , Eng ineering appli
cations of correlation and s pectral analys is . N Y . Willey,
19 80, and 19 9 3 ( 2nd addition) .
[ 003 1] 2. B endat J. and Piers ol A. , Random data: Analy
s is and meas urement procedures . N Y . Willey, 19 74.
[ 003 2] 3 . Jenk ins G. and Watts D . Spectral analys is and
its application, 19 6 9 .
[ 003 3 ] 4. Jack s on, L. B . D ig ital Filters and Sig nal
Proces s ing . Th ird Ed. B os ton: K luWer Academic Pub
lis h ers , 19 89 .
[ 003 4] 5. K ay, S. M. Modern Spectral Es timation.
Eng leWood Clif f s , N J: Prentice Hall, 19 88.
[ 003 5] 6 . Oppenh eim, A. V . , and R. W. Sch af er. D is
crete- Time Sig nal Proces s ing . Eng leWood Clif f s , N J:
Prentice Hall, 19 89 .
Apr. 22, 2004
[ 003 6 ] In s ummary pref erred tech niq ues f or mak ing th es e
cros s correlations is as f olloWs :
[ 003 7] 1) D etect th e intens ity of th e las er beam With tWo
detectors , s eparated at th e dis tance eq ual to th e Width of
th e interf erence f ring es and pos itioned at th e peak s of
th e neig h boring f ring es .
[ 003 8] 2) Proces s th e analog output s ig nal of each
detector by amplif ying its s ig nal, conv erting th e analog
s ig nal to dig ital and inputting th e dig ital s ig nal into a
computer proces s or.
[ 003 9 ] 3 ) Calculating th e av erag e and normaliZ ed s ig nal
v alues f or each detector to produce a time s eries f or
each detector,
[ 0040] 4) Calculating th e normaliZ ed time- lag g ed cros s
correlation f unction betWeen intens ity v alues f or th e
tWo time s eries , and
[ 0041] 5) D etermine th e time delay of th e peak of th e
normaliZ ed time- lag g ed cros s correlation f unction
betWeen intens ity v alues meas ured With th e tWo detec
tors . Th e direction of th e How is determined by th e s ig n
of th e time delay and th e How v elocity is determined by
th e ratio of th e s eparation betWeen th e detectors to th e
peak time delay of th e cros s correlation f unction.
Sing le Las er B eam
[ 0042] FIG. 7 s h oWs anoth er pref erred embodiment of th e
pres ent inv ention. In th is cas e only one las er beam f rom
las er diode 8A pas s es th roug h th e ? oWing ? uid. Th e s ing le
beam 14C is collimated and pas s ed th roug h th e ? oWing
? uid. A s ing le s h ear plate 18C is us ed to produce a larg e
number of f ring es . Th e interf ered beam is s plit into tWo parts
by polariZ ing beam s plitter cube 18D and s eparate f ring es
are monitored by detector 20A and detector 20B , each
detector look ing at only one f ring e. Th e tWo monitored
f ring es are ch os en s o th at th ey are repres entativ e of s eparate
portions of beam 14C, one portion being dis placed f rom th e
oth er a meas urable amount in th e direction of ? oW. B as ed on
th e meas urements of f ring e intens ity ? oW rates are deter
mined as des cribed abov e.
Us e of Ph oto D iode Array D etector
[ 0043 ] In anoth er pref erred embodiment a 1024- piXel
ph oto diode array replaces th e beam s plitter and th e tWo
detectors . Th e ph oto diode array Will pref erably be pos i
tioned s uch th at about 4 to 7 piXels cov er each f ring e. One
or more piXels could th en be us ed to monitor tWo s paced
apart f ring es as th e How is v aried in and our. Correlation can
be made eith er manually as des cribed abov e or With th e
cros s - correlation alg orith m as des cribed abov e.
TWo Types of FloW Meas urements f or Each B reath
[ 0044] FIG. 8 are os cillos cope ch arts of tWo intens ity of
tWo f ring es during th e ? rs t 0. 2 s econd of res pirator ? oW
during a breath ing cycle. N ote th at during th e ? rs t part of th e
cycle th ere is g ood correlation betWeen th e tWo ch arts . Als o
note th at during th e las t 50 ms on th e ch arts correlation is
poor. HoWev er, Applicant h as determined th at during th is
las t portion th e v ariations of th e s ig nals f rom th e f ring e
intens ity v alues are proportional to th e How v elocity. Th ere
f ore, in a pref erred embodiment, tWo dif f erent tech niq ues are
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
us ed to meas ure ? oW. D uring th e ? rs t part of th e cycle
correlations are made as des cribed abov e us ing th e tWo s ets
of f ring e data and correlating th em to obtain th e f low rate
and direction. D uring th e latter part of th e breath ing cycle
each of th e s ets of f ring e data are analyZ ed s eparately. Th e
data are ? rs t s mooth ed s uch as by mak ing running av erag es
of about 5 intens ity v alues . Th e av erag e v alues are th en
normaliZ ed and th e av erag e is s ubtracted f rom each normal
iZ ed v alue and th e res ults plotted. Th e numbers of Z ero
cros s ing s are th en counted and th e f low rate is es timated
bas ed on th e number of Z ero cros s ing . Applicant h as deter
mined th at th ere is g ood correlation betWeen th e numbers of
Z ero cros s ing s counted and th e f low rate during th e later part
of th e breath ing cycle.
Embodiments B as ed on D roplet Scattering
[ 0045] Anoth er pref erred embodiment, des cribed by ref
erence to FIG. 9 is bas ed on th e droplet s catter ef f ect. It us es
a periodic intens ity pattern f ormed by a g rating illuminated
by an incoh erent s ource ( LED ) and imag ed into th e How in
conj unction With a lig h t s catter by Water droplets to meas ure
th e temporal f req uency of th e s cattered lig h t.
[ 0046 ] A lig h t beam illuminates a g rating and f orms a
periodic intens ity pattern With th e s patial period, S, and is
imag ed into th e meas uring v olume With in th e air f low. Water
droplets h av ing 20- 6 0 microns diameter are ej ected into th e
air f low With in th e meas urement v olume. Lig h t s cattered
f rom particles in th e How is collected and proces s ed. Par
ticles mov ing th roug h th e meas uring v olume s catter lig h t of
v arying intens ity, s ome of Wh ich is collected by a ph otode
tector. Th e res ulting f req uency of th e ph otodetector output is
related directly to particle v elocity. Th e time v arying s ens or
res pons e is proces s ed by us ing th e Fas t Fourier Trans f orm
( FFT) alg orith m, and f rom th e f req uency of th e s ens or
output th e f low v elocity is determined.
[ 0047] Th e temporal period of th e s ens or res pons e relates
to th e s patial period of th e g rating , S, and f low v elocity by
th e eq uation
( 1)
[ 0048] Cons eq uently, th e s ig nal f req uency is g iv en by
f = V / S, and
v = f > <s . ( 2)
[ 0049 ] Once th e s ig nal f req uency is es timated us ing th e
FFT, th e f low v elocity is determined f rom Eq . ( 2) s ince th e
s patial period of th e g rating is k noWn.
Particle Ej ection
[ 0050] Ej ecting particles into th e air f low is s traig h tf or
Ward us ing today s ink j et printer tech nolog y. Ink j et car
tridg es are des ig ned to create droplets on th e order of 20- 50
microns , and ej ect th em at h ig h repetition rates ( 10 k HZ ) .
And, ink j et cartridg es are v ery ch eap ( $ 20- 3 0) . An eXcellent
ref erence on th is tech nolog y is th e book Microdrop Gen
eration by Eric R. Lee ( CRC Pres s , 2003 ) .
[ 0051] Th ere are tWo main tech nolog ies f or droplet ej ec
tion: pieZ oelectric, and th ermal bubble- j et. In th e f ormer
Apr. 22, 2004
pieZ oelectric crys tals compres s th e ? uid in a capillary tube
and caus e a droplet to be ej ected out of th e open end of th e
tube. ( Th is tech nolog y is us ed in Eps on ink j et printers . ) In
th e th ermal cas e a s mall h eating element rapidly boils th e
liq uid in a capillary tube and f orces th e ej ection of a droplet.
