Electrical impedance method and apparatus for detecting and diagnosing diseases
First Claim
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1. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, said method comprising:
- (a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across each of said parts and thereby producing first and second sets of impedance measurements, said first set for said first part, and said second set for said second part,(b) said measurements of said first set being taken across predetermined portions of said first part, and each measurement of said first set having a corresponding measurement in said second set taken across a corresponding portion of said second part,(c) comparing said sets to determine differences therebetween, and where there is a substantial difference, diagnosing the possibility of a disease state.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for screening, sensing, or diagnosing disease states by obtaining a plurality of electrical impedance data measurements in organized patterns from two anatomically homologous body regions, one of which may be affected by disease. One subset of the data so obtained is processed and analyzed after structuring the data values as elements of an n×n impedance matrix, and deriving from these matrices their eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The matrices and their derivatives are then related by their characteristics to normal or disease states.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, said method comprising:
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(a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across each of said parts and thereby producing first and second sets of impedance measurements, said first set for said first part, and said second set for said second part, (b) said measurements of said first set being taken across predetermined portions of said first part, and each measurement of said first set having a corresponding measurement in said second set taken across a corresponding portion of said second part, (c) comparing said sets to determine differences therebetween, and where there is a substantial difference, diagnosing the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19)
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- 14. An electrode array for diagnosing the presence of a disease state in a living organism, said electrode array comprising a flexible backing material, and a plurality of pairs of electrodes spaced around said backing material, said electrodes being connected to terminals and being adapted to obtain impedance measurements between respective said electrodes.
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18. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second parts of a living organism, said parts being similar but having impedances which differ by consistent and known amounts, said method comprising:
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(a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across each of said parts and thereby producing first and second sets of impedance measurements, said first set for said first part, and said second set for said second part, (b) said measurements of said first set being taken across predetermined portions of said first part, and each measurement of said first set having a corresponding measurement in said second set taken across a corresponding portion of said second part, (c) comparing said sets to determine differences therebetween which are additional to said known amounts, and where there is a substantial difference other than said known amounts, diagnosing the possibility of a disease state.
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Specification