ACOUSTIC RESPIRATORY MONITORING SYSTEMS AND METHODS
First Claim
1. An acoustic sensor for non-invasively detecting physiological acoustic vibrations indicative of one or more physiological parameters of a medical patient, comprising:
- an acoustic sensing element configured to generate a first signal in response to acoustic vibrations from a medical patient;
front-end circuitry configured to receive an input signal that is based at least in part on the first signal and to produce an amplified signal in response to the input signal; and
a compression module in communication with the front-end circuitry and configured to compress portions of at least one of the input signal and the amplified signal according to a first compression scheme, the compressed portions corresponding to portions of the first signal having a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An acoustic sensor is provided according to certain aspects for non-invasively detecting physiological acoustic vibrations indicative of one or more physiological parameters of a medical patient. The sensor can include an acoustic sensing element configured to generate a first signal in response to acoustic vibrations from a medical patient. The sensor can also include front-end circuitry configured to receive an input signal that is based at least in part on the first signal and to produce an amplified signal in response to the input signal. In some embodiments, the sensor further includes a compression module in communication with the front-end circuitry and configured to compress portions of at least one of the input signal and the amplified signal according to a first compression scheme, the compressed portions corresponding to portions of the first signal having a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold level.
408 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An acoustic sensor for non-invasively detecting physiological acoustic vibrations indicative of one or more physiological parameters of a medical patient, comprising:
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an acoustic sensing element configured to generate a first signal in response to acoustic vibrations from a medical patient; front-end circuitry configured to receive an input signal that is based at least in part on the first signal and to produce an amplified signal in response to the input signal; and a compression module in communication with the front-end circuitry and configured to compress portions of at least one of the input signal and the amplified signal according to a first compression scheme, the compressed portions corresponding to portions of the first signal having a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An acoustic sensor for non-invasively detecting physiological acoustic vibrations indicative of one or more physiological parameters of a medical patient, comprising:
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an acoustic sensing element configured to generate an output signal in response to acoustic vibrations from a medical patient, the acoustic sensing element having an output dynamic range; front-end circuitry in communication with the acoustic sensing element and having a dynamic range, the dynamic range of the front-end circuitry being less than the output dynamic range of the acoustic sensing element; and a dynamic range module configured, in response to the output signal, to maintain the output signal'"'"'s intensity within the dynamic range of the front-end circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for increasing the dynamic range of a sensor capable of non-invasively detecting physiological acoustic vibrations indicative of one or more physiological parameters of a medical patient, comprising:
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outputting a first signal using a first sensing element and in response to acoustic vibrations from a medical patient; generating an amplified signal using front-end circuitry and in response an input signal that is based at least in part on the first signal; and compressing portions of at least one of the input signal and the amplified signal according to a first compression scheme, the compressed portions corresponding to portions of the first signal having a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold level.
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Specification