Th e h ot g as q uick ly cools doWn and returns to th e liq uid
s tate, ready f or th e neXt droplet ej ection. ( Th is tech nolog y is
us ed in HP and Cannon printers . )
[ 0052] For our laboratory tes ts We ch os e a pieZ oelectric
inj ector f rom Microf ab Tech nolog ies ( Model MJ- AB - 01
6 0) . Th is is des ig ned to inj ect droplets of 6 0 microns in
diameter. We ch os e th e 6 0 micron diameter droplets to
prov ide th e larg es t s cattered s ig nal at th e detector. Our tes ts
rev ealed th at f or th e breath ing applications and How mea
s urements With in a 15x 15 mm2 meas urement cuv ette th e
droplet diameter can be reduced to 20 microns . A s maller
particle diameter, as it is s h oWn beloW, reduces th e relaX
ation time cons tant and improv es th e s ens or perf ormance, as
Well as reduces th e total amount of Water and th e impact on
th e relativ e h umidity. We recommend th e us e of th e 20
micron droplets in th e commercial s ens or prototype.
[ 0053 ] FIG. 9 s h oWs a optical f low monitor s ys tem 3 9 . It
includes lig h t s ource 40, collimated by collimating lens 42,
illuminates ten 50 micron Wide s lots s paced at 100 micron
interv als in g rating 44. Th e g rating pattern is imag ed at th e
center of res pirator tube 46 by lens 48 producing ten
illumination f ring es at th e center of th e tube as s h oWn at 50.
Water droplets 51 are inj ected at th e rate of about 10 HZ or
20 HZ f rom th e bottom of th e tube into th e How of res pirator
air as s h own in FIG. 10. Lig h t def racted f rom th e droplets
as th ey pas s th roug h th e illumination pattern With a s patial
period of 102 microns s h oWn at 50 is f ocus ed onto detector
52 by lens 54 to produce a periodic intens ity at th e output of
detector 52. Th e s patial period of th e illumination pattern is
pref erably ch os en s o th at th e s patial period of th e illumina
tion pattern is about tWice th e s iZ e of th e droplet diameter.
Collimating lens 42 could be ch os en to mag nif y th e g rating
pattern to produce th e des ired illumination pattern. For
Applicants demons tration, a s patial period of 102 microns
Was es tablis h ed eq uiv alent to a s patial f req uency of about 9 8
cm_1. Th e output of detector 52 is analyZ ed by proces s or 56
in order to determine th e meas ured temporal f req uency,
pref erably by conv erting intens ity v s . time data f rom detec
tor 52 to temporal f req uency v alues us ing a Fas t Fourier
Trans f orm ( FFT) prog ram. Since th e s patial f req uency is
k noWn, th e v elocity of th e droplets is determined by th e ratio
of th e temporal f req uency to th e s patial f req uency. For
eXample, a s patial f req uency of 9 8 cm'1 and a meas ured
temporal f req uency of 200 HZ Would imply a droplet v eloc
ity of about 2. 04 cm/ s ( about 122 cm/ minute) and s ince th e
How cros s s ection is about 2. 25 cm2 th e f low rate Would be
about 0. 276 liters / minute.
Optical Set Up
[ 0054] A demons tration s etup can be eXplained by ref er
ence to FIGS. 9 and 10. D roplets Were inj ected by inj ector
3 6 into th e meas urement cuv ette f rom th e bottom and ros e
up into th e f ring e pattern as s h oWn in FIG. 10. Lig h t
s cattered in th e f orWard direction f rom th e droplets Was
captured by a 1 inch diameter lens 3 8 pos itioned approx . 45
deg rees of f - ax is . Th is lens imag ed th e lig h t f rom th e droplets
onto a detector With a 1: 1 imag ing ratio. Th e detector Was a
3 mm diameter s ilicon ph otodiode bias ed in th e ph otocon
ductiv e mode With 18 v to increas e th e res pons e time.
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
FloW D irection
[ 0055] Th e s etup s h own in FIG. 9 s ees all of th e f ring es
s imultaneous ly s o th at its time res pons e contains no inf or
mation about How direction. It contains inf ormation ex clu
s iv ely about intens ity and time ( and temporal f req uency)
th at is related to How rate. In order to determine direction,
a s eparate detector s etup can be included as s h oWn in FIG.
11 Wh ere both in and out monitors Would us e th e s ame
inj ector but a s econd s et of illumination and detection
eq uipment Would be prov ided as s h oWn at 6 0 in FIG. 11.
Optical components 3 9 monitor th e out How 6 2 and optical
components 6 0 monitor in- ? oW 6 4.
[ 0056 ] An alternativ e tech niq ue f or determining ? oW
direction is to us e tWo s eparate inj ectors pos itioned on each
s ide of th e illumination f ring es . It is als o pos s ible to pos ition
th e inj ector at th e center of th e f ring es and s ubs titute a
detector array f or detector 52. In th is later cas e, th e reg ion
may need to be ex panded or s eparated into tWo s ets of
f ring es all pref erably With in th e ? eld of v ieW of at leas t one
of th e detectors in th e detector array.
[ 0057] A multi- detector s ch eme Would prov ide an addi
tional bene? t in th at it Would permit an increas e in th e
droplet ej ection rate and th us an increas e in th e s ampling rate
and How v elocity update rate. Th e latter is due to th e
f olloWing . In a s ing le- detector s ch eme, th e droplet ej ection
rate is limited by th e req uirement th at th e s cattered s ig nals
f rom tWo, or more, droplets do not ov erlap on th e detector,
becaus e th e ov erlap Will create s ig nal interf erence and Will
mak e f req uency determination us ing an EFT dif ? cult. Th is
limits th e ej ection rate es pecially at loW ? oW rates becaus e
th e nex t droplet cannot be ej ected prior to th e current one
pas s ing all th e f ring es .
[ 0058] In a multi- detector s ch eme, if an array cons is ts of
M detectors , th en th e droplet ej ection rate can be increas ed
by a f actor M, becaus e each detector acq uires th e lig h t
s cattered f rom only f eW f ring es . Th us , th e propos ed detector
array Will prov ide s imultaneous meas urements of both th e
How rate and How direction, as Well as increas e th e s ampling
rate and How v elocity update rate up to 100- 200 HZ .
[ 0059 ] As an alternativ e to th e EFT analys is , th e intens ity
v s . time data could be analyZ ed by a leas t- s q uare ? t of th e
s inus oid With g iv en period to th e s ens or res pons e. FIG. 12
is an ex ample of raW s ig nal of th e droplet ? oW s ens or and
a s inus oidal ? t us ing a leas t- s q uare routine. In th is demon
s tration, s catter f rom about 17 f ring es Were detected to
indicate a How rate of about 0. 6 7 liters / minute.
[ 006 0] Simple analys is s h oWs th at th e tiny Water droplets
are h armles s . Indeed, if th e droplet diameter is 6 0 pm, and
droplets are ej ected at a rate of 100 HZ , th en during one
s econd th e v olume of Water of a 11. 4 10'9 liter/ s ec is ej ected.
At th e loWes t ? oW rate ex pected of 0. 1 l/ min, and tempera
ture in th e rang e f rom 10 to 3 0 deg ree C. th e ch ang e of th e
relativ e h umidity caus ed by 6 0 pm droplets inj ection is
about 10% , and it is les s f or h ig h er ? oW rates . Cons eq uently,
f or 20 pm droplets s elected f or th e commercial s ens or
prototype th e relativ e h umidity ch ang e is 1% . Th us th e
impact of th e droplet ej ection on th e relativ e h umidity of th e
air in th e patient airWay is neg lig ibly s mall.
