Patent ID: 8185178
Filing Date: 2012-05-22
Classification: A61B,G01D,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a sensor, the method comprising: providing a patient identification code and a duration of time stored in a memory device of the sensor to a pulse oximeter to determine whether the patient identification code matches a previous patient identification code associated with the sensor; erasing the duration of time that a patient has been monitored by the pulse oximeter from the memory device of the sensor; receiving an updated duration of time that a patient has been monitored by the pulse oximeter or a new duration of time that a different patient has been monitored by the pulse oximeter, wherein the sensor receives the updated duration of time if the patient identification code matches the previous patient identification code, and the sensor receives the new duration of time if the patient identification code does not match the previous identification code; and storing the updated duration of time that the patient has been monitored by the pulse oximeter or the new duration of time that the different patient has been monitored by the pulse oximeter as digitally encoded data in the memory device of the sensor.