Electrode assembly and method for signaling a monitor
First Claim
1. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
- (A) an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
(B) a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
wherein the facial muscle sensors are surface electromyograms adapted to be physically attached the person'"'"'s face in positions allowing the monitoring of the different facial muscles; and
also having;
(i) a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in at least one of said facial muscle areas, and (ii) a facial nerve processor adapted to (a) receive sensor signals from the facial muscles sensors in said nerve-activated facial muscle area, (b) determine a paralysis level for said nerve-activated facial muscle area, and (c) adjust the sensor signal processor'"'"'s generation of at least a portion of the output signal according to the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated facial muscle area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrode assembly adapted to be attached to the skin over selected facial muscle groups picks up signals to be analyzed by an anesthesia adequacy monitor that measures the level of awareness of a living animal, typically a human being. The electrode assembly also includes a stimulator that stimulates a facial nerve to determine the level of paralysis, or neuro muscular block, of the facial muscles. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing the electrode assembly by printing a pattern of electrically conductive material through a silk-screen or an ink type process onto a flexible layer, and then coating the result with a non-conducting adhesive except at points corresponding to sensing points for the desired muscle groups. Finally, a method for using such sensing and stimulating devices is shown in determining and maintaining an appropriate level of patient awareness, muscle paralysis, and analgesia under anesthesia.
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Citations
100 Claims
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1. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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(A) an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
(B) a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
wherein the facial muscle sensors are surface electromyograms adapted to be physically attached the person'"'"'s face in positions allowing the monitoring of the different facial muscles; and
also having;
(i) a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in at least one of said facial muscle areas, and (ii) a facial nerve processor adapted to (a) receive sensor signals from the facial muscles sensors in said nerve-activated facial muscle area, (b) determine a paralysis level for said nerve-activated facial muscle area, and (c) adjust the sensor signal processor'"'"'s generation of at least a portion of the output signal according to the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated facial muscle area.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 99)
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27. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
wherein the facial muscle sensors are surface electromyograms adapted to be physically attached to the person'"'"'s face in positions allowing the monitoring of the different facial muscles;
wherein said facial muscle areas are selected from among the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbilaris oculi area; and
in which the array of facial muscle sensors is also adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of a fifth different facial muscle area. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
also including a display operatively connected to the sensor signal processor to display a consciousness level for the person indicated by the output signal generated by the signal processor; and
in which the array of facial muscle sensors is also adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of a fifth different facial muscle area.
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31. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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at least one facial muscle sensor grouping adapted to generate a first sensor signal representing the activity of a first facial muscle area that elicits a first portion of the facial expression of the person;
a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in said first facial muscle area;
a processor apparatus operatively coupled to the at least one facial muscle sensor grouping to (i) receive at least the first sensor signal from a first facial muscle sensor grouping, (ii) determine a paralysis level for the facial muscle area based on the first sensor signal received subsequent to activation of the facial nerve by the facial muscle stimulator, and (iii) generate an output signal based on at least the first sensor signal and the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated first facial muscle area; and
wherein the facial muscle stimulator includes a first facial muscle stimulator providing a first carrier signal at a first predetermined frequency to the facial muscle area, and a second facial muscle stimulator providing a second carrier signal at a second predetermined frequency to the first facial muscle area, whereby the first and second facial muscle stimulators cooperatively stimulate a facial nerve in the first facial muscle area at a third stimulation frequency comprising the difference between the first and second predetermined frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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at least one facial muscle sensor grouping adapted to generate a first sensor signal representing the activity of a first facial muscle area that elicits a first portion of the facial expression of the person;
a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in said first facial muscle area;
a processor apparatus operatively coupled to the at least one facial muscle sensor grouping to (i) receive at least the first sensor signal from a first facial muscle sensor grouping, (ii) determine a paralysis level for the facial muscle area based on the first sensor signal received subsequent to activation of the facial nerve by the facial muscle stimulator, and (iii) generate an output signal based on at least the first sensor signal and the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated first facial muscle area; and
also including second, third, fourth, and fifth facial muscle sensor groupings adapted to respectively generate second, third, forth, and fifth sensor signals from distinct facial muscle areas on the person, and wherein the processor apparatus is operatively coupled to each such facial muscle sensor grouping to also receive, and to generate the output signal based also on, the second, third, fourth, and fifth sensor signals. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
also including a display operatively connected to the sensor signal processor to display a consciousness level for the person indicated by the output signal generated by the signal processor. -
70. The consciousness indicating apparatus of claim 69 wherein the sensor signal processor generates at least a portion of the output signal based on relative differences among the sensor signals and thereby the different activities of the different facial muscle areas represented by the sensor signals.
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71. The consciousness indicating apparatus of claim 70 wherein the sensor signal processor also generates at least a summed portion of the output signal based on the summation of the sensor signals and thereby the different activities of the different facial muscle areas represented by the sensor signals.
