NEURAL MONITORING SENSOR

• US 20110230782A1
• Filed: 08/16/2010
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovative Surgical Solutions, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Innovative Surgical Solutions, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Wybo, Christopher, Bartol, Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 8,343,079 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/546
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/05 Surgical care
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0276 Determining malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0412 Low-profile patch shaped housings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1104 induced by stimuli or drugs; A61B5/1102 takes precedence; investigating medicinal preparations G01N33/15
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1106 to assess neuromuscular blockade, e.g. to estimate depth of anaesthesia
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1107 Measuring contraction of parts of the body, e.g. organ, muscle apparatus for measuring work or force in general G01L
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/395 Details of stimulation, e.g. nerve stimulation to elicit EMG response
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4029 for evaluating the peripheral nervous systems A61B5/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4519 Muscles A61B5/389, A61B5/224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4893 Nerves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6828 Leg
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6843 Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7217 of noise originating from a therapeutic or surgical apparatus, e.g. from a pacemaker
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives

Abstract

A sensing device for detecting a muscle event includes a mechanical sensor, such as an accelerometer, that is configured to provide a signal corresponding to a mechanical movement of a muscle, a plurality of electrodes disposed on the sensing device; and a contact detection device coupled with the plurality of electrodes and configured to detect if the sensing device is in contact with a subject.

Claims

1. A sensing device for detecting a muscle event comprising:

a mechanical sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a mechanical movement of a muscle, the mechanical sensor including an accelerometer;

a plurality of electrodes disposed on the sensing device; and

a contact detection device coupled with the plurality of electrodes and configured to detect if the sensing device is in contact with a subject.

2. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the contact detection device is configured to energize the mechanical sensor when the sensing device is in physical contact with a subject.

3. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the contact detection device is configured to detect if the sensing device is in contact with the subject by monitoring a capacitance between the plurality of electrodes, and by comparing the monitored capacitance to a threshold.

4. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the contact detection device is configured to detect if the sensing device is in contact with the subject by monitoring an electric field between the plurality of electrodes and by comparing the electric field to a threshold.

5. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the contact detection device is configured to detect if the sensing device is in contact with the subject by monitoring a relative electrical voltage between the plurality of electrodes and by comparing the voltage to a threshold.

6. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the contact detection device is configured to provide an alert if contact between the sensing device and the subject is not detected.

7. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are needle electrodes.

8. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are surface electrodes.

9. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the mechanical sensor is physically disposed between two of the plurality of electrodes.

10. The sensing device of claim 1, further including a receiver module configured to receive the signal from the mechanical sensor and to detect the occurrence of a muscle event.

11. The sensing device of claim 10, wherein the receiver module is further configured to provide an alert if a muscle event is detected.

12. The sensing device of claim 10, wherein the alert includes a visual alert.

13. The sensing device of claim 10, wherein detecting a muscle event includes calculating a jerk value from the mechanical sensor output signal, and comparing the jerk value to a threshold.

14. The sensing device of claim 1, further including a wireless data transmitter.

15. A sensing device for detecting a muscle event comprising:

a mechanical sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a mechanical movement of a muscle;

an electrical sensor configured to monitor an electrical parameter of the subject, the electrical sensor including a plurality of electrodes; and

a contact detection device coupled to the electrical sensor configured to energize the mechanical sensor when the sensing device is in physical contact with a subject.

16. The sensing device of claim 15, further including a receiver module configured to receive the signal from the mechanical sensor and to detect the occurrence of a muscle event.

17. The sensing device of claim 16, wherein the receiver module is configured to provide a visual alert when a muscle event is detected.

18. The sensing device of claim 16, wherein the receiver is configured to detect a muscle event by comparing a derived jerk value to a threshold.

19. The sensing device of claim 18, wherein the jerk threshold increases as a function of accelerometer peak amplitude.

20. The sensing device of claim 16, wherein the contact detection device includes a power circuit configured to monitor a capacitance between the plurality of electrodes and to energize the mechanical sensor when a threshold capacitance is detected.