Patent attributes
An apparatus for monitoring the drip rate of an infusion fluid being administered by an intravenous infusion set comprising a housing, drop sensor, alarm and processor. The housing is attachable to a drip chamber, and the drop sensor is positioned in the housing to detect drops of the infusion fluid being administered by the intravenous infusion set. The processor determines a first amount of time required for the drop sensor to detect a first set of drops of infusion fluid having a predetermined number of drops, determines a second amount of time required for the drop sensor to detect a second set of drops of infusion fluid having the predetermined number of drops, compares the second amount of time to a range of time having a minimum that is less than the first amount of time and a maximum that is greater than the first amount of time, and activates the alarm if the second period of time is not within the range of time.