System and method for determining a fill status of a canister of fluid in a reduced pressure treatment system
View Patent ↗A reduced pressure treatment system is provided that includes a canister that is fluidly connected to a tissue site and is configured to receive fluid drawn from the tissue site under the influence of a reduced pressure. A reduced pressure source provides the reduced pressure and is fluidly connected to the tissue site by a fluid communication path, which may include a source conduit, the canister, and a target conduit. A sensing device communicates with the source conduit and is configured to sense a pressure in the source conduit. A valve communicates with the source conduit and is configured to vent the reduced pressure. A processing unit communicates with the sensing device and the valve and is configured to open the valve for a selected amount of time, determine a decay of reduced pressure, and determine a fill status of the canister based on the decay of reduced pressure.
1. A reduced pressure treatment system comprising:
a reduced-pressure source;
a canister;
a source conduit configured to fluidly couple the reduced-pressure source to the canister;
a valve in communication with the source conduit; and
a processing unit in communication with the valve, the processing unit configured to open the valve and to determine a fill-status of the canister based on a decay of reduced pressure in the source conduit after opening the valve.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fill-status indicates whether the canister is full or is not full.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a blockage alarm to indicate a blockage in a target conduit if the fill-status is not full.
4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a canister-full alarm if the fill-status of the canister is full.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a blockage alarm if the reduced pressure does not decay to a pre-determined level within a selected amount of time after opening the valve.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a canister-full alarm if the reduced pressure decays to a pre-determined level within a selected amount of time after opening the valve.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:
open the valve to for a selected amount of time;
signal a first alarm indicative of a full canister if the reduced pressure decays to a predetermined level over the selected amount of time; and
signal a second alarm indicative of a blockage if the reduced pressure does not decay to the predetermined level over the selected amount of time.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to:
open the valve to for a selected amount of time;
determine a pressure attained within the source conduit following the selected amount of time; and
determine the fill-status of the canister based on the pressure attained.
9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensing device in communication with the source conduit and configured to measure the decay of reduced pressure in the source conduit.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the sensing device is a pressure sensor.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the sensing device is a flow sensor.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the valve is a first valve, and further comprising:
a target conduit fluidly connected to the canister; and
a second valve fluidly coupled to the target conduit and configured to close if the first valve is open.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first valve and the second valve comprise electrically or mechanically-actuated valves.
14. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a canister-full alarm in communication with the processing unit and configured to indicate the fill-status.
15. An apparatus for determining a fill-status of a container of fluid in a tissue treatment system, the apparatus comprising:
a sensing device configured to sense a reduced pressure in a source conduit;
a valve configured to release the reduced pressure in the source conduit; and
a processing unit in communication with the sensing device and the valve, the processing unit configured to open the valve and to determine a fill level of the container based on a decay of the reduced pressure after opening the valve.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to:
set a pressure threshold;
measure a time for the reduced pressure to attain the pressure threshold; and
determine the fill-status of the container based on the time.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a full-canister alarm if the fill level of the container indicates a full container.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to differentiate between a full container and a blocked source conduit based on the decay.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to signal a first alarm for the full container and signaling a second alarm for the blocked source conduit.
20. An apparatus for determining a fill-status of a container of fluid in a tissue treatment system, the apparatus comprising:
a sensing device configured to sense a reduced pressure in a source conduit;
a valve configured to release the reduced pressure in the source conduit; and
a processing unit in communication with the sensing device and the valve, the processing unit configured to:
open the valve and measure a decay of the reduced pressure after opening the valve,
signal a first alarm indicative of a full canister if the reduced pressure decays to a predetermined level over a selected amount of time, and
signal a second alarm indicative of a blockage if the reduced pressure does not decay to the predetermined level over the selected amount of time.