Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
  • G01N21/17—Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
  • G01N21/25—Colour; Spectral properties, i.e. comparison of effect of material on the light at two or more different wavelengths or wavelength bands
  • G01N21/31—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry
  • G01N21/35—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry using infrared light
  • G01N21/3504—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry using infrared light for analysing gases, e.g. multi-gas analysis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
  • A61B5/08—Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs
  • A61B5/083—Measuring rate of metabolism by using breath test, e.g. measuring rate of oxygen consumption
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01J—MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY
  • G01J1/00—Photometry, e.g. photographic exposure meter
  • G01J1/10—Photometry, e.g. photographic exposure meter by comparison with reference light or electric value provisionally void
  • G01J1/20—Photometry, e.g. photographic exposure meter by comparison with reference light or electric value provisionally void intensity of the measured or reference value being varied to equalise their effects at the detectors, e.g. by varying incidence angle
  • G01J1/22—Photometry, e.g. photographic exposure meter by comparison with reference light or electric value provisionally void intensity of the measured or reference value being varied to equalise their effects at the detectors, e.g. by varying incidence angle using a variable element in the light-path, e.g. filter, polarising means
  • G01J1/24—Photometry, e.g. photographic exposure meter by comparison with reference light or electric value provisionally void intensity of the measured or reference value being varied to equalise their effects at the detectors, e.g. by varying incidence angle using a variable element in the light-path, e.g. filter, polarising means using electric radiation detectors
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01J—MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY
  • G01J5/00—Radiation pyrometry, e.g. infrared or optical thermometry
  • G01J5/10—Radiation pyrometry, e.g. infrared or optical thermometry using electric radiation detectors
  • G01J5/12—Radiation pyrometry, e.g. infrared or optical thermometry using electric radiation detectors using thermoelectric elements, e.g. thermocouples
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
  • G01N21/17—Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
  • G01N21/25—Colour; Spectral properties, i.e. comparison of effect of material on the light at two or more different wavelengths or wavelength bands
  • G01N21/31—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry
  • G01N21/314—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry with comparison of measurements at specific and non-specific wavelengths
  • G01N2021/3166—Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry with comparison of measurements at specific and non-specific wavelengths using separate detectors and filters
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N2201/00—Features of devices classified in G01N21/00
  • G01N2201/12—Circuits of general importance; Signal processing
  • G01N2201/126—Microprocessor processing

Definitions

• the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for continuously determining the concentration of the constituents of the respiratory gases of a patient. Most preferably, the apparatus of the present invention is employed to monitor the end tidal C0 2 and N 2 0 concentrations of a patient.
• Electrical signals produced by a detecting device in such a manner are thus indicative of the infrared absorption of the gas and can be processed to produce an output indicating the concentration of one or more of the constituents of the gas being analyzed.
• This type of gas analyzer operates on the principle that various gases exhibit substantially increased absorption characteristics at specific wavelengths in the infrared spectrum and that higher gas concentrations exhibit proportionally greater absorption.
• thermopile detectors to analyze gas concentrations.
• a thermopile detector is comprised of a number of thermocouples. Thermal detectors such as thermopiles are used primarily for infrared sensing and respond to the total incident energy illuminating them. The number of thermocouples must be sufficient to develop enough voltage to develop a suitable signal to noise ratio.
• a thermistor is used to calculate the Seebeck coefficient, which relates the voltage developed by the thermopile to the temperature differential between the "hot" and "cold" junctions of the thermopile. This coefficient is used to scale the output signal of the detector to indicate absolute gas concentration values.
• thermopiles are formed of an array of interconnected thin films of dissimilar metals deposited on a heat conductive substrate to form a plurality of thermocouples.
• the array is configured in such a manner that a number of the thermocouples are employed to compensate each thermopile output signal for changes in ambient temperature.
• U.S. Patent 3,539,804 Billetdeaux et al. also relates to an infrared absorption apparatus, but unlike Aldridge, Billetdeaux et al use a rotatable neutral attenuator as a zeroing mechanism in assembly balancing of a C0 2 detector.
• Thermopile detectors as a class are known to suffer from thermal drift. Thermal drift causes a slow variation in the D.C. voltage output of the detectors and leads to measurement inaccuracies. Raemer overcomes this problem by using A.C. coupling between the thermopiles. This solution to the thermal drift problem, however, renders the resulting analyzer incapable of measuring absolute, steady state, gas concentrations. Instead, such devices are merely able to respond to changes in the concentrations of the gases being measured.
• One method which attempts to obtain absolute gas concentrations involves modulating, or "chopping", the incident energy beam. This technique is taught in U. S. Patent No. 4,423,739 to Passaro. In order to accomplish the required modulation, mechanical means such as a chopper are frequently employed.
• the resulting analyzer is large, and is thus subject to failure as the moving parts of the beam modulation apparatus wear. Such failure may have catastrophic consequences rendering the analyzer inoperable.
• An alternative method of modulating an energy beam is to construct a modulated source. Devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,745,349 to Liston, for example.
• analyzers employing modulated sources have suffered from slow response times due to the relatively long period required for the infrared emissions to decay after the excitation power is removed.
• Another shortcoming of modulated sources familiar to those skilled in the art, is the relative instability of their energy output.
• the imbalance between the excitation signals of two detectors has been utilized as a detection mechanism in the field of infrared motion detectors.
• two detectors are arranged and their signals combined so that a null signal results when the detectors are identically excited. Any change in the environment that causes the output signal of one detector to change by an amount different than that of the other detector results in a non-zero differential signal.
• An application of the method of subtracting two detector output signals involves totally blocking one of the thermopile detectors with metal foil. This approach, however, is undesirable because of results in uneven heating of the substrate, thus causing an error signal to be introduced into the output.
• the devices available provide absolute concentrations with the trade-off of either decreased reliability in the case of mechanically shuttered devices, or slow response times in the case of modulated source devices. Eliminating either of these drawbacks using conventional thermopile detectors results in a device prone to inaccuracies due to thermal drift, or one incapable of determining absolute concentrations if the thermal drift is stabilized using A.C. techniques. Therefore, a reliable gas analyzer using thermopiles that is both immune to thermal drift and capable of providing absolute gas concentrations would be highly desirable.
• thermopile detectors It is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for detecting the absolute concentration of the constituents of a gas stream using thermopile detectors. Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the thermal drift from which thermopile detectors are known to suffer, while retaining the capability of measuring absolute gas concentrations and the like.
• the present invention provides a shutterless capnograph comprising an apparatus which has no moving parts, which does not require a modulated source of infrared radiation, and which does not suffer from thermal drift, thereby providing a device which overcomes the limitations of the prior art.
• the improvements provided by this invention are arrived at through a novel optical stabilization technique applied to thermopile detectors.
• a preferred embodiment of the invention provides a highly accurate, stable, reliable, light-weight and economical infrared capnograph which will permit increased clinical and diagnostic monitoring of the absolute concentrations of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide or other gases present in the expired airstream of a patient.
• the present invention provides apparatus comprising one or more channels of a shutterless infrared gas analyzer for detecting the concentration(s) of at least one gaseous component of a substantially gaseous flow stream.
• the apparatus comprises at least two infrared detectors which produce electrical signals when illuminated by optical energy and means for illuminating the detectors with infrared radiation.
• Means for directing at least a portion of the gas being analyzed between the detectors and the infrared source is provided along with means for attenuating the infrared energy illuminating at least one of the detectors and circuitry for combining the signals produced by the detectors to produce an optically stabilized signal.
• the apparatus may further comprise additional detectors, attenuators, and circuitry, sufficient to comprise separate channels of a multi-channel device.
• the apparatus may also function in conjunction with a host processor for storing, processing, and displaying the measured information.
