Method and apparatus for automatically analyzing disorders of the human body

• US 3,140,710 A
• Filed: 02/29/1960
• Issued: 07/14/1964
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/1960
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Harvey F. Glassner, Jack H. Watson, Ronald E. Smith
• Original Assignee: Harvey F. Glassner, Jack H. Watson, Ronald E. Smith
• Inventors: Glassner, Harvey F., Smith, Ronald E., Watson, Jack H.
• Application Number:
  US04/011,878
• Time in Patent Office: 1,597 Days
• US Class Current: 600/513
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation

Claims

11. APPARATUS FOR ANALYZING AND CLASSIFYING HEART SOUND TO AUTOMATICALLY DIAGNOSE A HEART CONDITION COMPRISING:

TRANSDUCER MEANS FOR PICKING UP HEART SOUND AND DEVELOPING AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL CONFORMING THERETO;

A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL FILTER CIRCUITS PASSING FREQUENCIES OF VARIOUS VALUES, WHICH FREQUENCIES ARE CHARACTERISTIC BUT NOT CONCLUSIVE OF THE EXISTENCE OF CERTAIN HEART CONDITIONS;

MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID ELECTRICAL SIGNAL THROUGH SAID FILTER CIRCUITS;

MEANS FOR OPERATING ON THE OUTPUTS, IF ANY, OF SAID FILTER CIRCUITS TO PRODUCE RESULTANT SIGNALS WHICH ARE UNIQUELY INDICATIVE OF THE EXISTENCE OF SAID CERTAIN HEART CONDITIONS;

INDICATING MEANS FOR EACH RESULTANT SIGNAL FOR GIVING A DIAGNOSTIC CONCLUSION OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE CERTAIN HEART CONDITION OF WHICH IT IS INDICATIVE;

MEANS FOR GENERATING VOLTAGES CORRESPONDING TO THE SYSTOLE AND DIASTOLE PORTIONS OF THE HEART CYCLE AND TO THE TIME PARTS OF SAID PORTIONS IN WHICH HEART SOUNDS OCCUR;

MEANS FOR DIAGNOSTICALLY INDICATING SAID TIME PARTS OF SAID PORTIONS;

AND MEANS FOR COMBINING SAID VOLTAGES WITH THE RESULTANT SIGNALS FOR SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC HEART CONDITIONS IN SAID INDICATING MEANS SO THAT THE DIAGNOSTIC CONCLUSION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A CONDITION IS BASED ALSO UPON THE PROPER RELATION OF THE RESULTANT SIGNAL TO THE PORTION OF THE HEART CYCLE.