Patent ID: 7775127

Claim:
A fluid delivery system for monitoring a fluid injection into a patient comprising: an intravenous line, wherein the intravenous line has an orifice of reduced cross-section adjacent a point of entry of said intravenous line into the patient, wherein a fluid is conveyed from a fluid reservoir to the patient through said intravenous line; a flow controller that controls a rate of flow of said fluid through said intravenous line; a differential force sensor having a plurality of piezoresistive sense die in close proximity to one another, wherein a first one of said plurality of piezoresistive sense die is situated adjacent to a first flow diaphragm positioned on a first side of the orifice, and wherein a second one of said plurality of piezoresistive sense die is situated adjacent to a second flow diaphragm positioned on a second opposite side of the orifice; and an onboard communications device controllably coupled to said flow controller and to said differential force sensor, wherein said onboard communications device responds to an output signal from said differential force sensor and provides a feedback signal to said flow controller in a closed-loop process to help control the rate of flow of said fluid into said patient.