• an infrared energy detector which incorporates a novel optical stabilization technique applied to thermopile detectors.
• the resulting detector readily measures the intensity of received infrared energy from a source of infrared energy. From the detected energy levels, information such a respiratory airstream constituent concentrations or body temperature may be determined.
• the energy detector has first and second infrared detectors positioned to receive infrared energy from the infrared energy source and to generate corresponding electrical signals. Improved performance is realized by providing means for distinguishing the desired infrared energy signal components from undesired thermal effects included in the energy measurement. As mentioned above, the drift usually associated with thermopile detectors is produced by a variation in the reference junction temperature.
• thermopile detector In normal construction, a thermopile detector is comprised of a series of thermocouple junction pairs. One element of each pair is attached to a substrate (typically ceramic) and called the reference junction while the other element is unattached, suspended over an opening, and is called the sensing element. Incident radiation illuminates the suspended sensing element and raises its temperature. A voltage develops that is related to the difference in temperature between the suspended and substrate attached elements. Drift arises, however, because the incident radiation and room temperature variations change the temperature of the reference junctions. The temperature differential between the sensing (hot) and reference (cold) junctions is thus altered; this condition in turn causes the output voltage to change, or drift.
• thermopile detectors mounted on the same ceramic substrate and connected in series opposition.
• thermopile elements 10 of the thermopile elements in the pair With the filter in place the system responds to incident radiation but is substantially insensitive to other thermal changes. Also, in the present invention the output signals of the two thermopile detectors are subtracted. This is done not for the purpose of measuring any
• optical bandpass filters which permit the transmission of wavelengths within a specified bandwidth (i.e., that absorbed by the gas of interest) are disposed between the detectors and the gas directing means, thereby filtering the radiation prior to its striking the detectors. Since the center wavelength and bandwidth of optical filters vary with temperature, thermal drift should be considered when designing the optical bandpass filters. A preferred method for selecting the bandpass filters is described herein.
• Circuitry for processing the signals produced by the detectors converts these signals into a ratio which is related to the absolute concentration of the gas constituent being measured.
• the capnograph of the present invention is substantially unaffected by changes in the ambient temperature of the environment in which it operates through the action of the neutral density filters.
• the technique described above for combining and processing the detector signals is referred to as "optical stabilization" herein.
• a capnograph made in accordance with the present invention may further comprise additional pairs of thermopile detectors, attenuators, and optical bandpass filters, and such additional circuit means so as to form a multichannel device for determining the concentrations of more than one gas constituent.
• each of the channels has an optical filter permitting the transmission of radiation within the absorption bandwidth of the constituent being monitored.
• a capnograph system made in accordance with the present invention may also have a host system for collecting and processing data collected by the detectors.
• Such a capnograph system may also include a device for indicating the absolute 10 concentration of the constituent or constituents being monitored, thus providing the necessary concentration information in a usable form.
• a preferred infrared energy detector for use in a capnograph made in accordance with the present invention is also disclosed.
• the detector uses paired thermopiles preceded by an analytical or reference bandpass filter, with a neutral density filter also placed in the optical path of one detector in the pair.
• two channels — one analytical and one reference — are preferably provided to permit measurements to be taken while the background effects are cancelled.
• a capnograph made in accordance with the present invention will be used to determine the absolute concentrations of carbon dioxide and/or nitrous oxide in the inspired and expired airstream of a patient.
• the optically stabilized detectors disclosed need not be so limited, and may be utilized to determine the concentrations of any of a number of constituents, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description.
• FIG. 1 is a foreshortened isometric view of the thermopile detector assembly of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a partially schematic plan view of a gas analyzer and related circuitry, constructed in accordance with the present invention
• FIG. 3 is a schematic o further circuitry, illustrating the use of the present invention in conjunction with a host computer;
• FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a detector and its optical path, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the processing performed on the signal detected by the apparatus of FIG. 4;
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a detector constructed in accordance with the schematic illustration of FIG. 4;
• FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the detector of FIG. 6.
• FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of an alternate embodiment of the detector of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 depicts a typical thermopile detector construction.
• thermopile detector is a group of thermocouples connected in series.
• the present invention utilizes a first set of thermocouples, comprising a first thermopile 12, and a second set of thermocouples, comprising a second thermopile 14, both preferably mounted on a common ceramic substrate 10, as shown.
• the hot, or sensor, junctions of the thermocouples are typically denoted H, while the cold, or reference, junctions are denoted C.
• the thermocouples 12 and 14 are the type comprising a metallic circuit deposited upon a polyester film, such as Mylar, or other suitable substrate.
• a preferred embodiment utilizes thermocouples having a substrate thickness of 1 mil.
• filter 16 has a transmission coefficient of 1.00 and filter 18 a transmission coefficient of 0.50.
• thermopile detector 12 is electrically connected to detector 14 in series opposition.
• the resulting difference signal will only be indicative of the incident radiation. Signals caused by substrate temperature changes will cancel, provided the temperature is uniform across the substrate. This is discussed more fully in the mathematical derivation provided below.
• the thermopile detectors 12 and 14 are "optically stabilized". This design overcomes the requirement for source modulation described above by rendering the detector substantially immune to thermal drift. Since each of the thermopile detectors 12 and 14 is exposed to the same incident energy beam but has different attenuation filters 16 and 18 in line with that energy, the differential signal from the two detectors is therefore related only to the incident energy and the transmission coefficients of the neutral density attenuation filters.
• the stabilization technique disclosed by the present invention is useful with a variety of detectors, such as the Model DR34 manufactured by Dexter Research Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan. Moreover, since the optically stabilized detectors of the present invention are sensitive to a wide range of wavelengths, and are relatively inexpensive and rugged, they can be beneficially used in a shutterless infrared capnograph for monitoring respiratory gas.
• FIG. 4 the optical path of an embodiment of a detector 200 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown.
• Infrared energy is emitted from an IR source 300 and passes through the gas being analyzed, which in this example is C0 2 .
• Some of the infrared energy is absorbed by the gas in front of the IR source 300, and the remainder of the infrared energy impinges upon a group of filters, including a neutral density filter 210, an analytical C0 2 filter 212, and a reference filter 214.
• the neutral density filter 210 uniformly attenuates all wavelengths of energy which are incident upon the filter.
• the analytical C0 2 filter 212 is a bandpass filter which passes a narrow band of energy, including those wavelengths absorbed by C0 2 .
• the reference filter 214 is also a bandpass filter which passes a band of energy excluding those wavelengths absorbed by C0 2 . It is seen that the neutral density filter 210 overlaps or shadows the subsequent analytical and reference filters 212 and 214, as well as two of the thermopile detectors 216 and 218, C0 2 detector B 220 and reference detector B 222. Thus, each detector A 216 and 218 will receive energy which has been transmitted by its respective analytical filter 212 or reference filter 214, but not the neutral density filter 210. Each detector B 220 and 222, on the other hand, receives energy passed by its respective analytical filter 212 or reference filter 214 as well as the neutral density filter 210.
• an aperture or window 230 which transmits energy to only the detector areas of the substrate on which the detectors are formed.
• the outputs of the detectors are passed to a processor 240 for the production of an output signal 242 representative of the concentration of C0 2 in the gas being analyzed.
• a main purpose of the neutral density filter 210 is to provide signals which allow the desired signal to be distinguished from signal interference such as background (local thermal) effects.
• background local thermal
• U.S. Patent No. 4,772,790 to Aldrige attempts to isolate these effects by using ten thermopiles for each detector channel, with only a central portion of the area of the thermopiles being used to develop a usable signal.
• the C0 2 detectors A 216 and B 220 are in close proximity to each other and hence experience similar effects from background and other local radiation sources.