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72. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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(A) an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
(B) a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
wherein the facial muscle sensors are surface electromyograms adapted to be physically attached the person'"'"'s face in positions allowing the monitoring of the different facial muscles; and
wherein the sensor signal processor generates at least a patterned portion of the output signal based on relative differences among the sensor signals and thereby the different activities of the different facial muscle areas represented by the sensor signals. - View Dependent Claims (73)
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74. A method of determining the consciousness of a person, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) mounting at least four facial muscle activity sensors so that each activity sensor generates an activity signal based on the level of activity of a different facial muscle group on the person;
(B) processing said activity signals to generate a first output signal based on the summation of the activity signals for the sensed facial muscle groups; and
also including as step (C);
stimulating a nerve in at least one of the sensed facial muscle groups and determining the level of paralysis from the muscle activity sensed by a facial muscle sensor.- View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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92. A method of determining the consciousness of a person, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) mounting at least four facial muscle activity sensors so that each activity sensor generates an activity signal based on the level of activity of a different facial muscle group on the person;
(B) processing said activity signals to generate a first output signal based on the summation of the activity signals for the sensed facial muscle groups; and
wherein, in step (A), five facial muscle activity sensors are mounted, respectively, on the following five muscle areas;
the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbicularis oculi area.
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93. A method of determining the consciousness of a person, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) mounting at least four facial muscle activity sensors so that each activity sensor generates an activity signal based on the level of activity of a different facial muscle group on the person;
(B) processing said activity signals to generate a first output signal based on the summation of the activity signals for the sensed facial muscle groups;
also including as step (C);
reporting the first and second output signals to a monitor in order to provide an indicator of the consciousness the person; and
wherein, in step (A), five facial muscle activity sensors are mounted, respectively, on the following five muscle areas;
the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbicularis oculi area.
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94. A method of determining the consciousness of a person, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) mounting at least four facial muscle activity sensors so that each activity sensor generates an activity signal based on the level of activity of a different facial muscle group on the person;
(B) processing said activity signals to generate a first output signal based on the summation of the activity signals for the sensed facial muscle groups;
also including in step (B);
filtering the activity signals to remove from the first output signal an artifact representing muscle activity caused by stimulus to the person not indicative of the person'"'"'s consciousness; and
wherein, in step (A), five facial muscle activity sensors are mounted, respectively, on the following five muscle areas;
the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbicularis oculi area.
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95. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising, in combination:
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an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in at least one of said facial muscle areas; and
a facial nerve processor adapted to (a) receive sensor signals from the facial muscles sensors in said nerve-activated facial muscle area, (b) determine a paralysis level for said nerve-activated facial muscle area, and (c) adjust the sensor signal processor'"'"'s generation of at least a portion of the output signal according to the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated facial muscle area.
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96. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising, in combination:
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an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person; and
in which the array of facial muscle sensors is also adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of a fifth different facial muscle area.
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97. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising, in combination:
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facial muscle sensor grouping, each adapted to generate a first sensor signal representing the activity of a first facial muscle area that elicits a first portion of the facial expression of the person;
a facial muscle stimulator adapted to activate a facial nerve in said first facial muscle area;
a processor apparatus operatively coupled to said each facial muscle sensor grouping to (i) receive at least the first sensor signal from a first facial muscle sensor grouping, (ii) determine a paralysis level for the facial muscle area based on the first sensor signal received subsequent to activation of the facial nerve by the facial muscle stimulator, and (iii) generate an output signal based on at least the first sensor signal and the determined paralysis level, whereby the output signal indicates the consciousness of the person despite partial paralysis of the nerve-activated first facial muscle area; and
the sensor signal processor generates at least a patterned portion of the output signal based on relative differences among the sensor signals and thereby the different activities of the different facial muscle areas represented by the sensor signals.
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98. A method of determining the consciousness of a person, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) mounting at least five facial muscle activity sensors so that each activity sensor generates an activity signal based on the level of activity of a different facial muscle group on the person;
(B) processing said activity signals to generate a first output signal based on the summation of the activity signals for the sensed facial muscle groups; and
wherein, in step (A), five facial muscle activity sensors are mounted, respectively, on the following five muscle areas;
the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbicularis oculi area.
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100. An apparatus for indicating the consciousness of a person, comprising in combination:
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an array of facial muscle sensors adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of at least four different facial muscle areas, each of which elicit distinctive patterns of facial expressions of the person;
a sensor signal processor operatively coupled to the sensors to receive the sensor signals from the facial muscle sensors and, based on the sensor signals, automatically generate an output signal indicating the consciousness of the person;
wherein the facial muscle sensors are surface electromyograms adapted to be physically attached to the person'"'"'s face in positions allowing the monitoring of the different facial muscles;
wherein said facial muscle areas are selected from among the frontalis area, the corrugator area, the zygomatic area, the masseter area, and the orbilaris oculi area; and
in which the array of facial muscle sensors is also adapted to generate sensor signals representing the simultaneous activity of a fifth different facial muscle area.
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Specification