| abstract |
Apparatus which employ (5) luminescence quenching for measuring the concentration of a gas, such as oxygen, in a mixture, such as respiratory gases. Components of such systems include: (1) an airway adapter (101), a sampling cell (102), and a sensor (104) which is excitable into luminescence and is quenched in a manner reflecting the concentration of one or more analyzed gases within the sampling cell; (2) a transducer (105) with a source (106) configured and oriented to excite a luminescable composition in the sensor into luminescence, and a detector (110) for converting energy emitted from the sensor into an electric signal; and (3) subsystems (114) for maintaining the temperature of the sensor at a substantially constant level and to prevent condensation from hindering the detection of energy emitted form the sensor, as well as for processing the signal generated by the detector. |