Patent ID: 6396583
Filing Date: 2002-05-28
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
A surgical fluid management system adapted to control the volume of a fluid delivered to a body cavity by a pump, comprising:a fluid dampener with an internal hollow; a light transmissive inlet conduit in fluid communication with said internal hollow and the pump, said fluid dampener smoothing output variations of the pump; a fluid sensor for determining the presence of fluid in said conduit, said fluid sensor including a light emitter positioned proximate to said conduit and said dampener; a light detector, positioned proximate to said conduit and said dampener, said light detector juxtaposed relative to said light emitter to receive light emitted by said light emitter, the light received by said light detector being dependent upon the presence of fluid in said conduit, the light received by said light detector being converted by said light detector into an electrical signal representative of the presence or absence of fluid in said conduit, said electrical signal being transmitted to the fluid management system to enable the fluid management system to regulate the volume of fluid delivered to said dampener and the body cavity.