Method and apparatus for diagnosing respiratory disorders and determining the degree of exacerbations
First Claim
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1. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
- securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography signal stream from said central source site;
processing said signal stream received from said probe to obtain a separate arterial component signal and venous impedance component signal; and
evaluating said arterial component signal, or venous impedance component signal, or both, to determine respiratory rate, occurrence of an inspiratory event, expiratory event, air restriction or air obstruction, or a combination thereof.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are apparatuses and methods to monitor respiration and abnormal respiration events utilizing plethysmography. The apparatuses and methods provide an alternative to conventional respiration monitoring methods while enabling accurate yet minimally interruptive and invasive monitoring of respiration. The methods and apparatuses may be employed in the context of sleep studies to determine respiratory related sleep disorders.
105 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography signal stream from said central source site;
processing said signal stream received from said probe to obtain a separate arterial component signal and venous impedance component signal; and
evaluating said arterial component signal, or venous impedance component signal, or both, to determine respiratory rate, occurrence of an inspiratory event, expiratory event, air restriction or air obstruction, or a combination thereof.
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2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing said signal stream comprises
identifying peaks and troughs of said signal stream; - identifying midpoints or minimum values between said peaks and troughs, wherein the interpolated line connecting said midpoints or minimum values represents said venous impedance component;
extracting said venous impedance component from said signal stream thereby obtaining said separate arterial component signal and separate venous impedance component signal.
- identifying midpoints or minimum values between said peaks and troughs, wherein the interpolated line connecting said midpoints or minimum values represents said venous impedance component;
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3. The method of claim 1, wherein said central source site is the nasal septum or nasal alar.
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4. The method of claim 1, wherein said evaluating comprises analyzing two or more datasets of signal information obtained at separate time periods.
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5. The method of claim 1, wherein processing said signal stream information comprises processing plethysmography signal information generated while said patient is asleep.
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6. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography signal stream;
processing said signal stream received from said probe to obtain a venous impedance component signal; and
observing changes in venous impedance component signal correlating with respiratory rate, inspiratory or expiratory events, or combination thereof, of said patient.
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7. A system for monitoring respiration of a patient comprising
at least one pulse oximeter probe configured for securing to a central source site of said patient and effective to generate a plethysmography signal stream; - and
a computer communicatingly connected to said at least one pulse oximeter probe, said computer comprising at least one processing module, a first computer-readable program code module for causing said computer to process signals of said at least one pulse oximeter probe to obtain an arterial component signal or a venous impedance component signal, or both, and a second computer-readable program code module for causing said computer to analyze said arterial component signal or venous impedance component signal, or both to determine an inspiratory event, expiratory event, an air restriction event or an air obstruction event, or a combination thereof.
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8. The system of claim 7, wherein said computer further comprises a display screen.
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9. A computer program product for use with a computer comprising at least one processing module, said product comprising:
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a computer-usable medium comprising computer readable program code modules embodied in said computer-usable medium;
computer readable first program code module for causing said computer to process plethysmography signals obtained from a pulse oximeter probe by separating out an arterial component signal stream and a venous impedance component signal stream; and
computer-readable second program code module for causing said computer to analyze said arterial component signal stream or said venous impedance signal stream, or both, to determine an occurrence of an abnormal respiration event.
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10. A device useful for diagnosing a respiratory condition, said device comprising a computer configured to communicate with at least one pulse oximeter probe,
said computer comprising at least one processing module; - a first computer-readable program code module for causing said computer to process signals of said at least one pulse oximeter probe to obtain an arterial component signal or a venous impedance component signal, or both, and a second computer-readable program code module for causing said computer to analyze said arterial component signal or venous impedance component signal, or both a respiratory condition.
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11. The device of claim 10, further comprising a display screen effective to display information to a user of said device.
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12. The device of claim 10, wherein said device comprises a calibrating mode and an operational mode.
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13. The device of claim 12, wherein said calibrating mode allows said device to receive a first dataset of plethysmography signal information of a patient generated during respiration at a predetermined resistance, whereby said device is calibrated for said patient.
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14. The device of claim 13, wherein after calibration, said device may receive a second dataset of plethysmography signal information from said patient in said operational mode such that said device may compare said second dataset with said first dataset and provide information on said display screen to assist a user of said device to diagnose a respiratory condition of said patient.
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15. The device of claim 10, wherein said respiratory condition is a restriction or obstruction of the nasopharynx caused by an allergy, bacterial infection or viral infection;
- sleep apnea which results in a temporary partial or complete obstruction of the posterior pharynx during phases of the sleep cycle;
restriction or obstruction of the trachea or bronchi caused by tracheomalacia, tracheal polyps and warts, or bronchitis;
or restriction or obstruction of the lower airways, caused by asthma, viral infection, bacterial infection, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- sleep apnea which results in a temporary partial or complete obstruction of the posterior pharynx during phases of the sleep cycle;
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16. The device of claim 10, wherein said device weighs less than 10 kilograms, 8 kilograms, 6 kilograms, or 4 kilograms.
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17. The device of claim 10, wherein said device is battery powered.
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18. A method of diagnosing a respiratory condition comprising:
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collecting a first dataset of plethysmography signal information from a patient generated during respiration at one or more predetermined resistances;
collecting a second dataset of plethysmography signal information from said patient during a period where said patient is suspected of experiencing air restriction or air obstruction;
comparing said second dataset to said first dataset; and
diagnosing a respiratory condition based on said comparison.
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19. The method of claim 18, wherein said respiratory condition is a restriction or obstruction of the nasopharynx caused by an allergy, bacterial infection or viral infection;
- sleep apnea which results in a temporary partial or complete obstruction of the posterior pharynx during phases of the sleep cycle;
restriction or obstruction of the trachea or bronchi caused by tracheomalacia, tracheal polyps and warts, or bronchitis;
or restriction or obstruction of the lower airways, caused by asthma, viral infection, bacterial infection, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- sleep apnea which results in a temporary partial or complete obstruction of the posterior pharynx during phases of the sleep cycle;
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20. A method of diagnosing a respiration-related sleep disorder in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography signal stream from said central source site;
processing said signal stream received from said probe to obtain a separate arterial component signal and venous impedance component signal, wherein processing said signal stream information comprises processing plethysmography signal information generated while said patient is asleep; and
evaluating said arterial component signal, or venous impedance component signal, or both, to determine occurrence of an inspiratory event, expiratory event, air restriction or air obstruction, or a combination thereof.
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Specification