Method of determining body exit of an ingested capsule
First Claim
1. A computerized method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of:
- providing an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor;
having a subject ingest said capsule;
recording measurements from said pressure sensor as said capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of said subject;
transmitting said measurements to a processor outside of said gastrointestinal tract of said subject;
identifying an increasing pressure sequence in said measurements between a selected start time and a transmission end time;
comparing said sequence to a reference; and
using said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of providing (40) an ingestible capsule (20) having a pressure sensor (23), having (41) a subject ingest the capsule, recording (42a) measurements from the pressure sensor as the capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of the subject, transmitting (44) the measurements to a processor (31) outside of the gastrointestinal tract of the subject, identifying (47) an increasing pressure sequence (65) in the measurements between a selected start time (62) and a transmission end time (63), comparing (48) the sequence to a reference (66), and using the comparison to make a determination (52) regarding the capsule exiting the gastrointestinal tract of the subject. The increasing pressure sequence may be the longest increasing pressure sequence in the measurements. The reference may be a logarithmic regression of the measurements. The ingestible capsule may further comprise a temperature sensor (22) and the method may further comprising the steps of recording (42b) measurements from the temperature sensor as the capsule passes through the end portion of the gastrointestinal tract of the subject, transmitting (43) the measurements to the processor, analyzing (46) the temperature measurements for a substantial drop (68) in the temperature measurements, and using the analysis of the temperature measurements to make the determination regarding the capsule exiting the gastrointestinal tract of the subject.
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Citations
73 Claims
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1. A computerized method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of:
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providing an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor; having a subject ingest said capsule; recording measurements from said pressure sensor as said capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of said subject; transmitting said measurements to a processor outside of said gastrointestinal tract of said subject; identifying an increasing pressure sequence in said measurements between a selected start time and a transmission end time; comparing said sequence to a reference; and using said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computerized method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of:
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providing an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor and a power source adapted to provide current to an electrical circuit housed in said capsule; having a subject ingest said capsule; recording measurements from said pressure sensor and said temperature sensor as said capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of said subject; measuring voltage for said circuit as said capsule passes through said gastrointestinal tract of said subject; transmitting said measurements to a processor outside of said gastrointestinal tract of said subject; analyzing said voltage measurements for a low voltage condition; analyzing said temperature measurements for a substantial drop in said temperature measurements; identifying a longest consecutive increasing pressure sequence in said pressure measurements from a selected start time to a transmission end time to provide terminating pressure data as a function of time; comparing said sequence to a reference; and making a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject as a function of said comparison, said analysis of said temperature measurements, and said analysis of said voltage measurements. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A computerized method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of:
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providing an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor; having a subject ingest said capsule; recording measurements from said pressure sensor and said temperature sensor as said capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of said subject; transmitting said measurements to a processor outside of said gastrointestinal tract of said subject; analyzing said temperature measurements for a decrease in temperature; providing a terminating data set for said pressure and temperature measurements between said decrease in temperature and a transmission end time; analyzing said terminating data set to determine a relationship between said pressure and said temperature measurements; comparing said relationship to a reference; and using said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A computerized method of determining body exit of an ingestible capsule comprising the steps of:
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providing an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor; having a subject ingest said capsule; recording measurements from said pressure sensor and said temperature sensor as said capsule passes through at least an end portion of a gastrointestinal tract of said subject; transmitting said measurements to a processor outside of said gastrointestinal tract of said subject; analyzing said temperature measurements for a decrease in temperature; providing a terminating data set for said pressure and temperature measurements between said decrease in temperature and a transmission end time; determining a correlation value between temperature and pressure data in said terminating data set; and using said correlation value to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:
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receiving pressure measurements recorded by a pressure sensor on an ingestible capsule ingested by a subject; identifying an increasing pressure sequence in said measurements between a selected start time and a transmission end time; comparing said sequence to a reference; and using said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A system for identifying the body exit of an ingestible capsule from a gastrointestinal tract comprising:
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an ingestible capsule having a pressure sensor adapted to record pressure data as a function of time as said capsule passes through at least a portion of a subject'"'"'s gastrointestinal tract; a receiver adapted to received said data when transmitted from said capsule; a processor adapted to communicate with said receiver; a display in communication with said processor; said processor programmed to receive pressure measurements recorded by said pressure sensor; identify an increasing pressure sequence in said measurements between a selected start time and a transmission end time; compare said sequence to a reference; and use said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:
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receiving pressure measurements recorded by a pressure sensor and temperature measurements recorded by a temperature sensor on an ingestible capsule ingested by a subject; analyzing said temperature measurements for a decrease in temperature; providing a terminating data set for said pressure and temperature measurements between said decrease in temperature and a transmission end time; analyzing said terminating data set to determine a relationship between said pressure and said temperature measurements; comparing said relationship to a reference; and using said comparison to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:
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receiving pressure measurements recorded by a pressure sensor and temperature measurements recorded by a temperature sensor on an ingestible capsule ingested by a subject; analyzing said temperature measurements for a decrease in temperature; providing a terminating data set for said pressure and temperature measurements between said decrease in temperature and a transmission end time; determining a correlation value between temperature and pressure data in said terminating data set; and using said correlation value to make a determination regarding said capsule exiting said gastrointestinal tract of said subject. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73)
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Specification