Non-invasive determination of mechanical characteristics in the body
First Claim
1. An non-invasive system for inducing vibrations in a selected element of the human body and detecting the nature of responses for determining mechanical characteristics of said element,said system comprising:
- a drive means for inducing multiple-frequency vibrations, including below 20 KHz, in a selected element of the body,means for determining parameters of the vibration exerted on the body by the driver means,means for sensing variations of a dimension of said element of the body over time, including in response to said driver means,means for correlating said variations with frequency components of operation of said driver means below 20 KHz, in order to determine corresponding frequency components of said variations.means for resolving said frequency components into components of vibration mode shape, andcomputer means for interpreting said parameters of vibration exerted by the driver means and said components of vibration mode shape in a manner to determine said mechanical characteristics.
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Abstract
A non-invasive system and method for inducing vibrations in a selected element of the human body and detecting the nature of responses for determining mechanical characteristics of the element are provided. The method comprises the steps of: inducing multiple-frequency vibrations, including below 20 KHz, in a selected element of the body by use of a driver; determining parameters of the vibration exerted on the body by the driver; sensing variations of a dimension of the element of the body over time, including in response to the driver; correlating the variations with frequency components of operation of the driver below 20 KHz to determine corresponding frequency components of the variations; resolving the frequency components into components of vibration mode shape; and determining the mechanical characteristics of the element on the basis of the parameters of vibration exerted by the driver and of the components of vibration mode shape.
211 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An non-invasive system for inducing vibrations in a selected element of the human body and detecting the nature of responses for determining mechanical characteristics of said element,
said system comprising: -
a drive means for inducing multiple-frequency vibrations, including below 20 KHz, in a selected element of the body, means for determining parameters of the vibration exerted on the body by the driver means, means for sensing variations of a dimension of said element of the body over time, including in response to said driver means, means for correlating said variations with frequency components of operation of said driver means below 20 KHz, in order to determine corresponding frequency components of said variations. means for resolving said frequency components into components of vibration mode shape, and computer means for interpreting said parameters of vibration exerted by the driver means and said components of vibration mode shape in a manner to determine said mechanical characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for inducing vibrations in a selected element of the human body and detecting the nature of responses for determining mechanical characteristics of said element non-invasively,
said method comprising the steps of: -
inducing multiple-frequency vibrations, including below 20 KHz, in a selected element of the body by use of a driver means, determining parameters of the vibration exerted on the body by the driver means, sensing variations of a dimension of said element of the body over time, including in response to said driver means, correlating said variations with frequency components of operation of said driver means below 20 KHz to determine corresponding frequency components of said variations, resolving said frequency components into components of vibration mode shape, and interpreting said parameters of vibration exerted by the driver means and said components of vibration mode shape in a manner to determine said mechanical characteristics of said element. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification