APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING A CHARACTERISTIC OF A COMPOSITION REACTIVE TO A MAGNETIC FIELD

• US 20090306489A1
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: BOPPART, STEPHEN A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,447,373 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/324
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/05 Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves impedance plethysmography A61B5/0295; measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a sensor having a pulse oximeter sensor to measure an oxygen saturation level in a liquid, a magnetic source coupled to the pulse oximeter sensor, and a controller to control the pulse oximeter sensor and the magnetic source, and to measure a mechanical effect on the liquid responsive to the magnetic source applying a magnetic field to the liquid. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A sensor, comprising:

a pulse oximeter sensor to measure an oxygen saturation level in a liquid;

a magnetic source coupled to the pulse oximeter sensor; and

a controller to;

control the pulse oximeter sensor and the magnetic source, and

measure a mechanical effect on the liquid responsive to the magnetic source applying a magnetic field to the liquid.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the liquid comprises blood, and wherein the mechanical effect correlates to at least one of an accumulation level of the blood, a viscosity level of the blood, a coagulability of the blood, and an iron concentration in the blood.

3. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the pulse oximeter sensor and the magnetic source are coupled to a portion of an organism to perform measurements on the liquid carried by said portion.

4. The sensor of claim 3, wherein the organism corresponds to a human, and wherein the portion of the human comprises one of at least a portion of an arm, a portion of a leg, a portion of a neck, a portion of an ear, a portion of a forehead, a portion of a hand, and a portion of a foot.

5. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the magnetic source comprises an electromagnetic element coupled to a signal generator controlled by the controller.

6. The sensor of claim 5, wherein the electromagnetic element comprises one of a plurality of electromagnetic devices placed on substantially opposite sides of the pulse oximeter sensor, and an electromagnetic ring placed coaxially placed over the pulse oximetry sensor.

7. The sensor of claim 5, wherein the signal generator controls aspects of the magnetic field, and wherein the aspects controlled include at least one of an intensity of the magnetic field, a duration of the magnetic field, a gradient of the magnetic field, a flux of the magnetic field, an orientation of the magnetic field, a direction of the magnetic field, a modulation of the magnetic field, and a time-dependent change of the magnetic field.

8. The sensor of claim 6, wherein the signal generator controls the plurality of electromagnetic devices independently or substantially contemporaneously.

9. The sensor of claim 2, wherein signals supplied to the controller by the pulse oximeter sensor are affected by an application of the magnetic field on the blood.

10. The sensor of claim 9, wherein signals supplied to the controller by the pulse oximeter sensor correlate to at least one of an accumulation level of the blood, a viscosity level of the blood, a coagulability of the blood, and an iron concentration in the blood.

11. The sensor of claim 9, wherein the controller is operable to present a graphical user interface according to the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor.

12. The sensor of claim 10, wherein the controller is operable to measure one or more characteristics of the blood from a comparison of signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor before, during, and after an application of the magnetic field on the blood.

13. The sensor of claim 12, wherein the controller is operable to measure the one or more characteristics of the blood from at least one of an amplitude, slope, waveform change, and phase shift of the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor.

14. The sensor of claim 12, wherein the one or more characteristics of the blood correspond to at least one of an accumulation level of the blood, a viscosity level of the blood, a coagulability of the blood, and an iron concentration in the blood.

15. The sensor of claim 14, wherein the controller is operable to determine at least one of the accumulation level and the iron concentration in the blood according to the amplitude of the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor.

16. The sensor of claim 15, wherein a change in amplitude of the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor corresponds to a change in one of the accumulation of blood and the concentration of iron in the blood.

17. The sensor of claim 14, wherein the controller is operable to determine at least one of the viscosity level and coagulability of the blood according to at least one of the slope, the waveform change, the amplitude, and the phase shift of the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor.

18. The sensor of claim 17, wherein a change in at least one of the slope, the amplitude, the phase, and the waveform shape in a portion of the signals supplied by the pulse oximeter sensor corresponds to at least one of a change in the viscosity of the blood and a change in a probability of the blood will coagulate.

19. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the pulse oximeter sensor performs time-dependent measurements, and wherein the magnetic field is one of a static magnetic field and a time-dependent magnetic field.

20. The sensor of claim 14, wherein the controller is operable to present on a display one or more indicators corresponding to at least one of the accumulation level of the blood, the viscosity level of the blood, the coagulability of the blood, and the iron concentration in the blood

21. The sensor of claim 20, wherein the one or more indicators correspond to at least one of one or more numerical metrics, one or more waveform plots, and one or more descriptive diagnostics.

22. The sensor of claim 14, wherein the controller is operable to:

compare historical data from prior blood measurements to predict one or more health conditions of an organism carrying the blood; and

descriptively present said predictions on a display of the sensor.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer instructions to perform a physiological diagnosis from a mechanical effect on a liquid carried by a patient affected by a magnetic field, wherein the liquid comprises oxygen and one or more particles that kinetically react to magnetic fields.

24. A method, comprising:

applying a magnetic field on a plurality of biological cells carrying oxygen and one or more particles that kinetically react to magnetic fields; and

measuring a mechanical effect from the application of the magnetic field on at least a portion of the plurality of biological cells according to a change in an oxygen saturation level of said portion of the plurality of biological cells.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of cells comprise one of erythrocyte cells and tissue cells.

26. The method of claim 25, comprising at least one of:

predicting a likelihood of one or more disorders from the measurement;

monitoring disease progression;

monitoring recovery;

monitoring baseline levels of an organism from which the plurality of biological cells originate; and

monitoring changes before and after administration of a treatment applied to the organism.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the one or more disorders comprise at least one of a variant of anemia, a variant of cancer, a variant of kidney disease, hemochromatosis, polycythemias, sickle cell disease, thalasemias, coagulapathies, a hydration disorder, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

28. The method of claim 28, wherein the method operates in a portable sensing device, and wherein the portable sensing device is communicatively coupled to a monitoring system by wireline or wireless means.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the monitoring system corresponds to at least one of an intensive care monitoring unit, a patient record system, and a doctor alerting system.

30. A method, comprising:

non-invasively applying a magnetic field on a living organism; and

non-invasively measuring changes from the application of the magnetic field in at least one of an absorption and scattering of a select spectrum of light applied on the living organism.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the changes in absorption or scattering of the select spectrum of light correlate to at least one of a viscosity of a liquid in the living organism, and a coagulability of said liquid.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the liquid comprises blood, and wherein the changes in absorption or scattering of the select spectrum of light corresponds to a change in an oxygen saturation level of the blood.