ASSESSMENT OF RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF ADRENERGIC AND CHOLINERGIC NERVOUS RECEPTORS WITH NON-INVASIVE TESTS
First Claim
1. A method for assessing relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors of a patient, the method being performed in a system comprising:
- an anode and a cathode, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body,a plurality of passive electrodes, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body and connected to a mass with high impedances,an adjustable DC source, that is controlled in order to feed the anode with a DC current,the method comprising the following steps;
applying DC voltage pulses of varying voltage values in order to stress sweat glands of the patient, the voltage pulses lasting given durations allowing the stabilization of electrochemical phenomena in the body in the vicinity of the electrodes,collecting data representative of the current between the anode and the cathode, and of the potential of the anode, the cathode and of at least one passive electrodes, for the different DC voltages,from said data, computing data representative of the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient,reconciling said data representative of the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient with reference data obtained in the same conditions on patients having known relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors, and determining relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors of the patient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for assessing relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors in a patient is disclosed. The system includes: an anode, a cathode, and passive electrode for placement on different regions of the patient body. The method generally includes: applying DC voltage pulses of varying voltage values to stress sweat glands of the patient, collecting data representing the current between the anode and the cathode and the potential of the anode, the cathode, and the passive electrode for each of the different DC voltage, and computing data representing the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient. The computed data representing the electromechanical skin conductance of the patient is reconciled with reference data from control patients having known relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors. Thus, the relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors in the patient can be determined.
17 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for assessing relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors of a patient, the method being performed in a system comprising:
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an anode and a cathode, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body, a plurality of passive electrodes, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body and connected to a mass with high impedances, an adjustable DC source, that is controlled in order to feed the anode with a DC current, the method comprising the following steps; applying DC voltage pulses of varying voltage values in order to stress sweat glands of the patient, the voltage pulses lasting given durations allowing the stabilization of electrochemical phenomena in the body in the vicinity of the electrodes, collecting data representative of the current between the anode and the cathode, and of the potential of the anode, the cathode and of at least one passive electrodes, for the different DC voltages, from said data, computing data representative of the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient, reconciling said data representative of the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient with reference data obtained in the same conditions on patients having known relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors, and determining relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for assessing relative proportions of adrenergic and cholinergic nervous receptors of a patient, comprising
an anode and a cathode, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body, a plurality of passive electrodes, intended to be placed on different regions of the patient body and connected to a mass with high impedances, an adjustable DC source, that is controlled in order to feed the anode with pulses of a DC current of varying voltage values, for given durations allowing the stabilization of electrochemical phenomena in the body in the vicinity of the electrodes, a measuring circuit, designed to collect data representative of the current between the anode and the cathode, and of the potentials of the anode, the cathode and of at least a passive electrodes, for the different DC voltages, wherein the system further comprise a computing circuit, designed to compute data representative of the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient and to reconcile said data with reference data obtained in the same conditions on patients having known relative proportions of adrenergic and cholinergic nervous receptors.
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16. A computer system for assessing relative proportions of adrenergic and cholinergic nervous receptors in a patient using an anode, a cathode, and at least one passive electrode, the computer system comprising:
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non-transient memory; a processor that can access machine readable media stored in the non-transient memory including; instructions for applying DC voltage pulses of varying voltage values to at least one of the anode and the cathode in order to stress sweat glands of the patient, the voltage pulses lasting given durations; instructions for collecting measured data from the anode, the cathode, and the at least one passive electrode for the different DC voltages, the measured data representing current between the anode and the cathode, voltage potential of the anode, voltage potential of the cathode and, voltage potential of the at least one of the passive electrode, for the different DC voltages; instructions for computing calculated data from the measured data, the calculated data representing electrochemical skin conductance of the patient; instructions for reconciling the calculated data representing the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient with reference data obtained from control group patients having known relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors; and instructions for determining relative proportions of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method for assessing relative proportions of adrenergic and cholinergic nervous receptors in a patient, the method comprising:
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(a) contacting an anode and a cathode to different areas of the patient; (b) contacting an electrode to the patient; (c) applying voltage pulses to at least one of the anode and the cathode to cause the patient to sweat; (d) receiving electrical signals from at least one of the anode, the cathode, and the electrode that are representative of current and voltage potential associated with the anode and the cathode; (e) determining electrochemical skin conductance of the patient, based at least in part on the electrical signals received in step (d) with an electronic controller having programmed software instructions stored in nontransient computer memory; (f) determining with the electronic controller relative densities of at least one of cholinergic nervous receptors of the patient and adrenergic nervous receptors of the patient based at least in part on the electrochemical skin conductance of the patient determined in step (e); (g) comparing the received signals with reference information representative of a person having a known density of cholinergic and adrenergic nervous receptors, using the electronic controller, and using an output of the comparison for the determining relative densities of step (f); (h) determining with the electronic controller a ratio between the current flowing through the anode and the cathode, and the voltage difference between the patient and at least one of the anode and the cathode; and (i) using the electronic controller to automatically change the voltage pulses applied to at least one of the anode and the cathode in multiple stepwise increments. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification