BODY-WORN SENSOR FOR CHARACTERIZING PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE
First Claim
1. A sensor for measuring fluid in a patient'"'"'s chest, comprising:
- a flexible member configured to drape around the patient'"'"'s neck and connect at its ends to form a continuous loop shape;
at least two electrodes, each connected to the flexible member and configured to measure electrical signals from the patient;
an impedance-measuring system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the at least two electrodes, the impedance-measuring system configured to receive the electrical signals from the at least two electrodes and process them to determine an impedance value; and
,a data-processing system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the impedance-measuring system, the data-processing system operating a computer algorithm configured to process the impedance value to measure fluid in the patient'"'"'s chest.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a sensor for measuring both impedance and ECG waveforms that is configured to be worn around a patient'"'"'s neck. The sensor features 1) an ECG system that includes an analog ECG circuit, in electrical contact with at least two ECG electrodes, that generates an analog ECG waveform; and 2) an impedance system that includes an analog impedance circuit, in electrical contact with at least two (and typically four) impedance electrodes, that generates an analog impedance waveform. Also included in the neck-worn system are a digital processing system featuring a microprocessor, and an analog-to-digital converter. During a measurement, the digital processing system receives and processes the analog ECG and impedance waveforms to measure physiological information from the patient. Finally, a cable that drapes around the patient'"'"'s neck connects the ECG system, impedance system, and digital processing system.
6 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A sensor for measuring fluid in a patient'"'"'s chest, comprising:
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a flexible member configured to drape around the patient'"'"'s neck and connect at its ends to form a continuous loop shape; at least two electrodes, each connected to the flexible member and configured to measure electrical signals from the patient; an impedance-measuring system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the at least two electrodes, the impedance-measuring system configured to receive the electrical signals from the at least two electrodes and process them to determine an impedance value; and
,a data-processing system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the impedance-measuring system, the data-processing system operating a computer algorithm configured to process the impedance value to measure fluid in the patient'"'"'s chest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A sensor for measuring impedance in a patient'"'"'s chest, comprising:
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a flexible member configured to drape around the patient'"'"'s neck and connect at its ends to form a continuous loop shape; a collection of at least two electrodes, each connected to the flexible member and configured to measure electrical signals from the patient; and an impedance-measuring system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the at least two electrodes, the impedance-measuring system configured to receive the electrical signals from the at least two electrodes and process them to determine an impedance value.
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20. A sensor for measuring impedance in a patient'"'"'s chest, comprising:
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a flexible member configured to drape around the patient'"'"'s neck and connect at its ends to form a continuous loop shape; a collection of four electrodes, each comprised by the flexible member, with two electrodes configured to inject current into the patient'"'"'s chest, and another two electrodes configured to measure electrical signals from the patient'"'"'s chest; an impedance-measuring system, comprised by the flexible member and in electrical contact with the two electrodes configured to measure electrical signals from the patient'"'"'s chest, the impedance-measuring system configured to receive the electrical signals from the two electrodes and process them to determine an impedance value.
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Specification