SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACQUIRING AND DISPLAYING UTERINE EMG SIGNALS
First Claim
1. A system for acquiring and processing uterine EMG signals from a patient, comprising:
- a pair of electrodes in communication with a patient abdomen, wherein the pair of electrodes are configured to acquire a raw EMG signal from the patient;
a signal processing module communicably coupled to the pair of electrodes and configured to filter and amplify the raw EMG signal to obtain a processed EMG signal, and to convert the raw EMG signal, or a processed EMG signal, from an analog signal to a digital signal; and
a computer communicably coupled to the signal processing module and having software for executing machine-readable instructions to receive, process, and subsequently display the processed EMG signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for acquiring and processing uterine EMG signals from a maternal patient. Raw uterine EMG signals are acquired and processed in a central unit designed to isolate the patient and any internal circuitry from electrical shock. The central unit has a circuit board that amplifies and filters the EMG signal, then transmits the signal to an AID converter, after which the digitized signal is transmitted to a computer for further processing of the signal and subsequent display of a signal representative of uterine activity. The system and method provide a more accurate measurement of uterine EMG signals than a tocodynamometer or IUPC, and are useful in predicting delivery or monitoring the patient during post partum uterine activity.
63 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for acquiring and processing uterine EMG signals from a patient, comprising:
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a pair of electrodes in communication with a patient abdomen, wherein the pair of electrodes are configured to acquire a raw EMG signal from the patient; a signal processing module communicably coupled to the pair of electrodes and configured to filter and amplify the raw EMG signal to obtain a processed EMG signal, and to convert the raw EMG signal, or a processed EMG signal, from an analog signal to a digital signal; and a computer communicably coupled to the signal processing module and having software for executing machine-readable instructions to receive, process, and subsequently display the processed EMG signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of acquiring and processing uterine EMG signals from a patient, comprising:
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applying at least one pair of electrodes to a maternal abdomen of a patient; matching the skin impedance of the patient; obtaining a raw analog uterine EMG signal; processing the raw uterine EMG signal in a signal processing module to obtain a digital EMG signal; transmitting the digital EMG signal to a computer having software for executing machine-readable instructions; and processing the digital EMG signal in the computer to obtain a signal representative of uterine activity. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for acquiring and processing uterine EMG signals from a patient, comprising:
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a signal processing module having an internal processing circuit; an EMG communication port coupled to the signal processing module and operatively coupled to the processing circuit; at least one pair of electrodes communicably coupled to the EMG communication port and configured to acquire and transmit a raw EMG signal from the patient to the processing circuit, where the processing circuit amplifies and filters the raw EMG signal to a frequency band between about 0.2 Hz to about 2.0 Hz to obtain a processed EMG signal; an analog to digital converter operatively coupled to the processing circuit and configured to convert the processed signal into a digital EMG signal; and a computer communicably coupled to the signal processing module and having software for executing machine-readable instructions to receive the digital EMG signal from the analog to digital converter and further process the digital EMG signal by filtering and amplifying to a frequency band between about 0.3 Hz to about 1.0 Hz to obtain a signal representative of uterine activity. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification