Method and apparatus for passive heart rate detection
First Claim
1. An analytical apparatus, comprising:
- a stethoscope;
a transducer operationally coupled to the stethoscope and adapted to convert heartbeat sound impulses received by the stethoscope into electrical output impulses;
a microprocessor electrically connected to the transducer and adapted to receive the electrical output impulses from the transducer and further adapted to produce an microprocessor output signal; and
a visual display electrically connected to the microprocessor and adapted to receive and display the microprocessor output signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for measuring the heart rate of a patient. In one embodiment the apparatus includes a hollow bell mounted on a diaphragm. A transducer element is also positioned therein to receive sound transmitted through the diaphragm, convert the sounds into electrical impulses, and transmit the electrical impulses to a microprocessor. The electrical impulses have real-time wave patterns corresponding to the real-time wave patterns of the original sounds. The microprocessor performs mathematical operations on wave pattern data conveyed by the electrical impulses to determine a numerical value corresponding to the frequency of the wave patterns. This numerical value is sent to a digital output and displayed thereon.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An analytical apparatus, comprising:
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a stethoscope;
a transducer operationally coupled to the stethoscope and adapted to convert heartbeat sound impulses received by the stethoscope into electrical output impulses;
a microprocessor electrically connected to the transducer and adapted to receive the electrical output impulses from the transducer and further adapted to produce an microprocessor output signal; and
a visual display electrically connected to the microprocessor and adapted to receive and display the microprocessor output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a power source operationally coupled to the microprocessor and to the visual display;
an activation control mounted on the stethoscope and operationally connected to the microprocessor;
an earphone; and
a stem acoustically connected between the stethoscope and the earphone;
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to decompose the electrical impulses received from the transducer into frequency values;
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to extract heartbeat frequency values from a predetermined frequency range of about 0.5 to about 5.0 Hz;
wherein the microprocessor output signal corresponds to the extracted heartbeat frequency values; and
wherein actuation of the activation control initiates the microprocessor to produce an output signal and the visual display to display the output signal.
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10. A stethoscope comprising:
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a sound pickup portion;
a microprocessor operationally coupled to the sound pickup portion; and
a visual display portion operationally coupled to the microprocessor;
wherein the sound pickup portion is adapted to generate a first output signal;
wherein the microprocessor is adapted to process the first output signal from the sound pickup portion and calculate a rate of rhythmic sounds produced by a patient'"'"'s heart;
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to produce a second electrical output signal corresponding to the rate of rhythmic heart sounds from the sound pickup portion; and
wherein the visual display portion is adapted to display an output number corresponding to the second electrical output signal from the microprocessor. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
a power source operationally coupled to the microprocessor and to the visual display portion;
an earphone portion operationally coupled to the sound pickup portion; and
an activator adapted to actuate the display of the output number;
wherein the sound pickup portion further comprises a bell portion, a diaphragm portion and a transducer portion adapted to receive sound;
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to perform a Fourier transform decomposition on the input signals; and
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to sample the input signal, resolve the real time portion of a rhythmic pulse, produce a Fourier transform representing a complete heartbeat cycle, compare the Fourier transform to at least one prestored Fourier transform of an abnormal heartbeat cycle, flag a Fourier transform representing a complete heartbeat cycle matching a stored Fourier transform as abnormal, and send a signal to the display identifying the heartbeat as abnormal; and
wherein the microprocessor is further adapted to match an abnormal heart beat pattern with at least one known abnormal heart beat pattern types and display the match.
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20. A method for measuring a patient'"'"'s heart rate comprising the steps of:
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a) placing a diaphragm coupled to a bell chamber against a patient'"'"'s chest;
b) amplifying the sound of the patient'"'"'s heart beat in the bell chamber;
c) channeling a portion of the sound energy to a microprocessor;
d) transforming the real-time wave data into frequency data;
e) calculating the heart rate;
f) producing an electrical output signal corresponding to the calculated heart rate;
and g) displaying the heart rate numerically. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
channeling a portion of the sound energy to an earphone.
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22. The method of claim 20 further comprising the steps of:
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after step a) and before step b), channeling a portion of the sound energy to a transducer;
transducing the sound energy into an electrical signal having the same pattern as the sound energy; and
sending the electrical signal to the microprocessor.
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23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the steps of:
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after step d), comparing the Fourier transform of the electrical signal to at least one stored Fourier transform characteristic of a particular heartbeat abnormality;
identifying a heartbeat corresponding to a Fourier transform matching a stored Fourier transform as abnormal; and
sending an alarm message to the display corresponding to an abnormal heartbeat.
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Specification