Methods and apparatus for portable delivery of electrical physical modalities to a patient
First Claim
1. Apparatus for administering electrical physical therapy to a patient, comprising:
- an audio playback device adapted to play prerecorded audio signals;
an interface circuit connectable to receive and amplify the audio signals;
at least two electrodes adapted to directly apply the amplified audio signals to skin of the patient; and
a lead for interconnecting each of the at least two electrodes to the interface circuit to convey a corresponding amplified audio signal to a respective of one of the electrodes.
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Abstract
Data defining electrical waveforms for physical therapy is created on a computer and stored in a removable machine-readable medium such as a CD-ROM or semiconductor memory module. The data is played back, for example on a portable CD-ROM player, to produce the physical therapy waveforms at any time and location convenient or desired by the patient. An interface circuit amplifies and conditions the resulting waveforms for applying them to the skin of the patient via leads and electrodes. Since most therapies use waveforms within the audio frequency range, ubiquitous low-cost audio playback equipment can be used. Advantages of the invention are providing physical therapy at any location and at low cost, without requiring presence of a clinician or other health care professional on location.
32 Citations
32 Claims
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1. Apparatus for administering electrical physical therapy to a patient, comprising:
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an audio playback device adapted to play prerecorded audio signals;
an interface circuit connectable to receive and amplify the audio signals;
at least two electrodes adapted to directly apply the amplified audio signals to skin of the patient; and
a lead for interconnecting each of the at least two electrodes to the interface circuit to convey a corresponding amplified audio signal to a respective of one of the electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 32)
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16. A system for prescribing an electrical physical therapy treatment, comprising:
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a computer having a display and input means for receiving input from a user to allow the user to define a physical therapy treatment; and
storage means connected to the computer for storing audio signals representing the defined physical therapy treatment onto a removable, machine-readable media, thereby allowing delivery of the defined physical therapy treatment directly to a patient in a convenient, portable form by delivering the removable media to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of prescribing and delivering electrical physical therapy to the body of a patient, comprising:
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selecting a physical therapy treatment modality in terms of one or more audio frequency waveforms having selected amplitudes and frequencies;
recording the audio frequency waveforms on a machine-readable recording medium;
reading the audio frequency waveforms from the recording medium using an audio playback device to form audio frequency signals;
amplifying the audio frequency signals; and
applying the amplified audio frequency signals directly to the body of the patient thereby delivering the selected physical therapy treatment modality to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification