Abstract:
A method in which thermal mass and manufacturing differences are compensated for in thermometry probes by storing characteristic data relating to individual probes into an EEPROM for each probe which is used by the temperature apparatus.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to the field of thermometry, and more particularly to a method of calibrating temperature measuring probes for use in a related apparatus.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Thermistor sensors in thermometric devices have typically been ground to a certain component calibration which will affect the ultimate accuracy of the device. These components are then typically assembled into precision thermometer probe assemblies.  
           [0003]    In past improvements, static temperature measurements or “offset type coefficients” have been stored into the thermometer&#39;s memory so that they can be added or subtracted before a reading is displayed by a thermometry system, thereby increasing accuracy of the system.  
           [0004]    A problem with the above approach is that most users of thermometry systems cannot wait the full amount of time for thermal equilibrium, which is typically where the offset parameters are taken.  
           [0005]    Predictive thermometers look at a relatively small rise time (e.g., approximately 4 seconds) and thermal equilibrium is typically achieved in 2-3 minutes. A prediction of temperature, as opposed to an actual temperature reading, can be made based upon this data.  
           [0006]    A fundamental problem with current thermometry systems is the lack of accounting for variations in probe construction/manufacturing which would affect the quality of the early rise time data. A number of factors, for example, the mass of the ground thermistor, amounts of bonding adhesives/epoxy, thicknesses of the individual probe layers, etc. will significantly affect the rate of temperature change which is being sensed by the apparatus. To date, there has been no technique utilized in a predictive thermometer apparatus for normalizing these effects.  
           [0007]    Another effect relating to certain thermometers includes pre-heating the heating element of the thermometer probe prior to placement of the probe at the target site. Such thermometers, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,846 to Gregory et al., the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference allow faster readings to be made by permitting the heating element to be raised in proximity (within about 10 degrees or less) of the body site. The above manufacturing effects also affect the preheating and other characteristics on an individual probe basis. Therefore, another general need exists in the field to also normalize these effects for preheating purposes.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is a primary object of the present invention to attempt to alleviate the above-described problems of the prior art.  
           [0009]    It is another primary object of the present invention to normalize the effects of different temperature probes for a thermometry apparatus.  
           [0010]    Therefore and according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a method for calibrating a temperature probe for a thermometry apparatus, said method including the steps of:  
           [0011]    characterizing the transient heat rise behavior of a said temperature probe; and  
           [0012]    storing characteristic data on an EEPROM associated with each said probe.  
           [0013]    Preferably, the stored data can then be used in an algorithm(s) in order to refine the predictions from a particular temperature probe.  
           [0014]    According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a method for calibrating a temperature probe for a thermometry apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:  
           [0015]    characterizing the preheating characteristics of a temperature probe; and  
           [0016]    storing said characteristic data on an EEPROM associated with each probe.  
           [0017]    Preferably and in each of the above aspects of the invention, the characteristic data which is derived is compared to that of a “nominal” temperature probe. Based on this comparison, adjusted probe specific coefficients can be stored into the memory of the EEPROM for use in a polynomial(s) used by the processing circuitry of the apparatus.  
           [0018]    An advantage of the present invention is that the manufacturing effects of various temperature probes can be easily normalized for a thermometry apparatus.  
           [0019]    These and other objects, features and advantages will become readily apparent from the following Detailed Description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a temperature measuring apparatus used in accordance with the method of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a partial sectioned view of the interior of a temperature probe of the temperature measuring apparatus of FIG. 1;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a connector assembly for the temperature probe of FIGS. 1 and 2, including an EEPROM used for storing certain thermal probe related data;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIGS. 4 and 5 are exploded views of the probe connector of FIG. 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a graphical representation comparing the thermal rise times of two temperature probes; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a graphical representation comparing the preheating characteristics of two temperature probes. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]    The following description relates to the calibration of a particular thermometry apparatus. It will be readily apparent that the inventive concepts described herein are applicable to other thermometry systems and therefore this discussion should not be regarded as limiting.  
         [0027]    Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a temperature measuring apparatus  10  that includes a compact housing  14  and a temperature probe  18  which is tethered to the housing by means of a flexible electrical cord  22 , shown only partially and in phantom in FIG. 1. The housing  14  includes a user interface  36  which includes a display  34  as well as a plurality of actuable buttons  38  for controlling the operation of the apparatus  10 . The apparatus  10  is powered by means of batteries (not shown) that are contained within the housing  14 . As noted, the temperature probe  18  is tethered to the housing  14  by means of the flexible cord  22  and is retained within a chamber  44  which is releasably attached thereto. The chamber  44  includes a receiving cavity and provides a fluid-tight seal with respect to the remainder of the interior of the housing  14  and is separately described in copending and commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. (to be assigned) (Attorney Docket 281 — 394), the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0028]    Turning to FIG. 2, the temperature probe  18  is defined by an elongate casing  30  which includes at least one temperature responsive element that is disposed in a distal tip portion  34  thereof, the probe being sized to fit within a patient body site (e.g., sublingual pocket, rectum, etc.,).  
         [0029]    The manufacture of the temperature measuring portion of this probe  18  includes several layers of different materials. The disposition and amount of these materials significantly influences temperature rise times from probe to probe and need to be taken into greater account, as is described below. Still referring to the exemplary probe shown in FIG. ,  2 , these layers include (as looked from the exterior of the probe  18 ) the outer casing layer  30 , typically made from a stainless steel, an adhesive bonding epoxy layer  54 , a sleeve layer  58  usually made from a polyimide or other similar material, a thermistor bonding epoxy layer  62  for applying the thermistor to the sleeve layer, and a thermistor  66  which serves as the temperature responsive element disposed in the distal tip portion  34  of the thermometry probe  18 . As noted above and in probe manufacture, each of the above layers will vary significantly (as the components themselves are relatively small). In addition, the orientation of the thermistor  66  and its own inherent construction (e.g., wire leads, solder pads, solder, etc.) will also vary from probe to probe. The wire leads  68  extending from the thermistor  66  extend from the distal tip portion of the probe  18  to the cord  22  in a manner commonly known in the field.  
         [0030]    A first demonstration of these differences is provided by the following test which was performed on a pair of temperature probes  18 A,  18 B, as described above. These probes were tested and compared using a so-called “dunk” test. Each of the probes were tested using the same probe cover (not shown). In this particular test, each temperature probe is initially lowered into a large tank (not shown) containing a fluid (e.g., water) having a predetermined temperature and humidity. In this instance, the water had a temperature comparable to that of a suitable body site (ie., 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Each of the probes were separately retained within a supporting fixture (not shown) and lowered into the tank. A reference probe (not shown) monitored the temperature of the tank which was sufficiently large so as not to be significantly effected by the temperature effects of the probe. As is apparent from the graphical representation of time versus temperature for each of the probes  18 A,  18 B compared in FIG. 6, each of the temperature probes ultimately reaches the same equilibrium temperature; however, each probe takes a differing path. It should be pointed out that other suitable tests, other than the “dunk” test described herein, can be performed to demonstrate the effect shown according to FIG. 6.  
         [0031]    With the previous explanation serving as a need for the present invention, it would be preferred to be able to store characteristic data relating to each probe, such as data relating to transient rise time, in order to normalize the manufacturing effects that occur between individual probes. As previously shown in FIG. 1, one end of the flexible electrical cord  22  is attached directly to a temperature probe  18 , the cord including contacts for receiving signals from the contained thermistor  66  from the leads  68 .  
         [0032]    Referring to FIGS.  3 - 5 , a construction is shown for the opposite or device connection end of the flexible electrical cord  22  in accordance with the present invention. This end of the cord  22  is attached to a connector  80  that includes an overmolded cable assembly  82  including a ferrule  85  for receiving the cable end as well as a printed circuit board  84  having an EEPROM  88  attached thereto. The connector  80  further includes a cover  92  which is snap-fitted over a frame  96  which is in turn snap-fitted onto the cable assembly  82 . As such, the body of the EEPROM  88  is shielded from the user while the programmable leads  89  extend from the edge and therefore become accessible for programming and via the housing  14  for input to the processing circuitry when a probe  18  is attached thereto. The frame  96  includes a detent mechanism, which is commonly known in the field and requires no further discussion, to permit releasable attachment with an appropriate mating socket (not shown) on the housing  14  and to initiate electrical contact therewith.  
         [0033]    During assembly/manufacture of the probe  18  and following the derivation of the above characteristic data, the stored values such as those relating to transient rise time are added into the memory of the EEPROM  88  prior to assembly into the probe connector  80  through access to the leads extending from the cover  92 . These values can then be accessed by the housing processing circuitry when the connector  80  is attached to the housing  14 .  
         [0034]    Additional data can be stored onto the EEPROM  88 . Referring to FIG. 7, a further demonstration is made of differing characteristics between a pair of temperature probes  18 A,  18 B. In this instance, the heating elements of the probes are provided with a suitable voltage pulse and the temperature rise is plotted versus time. The preheating efficiency of each probe  18 A,  18 B can then be calculated by referring either to the raw height of the plotted curve or alternately by determining the area under the curve. In either instance, the above described variations in probe manufacturing can significantly affect the preheating character of the probe  18 A,  18 B and this characteristic data can be utilized for storage in the EEPROM  88 .  
         [0035]    In either of the above described instances, one of the probes  18 A,  18 B being compared is an ideal or so-called “nominal” thermometry probe having an established profiles for the tests (transient heat rise, preheating or other characteristic) being performed. The remaining probe  18 B,  18 A is tested as described above and the graphical data between the test and the nominal probe is compared. The differences in this comparison provides an adjustment(s) which is probe-specific for a polynomial(s) used by the processing circuitry of the apparatus  10 . It is these adjusted coefficients which can then be stored into the programmable memory of the EEPROM  88  via the leads  89  to normalize the use of the probes with the apparatus.  
         [0036]    Parts List for FIGS.  1 - 7   
         [0037]    [0037] 10  temperature measuring apparatus  
         [0038]    [0038] 14  housing  
         [0039]    [0039] 18  temperature probe  
         [0040]    [0040] 18 A temperature probe  
         [0041]    [0041] 18 B temperature probe  
         [0042]    [0042] 22  flexible cord  
         [0043]    [0043] 30  casing  
         [0044]    [0044] 34  distal tip portion  
         [0045]    [0045] 54  bonding epoxy layer  
         [0046]    [0046] 58  sleeve layer  
         [0047]    [0047] 62  thermistor epoxy layer  
         [0048]    [0048] 66  thermistor  
         [0049]    [0049] 68  leads  
         [0050]    [0050] 80  connector  
         [0051]    [0051] 82  cable assembly  
         [0052]    [0052] 84  printed circuit board  
         [0053]    [0053] 85  ferrule  
         [0054]    [0054] 88  EEPROM  
         [0055]    [0055] 89  leads  
         [0056]    [0056] 92  cover  
         [0057]    [0057] 96  frame