# US 10,244,980 B2 · Large intestine contents' diagnosis and acoustic characterization > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,244,980 B2 - Document ID: US10244980B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/521,293 - Filed: 2016-06-14 - Published: 2017-12-28 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2015-08-24 - Assignees: Hygieacare, Inc - Applicants: Hygieacare, Inc. - Inventors: Gavriel David Meron; Mordechai Yehuda Frisch - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10244980B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/4255: {Intestines, colon or appendix} - A61B 5/0046: {Arrangements of imaging apparatus in a room, e.g. room provided with shielding or for improved access to apparatus} - A61B 5/42: {Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the gastrointestinal, the endocrine or the exocrine systems (A61B1/00, A61B5/4857, A61B5/486, A61B5/4866, A61B5/4869 take precedence)} - A61B 5/4283: {gastrointestinal secretions, e.g. bile production} - A61B 7/00: Instruments for auscultation - A61B 7/008: {Detecting noise of gastric tract, e.g. caused by voiding} - A61K 35/37: Digestive system - A61M 3/0204: {Physical characteristics of the irrigation fluid, e.g. conductivity or turbidity} - A61M 3/0275: {Pulsating jets; Vibrating nozzles} - C12Q 1/04: Determining presence or kind of microorganism; Use of selective media for testing antibiotics or bacteriocides; Compositions containing a chemical indicator therefor {(C12Q1/6897 takes precedence)} - A61B 5/6823: {Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip} - A61B 5/702: {Posture restraints} - A61B 2505/05: Surgical care - A61B 2562/0204: Acoustic sensors - A61K 2035/11: {Medicinal preparations comprising living procariotic cells} - A61M 2205/3375: Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means - A61M 2210/1064: Large intestine - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61K: PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES (devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms A61J3/00; chemical aspects of, or use of materials for deodorisation of air, for disinfection or sterilisation, or for bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles A61L; soap compositions C11D) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} - C12Q: MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS (immunoassay G01N33/53); COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES ## Abstract Systems, kits and methods are provided, which analyze the large intestine content and utilize acoustic signals detected during delivery of water into the large intestine and drained large intestine contents to derive large intestine characteristics such as microbiotal analysis. Systems may include a water delivery unit including a water supply and a nozzle connected thereto, configured to introduce water controllably into a patient's large intestine, and an analysis unit that provides information about the drained contents using optical examination or biological assays. The information may be related to acoustic analysis of signals from acoustic sensors that are attachable to a patient's abdomen. A variety of sensor configurations, positioning options, analysis strategies and large intestine characteristics are presented. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: introducing water controllably into a large intestine of a patient, sensing, by at least one acoustic sensor, acoustic signals at an abdomen of the patient, and deriving, from the sensed acoustic signals and by a data processing unit, large intestine diagnostic characteristics relating to the patient's large intestine by analyzing the sensed acoustic signals associated with the water introduction wherein the derived large intestine diagnostic characteristics provide gastrointestinal diagnosis of the patient. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling the water introduction according to results of the analyzing of the sensed acoustic signals. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the sensed acoustic signals, which are sensed before and after the water introduction. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the sensed acoustic signals, which are sensed before and after the introduced water reaches at least specified one region of the patient's large intestine. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the derived large intestine diagnostic characteristics comprise at least one of: an indication of a large intestine anomaly, a categorization of the patient's large intestine, at least one geometric parameter of at least one region of the patient's large intestine and at least one parameter of water flow through the patient's large intestine. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising deriving an alert concerning a consequent colonoscopy procedure. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the water introduction comprises at least one period of continuous water introduction and at least one period of a pulsated water introduction, and wherein the analysis compares analyzing is configured to compare the sensed acoustic signals, which are sensed during the at least two periods. ### Claim 8 A system comprising: a water delivery unit comprising a water supply and a nozzle connected thereto, configured to introduce water controllably into a large intestine of a patient, a drainage configured to drain, by gravity, the introduced water with contents of the patient's large intestine, a plurality of acoustic sensors that are attachable to an abdomen of the patient and are configured to sense acoustic signals at the patient's abdomen, and a processing unit configured to determine a large intestine cleanliness level of the patient's large intestine according to the drained contents of the patient's large intestine, wherein the processing unit is further connected to the acoustic sensors and configured to derive large intestine diagnostic characteristics of the patient's large intestine by analyzing and correlating the sensed acoustic signals received from the acoustic sensors with parameters of the drained water and contents, wherein the derived large intestine diagnostic characteristics provide gastrointestinal diagnosis of the patient.