US RE31,097 E · Apparatus and method for detecton of body tissue movement

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the detection of movement of body tissues and, more particularly, movements of segments of the heart muscle and method for a noninvasive technique for the detection of coronary and arterial abnormalities. The apparatus includes a probe, preferably in the form of a detector plate, utilizing electric field measurement for detection of movements of a nearby segment of the body tissue, as for example, a segment of the heart muscle. The detector plate is coupled to a variable-frequency oscillator and phase-lock system for measuring capacitive change used to shift the phase of the oscillator when the detector is placed with respect to a certain body tissue. The apparatus employs its own unique system of timing heart movement in that the detector is capable of sensing a signal having a low frequency component which provides information regarding tissue movement. The detector also senses a high frequency component of the signal which represents closure of heart valves and thereby establishes a timing cycle for heart movement so that contraction and relaxation movements of the heart tissue can be measured in terms of the timing cycle of the heart. A filter in the apparatus separates the high frequency components from the low frequency components so that information regarding relaxation and contraction may be recorded simultaneously with the timing cycle of the heart movement.

Claims82

Dependent claims

A method of detecting and diagnosing abnormalities in body tissue utilizing cardiokymographic techniques, said method comprising:

(a) positioning a detector close to the tissue of a person being tested and over a selected segment of said tissue,
(b) passing current through said detector to generate an electric field such that the generated electric field will be close to the surface of the person being tested,
(c) sensing a change in capacitance in the electric field generated close to the surface of the person being tested as a result of tissue movement and providing a signal at least partially representative of said tissue by the capacitive change in said electric field,
(d) processing the signal representative of said tissue movement and separating the signal into a low frequency signal component representative of tissue movement and a high frequency signal component representative of an audible manifestation of the tissue movement,
(e) depicting the low frequency signal component to represent the tissue movement and depicting the high frequency signal component to providing timing with respect to the tissue movement, and
(f) and analyzing said depicted portion of said signal components to determine any abnormality in the tissue movement.

3 more elements

A method utilizing cardiokymographic apparatus in the detection and diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a cardiokymograph detector close to the chest of a person being tested, over a selected segment of the heart, or over a selected portion of the arterial system of a person,
(b) detecting and depicting movement of the heart segment or an artery of the person when at rest, using cardiokymographic apparatus,
(c) detecting and depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery during a stress condition such as after strenous exercise, again using the cardiokymographic apparatus,
(d) simultaneously with each of said detecting steps, detecting audio frequency events with respect to said heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof, and depicting such events indicative of the timing of the cardiac cycle using the cardiokymographic apparatus itself,
(e) analyzing the cardiokymographic depictions of movement so produced, in relation to the audio frequency events representative of the timing of the cardiac cycle, to determine the presence and degree of any contraction abnormality of the heart segment, or the artery and
(f) determining from the analysis of the cariokymographic depictions whether or not the person has coronary atherosclerosis.

3 more elements

An apparatus for measuring movement of body tissue and determining abnormality or disease therefrom, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a variable-frequency oscillator circuit,
(b) detector means in which the electrical impedance depends upon the proximity of the detector means with respect to body tissue, said detector means being coupled to said variable-frequency oscillator circuit for determining, at least in part, its frequency of oscillation,
(c) means associated with said detector means for causing generation of an electric field with said body tissue and adjacent said body tissue, said detector means detecting a change in the capacitance in the electric field adjacent the body tissue,
(d) voltage controlled oscillator means for providing a reference signal,
(e) phase-lock-loop circuit means coupled to said variable-frequency oscillator circuit, said phase-lock-loop circuit means comprising phase comparison means for generating an error signal indicative of a phase difference between a signal received from said variable frequency oscillator circuit and said reference signal to thereby produce a signal indicative of the displacement of body tissue, and which is at least based on the detected capacitive changes with respect to said detector means, and
(f) measuring and depicting means to depict said signal indicative of the displacement.

3 more elements

Apparatus for detecting and diagnosing abnormalities in body tissue utilizing cardiokymographic techniques, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a detector for positioning close to the tissue of a person being tested and over a selected segment of said tissue,
(b) means coupled to said detector for passing current through said detector to generate an electric field such that the generated electric field will be close to the surface of the person being tested,
(c) means for sensing the electric field generated close to the surface of the person being tested as a result of tissue movement and providing a signal representative of a change in the capacitance of the electric field as a result of said tissue movement,
(d) means for separating the signal into a low frequency signal component representative of tissue movement and a high frequency signal component representative of an audible manifestation of the tissue movement, and
(e) means operatively connected to the means for separating for depicting the low frequency signal component to represent the tissue movement and depicting the high frequency signal component to provide timing with respect to the tissue movement in order to analyze and depicted portions of the signal to determine any abnormality in the tissue movement.

