Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc.

Nirsystems Incorporated

Timothy G Kelly

David A Lohr

David E Honigs

Peter A St John

In a spectrophotometer having an oscillating grating, an automatic calibration system is provided to ensure that the instrument constants are recomputed before each measurement of an unknown sample. In the system, whenever a reference scan is carried out, a second scan through an absorbance standard is carried out automatically and the data obtained is used to correct the instrument coefficients relating the angular position of the grating to the wavelength. The corrected coefficients are then stored to be used in the measurement of the unknown sample immediately thereafter. For near infrared spectrum measurements, the absorbance standard is a polystyrene plate. For visual measurements, the absorbance standard is a didymium plate. The didymium plate is mounted on the polystyrene plates eclipse a portion of the polystyrene plate.

Automatic spectrophotometer calibration system

Metering apparatus for controlling the flow of fluid through a fluid infusion system at an operator-designated rate includes a single-use cassette having a syringe-type pump in the flow system. The cassette is removably mounted on actuator apparatus which drives the syringe plunger through alternate fill and pump modes to advance fluid through the system. To provide compensation for the lack of flow in the system during fill strokes, the plunger is advanced at a higher compensation rate for first and second portions of the pump stroke immediately preceding and immediately following each fill stroke, with the pump stroke advancing at the designated rate therebetween. This results in an average flow rate which corresponds to the designated rate. By making the first and second compensations of equal duration, the effect of the fill cycles on the regularity of the average flow rate is minimized.

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Silver Spring, MD, United States of America

Timothy G Kelly