fig1 shows an inflation / deflation system generally designated 10 comprising a base 20 including an actuation section 20 a and a support section 20 b , and a disposable part 30 detachably mounted on the base along their common central axis x . the disposable part 30 has a proximal end 30 a detachably supported by the actuation section 20 a , a distal end 30 b detachably supported by the support section 20 b , and a port 49 formed therein adjacent to the distal end 30 b adapted for mounting thereon an inlet / outlet tube 60 as shown , for introducing inflation fluid into the disposable part and discharging the inflation fluid therefrom into a dilatation balloon ( not shown ). turning to fig2 a to 2c , the disposable part 30 comprises a receptacle section 40 with respective distal and proximal portions 40 a and 40 b , and an optional valve assembly 50 integrally formed with the receptacle adjacent its distal portion 40 a . in the detailed description presented below , the receptacle section 40 and the base 20 will be described first and the optional valve assembly 50 will be described thereafter . the receptacle section 40 is in the form of a hollow barrel 42 with a pressure application end 42 a at the proximal portion 40 a of the receptacle and a discharge end 42 b at the distal portion 40 b of the receptacle . the pressure end 42 a of the housing is open and is adapted to receive therethrough a pressure member in the form of a piston 44 ( fig2 b ). the piston 44 is formed of a substantially cylindrical portion 44 a and an actuator interface 44 b ( fig2 b ). the cylindrical portion 44 a is formed with a groove adapted to receive therein an o - ring 45 adapted to prevent leakage of inflation fluid between the inner walls of the barrel 42 and the piston 44 . the actuator interface 44 b is adapted to be attached to an actuator ( not shown in fig2 a to 2c ) for multi - use part the displacement of the piston 44 within the barrel 42 as will be explained in detail further on . the discharge end 42 b of the barrel 42 is formed with a resilient diaphragm 46 having an attachment port 47 , adapted for attachment thereto of a sensor ( shown fig3 ) for measuring the deformation of the diaphragm 46 , which is mounted in the support section 20 a of the base 20 , as will be described in more detail below . reverting to fig1 , the actuation section 22 has a housing 22 and disposed therein an actuator 70 shown fig3 , a motor 21 and a controller ( not shown ) connectable to a computer and a visual display . the actuator 70 has one end ( not seen ) at which it is attached to the motor 21 and the other end 70 a is formed with a ball socket 74 for detachably receiving therein the actuator interface 44 b of the piston 44 . the actuator 70 is adapted to be axially displaced within the housing 22 along the central axis x between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position in which the member 72 protrudes from the housing 22 through a hole 23 formed therein into the proximal portion 40 a of the receptacle 40 , thereby providing support for the proximal end 30 a of the disposable part 30 . the support section 24 extends along and is disposed below the level of the axis x , and has its one end portion 24 a attached to or integrally formed with the actuation section 20 a and the other end portion 24 b formed with a vertically projecting support arm 25 . the support arm 25 is formed with a tube 26 aligned with the central axis x and adapted to receive therein the distal portion 40 b of the receptacle 40 with its diaphragm 46 , thereby providing support for the distal end of the disposable part 30 . with reference also to fig3 , the base 20 further comprises a sensing system 80 including a first load cell 82 and a second load cell 84 , both adapted to measure pressure applied to inflation liquid when filling the hollow barrel 42 . the first load cell 82 is associated with the actuator 70 to measure pressure exerted thereby on the piston 44 , 70 , and the second load cell 84 is positioned within the tube 26 and is adapted to be attached to the attachment port 47 of the resilient diaphragm 46 at the distal end of the receptacle 40 to measure deformation of the resilient diaphragm when pressure is applied to the inflation liquid both load cells are adapted to transfer data measured thereby to the controller disposed inside the actuating section 20 a of the system . the sensing system 80 further comprises a movement sensor ( not shown ) associated with the actuator 70 allowing the sensing system 80 to acquire information regarding the axial displacement of the piston 44 within the barrel 42 . based on the data received from the movement sensor , a data processing unit ( not shown ) positioned within the base 20 is adapted to calculate the volume v of the fluid which is transferred through the discharge end 42 b of the barrel 42 . it should also be noted that the volume v may be calculated in a variety of ways using data derived from a variety of sensors , for example , by measuring rpm of the motor 21 or by a sterile consumption sensor . the sensing system 80 as described above allows measuring pressure within the barrel 42 and volume of inflation fluid introduced into the dilatation balloon in a completely non - contact manner , wherein the inflation fluid may remain sterile . reverting to fig1 , the support section 24 may optionally be made of a first and a second part ( not shown ) whereby the first part is attached to the barrel 42 and the second part is attached to the piston 44 . the base 20 further comprises an emergency release mechanism 28 for quick release of the dilatation balloon from the blood vessel in case of a malfunction such as rupture of the balloon , rupture of the blood vessel or even in the event of a power cut . the release mechanism 28 operates in a