MULTI-AXIAL HEART SOUNDS AND MURMUR DETECTION FOR HEMODYNAMIC-CONDITION ASSESSMENT

• US 20110105932A1
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inovise Medical, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Inovise Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Arand, Patricia A., Wheeler, Timothy K., Bauer, Peter T., Gasperina, Marco Dalla
• Granted Patent: US 8,409,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/528
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1135 by monitoring thoracic expansion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/352 Detecting R peaks, e.g. for synchronising diagnostic apparatus; Estimating R-R interval
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4818 Sleep apnoea
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/003 Detecting lung or respiration noise

Abstract

A vector method for monitoring a subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition including (a) utilizing at least one, external or internal, anatomy-attached, three-axis accelerometer, collecting from the subject, during a selected cardiac cycle, related, three-orthogonal-axes accelerometer signal data, (b) following such collecting, processing collected signal data to obtain associated, signal vector, magnitude and directionality information, and (c) analyzing such obtained vector information for assessment of the subject'"'"'s heart hemodynamic condition. ECG and signal time-frequency data is also collected and used in certain manners and implementations of the invention.

Claims

1. A vector method for monitoring a subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition utilizing sound-based information detected exclusively by an externally anatomically-attached, stably positioned, three-orthogonal-axis accelerometer comprising

attaching a three-orthogonal-axis accelerometer in a stable position externally to a subject'"'"'s anatomy,

during at least one cardiac cycle of the subject, collecting signal data from the so attached accelerometer,

processing such collected data to obtain associated vector magnitude and directionality information, and

analyzing such vector magnitude and directionality information for assessment of the subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition.

2. The method of claim 1 modified to include the use of plural, so-attached, like accelerometers, wherein said collecting, processing, and analyzing steps are performed collaboratively in relation to the plural accelerometers for assessment of the subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing involves examining, including frequency filtering, the frequency content of collected data (1) to distinguish heart sound content from murmur content, and (2) to develop vector magnitude and directionality information respectively related to each of these two phenomena, and said analyzing employs all of such respectively developed information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component, and (b) murmur.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component and its subcomponents, and (b) murmur.

6. The method of claim 1 which further comprises performing said collecting, processing, and analyzing steps over a selected time interval involving plural cardiac cycles.

7. The method of claim 1 which further comprises obtaining from the attached accelerometer signal time-frequency information, and said processing and analyzing include relating this time-frequency information to associated, signal vector, magnitude and directionality information.

8. The method of claim 1 which further comprises, during said collecting, acquiring time-related ECG data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component, and (b) murmur.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component and it subcomponents, and (b) murmur.

11. A vector method for monitoring a subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition based upon externally collected data relating to murmur and heart sound phenomena, collected exclusively from an externally anatomically-attached, stably positioned, three-orthogonal-axis accelerometer comprising

attaching a three-orthogonal-axis accelerometer in a stable position externally to a subject'"'"'s anatomy,

during at least one cardiac cycle of the subject, collecting signal data from the so attached accelerometer,

processing such collected data to obtain associated, categorically-identified, signal-vector magnitude and directionality information related, respectively, to murmur and to at least one heart sound, and

analyzing such murmur, and such at least one heart sound, vector magnitude and directionality information for assessment of the subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition.

12. The method of claim 11 modified to include the use of plural, so-attached, like accelerometers, wherein said collecting, processing, and analyzing steps are performed collaboratively in relation to the plural accelerometers, and to the obtained murmur and at least one heart sound vector magnitude and directionality information, for assessment of the subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said processing involves examining, including frequency filtering, the frequency content of collected data to distinguish the at least one heart-sound content from murmur content in order to obtain the mentioned vector magnitude and directionality information respectively related to each of these two phenomena.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component, and (b) murmur.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said analyzing involves using such obtained vector information to identify the presence of at least one of (a) a specific heart sound component and its subcomponents, and (b) murmur.

16. The method of claim 11 which further comprises performing said utilizing, collecting, processing, and analyzing steps over a selected time interval involving plural cardiac cycles to obtain temporal information regarding the subject'"'"'s heart hemodynamic condition.

17. The method of claim 11 which further comprises obtaining from the attached accelerometer signal time-frequency information, and said processing and analyzing include relating this time-frequency information to associated, signal vector, magnitude and directionality information.

18. A vector method for detecting and specifically identifying and confirmation-source-locating heart sounds and murmur as an aid in assessing a subject'"'"'s hemodynamic condition comprising

attaching plural, three-orthogonal-axis accelerometers in positionally stable conditions to selected, respective, spaced, external sites on a person'"'"'s anatomy,

collecting from those sites, over a time interval spanning at least one cardiac cycle of the subject, plural-source three-orthogonal-axis-accelerometer signal data,

filtering such collected data in accordance with signal time-frequency information,

initially processing the so filtered data to derive therefrom signal vectors and related signal time-frequency information which is believed may be associated, respectively, with the different heart sounds and with murmur, and

using the derived signal vectors and signal time-frequency information, applying additional processing to determine the specific presences, identities, and confirmations of source locations, as well as relevant quantitative information, during the mentioned at least one cardiac cycle, of the different heart sounds and of murmur.