According to improvement of the receptor layer of various sensors of the type for detecting physical parameters (for example, a surface stress sensor, QCM, and SPR), all of high sensitivity, selectivity, and durability are achieved simultaneously. A porous material or a particulate material, e.g., nanoparticles, is used in place of a uniform membrane which has been conventionally used as a receptor layer. Accordingly, the sensitivity can be controlled by changing the membrane thickness of the receptor layer, the selectivity can be controlled by changing a surface modifying group to be fixed on the porous material or particulate material, and the durability can be controlled by changing the composition and surface properties of the porous material or particulate material.

A method for characterizing the gas load of a medium, which comprises a liquid loaded with gas, using a measurement sensor that guides the medium in at least one vibrating measurement tube, includes: determining a speed of sound value and a resonator density value of the medium based on natural frequencies of at least two different vibration modes of the measurement tube; determining a measured pressure value for the medium guided in the measurement tube; determining a gas volume content of suspended bubbles in the medium based on the resonator density value, the speed of sound value and the measured pressure value; and determining a value for the gas volume content of free bubbles based on the resonator density value of the medium and the gas volume content of suspended bubbles.

A fluid flow system and a method for detecting air bubble and liquid are provided. The fluid flow system comprises a force sensor configured to monitor at least one of an air bubble or an occlusion in a flow tube. The fluid flow system comprises a controller to execute the method. The controller is configured to monitor an output signal of a force sensor of the fluid flow system, and the output signal comprises an Alternating Current (AC) component and a Direct Current (DC) component, and detect a change in the output signal to a new output signal based on a number of transitions to the new output signal, and a time duration of the new output signal. The controller compares the change in the output signal with one of a predefined number of transitions or a predefined time and determines a new threshold when the change in the output signal exceeds one of the predefined number of transitions or the predefined time.

An ultrasonic measuring device for the measurement of a flow of a fluid, includes a measuring tube, a first chamber and a second chamber. The measuring tube has a central axis, which defines a flow direction for the fluid; The first chamber has a first ultrasonic transducer arranged therein. The second chamber has a second ultrasonic transducer arranged therein. The measuring tube includes an inlet and an outlet for the fluid. The first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer bound a rectilinear measuring section for the fluid, the first chamber and the second chamber being configured and arranged such that the fluid is capable of flowing around each of them. The first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer are arranged such that the measuring section extends in the flow direction.

A fluid sensing apparatus and a method for detecting pressure and a presence of bubbles within a fluid tube. The fluid sensing apparatus comprises a housing configured to receive a portion of the tube and to house a pressure sensor and an ultrasonic transmitter. The pressure sensor is positioned adjacent the tube and is configured to receive a pressure sensor signal, which correlates to a detected pressure differential within the tube. A controller transmits a drive signal to the ultrasonic transmitter, which emits ultrasonic waves through the portion of the tube and to the pressure sensor. The pressure sensor receives both the ultrasonic waves and the pressure sensor signal, and subsequently transmits an output signal to the controller. In a presence of a pressure differential or a bubble within the tube, the output signal will exhibit a DC shift or a distortion of signal characteristics of the output signal, respectively.

An apparatus to determine the concentration of a target component in a mixture, the apparatus including at least one acoustic transducer located within the mixture, a controller generating a signal for the at least one acoustic transducer that's generating an acoustic signal in the mixture and transmitting same toward the target component within the mixture, wherein the acoustic signal is generated with a known power level, and a processor for measuring change in the power level of the at least one acoustic transducer as the acoustic signal is transmitted through the mixture, wherein the magnitude of the change in signal power determines the concentration of the target component in the mixture.

Embodiments herein generally relate to systems and methods to determine the composition, properties, and morphology of a liquid in a liquid handling structure. Aspects disclosed include exploiting spatiotemporal constraints of zero-group-velocity modes for non-contact, non-invasive, liquid sensing applications.

A production system and method of operating the production system. A fluid flows through a flow control device. The flow control device having an element that generates an acoustic signal indicative of a value of a parameter of the fluid in response to the fluid flowing through the flow control device. The processor receives the acoustic signal from the element, determines the value of the parameter of the fluid from the parameter of the acoustic signal, and changes an operation of the production system based on the value of the parameter of the fluid.

A method and a system to determine a gelation time of a substance in a container is disclosed. The system includes a container, a bubble generator arranged at a first end of the container, and a bubble sensor arranged at the second end of the container. The container holds a substance having a surface adjacent the second end. The bubble generator is configured to generate a bubble at the first end. The bubble sensor is configured to sense the bubble at the surface of the substance. The method includes releasing a gas into a first end of the container such that the gas bubbles rise from the first end of the container to a second end of the container, sensing the released bubbles, determining an absence of a bubble released by the bubble generator at the bubble sensor, and determining a gelation time based on a number of detected bubbles.

To detect air in a fluid delivery line of an infusion system, infusion fluid is pumped through a fluid delivery line adjacent to at least one sensor. A signal is transmitted and received using the at least one sensor into and from the fluid delivery line. The at least one sensor is operated, using at least one processor, at a modified frequency which is different than a resonant frequency of the at least one sensor to reduce an amplitude of an output of the signal transmitted from the at least one sensor to a level which is lower than a saturation level of the analog-to-digital converter to avoid over-saturating the analog-to-digital converter. The signal received by the at least one sensor is converted from analog to digital using an analog-to-digital converter. The at least one processor determines whether air is in the fluid delivery line based on the converted digital signal.