Body monitoring and imaging apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A monitor for detecting the movement of one or more body parts, comprising;
- (a) a first pulse generator for producing and simultaneously inputting a sequence of pulses to a transmit path and a gating path;
(b) a pulsed RF generator connected to said first pulse generator for producing corresponding transmit pulses;
(c) a transmit antenna connected to said pulsed RF generator to transmit said transmit pulses toward the one or more body parts;
(d) a range delay generator connected to said first pulse generator for generating timed gating pulses;
(e) a receive antenna;
(f) a sampling receiver connected to said receive antenna in a receive path;
(g) said range delay generator being connected to said sampling receiver and producing timed gating pulses at a fixed range corresponding to the location of the one or more body parts so that said timed gating pulses cause said sampling receiver to selectively sample pulses reflected from the one or more body parts and received by said receive antenna to produce an averaged sampled signal;
(h) a signal processor connected to said sampling receiver for detecting changes in the averaged sampled signal and providing an output signal indicative of motion of said one or more body parts.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A non-acoustic pulse-echo radar monitor is employed in the repetitive mode, whereby a large number of reflected pulses are averaged to produce a voltage that modulates an audio oscillator to produce a tone that corresponds to the heart motion. The antenna used in this monitor generally comprises two flat copper foils, thus permitting the antenna to be housed in a substantially flat housing. The monitor converts the detected voltage to an audible signal with both amplitude modulation and Doppler effect. It further uses a dual time constant to reduce the effect of gross sensor-to-surface movement. The monitor detects the movement of one or more internal body parts, such as the heart, lungs, arteries, and vocal chords, and includes a pulse generator for simultaneously inputting a sequence of pulses to a transmit path and a grating path. The pulses transmitted along the transmit path drive Oh impulse, generator and provide corresponding transmit pulses that are applied to a transmit antenna. The gating path includes a range delay generator which generates timed gating pulses. The timed gating pulses cause the receive path to selectively conduct pulses reflected from the body parts and received by a receive antenna. The monitor output potential can be separated into a cardiac output indicative of the physical movement of the heart, and a pulmonary output indicative of the physical movement of the lung. The impulse generator in the transmit path can be replaced with a pulsed RF generator.
267 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A monitor for detecting the movement of one or more body parts, comprising;
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(a) a first pulse generator for producing and simultaneously inputting a sequence of pulses to a transmit path and a gating path; (b) a pulsed RF generator connected to said first pulse generator for producing corresponding transmit pulses; (c) a transmit antenna connected to said pulsed RF generator to transmit said transmit pulses toward the one or more body parts; (d) a range delay generator connected to said first pulse generator for generating timed gating pulses; (e) a receive antenna; (f) a sampling receiver connected to said receive antenna in a receive path; (g) said range delay generator being connected to said sampling receiver and producing timed gating pulses at a fixed range corresponding to the location of the one or more body parts so that said timed gating pulses cause said sampling receiver to selectively sample pulses reflected from the one or more body parts and received by said receive antenna to produce an averaged sampled signal; (h) a signal processor connected to said sampling receiver for detecting changes in the averaged sampled signal and providing an output signal indicative of motion of said one or more body parts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Method for monitoring the movement of one or more internal body parts, comprising:
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(a) simultaneously inputting a sequence of pulses to a transmit path and a gating path; (b) producing a burst of RF transmit pulses in said transmit path from said input sequence of pulse and launching said RF transmit pulses toward the one or more internal body parts; (c) generating timed gating pulses in said gating path from said input sequence of pulses, said gating pulses defining a fixed range gate at the position of the one or more body parts; (d) selectively receiving pulses reflected from the one or more body parts by receiving reflected signals coincident with the timed gating pulses; (e) sampling and storing said selected reflected pulses to produce an averaged sampled signal; (f) detecting changes in the averaged sampled signal to detect movement of the one or more body parts. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification