Technique for diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• US 6,565,518 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Issued: 05/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mclean Hospital (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Patton, David L., Parks, Peter A., Miller, Paige, Blazey, Richard N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MARMOR II, CHARLES ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/865,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20030028121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 600/26-28, 600/300, 600/549, 600/558, 600/544, 600/546, 600/481, 600/500, 600/509, 128/897, 128/898
• US Class Current: 600/549
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/168 Evaluating attention deficit, hyperactivity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7257 using Fourier transforms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/726 using Wavelet transforms

Abstract

A method for determining a threshold value of a parameter used to determine whether an individual has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The method includes: providing a group of individuals a segment of which is known to have ADHD and a segment of which is known to be normal and not have ADHD; testing each individual in the group by sampling the peripheral skin temperature of the individual during a pre-determined time interval when the individual is in an inactive state to provide sampled peripheral skin temperature data, and analyzing the sampled peripheral skin data to produce a parameter value for that individual. The method further includes: processing the individual parameter values for all of the members of the group to determine a threshold parameter value which is acceptable for determining whether or not an individual has ADHD when tested by the testing procedure.

Claims

1. A method for determining a threshold value of a parameter used to determine whether an individual has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) comprising:

providing a group of individuals a segment of which is known to have ADHD and a segment of which is known to be normal and not have ADHD;

testing each individual in the group by sampling the peripheral skin temperature of the individual during a predetermined time interval when the individual is in an inactive state to provide sampled peripheral skin temperature data, and analyzing the sampled peripheral skin data to produce a parameter value for that individual; and

processing the individual parameter values for all of the members of the group to determine a threshold parameter value, which is acceptable for determining whether or not an individual has ADHD when tested by said testing.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said processing uses discriminant analysis to determine said acceptable threshold parameter value.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said processing uses a selected percent of correct diagnoses to determine said acceptable threshold parameter value.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said processing uses a selected weighted percent of false positive and/or false negative diagnoses to determine said acceptable threshold parameter value.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said group of individuals provided include individuals of female gender and individuals of male gender in each said segment, and

wherein an acceptable threshold parameter value is determined for one or both of said genders.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said group of individuals provided include individuals in at least two different age groups in each said segment;

and

wherein an acceptable threshold parameter value is determined for one or more of said different age groups.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein in said testing the peripheral skin temperature of at least one hand of each individual is sampled.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein in said testing, the peripheral temperature of the dominant hand of each individual is tested.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the peripheral skin temperature of both hands of each individual is sampled and said parameter value for that individual is produced by analyzing the sampled peripheral skin data from both said hands.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to testing each individual if, one or more of the following noises are present it is minimized, self diversion, external stimulation, technical problems, sleep problems, medication problems.

11. A method of claim 1 including providing an earphone to be worn by the individual during said predetermined time interval to block out ambient noise or to receive white noise to reduce or eliminate audio stimulus from the ambient environment during said time interval.

12. The method of claim 11 including providing a source of white noise to be coupled to said earphone to provide white noise during said predetermined time interval.

13. The method of claim 1 including providing glasses or goggles to be worn by the individual during said pre-determined time interval to block out or eliminate ambient visual stimulus from the ambient environment during said time interval.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein in said testing one predetermined time interval is selected.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein in said testing a weighted combination of each predetermined time interval is selected.

16. A method of determining whether an individual has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, comprising:

sampling the peripheral skin temperature of an individual during a predetermined time interval when the individual is in an inactive state to provide sampled peripheral skin temperature data;

dividing the data into a series of windows of equal time intervals across the pre-determined time interval;

for each window applying a fast Fourier Transform algorithm (FFT) to produce a data set FFT magnitudes and determining a range of FFT magnitude variation, which is the difference between the FFT magnitude at a frequency f_max and FFT magnitude at the minimum frequency f_min;

aggregating the magnitude ranges for one of or less than all of the windows to produce an aggregate magnitude range value which is indicative of whether or not the individual has ADHD.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said aggregate magnitude range value is the mean of said magnitude range values of all of said windows.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said aggregate magnitude range value is the median of said magnitude range values of all of said windows.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein said aggregate magnitude range value is the variance of said magnitude range values of all of said windows.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein said aggregate magnitude range value is determined by an aggregation statistical algorithm of said magnitude range values of all of said windows.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein said sampling includes sampling the peripheral skin temperature of said individual during two or more pre-determined time intervals, wherein said aggregate magnitude range value is aggregated for one or more of said pre-determined time intervals.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein said sampling includes sampling the peripheral skin temperature of one or both hands of said individual, and wherein said aggregate for said one or said both hands.

23. The method of claim 16 wherein said the magnitude range of one or more windows at the beginning of said pre-determined time interval is not used to produce said aggregate range value.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein prior to said sampling, if one or more of the following noises are present it is minimized, self diversion, external stimulation, technical problems, sleep problems, medication problems.

25. The method of claim 16 wherein in said aggregating the magnitude range one or more of the following are used;

the standard deviation, range, interquartile distance, skewness, kurtosis, Winsorized mean and variance, and robust estimates of mean and variance.

26. The method of claim 16 wherein in said aggregating the magnitude range;

the data from only one hand is used.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said one hand is one of the left hand, the right hand or the dominant hand.

28. A method for determining a threshold value of a parameter used to determine whether an individual has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) comprising:

providing a group of individuals a segment of which is known to have ADHD and a segment of which is known to be normal and not have ADHD;

testing each individual in the group by sampling at least one of the following physiologic measures, namely, bilateral temperature variability, heart rate, heart rate variability, muscle tension (excessive and chronic measured via surface electromyography—

sEMG), bilateral muscle tension imbalance, galvanic skin response (i.e., electrodermal response—

EDR), eye saccades, blood oxygen (SpO₂), salivary IGA, electroencephalography (EEG), peripheral blood flow (measured via photoethismosgraphy—

PPG), and peripheral blood flow variability (PPG) of the individual during a pre-determined time interval when the individual is in an inactive state to provide sampled data, and analyzing the sampled data to produce a parameter value for that individual; and

processing the individual parameter values for all of the members of the group to determine a threshold parameter value, which is acceptable for determining whether or not an individual has ADHD when tested by said testing.

29. A method of determining whether an individual has ADHD comprising:

sampling the peripheral skin temperature of an individual during a pre-determined time interval when the individual is in an inactive state to provide sampled peripheral skin temperature data;

dividing the data into a series of windows of equal time intervals across the pre-determined time interval;

analyzing the data using one of a Fast Fourier Transform, a wavelet transform, and a filter transform to produce a data set of values; and

aggregating the data set of values for one of, less than all of, or all of the windows to produce an aggregate value which is indicative of whether or not the individual has ADHD.