Identification system for a surgical cassette
View Patent ↗A surgical system and cassette, the cassette having a series of identifying tabs that are variably opaque to translucent. By varying the opaqueness of the tabs, the surgical system can readily identify the type of cassette being used.
1. A method of identifying a surgical cassette from a plurality of surgical cassettes, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a surgical console having a cassette receiving portion;
b) providing control system having a plurality of light emitting diodes and corresponding photodetectors in the cassette receiving portion of the surgical console;
c) calibrating the control system by adjusting the output of the light emitting diodes until a predetermined output is measured by the photodetectors;
d) inserting a cassette into the cassette receiving portion of the surgical console, the cassette having a plurality of tabs, the tabs having variable opaqueness and at least partially block the light emitted by the light emitting diodes from reaching the photodetectors;
e) increasing the output of the light emitting diodes to a maximum;
f) measuring a relative opaqueness of the tabs based on a relative variability of the amount of light reaching the photodetectors through the tabs from the light emitting diodes when the light emitting diodes are at the maximum output; and
g) identifying the cassette based on the relative opaqueness of the tabs.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the tabs are arranged in a pattern based on the opaqueness of the individual tabs.