Abstract: An infant care apparatus for supporting an infant upon an infant platform having a self-contained procedure light that is adapted to direct light onto an infant resting on the infant platform. The self-contained procedure light generally includes a light bulb, an enclosure, a light socket and a diffuser in a common unit and is mounted to an overhead housing that is above the infant platform and which has a lower surface that faces the infant platform. The self-contained procedure light is removable and replaceable from the lower surface of the overhead housing by a convenient, easy means so that the light bulb contained within the self-contained procedure light can be easily replaced without disassembly of the overhead housing.

Abstract: An infant care apparatus for supporting an infant upon an infant platform having a procedure light that is adapted to direct light onto the infant resting on the infant platform. There is a electrical circuit that is activated by the user turning on the procedure light whereupon the electrical circuit prevents the immediate full intensity of the procedure light from impinging upon the infant but starts the intensity of the procedure light at a low level and then increases the intensity of the light emanating from the procedure light over a period of time to a desired intensity. By the gradual increase of intensity, the infant is not startled by the sudden onset of a high intensity beam of light.

Abstract: A patient carestation for providing care to a patient including at least one environmental sensor sensing information concerning the environment surrounding the patient and providing electronic signals indicative of that environment. There are also physiological sensors sensing information relating to physiological conditions of the patient other than skin temperature and providing electronic signals indicative of physiological conditions of the patient. There may also be therapeutic sensors providing data based on therapy administered by peripheral apparatus and an input receiving patient information. A signal processor receives the signals from the physiological sensors, the environmental sensor, the therapeutic sensor and the patient information input and combines those signals into an integrated combination of signals for use by the caregiver. The integrated combination of signals can be used in a smart alarm or to generally appraise the caregiver at a central location as to the status of the patient.

Abstract: A transport cart for attaching to a patient care apparatus, such as a patient bed or infant care apparatus and is used to move that patient care apparatus from one location to another. During that transport, the transport cart supplies electrical power to the patient care apparatus or peripheral equipment attending to the care and monitoring of the patient. There is, therefore, a source of power on the transport cart that moves with the transport cart and enables that transport cart to provide the electrical power. The electrical source on the transport cart is a fuel cell such that the cart can continue to supply the electrical power to the patient care apparatus for so long as there is a supply of fuel on the transport cart to operate the fuel cell.

Abstract: A protective device that is used in a medical suction system withdrawing liquids from a patient. The device is located upstream of a vacuum regulator and protects that regulator and other downstream components from contacting the liquid being withdrawn from the patient. The protective device has an inlet and an outlet and an actuator mechanism that can move between a contracted position where a gas can communicate through the protective device between the inlet and the outlet and an expanded position where the actuator mechanism occludes both the inlet and the outlet to shut off the vacuum supply to the patient. An electrical circuit having a pair of sensing electrodes provides an electrical discharge to trigger a shape-metal alloy wire to move the actuator mechanism from the contracted position to the expanded position when the sensing electrodes detect the presence of a liquid therebetween.

Abstract: An infant care apparatus for supporting an infant upon an infant platform having a procedure light that is adapted to direct light onto the infant resting on the infant platform. There is a electrical circuit that is activated by the user turning on the procedure light whereupon the electrical circuit prevents the immediate full intensity of the procedure light from impinging upon the infant but starts the intensity of the procedure light at a low level and then increases the intensity of the light emanating from the procedure light over a period of time to a desired intensity. By the gradual increase of intensity, the infant is not startled by the sudden onset of a high intensity beam of light.

Abstract: A heater control system for an infant warming apparatus. The apparatus has a radiant heater comprising a heating element that is energized by an electrical supply to emit radiant energy toward the infant on the platform. The power delivered to the heater element is directly ascertained by measuring the voltage across the heater element and the current passing through the heater element and by computing directly the actual power applied to the heater element. By knowing the actual power applied to the heater, that heater power can be more precisely controlled to a desired power level.

Abstract: An infant care apparatus having a canopy movable with respect to an infant support for supporting an infant between a lower position enclosing the infant in an infant compartment and an upper position opening the infant compartment. The canopy has an opening and a door that can be closed to block the opening and opened to unblock the opening. A radiant heater is located in a fixed position above the infant support to direct infrared energy toward the infant support. When the canopy is in its lower position, a convective heating system warms the infant compartment. The door either closes as the canopy moves to its lower position or opens as the canopy moves to its upper position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring refractive properties of a refractive optical system by fitting measurement data points to a derived function are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment relating to an automatic objective optometer, each data point represents a peak signal amplitude extracted from a scan of a plurality of pixels on an area detector array receiving light from the illuminated refractive optical system at a particular optometer position. The derived function describes a relationship between the peak pixel signal and optometer position based on changing focusing conditions of light at the detector array, which correspond to focusing conditions at an image plane of the refractive optical system under a confocal arrangement.