1. A chemo-optical sensor unit for transcutaneous measurement of a concentration of a gas, comprising:
at least one sensing layer adapted to be irradiated with a predetermined radiation; and
at least one gas-permeable layer adjacent to one side of the at least one sensing layer, adapted to pass gas whose concentration is to be measured through the gas-permeable layer towards the sensing layer;
wherein said chemo-optical sensor unit is adapted to operate with a contact medium between the gas-permeable layer and the skin, wherein said contact medium comprises a barrier layer which is gas-permeable and impermeable to water and ions;
and wherein the chemo-optical sensor unit is adapted to measure an optical response of the at least one sensing layer, whose optical response depends on the concentration of the gas.
2. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 1, wherein said contact medium is biocompatible and optionally also thermally conductive.
3. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 1, wherein said barrier layer comprises a hydrophobic compound.
4. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 3, wherein said hydrophobic compound is a hydrophobic liquid
5. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 3, wherein said hydrophobic compound or hydrophobic liquid is a hydrocarbon, fluor or silicon containing oil, an organosilicone, or a soft rubber or gel.
6. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 5, wherein said hydrophobic liquid is an edible oil, a low melting edible wax, preferably cocao butter, a crude oil derivate such as a paraffin oil or soft paraffin wax, a silicone oil, a silicone wax or a perfluoro oil.
7. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 1, wherein said at least one gas-permeable layer andor said at least one sensing layer comprises a silicon rubber.
8. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 1, wherein said barrier layer is present in said chemo-optical sensor unit in such a thickness that the optical response is stable when the chemo-optical sensor is in contact with said contact medium having a constant gas concentration.
9. The chemo-optical sensor of claim 1, wherein said sensing layer comprises luminescent material and wherein said gas-permeable layer is adapted to prevent light from passing through the gas-permeable layer.
10. The chemo-optical sensor of claim 1, wherein said chemo-optical sensor is a transcutaneous sensor unit for measuring blood gas concentration, preferably gas concentrations of O2 andor CO2, more preferably gas concentration of CO2.
11. The chemo-optical sensor unit of claim 1, further comprising:
at least one light source adapted to irradiate the sensing layer, and optionally a light guiding structure connected to the light source; and
at least one detection device adapted to detect the optical response of the sensing layer, and optionally a light guiding structure connected to the detection device, wherein at least one of the light source, light guiding structure andor the detection device are preferably detachably connected to the chemo-optical sensor unit.
12. A system for patient monitoring andor ventilation of a patient, comprising a chemo-optical sensor unit as defined in claim 1, a ventilation device andor a monitoring device.
13. Method for conditioning a chemo-optical sensor unit for transcutaneous measurement of a concentration of a gas, comprising: at least one sensing layer adapted to be irradiated with a predetermined radiation; and at least one gas-permeable layer adjacent to one side of the at least one sensing layer, adapted to pass gas whose concentration is to be measured through the gas-permeable layer towards the sensing layer; wherein said chemo-optical sensor unit is adapted to operate with a contact medium between the gas-permeable layer and the skin, wherein said contact medium comprises a barrier layer which is gas-permeable and impermeable to water and ions; and wherein the chemo-optical sensor unit is adapted to measure an optical response of the at least one sensing layer, whose optical response depends on the concentration of the gas,
the method comprising contacting said chemo-optical sensor unit with a contact medium comprising a barrier layer which is gas-permeable and impermeable to water and ions first, preferably with a contact medium as defined in claim 2.
14. A conditioned chemo-optical sensor unit for transcutaneous measurement of a concentration of a gas obtainable by the method of claim 13.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for making telephony endpoints available for procurement programmatically over a network, including the steps of:
Initiating a call from a client to a server to request an endpoint;
Performing a lookup in a database for an endpoint that meets the constraints specified in the call;
Associating an endpoint in the database with an authenticated client;
Configuring a PBX with routing information for that endpoint;
Returning the allocated endpoint to the client, along with any credential information needed to use the endpoint;
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is publicly addressable
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the request protocol is one of a group of protocols, including at least TCP and HTTP.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the server authenticates the requests from the client
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the database is located on a network available to the server
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the server performs a lookup in the database for endpoints based upon constraints specified in the call from the client
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the server generates credentials valid for the current assignment of the endpoint
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the server configures the PBX to allow clients to connect with the current credentials for the endpoint generated by the server
9. An apparatus comprising:
A publicly addressable server;
A database server connected to the publicly addressable server;
A PBX connected to the publicly addressable server;