[ 006 1] If an ej ector operates continuous ly during 1 year, or
3 1. 1> <106 s ec, th en th e total v olume of Water is 3 40 milliliter/
Apr. 22, 2004
year. If th e droplet diameter is 20 pm, th en th e total v olume
of Water is 3 8 milliliter/ year or about 0. 07 microliters per
minute.
Ex perimental D emons tration
[ 006 2] Ex perimental demons tration Was perf ormed in a
laboratory s etting in tWo reg imes : a) cons tant one- dimen
s ional air ? oW, and b) puls ed one- dimens ional ? oW th at
s imulates a h uman breath g enerated by th e Siemens g as
module. In th e demons tration th e D oppler optical ? oW
s ens or Was tes ted ag ains t commercial TSI h ot- Wire
anemometer. TWo modi? cation of th e meas urement s ch eme
Were made. One, th e LED Was replaced With a HeN e las er
becaus e th is las er Was av ailable in h ous e. And, tWo a s ing le
detector Was us ed in th e tes t becaus e th e Siemens g as
module g enerates ex clus iv ely a one- dimens ional air ? oW.
[ 006 3 ] Th e s ens or Was tes ted Wh en th e How rates rang ed
f rom 100 l/ min doWn to 0. 09 l/ min in s teps of 1/ 2 ( 100, 50,
25, 13 . 3 , 5. 3 3 , 2. 6 7, 1. 3 3 , 0. 6 7, 0. 3 3 , 0. 17, 0. 09 ) . Th e
droplets Were ej ected at a rate of 20 HZ , ex cept f or th e loWes t
3 How rates Wh ere th e rate Was reduced to 10 HZ to k eep th e
droplets f rom ov erlapping on th e detector.
[ 006 4] Th e k ey obs erv ations f rom th es e ex periments are
? rs t, th e dynamic rang e of th is demons tration optical ? oW
monitor f rom 0. 09 / min up to 100 l/ min. Second, th e ampli
tude of th e temporal s ig nal v ariations f rom th e D oppler
s ens or is independent of th e How rate. Th is is becaus e th es e
temporal s ig nal v ariations are created by th e motion of th e
droplet th roug h a periodic intens ity pattern. Cons eq uently,
th e depth of th e s ig nal modulation s tays th e s ame, only th e
f req uency of th e s ens or res pons e ch ang es With th e How rate.
Th is is an important property of th e monitor s ince it permits
an ex ceptionally larg e dynamic rang e.
[ 006 5] Wh ile th e abov e des cription contains many s peci
? cations , th e reader s h ould not cons true th es e as a limitation
on th e s cope of th e inv ention, but merely as ex empli? cations
of pref erred embodiments th ereof . For ex ample, th e pres ent
inv ention could be applied f or many oth er applications oth er
th an res pirators . Th es e include indus trial applications Wh ere
g as ? oW monitoring is important. Als o, th e pres ent inv ention
could be applied to monitor liq uid as Well as g as ? oW. Many
medical applications req uire monitoring of res piratory g as es
in breath ing circuits . Meas urements of How rate in combi
nation With g as concentration meas urements are us ef ul f or
v ariety of diag nos tic procedures , titration treatment, calcu
lations of cons umption parameters , patient s af ety monitor
ing , as Well as monitoring h ig h end and military breath ing
s ys tems . Res piratory monitoring in needed in particular, to
prov ide alarms th at alert th e patient s attendants to a s ig
ni? cant ch ang e in condition in order to ins ure th e timely
implementation of lif es av ing meas ures . Accurate ? oW s en
s ors are us ed in diag nos tic s etting s in as s ociation With oth er
meas urements ( breath rate, g as concentrations , h eart rate,
temperature) to calculate v arious pulmonary and cardiac
f unction parameters . Th e main req uirements of th e res pira
tory monitoring s ys tems f rom th e primary us ers are perf or
mance, including meas urement accuracy, operating rang e,
repeatability, conv enience, reliability, eas y cleaning , loW
maintenance and loW cos t.
[ 006 6 ] According ly th e reader is req ues ted to determine
th e s cope of th e inv ention by th e appended claims and th eir
leg al eq uiv alents , and not by th e ex amples g iv en abov e.
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
Wh at is claimed is :
1. A dev ice f or meas uring ? uid ? oW of ? owing ? uid
compris ing :
A) a dis turbance means f or producing dis turbances in th e
? oW With out obs tructing s aid ? uid ? oW,
B ) an optical unit f or producing a lig h t beam directed
th roug h s aid ? oWing ? uid,
C) a detector f or monitoring at leas t a portion of s aid lig h t
beam af ter s aid lig h t beam eXits s aid ? oWing ? uid,
D ) a proces s or f or calculating ? oW v alues bas ed on
s ig nals f rom s aid detector.
2. Th e dev ice as in claim 1 Wh erein s aid dis turbance
means compris es a h eating unit.
3 . Th e dev ice as in claim 1 Wh erein s aid dis turbance
means compris es a droplet inj ector.
4. Th e dev ice as in claim 1 Wh erein s aid ? oWing ? uid is
breath ing air ? oWing th roug h a res pirator tube.
5. Th e dev ice as in claim 3 Wh erein s aid droplet inj ector
is a Water droplet inj ector.
6 . Th e dev ice as in claim 5 Wh erein s aid optical unit
compris es a pattern producing unit f or producing an optical
pattern in s aid ? oWing ? uid.
7. Th e dev ice as in claim 5 Wh erein s aid optical unit
compris es a lens g rating f or producing a s patially periodic
pattern in s aid ? oWing ? uid.
8. Th e dev ice Th e dev ice as in claim 7 and f urth er
compris ing a lens f or f ocus ing onto s aid detector lig h t
re? ected or def racted f rom Water droplets as s aid droplets
pas s th roug h s aid s patially periodic pattern.
9 . Th e dev ice as in claim 8 Wh erein s aid proces s or is
prog rammed With an alg orith m f or conv erting time v arying
s ig nals f rom s aid detector into temporal f req uency inf orma
tion.
10. Th e dev ice as in claim 9 Wh erein s aid alg orith m
includes prov is ions f or perf orming Fas t Fourier Trans f orm.
11. Th e dev ice as in claim 9 Wh erein s aid proces s or is als o
prog rammed With an alg orith m f or determining ? uid ? oW
rates us ing s aid temporal f req uency inf ormation and s patial
f req uency inf ormation corres ponding to s aid s patially peri
odic pattern.
12. Th e dev ice as in claim 5 Wh erein s aid detector is a
detector array.
13 . A dev ice f or meas uring ? oW of a ? uid compris ing :
A) a las er and las er optics con? g ured to direct las er beams
produced by s aid las er th roug h a ? oWing ? uid to
produce a ? oW perturbed las er beam,
B ) an interf erence producing means f or producing inter
f erence patterns in s aid ? oW perturbed las er beam,
C) tWo optical detectors de? ning a ? rs t detector con? g
ured to monitor at leas t one interf erence f ring e de? ning
a ? rs t interf erence f ring e and a s econd detector con
? g ured to monitor at leas t one interf erence f ring e oth er
th an s aid ? rs t interf erence f ring e,
D ) a correlation means compris ing a computer proces s or
f or correlating data f rom s aid ? rs t and s econd detectors
to determine ? oW rate of s aid ? uid.
14. A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid las er optics
de? ne a beam cros s ing location Wh ere s aid beam pas s es
Apr. 22, 2004
th roug h s aid ? oWing ? uid and f urth er compris ing at leas t
one h eating element con? g ured to h eat s aid ? uid ups tream
of s aid cros s ing location.
15. A dev ice as in claim 14 Wh erein s aid ? uid ? oW is
alternately in oppos ite directions , de? ning a f orWard direc
tion and a rev ers e direction, Wh erein s aid at leas t one h eating
element is tWo h eating elements , one located ups tream of
s aid cros s ing location With ? oW in th e f orWard direction and
th e oth er located ups tream With ? oW in th e rev ers e direction.
