Apparatus and method for the diagnosis of labor
First Claim
1. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
- means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor;
means, responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, for determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity; and
means for displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity determined from the plurality of superficial abdominal regions to provide diagnostic information regarding the uterine contraction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for the electromyographic detection of electrical fields inherent in muscular activity, for the diagnosis of labor in a pregnant mammal. The apparatus includes a system (10) for determining a periodicity, and for measuring a magnitude and a direction of movement, of the electrical signal in an abdominal region, and for processing the signal to indicate normal and abnormal labor conditions, the onset of true labor, and the extent of cervical dilation. A Labor Onset processor (16e) determines the onset of true labor. A Vector Determination processor (16b) determines a uterine contraction vector having a propagation rate component and a direction component, relative to a plurality of measurement electrodes. The positions of the measurement electrodes are referenced to a coordinate system and are specified to the system through a data entry device (20). A display (18a, 18b) provides a visual or audible indication of labor diagnostic information, the diagnostic information being expressed in a number of formats. The invention also provides for remotely monitoring a pregnant mammal through the use of a communications link (32).
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; means, responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, for determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity; and means for displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity determined from the plurality of superficial abdominal regions to provide diagnostic information regarding the uterine contraction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; means, responsive to the detected electrical fields, for determining a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity; means for displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity to provide diagnostic information regarding a uterine contraction; and means, responsive to the detected electrical fields, for determining and displaying an extent of cervical dilation. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; and means, responsive to the detected electrical fields, for determining and displaying an extent of cervical dilation. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising the steps of:
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detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity; and displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity to provide diagnostic information regarding the uterine contraction. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising the steps of:
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detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; determining a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity in response to the detected electrical fields; displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity to provide diagnostic information regarding a uterine contraction; and determining and displaying an extent of cervical dilation, the step of determining the extent of cervical dilation being accomplished in response to the detected electrical fields. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; means, responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, for determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and direction of movement of the electrical fields; and means, responsive to the determined rate and direction of movement at each of the plurality of superficial abdominal regions, for providing an indication of an onset of true labor.
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35. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor; means, responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, for determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and direction of movement of the electrical fields; and means, responsive to the determined rate and direction of movement at each of the plurality of superficial abdominal regions, for distinguishing true labor from false labor.
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36. Apparatus for use in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in uterine muscular activity associated with labor; means, responsive to the detected electrical fields resulting from a uterine contraction, for determining at each of a plurality of superficial abdominal regions a change in a rate and a direction of movement of the electrical fields; and means, responsive to the determined change in the rate and direction of movement at each of the plurality of superficial abdominal regions, for providing an indication of a possible occurrence of excessive stress being exerted upon a portion of the uterine muscle.
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37. Apparatus for assisting a practitioner in diagnosing labor in a pregnant mammal, comprising:
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means for detecting electrical fields inherent in muscular activity associated with labor, said detecting means being operable for detecting electrical fields that propagate between a plurality of superficial abdominal regions; means for transmitting information over a communications link, the transmitted information including information that is expressive of the detected electrical fields; means for receiving the transmitted information; and means, responsive to the received information, for providing diagnostic information concerning the labor of the pregnant mammal, said providing means including, means, responsive to the detected electrical fields, for determining for each of the plurality of superficial abdominal regions a rate and a direction of movement of muscular activity; and means for displaying information expressive of the determined rate and direction of muscular activity determined for the plurality of superficial abdominal regions. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification