| abstract |
An apparatus and method for providing a blood pressure transducer suitable for use in a catheter line, for monitoring blood pressure. Two embodiments of the blood pressure transducer (20, 120) are disclosed, both of which include connectors (24) suitable for connection to a catheter line. A flow-through passage (22) extends between the two connectors, in fluid communication with a solid-state pressure transducer chip (36), which is mounted on a chip carrier (34) inside a rectangular-shaped plastic housing (30/130, 32). The chip carrier includes a plurality of formed flat leads (38) connected to the pressure transducer chip, and an extending nib (62) having a passage (66) filled with a silicon gel (64), which couples fluid pressure in the flow-through passage to a pressure sensitive diaphragm (106) on the solid-state pressure transducer chip. Electrical signals are transmitted to and from the pressure transducer chip through a multiconductor lead (40) having a plurality of conductors (42), which make electrical contact with the formed flat leads during assembly of the housing. Use of the preassembled chip carrier and of a solid-state pressure transducer chip which includes its own thermal compensation circuit greatly reduces the assembly cost of the blood pressure transducer. |