Soft-tissue injury assessment system
First Claim
1. A system for assessing soft-tissue injury in a mammalian subject comprising:
- a) a means for applying ultrasound energy as internally to tissue of the subject in an inaudible and invisible manner;
b) an energy control means for varying parameters of said ultrasound energy connected to said applying means;
c) a subject response unit having an input means adaptable for control by the subject in accordance with perceived sensation in tissue acted upon by said ultrasound energy applying means; and
d) a data recording means for simultaneously recording parameters of the ultrasound energy application from said ultrasound energy applying means and parameters of perceived sensation from said subject response unit, said data recording means in communication with said ultrasound energy applying means and said subject response unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for assessing soft-tissue injury in a subject. The system comprises means for applying energy internally to tissue of the subject in an inaudible and invisible manner, with no indications to the epidermal tissue of the subject as to when energy is being applied or how much energy is being applied. The applying means has an energy control mechanism for varying parameters of energy application. The system also comprises a subject response unit having input means controlled by the subject in accordance with perceived sensation in tissue acted upon by the energy applying means. The system also includes also data recording means for simultaneously recording parameters of energy application from the energy applying means and parameters of perceived sensation from the subject response unit. With the system, application of energy occurs invisibly and inaudibly at an internal level. The tissue is stimulated from within by the energy. This stands opposed to external energy application, such as with pushing and probing, wherein the force is transmitted to the tissue by external compression. If a valid injury exists, the system will show a positive correlation between the applied energy and subject response. Visually comparing a computer generated graph of the energy intensity versus subject response, synchronized in time, will easily identify any discrepancies between cause and effect.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for assessing soft-tissue injury in a mammalian subject comprising:
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a) a means for applying ultrasound energy as internally to tissue of the subject in an inaudible and invisible manner; b) an energy control means for varying parameters of said ultrasound energy connected to said applying means; c) a subject response unit having an input means adaptable for control by the subject in accordance with perceived sensation in tissue acted upon by said ultrasound energy applying means; and d) a data recording means for simultaneously recording parameters of the ultrasound energy application from said ultrasound energy applying means and parameters of perceived sensation from said subject response unit, said data recording means in communication with said ultrasound energy applying means and said subject response unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for assessing and curing soft-tissue injury in a human being as subject comprising:
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a) a means for applying energy transcutaneously internally as non-tactile stimulus to injured tissue which is transparent to surrounding healthy tissue of the subject; b) an energy control means for varying parameters of said energy connected to said applying means; c) a therapeutic laser unit connected to said means for applying energy; d) said therapeutic laser unit having a laser beam further including a means for directing the laser beam into the tissue of the subject internally and transcutaneously; e) a subject response unit having an input means adaptable for control by the subject in accordance with nonverbal perceived sensation in tissue acted upon by said energy applying means; and d) a data recording means for simultaneously recording parameters of the energy application from said energy applying means and parameters of perceived sensation from said subject response unit, and parameters of said laser beam, said data recording means in communication with said energy applying means and said subject response unit. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method of assessing and monitoring soft-tissue injury in a mammalian subject comprising the steps of:
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a) applying ultrasound energy transcutaneously and internally to tissue of a subject in an audible and invisible manner; b) recording data associated with said ultrasound energy; c) recording a plurality of non-verbal subject response parameters as data associated with the subject'"'"'s perceived response to said applied ultrasound energy; and d) comparing over time parameters of said energy application and the recorded parameters of said subject response. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification