Patent ID: 6159183
Filing Date: 2000-12-12
Classification: A61M,Y10S

Abstract:
An injector for injecting fluids from a syringe into an animal subject, comprising:a housing,a plunger drive ram mounted within said housing,a motor for moving said plunger drive ram into and out of said housing,a face plate mounting on an external surface of said housing for receiving a detachable face plate used to position a syringe relative to said housing to permit said plunger drive ram to engage and move a plunger into or out of said syringe, said face plate including one or more sources of magnetic field energy, the presence or absence or orientation of said sources in a given face plate being indicative of attributes of said face plate and of a syringe type which can be mounted to said injector using said face plate,one or more magnetic conductors of magnetically permeable material extending from said face plate mounting through said housing, positioned to channel magnetic field energy from said one or more sources into said housing, anda control circuit connected to said motor and controlling said motor to move said ram and plunger to inject fluid from said syringe, said control circuit including one or more magnetic field detectors positioned inside said housing adjacent said magnetic conductors to detect magnetic fields channeled into said housing by said magnetic conductors, said control circuit being responsive to said magnetic field detectors to identify a face plate mounted to said injector based on the presence or absence or orientation of magnetic field energy detected by said magnetic field detectors, and to move said motor in a manner appropriate for a syringe type which can be mounted to said injector using said face plate.