• Each detector produces an output signal containing a component I, the desired incident infrared signal, and a component b due to background effects. Absent the presence of the neutral density filter 210, the C0 2 detectors 216 and 220 would produce signals of the form:
• Det. A R(I a + b)
• Det. B R(I b + b) , where R is the response of the detectors.
• the desired signal component I may be done by selecting a neutral density filter 210 which is about 100% transmissive at the absorption wavelength for C0 2 .
• A would equal B.
• the signal component I would be maximized but the difference of the two detector output signals would yield zero.
• the neutral density filter 230 is chosen to have a transmissivity of about 50%, for instance, the desired incident energy component I would be differentiated and the background effects would substantially cancel.
• Det. B R(0.5I + b) .
• the result is 0.5IR with the background effects b cancelling.
• Other transmissivity characteristics may be chosen in consideration of incident energy levels and the thermal effects of shadowing by the neutral density filter 210. For example, a 0% transmissive filter may be used.
• the details of the processor 240 of FIG. 4 are shown in FIG 5.
• the output signals of the A and B detectors 216 and 220 for the C0 2 and for the reference channels 218 and 222 are respectively subtracted at subtractors 242 to eliminate background radiation and substrate temperature effects, as explained immediately above.
• this subtraction step 242 is accomplished by connecting the thermopile detectors in series opposition, so that the subtraction of their outputs is inherent in their interconnection as shown in FIG. 2.
• a ratio 244 is then taken of the incident signals after this cancellation of thermal effects.
• the ratio 244 of the analytical and reference signals eliminates proportionate effects of spurious absorption, such as those resulting from the accumulation of undesired particulate matter on the components of the detectors.
• the transmissivity of the optical paths is reduced to 0.9 of full transmissivity.
• the output signal would thus be the product of these losses, or 0.72 C0 2 .
• the reference channel is subject to the same contamination, which may be substantially achieved by close proximity of the detectors and filters, the same factor of 0.9 would be present in signals of the reference channel.
• the ratio of the C0 2 and reference signals would contain the 0.9 factor in both the numerator and the denominator for a ratio of one, eliminating the effects of contamination.
• the reference channel yields a value for I, since the absorption coefficient and concentration of C0 2 in the reference channel are zero by reason of the elimination of C0 2 wavelengths from the reference filter passband.
• the detector output signal supplies the value for I, and the equation is 5 solved for c, the concentration of C0 2 in the gas being measured.
• the above computations are preferably performed by a host processing system of the type described below with respect to FIG. 3.
• a second analytical channel is
• This channel is identical to the C0 2 channel in FIG. 2, except that the analytical filter 212 is chosen to pass wavelengths representative of the absorption of infrared energy by N 2 0 instead of C0 2 .
• the outputs of the A and B detectors for the N 2 0 channel are combined to eliminate
• N 2 0 concentrations 15 background and substrate thermal effects and the reference channel outputs are combined to yield a measurement of N 2 0 concentration, as in the C0 2 computation set forth immediately above.
• N 2 0 concentrations may be used in accordance with the techniques taught by Severinghaus, M.D.,
• FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively illustrate in perspective assembled and exploded views a detector constructed in accordance with the present invention.
• the detector 200 employs the same principles and optical paths shown in FIG. 4.
• the neutral density filter 210 is disposed above the reference filter 214 and the analytical filters 212 and 213.
• analytical filters 212 and 213 selected to analyze C0 2 and N 2 0 are provided, as well as the reference filter 214.
• Each of these three filters is "shadowed" or blocked by the neutral density filter 210 as explained above with reference to FIG. 4. Further details of the construction of the detector are shown in the exploded view of the infrared detector 200 in FIG. 7.
• thermopile detectors 216, 218, 220 and 222 are sandwiched between two ceramic spacers 215 and 225. In FIG. 7, the N 2 0 detectors 224 and 226 are not visible.
• a foil background 245 is provided beneath the ceramic spacer/thermopile sandwich to block the further passage of the incident radiation, but it allows heat to be conducted through the device.
• a thermistor 246 is disposed which, as explained above, provides an absolute temperature indication.
• the above-mentioned components are mounted on a T0-8 12-pin header 250, as shown.
• thermopile detectors While the illustrated embodiments are shown to employ thermopile detectors, the principles of the present invention may also be applied through the use of other infrared detecting devices, such as thermistors, thermocouples, pyroelectric detectors, Golay cells, and PbSe photodetectors, for instance. 20
• the arrangement shown has the benefit that it is easy to manufacture, is small in size and light in weight.
• thermopile detector The signal or voltage output, S, of a thermopile detector can be expressed as:
• T the filter transmission coefficient, assuming the filter is between the detector and the energy source, I represents the incident energy of the source, R is the responsivity of the detector, and B is the component of the signal attributed to background "noise", including room temperature and detector package temperature variations.
• two detectors 12 and 14 are mounted on a common substrate 10 as shown in FIG. 2, creating a condition wherein the value of B for each detector is equal.
• the detectors 12 and 14 are used to simultaneously monitor an incident energy beam.
• Filters 16 and 18 having known but different transmission coefficients are placed between each detector 12 and 14 and the source of incident energy.
• the numerator of the above equation, S_ - S 2 which represents the difference signal, is computed by connecting the detectors 12 and 14 in series opposition. It should be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the difference signal could be calculated using a digital computer or other electronic circuit.
• the equation demonstrates that the stabilization technique of the present invention eliminates the background effects term, B, from the final output of the circuit, thereby rendering a device substantially insensitive to room temperature effects.
• Source Drift As will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art, variations, or drift, in the infrared source may also cause drift in the output signals of the thermopile detectors 12, 14, 22, 24, 32 and 34 illustrated in FIG. 2. This drift may be eliminated by using two analytical filters, a first having its transmission at the absorption wavelength of the gas being analyzed, and a second designed to transmit some other unabsorbed wavelength. Energy in the unabsorbed band serves as a reference. This technique of referencing is well-known and is described in textbooks, see, e.g., Mullard Limited, Applications of Infrared Detectors. ISBN # 901232 22X, Chapter 10, the pertinent portions of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
• FIG. 2 A typical construction of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 2.
• the circuitry and other components which comprise the present invention will generally be assembled into a housing 50, appropriately configured to enable the various components to function as described below.
• Those of ordinary skill will be aware of the design parameters associated with the packaging of devices made in accordance with the present invention.
• Some of the 5 considerations relevant to the design of the housing 50 are: external interface design, cooling requirements, shielding and isolation characteristics, size and weight, integration with a breathing tube, sample cell or other means of delivering a sample of the patient's expired air, and aesthetic and utility
• An input signal 80 from a host processor or other source is transmitted through an analog hybrid 42, the signal from which excites a source of infrared radiation 40.
• a reflector 52 is provided to efficiently direct an incident beam of infrared
• the incident radiation passes through an optical window 54 and into the region of the gas stream to be analyzed 58.
• the gas stream itself may be contained in apparatus such as a clear tube or tube-like structure (not shown) , which directs a portion of the gaseous flow through the measurement region 58.
• thermopile detectors 12, 14, 22, 24, 32 and 34 After the incident infrared radiation has passed through the gas stream, it will pass through another optical window 56, bandpass filters 60, 61 and 62 and neutral density attenuation filters 16, 18, 26, 28, 36 and 38 before finally reaching the thermopile detectors 12, 14, 22, 24, 32 and 34.
• the embodiment pictured in FIG. 2 is designed to measure the concentration of two gases and may be denominated a three-channel detector, with one channel serving as a reference channel.
• detectors may be constructed having anywhere from one to many channels, depending upon the number of constituent gases to be detected and analyzed.
• second and third detector assemblies 22 and 24 and 32 and 34 are used to create three channels.
• a bandpass filter 60, 61 and 62 Positioned above each detector assembly is a bandpass filter 60, 61 and 62, each channel employing a different bandpass filter.
• a first channel comprises detectors 12 and 14, attenuation filters 16 and 18, and bandpass filter 60.
• a second channel comprises detectors 22 and 24, attenuation filters 26 and 28 and bandpass filter 61, and so forth.
• the output signal for each channel i.e., the difference signal described above, is passed through its respective amplifier 20 and transmitted to a multiplexer 44, which also receives a signal from a temperature sensor 41.
• the multiplexer 44 then outputs a detector signal 45, which is also combined with a signal from an electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) device 46 to fashion an output signal 90.
• EEPROM electronically erasable programmable read only memory
• the Seebeck coefficient described above, is stored in the EEPROM 46, and is used for scaling the detector signal 45 to indicate absolute gas concentration values.
• Attenuation filters 16, 18, 26, 28, 36 and 38 are mounted directly on the ceramic substrate. Therefore, the output of the temperature sensor 41 will reflect the temperature of the attenuation filters as well as the reference junction temperature of the thermodetectors. A heater 30 is also shown which may further regulate the temperature of the apparatus, if desired.
• the bandpass filters 60, 61 and 62 are placed an equal distance in front of their associated detectors, i.e., they are placed in a common plane, so that all three thermopile detectors have an equal field of view.
• Each filter is characterized by its center wavelength and half-power bandwidth.
• the conventional approach to specifying the bandpass filters would be to center the filters in the absorption band of interest and to make the bandwidth as wide as the absorption band.
• the present invention takes a different approach, however, than that of the prior art and utilizes bandpass filters having center wavelengths shifted away from the center of the absorption band and bandwidths wider than the absorption band.
• the method of specifying the bandpass filters in accordance with the present invention is described in more detail in the following section.
• the shifting and broadening of the bandpass filter minimizes cross-talk between channels and minimizes the effects of temperature variations and manufacturing tolerances on the filters.
• one channel is used to detect C0 2
• another channel is used to detect N 2 0, and a third channel is used as a reference channel.
• the absorption band of C0 2 is centered at 4.256 microns
• the half-power wavelength is 0.180 microns.
• the bandpass filter used for the C0 2 channel is centered at 4.2624 microns with a half-power bandwidth of 0.2088 microns. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the half-power wavelengths may vary by plus or minus 0.03 microns at the short wavelength edge, and plus 0.03 microns to minus 0.05 microns at the long wavelength edge.
• the absorption band for N 2 0 is centered at 4.5400 microns, with a bandwidth of 0.3 microns.
• the bandpass filter for the N 2 0 channel has a center wavelength of 4.5397 microns and a bandwidth of 0.3190 microns.
• the short wavelength half-power point may by plus 0.01 microns to minus 0.03 microns.
• the long wavelength half-power point varies by plus or minus 0.03 microns.
• the reference filter has a center wavelength of 4.8265 microns and a half-power bandwidth of 0.2088 microns.
• the short and long bandwidth edges may vary by plus or minus 0.03 microns.
• the bandwidth is designed to be as close as possible to the bandwidth of the C0 2 filter.
• the center wavelength is selected to be as close as possible to the center of the C0 2 and N 2 0 bands, while at the same time maintaining isolation between those channels and the reference channel.
• This section describes a method for specifying bandpass filters for a preferred embodiment of an optically stabilized capnograph in accordance with the present invention.
• the following example describes the specification of bandpass filters employed by the C0 2 , N0 2 and reference channels of a three channel analyzer. The method described does not deal with the construction of filters, but rather with a novel method of specifying bandpass filters for use in infrared gas analyzers, or capnographs.
• gas spectra from SADTLER INDEX were used.
• the resulting conventional filters are characterized by the following filter specifications, titled VER 1.2. They follow in written form and a graph which shows the filters as specified and as shifted by +.03u, which is approximately 0.7%. It corresponds to the shift that'would be produced by a rise in temperature of about 50° C. It also corresponds to the manufacturing tolerance specified. For reference, the spectra of C0 2 and N0 2 are also included on the graphs.
• b. Analysis and Computer Performance Simulation Following the drafting of the VER 1.2 specifications, a computer simulation technique was developed to test the validity of the design.
• a Perkin Elmer 1640 FTIR spectro- photo eter (PE 1640) was used to measure the absorption spectra of the gases of interest, C0 2 and N 2 0.
• the gasses were at atmospheric pressure and in a 0.5 inch path length cell. 5.0% C0 2 and 50% N 2 0 balance 0 2 were used.
• the spectra data were transferred into a personal computer, with data reported every O.iu. These spectra were combined in a spreadsheet program with mathematical models of the filters. Modulation percentages were calculated by multiplying the gas spectra by the filter models and dividing the result by the product of the spectra and a 100% transmission model. Modulation, cross-talk, and effects of filter shifts were studied.
• the transmission of a real infrared bandpass filter was measured with the PE 1640.
• a data file was created which preserved the cut-on and cutoff edges of the real filter but replaced the middle section with a flat transmission of 80%.
• a program changed the width of the simulated filter by altering the width of the flat top to allow testing various filter bandwidths.
• the simulated filter was restricted to half-power bandwidths of greater than O.lu to insure that the resulting optimized filter was manufacturable.
• a personal computer was programmed to sweep through all possible filter combinations for C0 2 and N 2 0 filters and to select the best combination as indicated by:
• the optimized filter VER 2.1 has slightly less modulation than the conventional version.
• the optimized filter specification reduced C0 2 error due to a shift of 0.3u reduced from 1.7 mmHg to 0.4 and the N 2 0 error went from 112 to 26 mmHg.
• Angle Shift 0.001% per Degree of angle.
• FILTER 1 Center 4.255 micron +/- 0.03 micron
• FILTER 3 Center 3.600 micron +/- 0.03 micron
• FIG. 3 a preferred embodiment of certain signal processing circuitry 100 used to carry out the present invention in conjunction with a host system.
• the input and output signals to the detector apparatus 80 and 90 are passed through an isolation and filtering subsystem 140 to insure patient safety.
• Output signal 90 of the detector flows through the isolation subsystem 140 to the AD converter detector 130, where it is digitized, before input into the microprocessor 120.
• the microprocessor 120 transmits the processed detector output — as a concentration value for the respective constituent gas — to the host system interface 110, and on to the host 5 system (not shown) .
• the final output signal may be monitored, recorded, stored, or further manipulated.
• a signal from the host system to the detector apparatus shown in FIG. 2 may be transmitted to the host system interface 110, then to the microprocessor 120, through the isolation and filtering
• the signal from the host system is not converted from digital to analog form before being input to the detector apparatus.
• FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic representation of an alternate portion of a detector in accordance with the invention.
• 25 transmissivity of 50% are provided.
• the remainder of the detector 202 is the same as that described above with reference to FIG. 4, i.e., an aperture or window 230, detectors 216 and 220 and processor 240 are again provided.
• the reference portion of the circuit may either be constructed as shown in FIG. 4, or using a pair of 50%/100% filters, as shown in FIG. 8.
• the analytical filters may be functionally combined with the neutral density filter as one filter element.

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=27410482

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (11)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 1990
  • 1990-08-27 EP EP19900913661 patent/EP0489840A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1990-08-27 WO PCT/US1990/004875 patent/WO1991003204A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1990-08-27 JP JP51275590A patent/JPH05500112A/ja active Pending
  • 1990-08-27 AU AU63592/90A patent/AU637827B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1990-08-27 CA CA002064892A patent/CA2064892A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1990-08-28 GR GR900100645A patent/GR1001000B/el unknown
  • 1990-08-31 PT PT9517890A patent/PT95178A/pt unknown
• 1993
  • 1993-07-29 AU AU44305/93A patent/AU4430593A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events