DOPPLER MOTION SENSOR APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USING SAME

• US 20080287800A1
• Filed: 05/12/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CardioArt Technologies Ltd.
• Original Assignee: CardioArt Technologies Ltd.
• Inventors: Furman, Dan Gur
• Application Number:
  US12/119,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20080287800A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/454
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0245 by using sensing means generating electric signals, i.e. ECG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/02 Measuring pulse or heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/04 Measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3925 Monitoring; Protecting

Abstract

An apparatus for, and method of, sensing characteristics of a vessel and a fluid conveyed therein.

Claims

1. A sensing device for acquiring signals and computing measurements comprising:

a sensor including one or more transducers for transmitting acoustic energy, receiving acoustic energy, and converting the received acoustic energy into one or more signals, the one or more transducers facing a side of a vessel;

a computing device operating the one or more transducers and processing the one or more signals to obtain measurement values; and

a housing enclosing the sensor and the computing device.

2. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes an algorithm for computing a parameter value of a fluid conveyed by a vessel.

3. The sensing device of claim 2, wherein the parameter is fluid velocity.

4. The sensing device of claim 3, wherein the fluid is blood and the parameter value is blood velocity.

5. The sensing device of claim 1, further including a communication device for transmitting and receiving a communication signal.

6. The sensing device of claim 5, wherein the communication signal includes a relative position value representing the position of the vessel.

7. The sensing device of claim 5, wherein the communication signal includes an alarm.

8. The sensing device of claim 5, wherein the communication device includes a connector adapted to operably couple to one or more of a docking station, a second sensing device, and an energy source.

9. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the housing is configured for subcutaneous implantation.

10. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is integrated with an implanted cardiac device.

11. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more transducers comprises a linear array of transducer segments.

12. The sensing device of claim 11, wherein the transducer segments are selectively activated to transmit and to receive acoustic energy.

13. The sensing device of claim 12, wherein each transducer segment may be selectively operated to transmit acoustic energy and to receive acoustic energy.

14. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more transducers transmits acoustic energy at a different frequency than the frequency of the acoustic energy transmitted by another of the one or more transducers.

15. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more transducers are positioned at an angle relative to each other.

16. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is dimensioned about the same as two stacked quarter dollar coins.

17. The sensing device of claim 1, further including an energy storage device.

18. The sensing device of claim 17, wherein the energy storage device includes an energy coupler for receiving energy to recharge the energy storage device.

19. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein each transducer includes a source of acoustic energy, the transducer having a window for allowing passage of acoustic energy, and the source of acoustic energy being partially surrounded by material for blocking passage of acoustic energy and preventing interference between adjacent transducers.

20. A method for acquiring signals and transmitting data comprising:

providing a sensing device including

one or more transducers for transmitting acoustic energy, receiving acoustic energy, and converting acoustic energy into one or more signals, the one or more transducers facing a side of a vessel,

a computing device for operating the one or more transducers and processing the one or more signals to obtain measurement values, and

a housing enclosing the sensor and the computing device;

transmitting acoustic energy from the one or more transducers;

receiving acoustic energy from the one or more transducers to obtain one or more signals;

processing the one or more signals to obtain measurement values;

analyzing the measurement values to obtain a parameter value indicative of a characteristic of the fluid.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the fluid is blood and the parameter is blood velocity.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the fluid is blood and the parameter is blood pressure.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the blood pressure parameter includes systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.

24. The method of claim 20, further including the step of obtaining relative position values and storing the relative position values in memory.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the obtaining step includes receiving relative position values from the communication device and storing the relative position values in memory.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the sensing device includes an optical sensor, wherein the obtaining step includes receiving relative position information from the optical sensor and converting the relative position information into relative position values.

27. The method of claim 20, further including the steps of diagnosing a condition using the parameter value and performing a function in response to the diagnosing step.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the condition is an abnormal condition.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the function is communicating an alarm.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the function is initiating a treatment.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the treatment is an electric shock.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the treatment is delivering a drug.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein the function is communicating data with the communication device on a continuous basis.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein the condition is a normal condition and the function is communicating information on a periodic basis.

35. The method of claim 20, wherein the receiving step includes sequentially obtaining signals from at least some of the one or more transducers to compute a parameter value.

36. The method of claim 20, wherein each of the one or more transducers comprises a linear array of transducer segments.

37. The method of claim 36, further including the step of selecting one or more transducer segments and preventing transmission and reception of acoustic energy by unselected transducer segments.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the selecting step includes determinig an incidence angle of acoustic energy relative to the direction of fluid flow and choosing transducer segments when the incidence angle is smaller than, or equal to, 20 degrees.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the sensing device further includes the optical sensor, and the selecting step includes identifying with the optical sensor any transducer segment where the acoustic energy transmitted by the transducer segment is obstructed and choosing unobstructed transducer segments.

40. A device for acoustically measuring a characteristic of at least one of a blood vessel and blood flowing through the blood vessel, the device including:

a housing having a first side and a second side;

a sensor assembly mounted to the housing and including one or more transducers for transmitting acoustic energy through the first side of the housing, receiving acoustic energy though the first side of the housing, and converting the acoustic energy into signals;

a computing device configured to activate the one or more transducers and interpret the signals to determine the characteristic.

41. The device of claim 40, wherein the characteristic is a velocity of the blood.

42. The device of claim 40, wherein the one or more transducers are positioned at an angle relative to one another.

43. The device of claim 40, wherein the computing device individually activates each of the one or more transducers sequentially to determine the velocity of the blood.

44. The device of claim 40, wherein the sensor assembly comprises acoustic energy blocking material and includes windows for transmitting and receiving acoustic energy.

45. The device of claim 40, wherein the housing is made of acoustic energy blocking material and includes windows for transmitting and receiving acoustic energy.