2 more elements

Cardiokymographic apparatus having a variable oscillator circuit, a detector element connected to said variable oscillator circuit so as to determine, at least in part, the frequency of said variable oscillator circuit;

circuit means coupled to said variable oscillator circuit to provide an output signal indicative of the frequency of said variable oscillator circuit and hence indicative of the position and movement of body tissue with respect to said detector element, and measuring and recording means, wherein the improvement comprises:
said circuit means comprises a voltage controlled oscillator means for providing a reference signal,
said circuit means also comprises a phase-lock-loop having a phase comparison means for generating an error signal indicative of a phase difference between a signal indicative of the frequency of the variable oscillator circuit and said reference signal,
filter means for separating signals output from said circuit means which are in the audio-frequency range, from those of relatively low frequency which are indicative of heart segment movements;
amplifying means for amplifying the audio-frequency signals passed by said filter means;
and
said measuring and recording means recording the amplified audio-frequency signals simultaneously with recording of the low frequency signals indicative of heart segment movements for comparison of the audio-frequency signals with recordings of the unfiltered signal indicative of heart segment movements to thereby provide a timing of the heart segment movements.

4 more elements

A method utilizing cardiokymographic apparatus in the detection and diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a detector close to the chest of a person being diagnosed, when at rest, over a selected segment of the heart or over a selected portion of the arterial system of a person,
(b) sensing a change in capacitance of the detector which results from tissue movement of the person being diagnosed during rest,
(c) generating a signal representative of the change in capacitance,
(d) processing the signal representative of the change in capacitance in order to determine movement of the heart segment or arterial system of the person during rest,
(e) depicting movement of the heart segment or an artery in the arterial system of the person when at rest,
(f) positioning a detector close to the chest of a person being diagnosed, during a stress condition, such as after or during exercise, and over the selected segment of the heart or over the selected portion of the arterial system of the person,
(g) sensing a change in capacitance in the electrical field generated close to the surface of the person being diagnosed during a stress condition such as after or during exercise, and which change also results from at least tissue movement,
(h) generating a signal representative of the change in capacitance from the person being diagnosed during or after exercise,
(i) processing the signal representative of the change in capacitance of the person during or after exercise to determine movement of the heart segment or arterial system of the person during or after exercise,
(j) depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery during such stress condition,
(k) simultaneously with each of said sensing and depicting steps, detecting other events with respect to said heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof, and depicting such events indicative of the timing of the cardiac cycle,
(l) analyzing the depictions of movement so produced, in relation to the other events representative of the timing of the cardiac cycle, to determine the presence and degree of any contraction abnormality of the heart segment or the artery, and
(m) determining from the analysis of the depictions whether or not the person has coronary atherosclerosis.

10 more elements

An apparatus for measuring movement of body tissue and determining abnormality or disease therefrom, said apparatus comprising:

(a) an oscillator circuit,
(b) detector means in which the electrical capacitance depends at least in part upon the position of the body tissue with respect to the detector means, said detector means being coupled to said oscillator circuit for determining at least in part, its frequency of oscillation,
(c) means associated with said detector means for causing generation of an electric field at least adjacent to said body tissue, said detector means detecting a change in the capacitance as a result of body tissue movement,
(d) oscillator means in said oscillator circuit for providing a reference signal,
(e) reference circuit means coupled to said oscillator means, said reference circuit means comprising a generator for generating a signal indicative of a difference in frequency between a signal received from said oscillator circuit and said reference signal,
(f) filter means operatively connected to said reference circuit means to receive the signal indicative of difference and filter therefrom a signal of interest to thereby provide a signal indicative of the displacement of body tissue, and which is at least based on the detected capacitive changes with respect to said detector means, and
(g) measuring and depicting means to depict said signal indicative of the displacement.

4 more elements

Apparatus for detecting and diagnosing abnormalities in body tissue utilizing cardiokymographic techniques, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a detector for positioning close to the tissue of a person being tested and over a selected segment of said tissue,
(b) means coupled to said detector for passing current through said detector to generate an electric field such that the generated electric field will be close to and may extend to the surface of the person being tested,
(c) means for sensing a change in the capacitance of the detector which results from tissue movement and providing a signal representative of a change in the capacitance to thereby represent the tissue movement,
(d) means for processing the signal representative of said tissue movement,
(e) depicting means operatively connected to the means for processing for depicting a portion of said processed signal to represent tissue movement in order to analyze the depicted portion of said signal to determine any abnormality in the tissue movement,
(f) means for generating a signal representative of the timing of a cycle of the issue which is moving and which is independent of the signal representative of tissue movement, and
(g) means operatively connected to the means for processing to provide timing with respect to the tissue movement in order to analyze said depicted portions of the signal to determine any abnormality in the tissue movement.

4 more elements

A method utilizing cardiokymographic apparatus in the detection and diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a cardiokymograph detector close to the chest of a person being tested, over a selected segment of the heart, or over a selected portion of the arterial system of a person,
(b) sensing a change in capacitance of the detector while the person being tested is at rest and generating a signal representative of movement of the heart or an artery,
(c) detecting and depicting movement of the heart segment or an artery of the person when at rest based on such signal, using cardiokymographic apparatus,
(d) detecting and depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery during a stress condition, such as after or during strenuous exercise, again using the cardiokymographic apparatus,
(e) simultaneously with each of said detecting steps, detecting events with respect to said heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof, and depicting such events indicative of the timing of the cardiac cycle,
(f) analyzing the depictions of movement so produced, in relation to the events representative of the timing of the cardiac cycle, to determine the presence and degree of any contraction abnormality of the heart segment, or the artery, and
(g) determining from the analysis of the cardiokymographic depictions whether or not the person has coronary atherosclerosis.

4 more elements

A method utilizing cardiokymographic apparatus in the detection and diagnosis of coronary and coronary artery disease, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a cardiokymograph detector close to the chest of a person being tested, over a selected segment of the heart, or over a selected portion of the arterial system of a person,
(b) detecting and depicting movement of the heart segment or an artery of the person when at rest during the systolic interval of the heart, using cardiokymographic apparatus,
(c) simultaneously with the detecting and depicting steps, detecting other events with respect to the heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof indicative of the systolic interval of a cardiac cycle,
(d) depicting such events indicative of the cardiac cycle,
(e) detecting and depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery during a stress condition, such as after or during strenuous exercise, again using the cardiokymographic apparatus, and where a bulge may be present in a depiction of the movement depending upon the presence of an aflicited portion,
(f) simultaneously with said detecting steps during a stress condition, detecting events with respect to said heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof indicative of the systolic interval of a cardiac cycle, during a stress condition, and depicting such events indicative of the timing of the cardiac cycle,
(g) analyzing the depictions of movement so produced, in relation to the events representative of the timing of the cardiac cycle to determine possible existence in such depictions of a bulge in an aflicted portion of the heart segment or same artery during normal inward contractions of the remaining portions of said same heart segment or same artery and which is indicative of coronary or coronary artery disease, and
(h) determining from the analysis of the depictions whether or not the person has coronary or coronary artery disease.

5 more elements

A method utilizing cardiokymographic apparatus in the detection and diagnosis of coronary and coronary artery disease, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a cardiokymograph detector close to the chest of a person being tested, over a selected segment of the heart, or over a selected portion of the arterial system of a person and generating a signal representative of movement,
(b) processing the signal representative of movement of the heart segment or an artery of the person to remove respiratory artifact,
(c) detecting and depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery of the person when at rest, using cardiokymographic apparatus,
(d) detecting and depicting movement of the same heart segment or the same artery during a stress condition such as after or during strenuous exercise, again using the cardiokymographic apparatus and generating a signal representative of such movement,
(e) processing the signal representative of movement of the same heart segment or same artery generated during the stress condition to remove respiratory artifact,
(f) simultaneously with each of said detecting steps, detecting events with respect to said heart segment or said same artery which have a timed physiological relationship to the movement thereof, and depicting such events indicative of the timing of the cardiac cycle,
(g) analyzing the depictions of movement so produced, in relation to the events representative of the timing of the cardiac cycle, to determine the presence and degree of any contraction abnormality of the heart segment, or the artery, and
(h) determining from the analysis of the cardiokymographic depictions whether or not the person has coronary or coronary artery disease.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for detecton of body tissue movement

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for detecton of body tissue movement

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims82