1. A safety method for a building that includes a doorway and a loading dock adapted to receive a vehicle, the safety method comprising:
sensing a material handling equipment within an interior of the vehicle parked adjacent a first side of the doorway;
sensing the presence of a body within an area adjacent a second side of the doorway, the second side being opposite the first side; and
generating an alarm signal in response to sensing a combination of both the material handling equipment within the interior of the vehicle and the presence of the body within the area.
2. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the body within the area is a person.
3. The safety method of claim 1, wherein generating the alarm signal comprises energizing an elongate light fixture that lies generally parallel to at least a portion of a perimeter of the doorway.
4. The safety method of claim 3, wherein the elongate light fixture is substantially horizontal.
5. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the body within the area is a second material handling equipment.
6. A safety method for a building that includes a doorway providing a passage from an inside of the building to an outside of the building, and a loading dock adapted to cooperate with a vehicle, the safety method comprising:
transmitting a sensing signal only into an interior of the vehicle disposed outside of the building adjacent the passage;
using the sensing signal to determine whether a body is inside the vehicle; and
providing an alarm signal in response to determining that the body is inside the vehicle.
7. The safety method of claim 6, wherein the body is a forklift.
8. The safety method of claim 6, wherein transmitting the sensing signal comprises generating the sensing signal inside of the building and projecting the sensing signal through the passageway into the vehicle.
9. The safety method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting a second sensing signal from within the interior of the vehicle into the building.
10. The safety method of claim 6, wherein using the sensing signal to determine whether the body is present comprises detecting movement of the body inside the vehicle.
11. A safety system for a building that includes a doorway providing a passage from an inside of the building to an outside of the building, and a loading dock adapted to receive a vehicle, the safety system comprising:
a remote body sensor disposed inside the building to project a sensing signal into the vehicle disposed outside of the building to detect whether a body is present inside of the vehicle; and
an alarm system in communication with the remote body sensor such that the alarm system provides an alarm signal in response to the remote body sensor detecting the body inside the vehicle.
12. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the remote body sensor detects motion.
13. The safety system of claim 11, further comprising a movable bracket supporting the remote body sensor so that in response to the remote body sensor being struck, the remote body sensor can move without significant damage.
14. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the alarm system comprises an elongate light fixture that lies generally parallel to at least a portion of the perimeter of the doorway.
15. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the alarm system comprises a light visible to the driver or the received vehicle, wherein the lights indicates the presence of the body inside the vehicle.
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 of measuring in absolute physical units cardiac output of a subject comprising:
a) administering to a cardiovascular system of the subject a detectable amount of at least one indicator;
b) applying a first wavelength of light for exciting the indicator within the cardiovascular system and causing the indicator to emit a second wavelength of light, wherein the second wavelength of light is fluorescence emitted by the indicator;
c) measuring intensity of fluorescence emitted by the indicator in the cardiovascular system over a period of time using at least one photodetector proximately located to at a detection area of the subject;
d) converting the measured intensity of the fluorescence over the period of time to a measured concentration of the indicator over a period of time using a known calibration curve that defines how the concentration of the indicator in the cardiovascular system varies as a function of the measured value of the intensity of the fluorescence;
e) determining cardiac output of the subject in absolute units of volume over time based on the measured concentration of the indicator over the period of time.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of the cardiac output in absolute units of volume over time comprises at least one of curve fitting to a model equation or numerical integration.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises expressing the cardiac output as a function of either the subject’s weight or the subject’s surface area.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises back extrapolating the measured intensity of the fluorescence to near the instant of time of administration to determine a circulating blood volume in absolute physical units of volume.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the photodetector is placed in at least one of a transdermal detection area, a subdermal detection area, a perivascular detection area or an endovascular detection area.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring further comprises detecting the intensity of the fluorescence by either transmission mode or reflection mode.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a-e are repeated at a time interval to determine if the cardiac output for the subject has changed.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a stimulus to the subject and wherein steps a-e are repeated at a time interval to determine if the cardiac output for the subject has changed after exposure to the stimulus.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein the detection area is arterialized by application of heat or pharmacologically prior to the measuring the fluorescence at the detection area.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wavelength of light is within the range of about 400 nm to about 1000 nm.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator is a chromophore or fluorophore emitting the fluorescence in a range from about 400 nm to about 1000 nm.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the fluorophore is selected from the group comprising indocyanine green, fluorescein and rhodamine.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
removing a blood sample containing the indicator from the cardiovascular system; and
determining the concentration of the indicator in the removed blood sample.
