US 4,094,310 AGranted

Apparatus for enhanced display of physiological waveforms and for defibrillation

AssigneeAmerican Optical Corporation

InventorsRobert A. McEachern, George A. Cavigelli

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Abstract

A system for the enhanced display of event markers in time-related association with physiological waveforms displayed on cathode ray tubes which use a recirculating memory to provide a refreshed display. The event is marked in the displayed waveform by an intensification of the normal trace determined by the time-related occurrence of the event and comprises a first modulation of the displayed waveform. A secondary event-controlled modulation of the primary modulated display serves to further enhance and accurately identify the occurrence and timing of the event marker in the display. This enhanced display of event markers is further utilized to distinguish a marker of one type from a marker of another type utilizing particular data coding in the memory and appropriate detection logic for recovering data from memory. The enhanced display is particularly useful for clearly marking events occurring in timed-relationship with a patient's cardiac cycle.

Claims19

Dependent claims

In a system for displaying a physiological waveform, means for generating an electrical signal representative of a particular physiological waveform;

means for generating an electrical signal indicative of the occurrence of a preselected event in timed relation to said physiological waveform signal;
a cathode ray tube;
and display control means responsive to said physiological waveform signal and to said event signal for controlling the display by said cathode ray tube, said display control means including means for providing time-successive samples of said physiological waveform signal, a recirculating memory for the storage of a successive plurality of waveform samples, means for entering data representative of said event signal in said memory in the same said time relation with said waveform samples as said event bears to said physiological waveform signal, means responsive to said successive waveform samples in memory for controlling the deflection of the beam of said cathode ray tube in at least one coordinate direction to provide a trace representative of said waveform and means responsive to said stored event date for variably controlling the intensity of the beam of said cathode ray tube as a primary modulation of the waveform trace to provide a visibly distinguishable event marker and for secondarily modulating said primary modulation of said waveform trace to further enhance display of the event marker.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.