Abbott Laboratories Corporation

Conrad T Oi Fong

Steven B Duke

Gerald G Vurek

Cheryl D Germany

A calibration system and method for calibrating a medical sensor (16) that monitors chemical blood gases. A calibrator (12) is used in connection with a tray (14) in which the medical sensor is stored in a sterile environment, both before and during the calibration process. The medical sensor is immersed in a liquid (30) in a tonometry chamber (28) defined in the tray and covered by a membrane (120/122) that is permeable to gas, but impermeable to bacteria. During the calibration process, the tray is inserted into the calibrator, bringing a heated platen (26) into contact with the tonometry chamber, so that the liquid can be heated to a calibration temperature substantially equal to the temperature at which the medical sensor will subsequently be used. A first calibration gas is then bubbled through the liquid until a saturated condition is achieved. Once the temperature of the liquid is increased to the desired calibration temperature, as determined by a temperature sensor on the medical sensor, data for a first calibration point is taken. A second calibration gas is then bubbled through the liquid until saturation is achieved, yielding data for a second calibration point, for each of the chemical blood gas parameters. The calibration data is processed to determine calibration coefficients that will be applied to the medical sensor.

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Conrad T Oi Fong