US 4,633,881 A · Ambulatory ventricular function monitor

Abstract

An ambulatory ventricular function anaylzer system is provided. The ambulatory ventricular function analyzer system is carried by a garment worn by a cardiac patient and includes ECG electrodes, a main left ventricular probe detector, and a background lung probe detector for providing diagnostically useful information while the patient goes about the normal activities of daily life. An information processing sub-system including a microprocessor responds to the electrode signal and to the probe signals and provides composite data representative of the ECG activity, the background lung time-activity, the left ventricular time-activity, and an R-wave histogram averaged over multiple cardiac cycles. The averaged data is sequentially sotred over a long time interval on magnetic tape in plural categories representing premature ventricular contraction, postpremature ventricular contraction, and normal ventricular contraction for subsequent display on a computer-based graphics display for study by a cardiac specialist. The main left ventricular function probe detector includes an array of cadmium telluride crystals mounted in a Pb housing having a parallel hole Pb collimator. The detector is substantially insensitive to position changes that arise during ambulatory monitoring.

Claims26

Dependent claims

An ambulatory ventricular function recorder, comprising:

a vest garment including means for removably supporting it about the human body;
nuclear radiation detection first means, connected to and wholly supported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment, and adapted to respond to nuclear radiation from the region of the ventricle for repetitively providing an analog signal the amplitude of which cyclically represents the nuclear ventricular time-activity of the heart;
second means, wholly suported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment and responsive to said analog signal, for repetitively providing a digital representation of said analog signal;
third means, wholly supported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment and responsive to said digital representation, for accumulating said digital representation in storage so as to repetitively provide composite data that represents an average of said repetitively provided digital representation over successive time intervals that each correspond to a predetermined plurality of heart beats;
and
said third means including means for accumulating said digital representation in categories corresponding to premature, normal and post-premature ventricular contraction.

3 more elements

A small, lightweight, and rugged nuclear probe detector assembly and ambulatory ventricular function monitor responsive thereto, comprising:

a vest garment including means for removably supporting it about the human body;
nuclear radiation detection first means, connected to and wholly supported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment, and adapted to respond to nuclear radiation from the region of the ventricle for repetitively providing an analog signal the amplitude of which cyclically represents the nuclear ventricular time-activity of the heart;
second means, wholly supported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment and responsive to said analog signal, for repetitively providing a digital representation of said analog signal;
third means, wholly supported in a body ambulatory manner by said garment and responsive to said digital representation, for accumulating said digital representation in storage so as to repetitively provide composite data that represents an average of said repetitively provided digital representation over successive time intervals that each correspond to a predetermined plurality of heartbeats;
said third means including means for accumulating said digital representation in categories corresponding to premature, normal and post-premature ventricular contraction;
said nuclear radiation detection first means including;
a radiation shield defining an enclosure having a mouth;
a plurality of gamma photon radiation-sensitive detectors arranged in a plane and mounted in said enclosure interiorly of said mouth;
and
a collimator provided with an aperture pattern mounted to said mouth of said radiation shield extends over all of said plurality of gamma photon radiation-sensitive detectors.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Ambulatory ventricular function monitor

Life of this patent

Ambulatory ventricular function monitor

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims26