POTENTIATION FOR MEDICAL THERAPIES

• US 20080194922A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Foxpaw, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Foxpaw, Inc.
• Inventors: Holden, James F.
• Application Number:
  US11/863,946
• Publication Number:
  US 20080194922A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/00 Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body eye surgery A61F9/007; ear surgery A61F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/00 ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

This invention relates to providing medical treatment for human and non-human patients. In particular, the invention provides methods and computer program products which reduce clinical data complexity, aid in the identification of actions taken during the course of care which result in disproportionate therapeutic effects, and allow for the “potentiation” of therapy in an individual patient.

Claims

1. A method for potentiating a therapy in a patient comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting a plurality of therapy elements;

(b) selecting a plurality of correlation factors;

(c) collecting data relative to the therapy elements and the correlation factors at a plurality of time points in a timecourse; and

(d) analyzing the data by

(i) calculating a difference between the therapy elements for each successive pair of time points and a difference between the correlation factors for each successive pair of time points;

(ii) processing the difference by applying a function from the group consisting of digitizing each of the calculated differences and normalizing each of the calculated differences;

(iii) calculating a product of the processed difference for each therapy element from each successive pair of time points multiplied by the corresponding digitized or normalized difference for each correlation factor from each successive pair of time points;

(iv) calculating respective rolling averages of the products over the timecourse;

(v) displaying one or more of the rolling averages; and

(vi) modifying the therapy in accordance with the display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein digitized differences are used in step (iii).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein normalized differences are used in step (iii) and the calculated differences are normalized by calculating the percent change the differences represent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is repeated one or more times modifying one or more therapy elements on each repetition of the method.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method is repeated until at least one predetermined outcome metric is satisfied.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a data reduction step is inserted between step (iv) calculating a rolling average of the products over all of the timecourse and step (v) displaying the rolling averages, and wherein the data reduced rolling averages are displayed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the inserted data reduction step comprises the application of a protocol selected from the group consisting of cluster analysis, principle component analysis, factor analysis, discriminant function analysis, multidimensional scaling, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the data reduction protocol identifies the therapy elements producing the greatest variation in the data, the therapy elements producing the greatest variation in the data are displayed, and therapy is modified by modifying one or more of the identified therapy elements producing the greatest variation in the data in accordance with the display.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the modifications are based on modification rules.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method is repeated until at least one predetermined outcome metric is satisfied.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one outcome metric has at least one of the properties of measuring a physiologic parameter, measuring patient performance status, measuring patient symptom, measuring patient reported subjective factor, measuring family reported subjective factor, measuring side effects, measuring complications, measuring cost or measuring compliance with a narrow therapeutic band.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapy is directed at a disease from the group consisting of neoplastic diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, metabolic diseases, psychiatric diseases, and combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the disease is selected from the group consisting of hyperplasias, benign tumors, atypical hyperplasias, carcinomas in situ, carcinomas, sarcomas, teratomas, lymphomas, leukemias, and plasma cell dyscarsias, viral infections, bacterial infections, fungal infections, polymicrobial infections, lupus, arthritis, mixed connective tissue disease, inflammatory bowel disease, graph versus host disease, transplant rejection, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipidemia, psychoses, anxiety disorders, affective disorders, attention disorders, and personality disorders.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapy is directed at an acute condition.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the acute condition is selected from the group consisting of birth, sepsis, stroke, myocardial ischemia, septic shock, shock trauma, surgery, and combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one therapy element is selected from the group consisting of chemotherapeutic agents, radiation therapies, surgical procedures, antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, hormones, immuno-modulators, vaccines, NSAIDs, opiates, analgesics, anaesthetics, antihypertensives, anticoagulants, oral hypoglycemics, statins, fibrates, neuroleptic, antidepressant, lithium, anxiolytic, herbal extracts, traditional medicines, psychotherapy, nutritional supplement, diet, and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one correlation factor is selected from the group consisting of physiologic parameters, patient performance status, patient symptoms, patient reported subjective factors, family reported subjective factors, complications, costs, lawsuits, and combinations thereof.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having thereon computer-executable instructions for the performance of a method for potentiating a therapy in a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting a plurality of therapy elements;

(b) selecting a plurality of correlation factors;

(c) collecting data relative to the therapy elements and the correlation factors at a plurality of time points in a timecourse;

(d) storing the collected data in an relational database; and

(e) analyzing the data by;

(i) calculating a difference between the therapy elements for each successive pair of time points and a difference between the correlation factors for each successive pair of time points;

(ii) processing the therapy element differences and correlation factor differences by applying a function selected from the group consisting of digitizing each of the calculated differences and normalizing each of the calculated differences;

(iii) calculating the product of the digitized or normalized difference for each therapy element for each successive pair of time points multiplied by the digitalized or normalized difference for each correlation factor for each successive pair of time points;

(iv) calculating a rolling average of the products over the timecourse;

(v) displaying one or more of the rolling averages; and

(vi) providing a recommendation for a modification of the therapy in accordance with the display.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein a data reduction step is inserted between step (iv), calculating a rolling average of the products over all of the time points, and step (v), displaying the rolling averages, and wherein the data reduced rolling averages are displayed.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the data reduction step is a protocol selected from the group consisting of cluster analysis, principle component analysis, factor analysis, discriminant function analysis, multidimensional scaling, and combinations thereof.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the data reduction protocol identifies the therapy elements producing the greatest variation in the data and, if one or more outcome metrics are not satisfied, the recommendation for a modification of the therapy elements recommends the modification of one or more of the therapy elements producing the greatest variation in the data.

22. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the therapy is directed at a disease selected from the group consisting of hyperplasias, benign tumors, atypical hyperplasias, carcinomas in situ, carcinomas, sarcomas, teratomas, lymphomas, leukemias, and plasma cell dyscarsias, viral infections, bacterial infections, fungal infections, polymicrobial infections, lupus, arthritis, mixed connective tissue disease, inflammatory bowel disease, graph versus host disease, transplant rejection, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipidemia, psychoses, anxiety disorders, affective disorders, attention disorders, and personality disorders.

23. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the therapy is directed at a condition selected from the group consisting of birth, sepsis, stroke, myocardial ischemia, septic shock, shock trauma, surgery, and combinations thereof.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the recommendation is step (e) (vi) is based upon the calculated products of the processed difference for each therapy element for each successive pair of time points multiplied by the processed difference for successive pairs of correlation factor time points, wherein each correlation factor pair of time points is offset in time by a fixed interval from each therapy element pair.

25. A method for potentiating a therapy in a patient comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting a plurality of therapy elements;

(b) selecting a plurality of correlation factors;

(c) collecting data relative to the therapy elements and the correlation factors at a plurality of time points in a timecourse;

(d) analyzing the data by

(i) calculating a difference between the therapy elements for each successive pair of time points and a difference between the correlation factors for each successive pair of time points;

(ii) processing the difference by applying a function from the group consisting of digitizing each of the calculated differences and normalizing each of the calculated differences;

(iii) calculating a product of the processed difference for each therapy element from each successive pair of time points multiplied by the corresponding digitized or normalized difference for each correlation factor from each successive pair of time points;

(iv) calculating respective rolling averages of the products over the timecourse;

(v) using linear regression analysis to determine a System Function for each therapy element-correlation factor pair;

(e) displaying one or more of the rolling averages and one or more of the Systems Functions; and

(f) modifying the therapy in accordance with the displayed rolling averages and Systems Functions