Patent ID: 8968204
Filing Date: 2015-03-03
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method for determining fluid volume flow and a pressure of a fluid flowing along a flattened section of a flexible conduit, the method comprising the steps of: making at least two passes of an ultrasound beam emanating from a housing through the flexible conduit at an oblique angle to the fluid flowing in the flexible conduit, wherein the two passes are in opposite directions along a same path, and wherein the ultrasound beam illuminates the fluid flowing in the flexible conduit on each pass; determining a change in a characteristic of the ultrasound beam after each pass through the flexible conduit; determining the fluid volume flow; flattening with a pressure sensor connected to the housing, at a position where the ultrasound wave beam passes through the fluid, a portion of an outside surface of the flexible conduit to form a stationary flat surface without creating a full occlusion in the flexible conduit and; obtaining a pressure reading from the outside surface of the flattened portion of the flexible conduit.