IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,937,984
Granted Patent B2
US 11,937,984 · App. 17/002,435 · Granted Mar 26, 2024

Active ingress detection system for medical probes

Inventor: Rajeev C. Mandwal (Linz, AT)
Assignee: GE Precision Healthcare LLC
A61B8/546A61B8/4472A61B8/4488A61B8/4494A61B8/461G01L19/0092G01N33/0036G01S7/52053G01S15/8934G05B23/0218G16H40/67
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,937,984
App. No.
17/002,435
Granted
Mar 26, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for actively detecting an ingress of a medical probe. In accordance with certain embodiments, a method includes monitoring, with a sensor within a medical probe, an internal environment of the medical probe, detecting, with the sensor, at least one of a temperature, pressure, humidity, or concentration of a gas within the medical probe, determining, with a processor that is in communication with the sensor, whether a seal that hermetically seals the medical probe has failed as a function of at least one of the temperature, pressure, humidity, or concentration of the gas, and outputting, with the processor, a notification that indicates whether the seal has failed.

Claims (33)

1. A method comprising:

monitoring, with a sensor within an ultrasound probe, an internal environment of the medical probe;

detecting, with the sensor, at least one of a temperature, humidity, or concentration of a gas within the medical probe;

determining, with a processor, that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of the gas is above or below a threshold; and

outputting, with the processor, a notification in response to determining that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of gas is above or below the threshold,

wherein the threshold corresponds to a temperature and the method further comprises:

determining, with the processor, the threshold as a function of a time the ultrasound probe has been on; and

wherein said determining with the processor that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of the gas is above or below a threshold comprises determining that the temperature is below the threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification is output to a display.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a second threshold corresponds to a humidity and wherein said determining with the processor that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of the gas is above or below a threshold further comprises determining the humidity is above the second threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a second threshold corresponds to a concentration of a gas and wherein said determining with the processor that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of the gas is above or below a threshold further comprises determining the concentration of the gas is above the second threshold.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the gas is one of ethane, isoprene, ethanol, acetone, or carbon monoxide.

6. A system comprising:

an ultrasound probe;

a sensor within the medical probe;

a processor in communication with the sensor; and

a computer readable storage medium in communication with the processor, wherein the processor executes program instructions stored in the computer readable storage medium which cause the processor to:

receive at least one of a temperature, humidity, or concentration of a gas from the sensor;

determine whether at least one of the temperature, humidity, or concentration of a gas is above or below a threshold;

generate a notification in response to determining whether the at least one of the temperature, humidity, or concentration of the gas is above or below the threshold; and

output the notification,

wherein the threshold corresponds to a temperature and the instructions further cause the processor to:

determine the threshold as a function of a time the ultrasound probe has been on; and

wherein said determining that at least one of the temperature, humidity, or the concentration of the gas is above or below a threshold comprises determining that the temperature is below the threshold.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the notification indicates a seal that hermetically seals the medical probe has failed and the system further comprises:

a handheld device with a display and the processor, and the instructions further cause the processor to:

output the notification to the display.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein

a second threshold corresponds to a humidity and the instructions further cause the processor to:

generate the notification in response to determining the humidity is above the second threshold.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein

a second threshold corresponds to a concentration of a gas and the instructions further cause the processor to:

generate the notification in response to determining the concentration of the gas is above the second threshold.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 25, 2020
From: MANDWAL, RAJEEV C.
To: GE PRECISION HEALTHCARE LLC
Reel/Frame 053593/0683 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220061820A1 · Mar 3, 2022