METHOD, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR USING ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION FOR MONITORING A TISSUE OF A USER

• US 20110160549A1
• Filed: 09/04/2008
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sensible Medical Innovations Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Sensible Medical Innovations Ltd.
• Inventors: Ronen, Amir, Mizarahi, Nadav, Almog, Benyamin, Saroka, Amir, Bergida, Shlomi, Rappaport, Dan
• Application Number:
  US12/676,385
• Publication Number:
  US 20110160549A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/00 Measuring for diagnostic purposes radiation diagnosis A61B6/00; diagnosis by ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/00; Identification of persons
• 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 5/7203 for noise prevention, reduction or removal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/726 using Wavelet transforms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor

Abstract

A wearable monitoring apparatus for monitoring at least one biological parameter of an internal tissue of an ambulatory user. Said wearable monitoring apparatus comprises at least one transducer configured for delivering electromagnetic (EM) radiation to said internal tissue and intercepting a reflection of said EM radiation said reform in a plurality of transmission sessions during at least 24 hours, a processing unit configured for analyzing respective said reflection and identifying a change in said at least one biological parameter accordingly, a reporting unit configured for generating a report according to said change, and a housing for containing said at least one transducer, said reporting unit, and said processing unit, said housing being configured for being disposed on said body of said ambulatory user.

Claims

1. A wearable monitoring apparatus for monitoring at least one biological parameter of an internal tissue of an ambulatory user, comprising:

at least one transducer having at least one antenna configured for at least one of delivering electromagnetic (EM) radiation to the internal tissue and intercepting said EM radiation from said internal tissue in a plurality of transmission sessions during a period of at least 24 hours;

a processing unit configured for analyzing said intercepted EM radiation and identifying a change in the at least one biological parameter accordingly; and

a reporting unit configured for generating a report according to said change;

wherein said at least one antenna is configured for being disposed on the body of the ambulatory user.

2. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit comprises a communication module for communicating with a remote processing unit thereby allowing performing of at least one of said analyzing and said identifying by said remote processing unit.

3. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for identifying said change by detecting at least one of a trend, a biological process, and a pattern according to said intercepted EM radiation of said plurality of transmission sessions.

4. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for evaluating a property change in a dielectric related property of the internal tissue in at least one of said plurality of transmission sessions and performing said identification according to said property change.

5. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said plurality of transmission sessions are performed in an adaptive rate.

6. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 5, wherein said adaptive rate is determined according to a clinical state of the user, said processing unit being configured for calculating said clinical state according to at least one output of a non EM radiation sensor and said intercepted EM radiation.

7. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a posture detection unit configured for detecting a posture of the user, said adaptive rate being determined according to said posture.

8. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said reporting unit is configured for generating said report in real time.

10. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said change is indicative of a fluid content change in the internal tissue during said period.

11. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said change is indicative of a member of a group consisting of:

a trauma a degenerative process, atelectasis, a post-operative atelectasis, an acute respiratory deficiency syndrome (ARDS), an infectious cause, an inhaled toxins, a circulating exogenous toxins, a vasoactive substance, a disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), a burn, an emphysema, a immunologic processes reaction, a uremia, a post drowning lung water level, a pulmonary venous thrombosis, a stenosis, a veno-occlusive disease, a hypoalbuminemia, a lymphatic insufficiency, a high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a neurogenic pulmonary edema, a drug overdose, a pulmonary embolism, an eclampsia, a postcardioversion, a postanesthetic, a postextubation, and a post-cardiopulmonary bypass an inflammation progress of ARDS users, postoperative atelectasis.

13. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a repository configured for storing information pertaining to said user, said processing unit being configured for performing said analyzing with respect to said information, wherein said information comprises at least one of physiological, anatomical, and clinical data related to said user.

14. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a non EM radiation sensor configured for evaluating an indicator of the physical condition of said user, said processing unit identifying said change by a combination of said indicator and said intercepted EM radiation.

16. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a non EM radiation sensor configured for evaluating an indicator to allow performing said analyzing with respect to said evaluated indicator, said non EM radiation sensor being a member of a group consisting of electromyogram (EMG), an ultrasound transducer, a blood pressure sensor, an optical blood saturation detector, a pulse oximeter, electrocardiogram (ECG), tiltmeter and accelerometer an activity sensor, and a coagulometer.

17. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a non EM radiation sensor configured for detecting a pattern of a physiological activity of the user, said processing unit being configured for performing said analyzing with respect to said pattern.

19. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for detecting a pattern of a physiological activity of the user, said processing unit being configured for performing said analyzing with respect to said pattern.

21. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for detecting a physiological activity of the user by analyzing said intercepted EM radiation, said processing unit being configured for performing said identifying with respect to said physiological activity.

22. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a posture detection unit configured for detecting a posture of the user, said processing unit being configured for analyzing said intercepted EM radiation with respect to said posture.

23. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said change is indicative of a change in the concentration of a solute in the internal tissue.

24. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 23, wherein said solute is a member of a group consisting of a salt, glucose, and or inflammatory indicative fluid.

26. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said EM radiation comprises a narrowband signal of less than 50 Mega Hertz (MHz) bandwidth and a pulse signal of at least 0.5 gigahertz (GHz) bandwidth.

27. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said EM radiation is transmitted in at least one of a plurality of frequencies and a swept frequency mode.

29. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a placement unit configured for providing a position of said at least one antenna in relation to a reference internal tissue of the user, said delivering being performed with respect to said position.

31. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one antenna comprises a planar wide band antenna.

33. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one transducer, said reporting unit, and said processing unit are configured to be integrated into a garment.

34. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said reporting unit is configured for providing treatment instructions.

37. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for identifying said change using a tissue model adapted to said internal tissue.

38. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one transducer comprises a plurality of transducers configured for delivering EM radiation to the internal tissue and intercepting said intercepted EM radiation therefrom.

39. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 38, wherein said plurality of transducers comprises at least one transmitter configured for performing said delivering and at least one receiver configured for performing said intercepting.

40. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 38, wherein said at least one transducer being configured for intercepting said intercepted EM radiation from a plurality of sub-areas of said internal tissue for improving the resolution of said intercepted EM radiation.

41. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 40, wherein said processing unit is configured for reducing at least one of a noise, a disturbance, a posture movement effect and/or an interference intercepted by said at least one first transducer by comparing segments of said intercepted EM radiation from said first and second sub-areas.

71. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured for being disposed on the body of the ambulatory user.

72. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an attachment unit which detachably attaches the monitoring apparatus to said user in a specific position.

73. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a placement unit which computes a misplacement of said at least one antenna in relation to an internal tissue of said ambulatory user and outputting a notification about said misplacement.

75. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said processing unit and said reporting unit being disposed on the body of the ambulatory user.

76. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said plurality of transmission sessions are intermittent.

77. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein during said period, said processing unit is configured for performing at least one of the following:

computing a reduction to at least one movement effect, and

generating guidance instructions for at least one of repositioning the wearable monitoring apparatus and guiding the monitored user to a posture.

78. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein during said period, said processing unit is configured for performing at least one of the following:

detecting at least one of a misplacement and disengagement of the wearable monitoring apparatus,

identifying a period suitable for performing a data acquisition session, and

identifying said change by at least one of calculating a baseline and identifying a normal range which are adjusted according to the monitored user

79. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing comprises reducing the effect of a movement on said change identification, said movement comprises a member of a group consisting of:

a thoracic movement, an internal physiological activity, and an external physiological activity irregularity.

80. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing comprises reducing the effect of a movement on said change identification, said movement comprises a member of a group consisting of:

an organ movement, an antenna movement, a change of posture movement, a bodily movement, an activity related movement.

81. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 1, said processing unit is configured for performing said identifying according to an analysis of differential physiological activities signals.

82. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 10, wherein said processing unit is configured for detecting a pattern of at least one physiological activity of the user, said processing unit being configured for calculating a clinical state of said user with respect to said fluid content change and to said pattern;

wherein said at least one intercepted EM radiation is being changed as an outcome of at least one thoracic movement during said period.

83. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 29, wherein said placement unit performs at least one of:

monitoring and guiding the positioning of said wearable monitoring apparatus,

monitoring and guiding the repositioning of said wearable monitoring apparatus, and

identifying at least one of a misplacement and a disengagement of said wearable monitoring apparatus.

84. The wearable monitoring apparatus of claim 29, wherein said placement unit controls a mechanical adjustment unit which changes the positioning of said wearable monitoring apparatus.

9. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

28. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

35-36. -36. (canceled)

42. A system for monitoring at least one biological parameter of an internal tissue of a plurality of ambulatory users, comprising:

a plurality of wearable devices, each configured for being disposed on the body of one of the plurality of ambulatory users and for identifying a change in the at least one biological parameter according to electromagnetic (EM) radiation intercepted from an internal tissue of a respective of said ambulatory users in a plurality of transmission sessions during a period of at least 24 hours; and

a user management unit configured for receiving said identified change from a respective said wearable device and generating a report accordingly.

43-69. -69. (canceled)

70. A wideband antenna, comprising:

a printed metallic field transducer for transmitting EM radiation; and

an arrangement of at least one lumped absorbing element;

wherein said arrangement having a minimal absorption area absorbing at least 75% of the energy absorbed by said arrangement;

wherein a first distance is the smallest distance between a geometric center of said printed metallic field transducer and a perimeter encircling a transmission area of said printed metallic field transducer required for transmitting 50% of the energy of said EM radiation in the lowest end of a used frequency band with respect to infinite size transducer;

wherein the distance of each point within said minimal absorption area from said geometric center is at least said first distance.

74. A method for monitoring at least one biological parameter of an internal tissue of an ambulatory user, comprising:

disposing a transducer on the body of the ambulatory user;

delivering electromagnetic (EM) radiation to the internal tissue;

intercepting said EM radiation from said internal tissue in a plurality of transmission sessions during a period of at least 24 hours;

analyzing said EM radiation and identifying a change in the at least one biological parameter accordingly; and

generating a report according to said change.