Patent ID: 7018363

Claim:
A syringe for use with an injector having at a plurality of sensors located at different predetermined longitudinal positions on the injector, the syringe comprising: a body comprising a wall and defining a longitudinal syringe axis; an attachment mechanism to attach the syringe to the injector; and a length of material disposed along at least a portion of the wall, the length of material adapted to propagate electromagnetic energy therethrough in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal syringe axis, the length of material comprising at least two indicators, each of the indicators being located at a different predetermined longitudinal position along the length of material, each of the indicators being positioned to longitudinally align with a sensor when the syringe is attached to the injector, each of the indicators being adapted to interact concurrently with at least a portion of the energy being propagated through the length of material in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal syringe axis in a manner that is readily detectable by the sensor in longitudinal alignment with the indicator, the at least two indicators providing information about the syringe configuration in the form of a binary code on the basis of presence or absence of one of the indicators at a predetermined longitudinal position on the length of material.