16 . A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid correlation
means compris es an os cillos cope f or comparing f ring e data.
17. A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid correlation
means compris es analog to dig ital conv erter and a dig ital
proces s or prog rammed to perf orm cros s - correlation analys is
to compare f ring e data and to calculate ? oW v elocity and
direction f rom res ults of s aid cros s correlations .
18. A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid correlation
means compris es analog to dig ital conv erter and a dig ital
proces s or prog rammed to perf orm cros s - s pectral analys is to
compare f ring e data and to calculate ? oW v elocity and
direction f rom res ults of s aid cros s s pectrum.
19 . A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid correlation
means compris es analog to dig ital conv erter and a dig ital
proces s or prog rammed to perf orm cros s - correlation analy
s es to compare loW f req uency f ring e data to calculate ? oW
v elocity and direction f rom res ults of s aid cros s - correlation
f or th e ons et of th e ? oW and to perf orm running av erag e and
compute th e number of Z ero cros s ing points per interv al f or
h ig h f req uency f ring e data to calculate th e ? oW rate f or th e
s ubs eq uent portion of th e breath ing cycle.
20. A dev ice as in claim 13 Wh erein s aid dev ice is
con? g ured to monitor ? oW of a res pirator.
21. Ameth od of monitoring ? oW of a ? uid compris ing th e
f olloWing s teps :
A) producing optical perturbations in s aid ? oW at a ? rs t
location,
B ) trans mitting a las er beam th roug h s aid ? oW doWn
s tream of s aid ? rs t location to produce a perturbed las er
beam,
C) meas uring perturbations in at leas t tWo s eparate por
tions of s aid perturbed las er With at leas t tWo detectors ,
and
D ) comparing inf ormation f rom s aid at leas t tWo detectors
to determine s aid ? oW.
22. A meth od as in claim 21 Wh erein an os cillos cope is
utiliZ ed to compare s aid inf ormation f rom s aid tWo detec
tors .
23 . A meth od as in claim 21 Wh erein s aid inf ormation
f rom s aid tWo detectors are compared us ing an analog to
dig ital conv erter and a dig ital proces s or con? g ured With an
alg orith m to perf orm cros s correlations .
24. A meth od as in claim 21 Wh erein s aid inf ormation
f rom s aid tWo detectors are compared us ing an analog to
dig ital conv erter and a dig ital proces s or con? g ured With an
alg orith m to perf orm cros s s pectral analys is .
25. A meth od as in claim 21 Wh erein s aid inf ormation
f rom s aid tWo detector are compared us ing an analog to
dig ital conv erter and a dig ital proces s or is con? g ured With
an alg orith m to perf orm cros s correlation analys is to deter
mine th e ? oW v elocity and ? oW direction at th e ons et of th e
? oW during a portion of a breath ing cycle and, during a
s ubs eq uent portion of th e breath ing cycle to s mooth th e
US 2004/ 0075 824 A1
s ig nal ? uctuations in each array of s aid v alues by perf orm
ing running av erag es of 4- 8 v alues and to compute th e
number of Z ero cros s ing points during s elected time inter
v als to calculate ? oW rate f or th e s ubs eq uent portion of th e
breath ing cycle.
26 . A dev ice f or meas uring g as ? oW in a res pirator tube
compris ing a ? oWing g as :
A) a tube s ection h av ing a trans parent s ection to permit
th e pas s ag e of lig h t th roug h s aid ? oWing g as ,
B ) optical elements f or producing a s patially periodic
pattern in s aid ? oWing g as
Apr. 22, 2004
C) a Water drop inj ector f or inj ecting Water droplets into
s aid ? oWing g as ,
D ) a detector,
E) a f ocus ing element f or f ocus ing lig h t re? ected or
ref racted f rom s aid Water droplets onto s aid detector as
s aid Water droplets pas s th roug h s aid s patially periodic
pattern,
F) a proces s or f or conv erting s ig nals f rom s aid detector
into ? uid ? oW inf ormation.
* * * * *