Apparatus and method for lung analysis
First Claim
1. A method for determining the presence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in a lung, the method including the steps of:
- applying an acoustic signal to the lung;
detecting the signal after it has passed through at least part of the lung; and
determining an acoustic transmission characteristic indicative of the microstructure of the at least part of the lung;
wherein COPD is determined to be present when the acoustic transmission characteristic indicates the existence of a feature of COPD.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method of detecting COPD and in particular, emphysema utilizes a change in acoustic transmission characteristics of a lung due to e.g. the appearance of fenestrae (perforations) in the alveoli of the lung. The use of acoustic signals may provide good sensitivity to the existence of alveolar fenestrae, even for microscopic emphysema, and the appearance and increase in fenestrae may be determined by monitoring acoustic transmission characteristics such as, for example, an increase in acoustic signal velocity and velocity dispersion, and/or a change in attenuation. A transmitter may be located in e.g. the supra-clavicular space and receivers may be mounted on the chest. Measurements may be correlated between pairs of receivers to determine acoustic transmission profiles.
156 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method for determining the presence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in a lung, the method including the steps of:
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applying an acoustic signal to the lung;
detecting the signal after it has passed through at least part of the lung; and
determining an acoustic transmission characteristic indicative of the microstructure of the at least part of the lung;
wherein COPD is determined to be present when the acoustic transmission characteristic indicates the existence of a feature of COPD. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. Apparatus for determining the presence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in a lung, the apparatus including:
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a transmitter for transmitting an acoustic signal into a lung;
one or more receivers for detecting the acoustic signal after it has passed through at least part of the lung; and
a controller/processor for determining an acoustic transmission characteristic indicative of the microstructure of the at least part of the lung and for determining whether the transmission characteristic indicates the presence of a feature of COPD. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for determining chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including the steps of:
- applying an acoustic signal to the lung, measuring the signal after it has passed through the lung, determining an acoustic transmission characteristic of the lung, and determining the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by determining whether the acoustic transmission characteristic indicates the existence of COPD features, e.g. indicate fenestrae in the alveoli.
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45. A method of determining emphysema based on an acoustic transmission characteristic of the lung which assumes a lung structure that has a degree of open-cell structure.
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46. A method of determining emphysema based on an acoustic transmission characteristic of the lung, including the step of modeling the lung to have a degree of open-cell structure, and determining an acoustic transmission characteristic associated with such a structure.
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47. A method for determining the presence of emphysema in a lung, the method including the steps of:
- applying an acoustic signal to the lung, detecting the signal after it has passed through at least part of the lung, determining an acoustic transmission characteristic of the lung, and determining the presence of emphysema by determining whether the acoustic transmission characteristic indicates the existence of fenestrae in the alveoli.
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48. A method of determining characteristics of biological tissue in situ, including:
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introducing a sound to the tissue at first position;
detecting the sound at another position spaced from the first position after it has traveled through the tissue;
calculating the velocity and attenuation of sound that has traveled through the tissue from the first position to another position; and
correlating the velocity and attenuation of the detected sound to characteristics of the biological tissue.
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Specification