Skin perfusion evaluation apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for evaluating perfusion adjacent a skin surface, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing having first and second interior regions, the housing being configured to engage the skin surface;
a plunger located in the first region of the housing for applying pressure to a first zone of the skin surface;
a vacuum connection coupled to the second region of the housing to permit suction to be applied to the second region of the housing and to a second zone of the skin surface;
a first temperature sensor located in the first region for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the first zone of the skin surface;
a second temperature sensor located in the second region for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the second zone of the skin surface; and
a processor circuit coupled to the first and second temperature sensors for determining a differential temperature between the first and second zones of the skin surface to provide an indication of perfusion adjacent the skin surface.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for evaluating perfusion adjacent a skin surface includes a housing having first and second interior regions. The housing is configured to engage the skin surface. The apparatus also includes a plunger located in the first region of the housing for applying pressure to a first zone of the skin surface, a vacuum connection coupled to the second region of the housing to permit suction to be applied to the second region of the housing and to a second zone of the skin surface, a first temperature sensor for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the first zone of the skin surface, a second temperature sensor for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the second zone of the skin surface, and a processor circuit coupled to the first and second temperature sensors for determining a differential temperature between the first and second zones of the skin surface to provide an indication of perfusion adjacent the skin surface.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus for evaluating perfusion adjacent a skin surface, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing having first and second interior regions, the housing being configured to engage the skin surface; a plunger located in the first region of the housing for applying pressure to a first zone of the skin surface; a vacuum connection coupled to the second region of the housing to permit suction to be applied to the second region of the housing and to a second zone of the skin surface; a first temperature sensor located in the first region for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the first zone of the skin surface; a second temperature sensor located in the second region for generating an output signal related to the temperature of the second zone of the skin surface; and a processor circuit coupled to the first and second temperature sensors for determining a differential temperature between the first and second zones of the skin surface to provide an indication of perfusion adjacent the skin surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for evaluating perfusion adjacent a skin surface, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing; a plunger movably coupled to the housing, the plunger being configured to apply a predetermined pressure to the skin surface; a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the skin surface below the plunger; a processor circuit for calculating a differential temperature between a first reference temperature measured by the sensor before pressure is applied to the skin surface by the plunger and a second temperature measured by the sensor after pressure is applied to the skin surface by the plunger, the differential temperature providing an indication of perfusion in the skin surface. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for evaluating perfusion adjacent a skin surface, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing; a plunger movably coupled to the housing, the plunger being configured to apply a predetermined pressure to the skin surface; a perfusion sensor configured to measure a rate of perfusion of the skin surface below the plunger; a processor circuit coupled to the perfusion sensor to calculate a differential perfusion rate between a first perfusion rate measured by the sensor before pressure is applied to the skin surface by the plunger and a second perfusion rate measured by the sensor after pressure is applied to the skin surface by the plunger, the differential perfusion rate providing an indication of perfusion in the skin surface. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification