Patent ID: 8626455

Claim:
A method of fluid flow rate estimation of a pump comprising: detecting a periodic synchronization event, via inserted bubble tracking of a signal processor unit comprising a central processing unit and addressable memory, wherein the periodic synchronization event indicates at least one of: a present point in a push-pause cycle and a present range in a push-pause cycle; and synchronizing a flow characteristic determination based on the periodic synchronization event, wherein the periodic synchronization event detecting comprises: detecting one or more pushes of a pump based on a time-interval and at least one of: a carriage position change, a carriage motion, and a fluid pressure change; and detecting one or more pauses of a pump based on time-interval, a threshold, and at least one of: a carriage position change, a carriage motion, and a fluid pressure change; wherein the carriage motion during the detected one or more pushes of the pump is elevated and consistent during the time-interval, and the carriage motion during the detected one or more pauses of the pump is at least one of: a negligible motion and a set percent smaller than the carriage motion during the detected one or more pushes of the pump.