Method and System for Monitoring Gastrointestinal Function and Physiological Characteristics
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring gastrointestinal function of a subject, comprising:
- at least one sensor mountable proximate a body region of the subject, said sensor being adapted to sense acoustic energy and generate at least one acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; and
a processing unit adapted to receive said acoustic energy signal, said processing unit being further adapted to process said acoustic energy signal and determine the occurrence of at least one gastrointestinal parameter therefrom.
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Abstract
A system and method for evaluating gastrointestinal motility and, optionally, other physiological characteristics (e.g., pulse rate) that can be effectively employed to acquire one or more signals associated with acoustic energy (i.e. sound) emanating from an abdominal region of a body and determine at least one gastrointestinal parameter or event based on the acoustic energy signal(s) is described. The gastrointestinal parameter can include a gastrointestinal event, including gastrointestinal mixing, emptying, contraction and propulsion, and gastrointestinal transit time, or a gastrointestinal system disorder, including reflux disease, irritable bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and a migrating motor complex disorder.
86 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring gastrointestinal function of a subject, comprising:
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at least one sensor mountable proximate a body region of the subject, said sensor being adapted to sense acoustic energy and generate at least one acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; and a processing unit adapted to receive said acoustic energy signal, said processing unit being further adapted to process said acoustic energy signal and determine the occurrence of at least one gastrointestinal parameter therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for monitoring gastrointestinal function of a subject, comprising:
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at least one acoustic energy sensor mountable proximate a body region of the subject, said acoustic energy sensor being adapted to sense acoustic energy generated by the subject and generate at least one acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; at least one spatial parameter sensor mountable proximate a body region of the subject, said spatial parameter sensor being adapted to monitor at least one spatial parameter associated with the subject'"'"'s body and generate at least one spatial parameter signal representing said spatial parameter; and a processing unit adapted to receive said acoustic energy and spatial parameter signals, said processing unit being further adapted to determine the occurrence of at least one gastrointestinal parameter as a function of said acoustic energy and spatial parameter signals. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for monitoring gastrointestinal function and physiological characteristics, comprising:
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at least one acoustic energy sensor mountable proximate a body region of a subject, said acoustic energy sensor being adapted to sense acoustic energy representing a gastrointestinal sound generated by said subject and generate at least a first acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; at least one physiological sensor mountable proximate a body region of said subject, said physiological sensor being adapted to sense a physiological characteristic associated with said subject and generate at least a first physiological characteristic signal representing said physiological characteristic; and a processing unit adapted to receive said first acoustic energy and physiological characteristic signals, said processing unit being further adapted to process said first acoustic energy signal and determine the occurrence of at least one gastrointestinal parameter therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for monitoring gastrointestinal function and physiological characteristics, comprising:
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at least one acoustic energy sensor mountable proximate a body region of a subject, said acoustic energy sensor being adapted to sense acoustic energy representing a gastrointestinal sound generated by said subject and generate at least one acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; at least one spatial parameter sensor mountable proximate a body region of the subject, said spatial parameter sensor being adapted to monitor at least one spatial parameter associated with the subject'"'"'s body and generate at least one spatial parameter signal representing said spatial parameter; at least one physiological sensor mountable proximate a body region of said subject, said physiological sensor being adapted to sense a physiological characteristic associated with said subject and generate at least one physiological characteristic signal representing said physiological characteristic; and a processing unit adapted to receive said acoustic energy, spatial parameter and physiological characteristic signals, said processing unit being further adapted to determine the occurrence of at least one gastrointestinal parameter as a function of said acoustic energy and spatial parameter signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of determining a gastrointestinal parameter associated with a subject, comprising the steps of:
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sensing acoustic energy generated by the subject'"'"'s gastrointestinal system and generating an acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; sensing at least one spatial parameter associated with the subject and generating a spatial parameter signal representing said spatial parameter; and determining at least one gastrointestinal parameter as a function of said acoustic energy and spatial parameter signals. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of determining a gastrointestinal parameter associated with a subject, comprising the steps of:
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sensing acoustic energy generated by the subject'"'"'s gastrointestinal system and generating an acoustic energy signal representing said acoustic energy; sensing at least one spatial parameter associated with the subject and generating a spatial parameter signal representing said spatial parameter; sensing at least one physiological characteristic associated with the subject and generating at least one physiological characteristic signal representing said physiological characteristic; and determining at least one gastrointestinal parameter as a function of said acoustic energy and spatial parameter signals. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of monitoring gastrointestinal function and physiological characteristics of multiple subjects, comprising the steps of:
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sensing first acoustic energy generated by a first subject'"'"'s gastrointestinal system and generating a first acoustic energy signal representing said first acoustic energy; sensing a first physiological characteristic associated with said first subject; sensing a second physiological characteristic associated with a second subject; determining at least one gastrointestinal parameter associated with said first subject as a function of said first acoustic energy signal. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification