Patent ID: 6843099
Filing Date: 2005-01-18
Classification: A61M,G01N

Abstract:
1. A bubble detector comprising: an ultrasonic transducer pair comprising a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer, the ultrasonic transducer pair being positionable to sense bubbles in a vertically downward fluid flow, wherein the fluid flow is downstream of a circumferential flow region; a transducer driver operatively coupled to the transmitting transducer to cause the transmitting transducer to deliver a pulsed ultrasonic signal across the fluid flow to the receiving transducer; a signal conditioner operatively coupled to the receiving transducer to receive the pulsed ultrasonic signal from the receiving transducer, the signal conditioner conditioning the pulsed ultrasonic signal to produce a conditioned signal; and a signal processor operatively coupled to the signal conditioner to receive the conditioned signal, the signal processor determining information correlative to bubbles in the fluid flow in response to the conditioned signal.