14. The method of measuring of claim 1 wherein the known calibration curve is defined for a specific site on the subject.
15. The method of measuring of claim 14 wherein the site is an ear of the subject.
16. The method of measuring of claim 14 wherein the site is a nose of the subject.
17. A system for measuring the cardiac output of a subject comprising:
a) an illumination source configured to be positioned proximately to at least one blood vessel of a cardiovascular system of the subject for providing a first wavelength light for exciting an indicator within the cardiovascular system and causing the indicator to emit a second wavelength of light, wherein the second wavelength of light is fluorescence emitted by the indicator;
b) a photodetector configured to be positioned proximate to the blood vessel of the cardiovascular system for detecting a magnitude of intensity of the fluorescence emitted from the indicator in the cardiovascular system and to generate electronic signals indicative of the detected magnitude of intensity of the fluorescence over a period of time; and
c) a computing system configured to receive the electronic signals and to compute the cardiac output of the subject in absolute units of volume over time wherein the computer system:
i. converts the electronic signals indicative of the detected magnitude of intensity of the fluorescence over the period of time to a measured concentration of the indicator over a period of time using a known calibration curve that defines how the concentration of the indicator in the cardiovascular system varies as a function of the measured value of the intensity of the fluorescence and
ii. computes the cardiac output of the subject in absolute units of volume over time based on the measured concentration of the indicator over the period of time.
18. The system of claim 17, further comprising at least one fiber optic probe operably connected to the illumination source for guiding the first wavelength of light from the illumination source to the detection area.
19. The system of claim 17, further comprising at least one fiber optic probe operably connected to the photodetector for guiding the fluorescence from the detection area to the photodetector.
20. The system of claim 17, further comprising at least one lock-in amplifier operably connected to the illumination source for modulating the intensity of the first wavelength of light at a selected frequency, and operably connected to the photodetector for enhancing the detection of the fluorescence by the photodetector, only at the selected frequency of modulation.
21. The system of claim 17, wherein the photodetector is further configured to detect the magnitude of intensity of the fluorescence emitted from the indicator over a time period, forming a magnitude of intensity curve for the time period, and wherein the computing system is further configured to compute the cardiac output based on at least one of curve fitting to a model equation or a numerical integration.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computing system is further configured to express the cardiac output as a function of either the subject’s weight or the subject’s surface area.
23. The system of claim 17, wherein the computing system is further configured to compute circulating blood volume of the subject and wherein the photodetector is further configured to detect the magnitude of intensity of the fluorescence emitted from the indicator over a time period, forming a magnitude of intensity curve for the time period, and wherein the computing system is further configured to compute the blood volume by back extrapolating the electronic signal indicative of the fluorescence intensity to near the time of administration of the indicator in order to determine the circulating blood volume.
24. The system of claim 17, wherein the photodetector is further configured to be placed in at least one of a transdermal detection area, a subdermal detection area, a perivascular detection area or an endovascular detection area.
25. The system of claim 17, wherein the first wavelength of light is in the range of about 400 nm to about 1000 nm.
26. The system of claim 17, wherein the indicator is a chromophore or fluorophore capable of emitting the second wavelength of light in a range from about 400 nm to about 1000 nm.
27. The system for measuring of claim 17 wherein the known calibration curve is defined for a specific site on the subject.
28. The system for measuring of claim 27 wherein the site is an ear of the subject.
29. The system for measuring of claim 27 wherein the site is a nose of the subject.
30. A method of measuring blood volume in a subject comprising:
a) administering a detectable amount of at least one indicator to a cardiovascular system of a subject;
b) applying a first wavelength of light for exciting the indicator within the cardiovascular system and causing the indicator to emit a different second wavelength of light, wherein the second wavelength of light is fluorescence emitted from the indicator;
c) measuring intensity of fluorescence emitted from the indicator in the cardiovascular system over a period of time using at least one photodetector proximately located to a detection area of the subject;
d) converting the measured intensity of the fluorescence over the period of time to a measured concentration of the indicator over a period of time using a known calibration curve that defines how the concentration of the indicator in the cardiovascular system varies as a function of the measured value of the intensity of the fluorescence; and
e) determining a magnitude of the blood volume in absolute units based on the measured concentration of the indicator over the period of time.
31. The method of measuring of claim 30 wherein the known calibration curve is defined for a specific site on the subject.
32. The method for measuring of claim 31 wherein the site is an ear of the subject.
33. The method of measuring of claim 31 wherein the site is a nose of the subject.