Method of and apparatus for detecting cardiac rhythm disturbance
First Claim
1. A cardiac diagnostic system for producing sounds from electrocardiogram signals comprising:
- an electrocardiogram (EKG) module transmitting a first signal proportional to the shape of the electrocardiogram;
a means to receive said first signal and provide a second signal proportional to the first derivative of the first signal;
a computing means responsive to at least one of said first and second signals identifying when a QRS complex deflection of a heartbeat has occurred, determining at least one mathematical parameter derived from the shape of said QRS complex deflection and transmitting an output signal proportional to said mathematical parameter; and
a tone generating means responsive to the output signal of the computing means producing a tone whose characteristics are dependent upon said mathematical parameter of said QRS complex deflection and which tone is produced only for each QRS complex deflection.
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Abstract
A method for generating audio information to indicate the presence and nature of a cardiac rhythm disturbance is disclosed. More specifically, this method produces sounds which accompany atrial and ventricular ectopic rhythms, allowing the physician to appreciate the presence of such rhythms without having to visually inspect the morphology of the electrocardiogram signal. Furthermore, the sounds differ according to the type of ectopic rhythm present. This method provides such information in real time, allowing the physician to correlate the information with the current condition of the patient. The electrocardiogram signal is analyzed by a microprocessor or microcomputer which in turn controls a tone generator to produce the audio output.
28 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A cardiac diagnostic system for producing sounds from electrocardiogram signals comprising:
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an electrocardiogram (EKG) module transmitting a first signal proportional to the shape of the electrocardiogram; a means to receive said first signal and provide a second signal proportional to the first derivative of the first signal; a computing means responsive to at least one of said first and second signals identifying when a QRS complex deflection of a heartbeat has occurred, determining at least one mathematical parameter derived from the shape of said QRS complex deflection and transmitting an output signal proportional to said mathematical parameter; and a tone generating means responsive to the output signal of the computing means producing a tone whose characteristics are dependent upon said mathematical parameter of said QRS complex deflection and which tone is produced only for each QRS complex deflection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)
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7. A cardiac diagnostic system for producing sounds from electrocardiogram signals comprising:
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an electrocardiogram (EKG) module transmitting a first signal proportional to the shape of the electrocardiogram waveform; a tone generating means responsive to the output of the EKG module producing a tone whose characteristics are dependent upon a mathematical parameter of a QRS complex deflection and which tone is produced only for each QRS complex deflection. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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9. A cardiac diagnostic system for producing sounds from electrocardiogram signals comprising:
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an electrocardiogram (EKG) module transmitting a first signal proportional to the shape of the electrocardiogram waveform; a tone generating means responsive to the output of the EKG module for producing a tone whose characteristics are dependent upon a mathematical parameter of a QRS complex deflection and which tone is produced only for each QRS complex deflection; and means to provide said tone generating means with a second signal which causes the tone to modulate about a center frequency so that said tone produced by said tone generating means is modulated as a function of the amplitude of said first signal.
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10. A cardiac diagnostic system for producing sounds from electrocardiogram signals comprising:
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an electrocardiogram (EKG) module transmitting a first signal proportional to the shape of the electrocardiogram waveform; a computing means responsive to said first signal identifying when a QRS complex deflection of a heartbeat has occurred, determining at least one mathematical parameter derived from the shape of said QRS complex deflection and transmitting an output signal proportional to said mathematical parameter; and a tone generating means responsive to the output of the computing means producing a tone whose characteristics are dependent upon a mathematical parameter of a QRS complex deflection and which tone is produced only for each QRS complex deflection. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification