Patent ID: 7252659

Claim:
A surgical drain system for draining fluid and detecting spectral energy from a tissue area of a patient's body comprising: a) a surgical drain configured to be implanted in a patient's body, to rest against the surface of at least one tissue in the patient's body, to house at least one sensing element and at least one transmitting element, and to drain fluid from the vicinity of the tissue, wherein the surgical drain is not configured to penetrate the tissue, comprising: i) a first outer surface and a second outer surface different from the first outer surface; ii) a first transmitting element integrated with the first outer surface and configured to deliver energy to a first tissue area proximate to the first outer surface; and iii) a first sensing element integrated with the first outer surface, configured to detect spectral energy emitted from the first tissue area that is derived from the delivered energy; b) a tube in fluid communication with the surgical drain configured to transport the drained fluid out of the body, c) a processor in communication with the first sensing element, configured to determine a first color that is representative of the detected spectral energy; and d) a display configured to depict the first color.