METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING THE BODY TEMPERATURE OF A PATIENT

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for detecting the body temperature of a patient, wherein the patient has a fistula for draining blood into an extracorporeal circuit and/or for supplying blood from an extracorporeal circuit, wherein a thermal image recording of the fistula or of a part of the fistula is produced by means of an infrared camera for the purpose of detecting the body temperature of the patient. The present invention further relates to a dialysis machine.

Claims

1. A method for detecting the body temperature of a patient, wherein the patient has a fistula for draining blood into an extracorporeal circuit and/or for supplying blood from an extracorporeal circuit, characterized in that a thermal image recording of the fistula or of a part of the fistula is produced by means of an infrared camera for the purpose of detecting the body temperature of the patient.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the temperature of the skin of the patient is detected by means of the thermal image recording; and/or in that a conclusion is drawn from this detected temperature value of the skin on the blood temperature in the fistula and/or on the core body temperature.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the body temperature is measured before and/or during and/or after a dialysis treatment.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the thermal image recording is made continuously or intermittently.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the measurement of the body temperature is carried out continuously or intermittently on the basis of the thermal image recording.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that an actual value of a parameter of the thermal image recording or an actual value of a parameter derived therefrom is compared with a desired value or a desired value range; and in that a regulation of the actual value is carried out so that the latter agrees with the desired value or lies within the desired value range.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that a deviation between the actual value and the desired value or desired value range is displayed.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the range of the maximum or minimum temperature is identified; and in that a change of the position of this range is taken into account in the detection or evaluation of the thermal image recording.

9. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the thermal image recording is taken in a two-dimensional array.

10. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the thermal image recording is made by an infrared gun or by another mobile device.

11. A dialysis machine having an extracorporeal blood circuit in which a dialyzer is located that is flowed through by blood of a patient having a fistula in operation of the machine, characterized in that the dialysis machine has a thermal image camera that is suitable and oriented to produce a thermal image recording of the fistula or of a part of the fistula of the patient.

12. A dialysis machine in accordance with claim 11, characterized in that the thermal image camera is located at the IV pole of the dialysis machine and/or forms an integral component of the dialysis machine; and/or in that the recording range of the thermal image camera is variable.

13. A dialysis machine in accordance with claim 11, characterized in that the dialysis machine has determination means by means of which a temperature value can be determined from the thermal image recording.

14. A dialysis machine in accordance with claim 11, characterized in that the dialysis machine has a regulator by means of which the temperature of the skin over the fistula or the temperature in the fistula or in the region of the fistula can be maintained at a desired value or in a desired value range.

15. A dialysis machine in accordance with claim 14, characterized in that the dialyzer is flowed through by dialyzate at the dialyzate side in operation of the machine; and in that the regulator is configured such that the temperature and/or the flow rate of the dialyzate is/are variable as control variables by the regulator for the purpose of regulation.

Description

[0044] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

[0045] There are shown:

[0046] FIG. 1: a thermal image recording of second lower arms, with a fistula being arranged in the arm shown at the right; and

[0047] FIG. 2: a thermal image recording of the arm shown at the right in FIG. 1 with a temperature indication in the fistula.

[0048] A thermal image recording of second lower arms of a patient can be recognized from FIG. 1, with the different colors or gray shades representing different temperatures. A temperature scale is indicated at the right of FIG. 1 that enables an association of colors or gray shades to temperature values.

[0049] It can be seen from FIG. 1 that the arm shown at the right has the biggest temperature in the region marked by the cross at which the fistula is located.

[0050] This results from the enlarged representation in accordance with FIG. 2. It results from this that an actual temperature of 37.4 results for the fistula and thus ultimately also for the blood flowing through the fistula and thus also for the core body temperature.

[0051] This value is within a desired value range so that no measures have to be taken for the temperature change.

[0052] If the temperature of the blood in the fistula is, however, too low, its increase can e.g. be achieved by a heating of the dialyzate that flows through the dialyzer of the extracorporeal circuit at the dialyzate side. If the measured temperature is too high, a reduction of the blood temperature can accordingly be achieved by a reduction of the temperature of the dialyzate.

[0053] It is comparatively simple to draw possible conclusions on the core temperature of a patient through the present invention. It is possible on this basis to regulate this to a desired value range to ensure that the patient is not at risk during the dialysis treatment and feels well during the treatment. Complex and/or expensive or even invasive apparatus for measuring the body temperature are not required.