METHOD OF DETERMINING LUNG CONDITION INDICATORS
First Claim
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1. A method of determining a condition of at least one lung of a patient comprising:
- making an active measurement of the at least one lung by introducing a signal comprising one or more audible frequencies into the at least one lung and receiving the at least one audible frequency signal during or upon passage through the at least one lung;
making a passive measurement of the at least one lung by receiving at least one naturally occurring sound associated with breathing by the patient; and
determining a condition of the at least one lung by combining data associated with the active measurement with data associated with the passive measurement.
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Abstract
A method and a microprocessor controlled device for use in medical evaluation of the pulmonary system. The method and device incorporate two different non invasive evaluative techniques. Passive auscultation provides indicators of lung condition. Active auscultation, a different evaluative technique, provides information or indications generally not available or provided from passive auscultation. Combining the information from both techniques greatly improves the ability to provide effective medical treatment.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of determining a condition of at least one lung of a patient comprising:
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making an active measurement of the at least one lung by introducing a signal comprising one or more audible frequencies into the at least one lung and receiving the at least one audible frequency signal during or upon passage through the at least one lung; making a passive measurement of the at least one lung by receiving at least one naturally occurring sound associated with breathing by the patient; and determining a condition of the at least one lung by combining data associated with the active measurement with data associated with the passive measurement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of determining the condition of a patient'"'"'s lung, the method including the steps of:
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injecting a signal comprising audible frequencies through the patient'"'"'s lung; recording the injected signal and processing the signal to determine a first set of criteria indicative of a condition of the lung; monitoring naturally occurring breath sounds of the patient'"'"'s lung; processing the breath sounds of the patient'"'"'s lung to determine a second set of criteria indicative of a condition of the lung; and narrowing the number of criteria indicative of a condition of the lung by comparing the first set of criteria from the injected signal with the second set of criteria from the naturally occurring breath sounds. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. Apparatus for evaluating the condition of a lung of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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one or more emitting transducers introducing a signal comprising audible frequencies into the lung; one or more receiving transducers that receive the introduced signal after it has passed through at least part of the lung; and a processing unit that monitors the received signal and determines a first set of indicators of a condition of the lung based on the received signal, and monitors one or more naturally occurring sounds associated with breathing by the patient and determines a second set of indicators of a condition of the lung based on the one or more monitored naturally occurring sounds, and compares the first and second set of indicators, and provides a third set of indicators corresponding to a portion of overlap of the first and second sets of indicators respectively, the third set of indicators being indicators of lung condition based upon both the introduced signal and the naturally occurring sounds. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification