Non-invasive electromagnetic technique for monitoring bone healing and bone fracture localization
First Claim
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1. A method for monitoring bone healing, comprising the steps of:
- noninvasively measuring the impedance of bone and other biological material in the region of a bone fracture site at a plurality of different times; and
,comparing said impedance measurements to monitor healing of the bone fracture, wherein a healed fracture will have a lower impedance than a newly formed fracture site,and wherein noninvasively measuring impedance for each of said plurality of times comprises the following steps;
generating an oscillating near field magnetic flux that is spatially concentrated in the region of the bone fracture site thereby producing eddy currents in bone and other biological matter located in the region of the bone fracture site, such eddy currents inducing a secondary magnetic emission which varies in response to the impedance of said bone and other biological matter located in the region of said fracture site; and
, detecting said induced secondary magnetic emission and displaying an informational signal indicating the local impedance in the region of the fracture site.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for non-invasive sensing of bone healing is disclosed. The apparatus and method uses an electromagnetic field to measure impedance changes at the bone fracture site during the healing process. The impedance change at the fracture site is a direct indication of the mechanical strength of the fracture site.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring bone healing, comprising the steps of:
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noninvasively measuring the impedance of bone and other biological material in the region of a bone fracture site at a plurality of different times; and
,comparing said impedance measurements to monitor healing of the bone fracture, wherein a healed fracture will have a lower impedance than a newly formed fracture site, and wherein noninvasively measuring impedance for each of said plurality of times comprises the following steps; generating an oscillating near field magnetic flux that is spatially concentrated in the region of the bone fracture site thereby producing eddy currents in bone and other biological matter located in the region of the bone fracture site, such eddy currents inducing a secondary magnetic emission which varies in response to the impedance of said bone and other biological matter located in the region of said fracture site; and
, detecting said induced secondary magnetic emission and displaying an informational signal indicating the local impedance in the region of the fracture site.
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2. A method of bone fracture localization, comprising the steps of:
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noninvasively measuring the impedance of bone and other biological matter at a plurality of localized regions along a bone; and
,comparing said impedance measurements to determine the location of a higher impedance region indicating a fracture site on said bone, wherein said noninvasively measuring impedance for each of said plurality of regions comprises the following steps; generating a spatially concentrated oscillating near field magnetic flux along a region of said bone to induce eddy currents in bone and other biological matter within said region, such eddy currents inducing a secondary magnetic emission which varies in response to the impedance of bone and other biological matter within said region; and
,detecting said induced secondary magnetic emission and displaying an informational signal indicating the impedance detected at said region.
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3. A method for monitoring bone healing, comprising the steps of:
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noninvasively measuring the impedance of bone and other biological material in the region of a bone fracture site at a plurality of different times; and comparing said impedance measurements to monitor healing of the bone fracture, wherein a healed fracture will have a lower impedance than a newly formed fracture site, and wherein noninvasively measuring impedance for each of said plurality of times comprises the following steps; producing an oscillating magnetic field that is spatially concentrated in the region of the fracture site using a coil means, whereby eddy currents induced in bone and other biological matter will induce a secondary magnetic emission which alters the mutual inductance of said coil means in accordance with the impedance of bone and other biological matter in said region of the fracture site; and
,detecting a change in said mutual inductance of said coil means, wherein an increase in mutual inductance indicates an increase in impedance and a decrease in mutual inductance indicate a decrease in impedance. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of bone fracture localization, comprising the steps of:
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noninvasively measuring the impedance of bone and other biological matter at a plurality of localized regions along a bone; and
,comparing said impedance measurements to determine the location of a higher impedance region indicating a fracture site on said bone, wherein noninvasively measuring impedance for each of said plurality of regions comprises the following steps; producing an oscillating magnetic field that is spatially concentrated in a localized region along said bone using a coil means, whereby eddy currents induce a secondary magnetic emission which alters the mutual inductance of said coil means in accordance with the impedance of bone and other biological matter in said region; and
,detecting a change in the mutual inductance of said coil means, wherein an increase in mutual inductance indicates an increase in impedance and a decrease in mutual inductance indicates a decrease in impedance. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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Specification