Patent ID: 8515709

Claim:
A portable device for measuring a volume of a vessel, the portable device comprising: a housing having a first end and a second end wherein the second end is located in a position opposite to the first end; an LED that emits light wherein the LED is located within the housing at the second end of the housing; a shaft extending from the first end of the housing wherein the shaft has a first end located outside of the housing and a second end located inside of the housing and further wherein the shaft is made of a material which conveys the light emitted from the LED from a position within the housing to a position outside of the housing wherein the shaft conveys reflected light into the housing; a first light detector located within the housing at the second end of the housing; a first lens located within the housing between the first light detector and the second end of the shaft wherein the first lens focuses the light emitted from the LED onto the second end of the shaft and further wherein the first lens focuses the reflected light conveyed by the shaft onto the first light detector wherein the first light detector measures an intensity of the reflected light conveyed by the shaft; and a microprocessor which receives a signal from the first light detector indicative of the intensity of the reflected light wherein the microprocessor uses the signal to determine the volume of the vessel.