completely mechanical manner and does not rely on a power supply to perform the release . in case of an emergency release of the disposable part 30 from the base 20 , the release mechanism 28 is manually pulled back , displacing the piston 44 and consequently draining the inflation fluid from the dilatation balloon . this may be achieved by separating the first part of the support section from the second part , thereby separating the piston 44 from the barrel 42 . with reference to fig2 b , 2 c and 3 , the optional valve assembly 50 of the disposable part 30 will now be described which is formed integrally with the receptacle 40 thereof the valve assembly 50 comprises a storage chamber 52 with a lid 58 , a channel 54 having a first end 54 a and a second end 54 b , and three outlets being disposed therealong 53 a , 53 b and 53 c leading to the inlet / outlet port 49 , barrel 42 and storage chamber 52 respectively . a switch - shaft 56 is inserted in the channel 54 and comprising a first distribution member 56 a at one end thereof associated with the first end 54 a of the channel 54 and a second distribution member 56 b at the other end thereof associated with the second end 54 b of the channel 54 . the distribution members 56 a , 56 b are adapted to be attached to each other after insertion into the fluid channel 54 by a screwing engagement , and may be axially displaced along the channel 54 so as to switch from one position to another . the switch - shaft 56 is stepped , i . e . tubular steel shaft which tapers in a series of steps , and is fitted with four o - rings 55 a to 55 d respectively , adapted to prevent leakage of liquid outside the disposable part . the valve assembly 50 further comprises a biasing spring 57 mounted on the switch - shaft 56 between the first distribution member 56 a and the side wall of the storage chamber 52 so as to bias the switch - shaft 56 . the switch - shaft 56 is displaceable along the channel 54 by a motor ( not shown ) to be connected to the first distribution member 56 a . with particular reference being made to fig2 c , the barrel 42 and valve 50 are integrally formed so that the outlet 53 a is in fluid communication with the inlet / inlet / outlet port 49 , the outlet 53 b is in fluid communication with the barrel 42 , and the outlet 53 c is fluid communication with the storage chamber 52 . thus , the valve assembly 50 is adapted to take several positions depending on the position of the switch - shaft 56 relative to the inlets of the channel 54 as specified below : a ) first , ‘ inflation / withdrawal ’ position , in which fluid communication is provided between the barrel 42 and the inlet / outlet port 49 , while fluid communication with the storage chamber 52 is blocked ; in this position it is possible to withdraw fluid from an outside source into the barrel 42 or discharge fluid from the barrel 42 outwardly through the inlet / outlet port 49 ; b ) second , ‘ air removal ’ position , in which fluid communication is provided between the barrel 42 and the storage chamber 52 , while fluid communication with the inlet / outlet port 49 is blocked ; in this position air bubbles within the inflation fluid may be removed from the fluid by being discharged through the storage chamber 52 ; c ) third , ‘ tuning ’ position , in which fluid communication is blocked both between the barrel 42 and inlet / outlet port 49 and between the barrel 42 and storage chamber 52 ; in this position it is possible to tune the sensors 82 , 84 by applying pressure to the piston 44 against the resilient diaphragm 46 ; d ) fourth , ‘ discharge ’ position in which fluid communication is provided between the inlet / outlet port 49 and barrel 42 to the outside environment through said channel 54 by partially removing said switch shaft 56 therefrom ; in this position it is possible to manually release the balloon in case of an emergency ; position ‘ d ’ is achieved when the switch - shaft 56 is pushed inwards , i . e . the spring 57 compresses , to such an extent that the o - rings 55 c and 55 d are displaced outside the channel 54 , thus no longer sealing the valve assembly 50 and allowing leakage of fluid from the channel 54 to the outside environment . in practice , such a position of the switch - shaft 56 allows the fluid to be discharged from the barrel 42 , storage chamber 52 and dilatation balloon through the second end of the channel 54 b . in assembly of the inflation / deflation system 10 described above , before performing a dilatation procedure , the disposable part 30 is mounted on the base 20 such that the ball 44 b of the piston 44 is received in the socket 74 of actuator 70 , the distribution member 56 a of the switch - shaft 56 is connected to another motor of the actuation section 20 a and the distal end 40 b of the receptacle section 40 is received within the tube 26 of the support section 20 b so that the attachment port 47 becomes attached to the sensor 82 . in preparation to the dilatation procedure , the supply line 60 is attached at its first end 62 to the inlet / inlet / outlet port 49 of the disposable part 40 , and at its second end 64 to a supply of a contrast fluid . the position of the valve assembly 50 is then switched to an ‘ inflation / withdrawal ’ position and the piston 44 is displaced by the actuator 70 , allowing the contrast fluid to flow into the barrel 42 . once the contrast fluid has been introduced into the barrel 42 , the position of the valve assembly 50 is switched to an ‘ air removal ’ position . in this position the piston 44 is pushed forward pressuring the contrast fluid into the storage chamber 52 of the valve assembly 50 allowing excess air bubbles to be discharged from the contrast fluid to the outside environment . next , the second end 64 of the supply line 60 is attached to a supply of a diluting liquid and the position of the valve assembly 50 is again switched to the ‘ inflation / withdrawal ’ position and the diluting fluid is introduced into the barrel 42 . the valve assembly 50 is then switched back into an ‘ air removal ’ position and the piston 44 is again pushed into the barrel 42 pressuring both fluids into the storage chamber 52 . this allows the removal of air bubbles from the fluids as well as mixture of the contrast and diluting fluid to form a uniform mix . thereafter the uniform mix is returned into the barrel 42 by displacing the piston 44 such that the mix is entirely within the barrel 42 . during withdrawal of the mix into the barrel 42 air is simultaneously withdrawn from the balloon , causing it to shrink and allowing it to assume a dimension small enough to be inserted into the desired blood vessel . concluding the preparation stage is the tuning of the system 10 . in order to tune the system 10 the valve assembly 50 is switched into a ‘ tuning ’ position in which fluid communication of the inlet / outlet port 49 and storage chamber 52 with the barrel 42 is blocked . the piston 44 is then displaced back and forth repeatedly , allowing the sensing system to receive data from the sensors and tune the system 10 . once the preparation stage is complete , a dilatation balloon ( not shown ) may be attached to the inlet / outlet tube 60 mounted on the inlet / outlet port 49 of the receptacle section 40 . the valve assembly 50 may then be switched into an ‘ inflation / withdrawal ’ position and the piston 44 is pulled backwards facilitating removal of air from the dilatation balloon by withdrawing it into the barrel 42 . the withdrawn air may be discharged through the storage chamber 52 in the ‘ air removal ’ position . finally , the system 10 is ready for the inflation stage , wherein the inflation fluid is introduced into the dilatation balloon . the motor operates the actuator 70 such that the piston 44 is displaced along the barrel 42 , thus pressing the inflation fluid into the balloon . since the actuator 70 is both attached to the piston 44 and associated with the sensing system 80 , real - time data regarding the time of inflation and the volume of the inflation fluid introduced into the balloon , and pressure within the barrel may be derived . the controller of the system may be programmed to automatically react to changes in pressure according to data derived from the sensing system 80 . for example , a predetermined maximum pressure value may be set wherein , in case the controller receives information from the sensing system that the pressure reaches the maximum pressure , it may slow down the motor or stop it completely in order not to exceed the predetermined value . turning to fig4 a and 4b , several schemes of pressure p vs . volume v and pressure p vs . time t are shown , respectively . the first p vs . v scheme 92 is a scheme produced during a standard catheterization process . it may be observed that the pressure within the balloon increases as a function of inflation fluid leaving the barrel 42 . in this essence it should be noted that the sensing system receives a reading indicating the amount of fluid promoted by the piston 44 and calculating the amount of fluid within the dilatation balloon . the second p vs . v scheme 94 is produced during a similar catheterization system in which the blood vessel has its inner walls covered by a layer of plaque ( not shown ). as more inflation fluid is introduced into the balloon , the balloon exerts more and more pressure on the inner walls of blood vessel by direct contact with the plaque layer . however , as pressure on the plaque layer increases , it begins to crack and eventually reaches a breaking point 96 . in its broken form , the pieces of the plaque are pressed against the inner wall of the blood vessel causing increased sensitivity thereof and may thus damage it . once the breaking point 96 is achieved , the balloon may further dilate allowing more inflation fluid to pour therein , facilitating a pressure drop . this phenomenon may be clearly noticeable from the temporary slope drop in the p vs . v line 94 after point 96 . thus , when such a phenomenon is noticed the inflation rate may be automatically changed so as not to damage the blood vessel . those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will readily appreciate that numerous changes , variations , and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention , mutatis mutandis .
according to the present invention there is provided an inflation / deflation system for a dilatation balloon comprising a receptacle , a pressure member , a sensing system and a data processing and display unit . the receptacle is adapted to contain an inflation fluid to be introduced into the balloon during its inflation . the receptacle also has an inlet / outlet port adapted for connection to the dilatation balloon ; the pressure member is adapted to be axially displaced within the receptacle to cause the fluid to exit the receptacle via the outlet port . the sensing system comprises a first sensor and a second sensor . the first sensor is associated with the pressure member to sense its axial displacement . the second sensor is associated with the interior of the receptacle to sense in a non - contact manner the pressure p of the inflation fluid within the receptacle , and to provide a corresponding data signal . the data processing and display unit is adapted to process the signal and display at least a scheme of pressure p within the receptacle vs . the volume v of the inflation fluid exiting the receptacle through the inlet / outlet port . the volume is calculated by the axial displacement of the pressure member . the scheme reflects the corresponding p - v conditions within the balloon when the system is in use .