Electrical impedance method and apparatus for detecting and diagnosing diseases
First Claim
1. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
- a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across predetermined portions of each of the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken across corresponding portions of each of the parts;
b) identifying the set with a lower mean impedance value;
c) arranging each of the first and second sets in respective mathematical matrices;
d) creating an absolute difference matrix by subtracting each measurement of the set with the lower mean impedance value from the corresponding measurement of the other set; and
e) analyzing the absolute difference matrix to diagnose the possibility of a disease state.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for detecting and diagnosing disease states in a living organism by using a plurality of electrical impedance measurements. In particular, the invention provides for an improved electrode array for diagnosing the presence of a disease state in the human breast, and discloses a method of application of the array to the breast that ensures that the multiplicity of impedance measurements obtained from a first body part correspond as precisely and reproducibly as possible to the multiplicity of impedance measurements that are obtained from another, homologous, second body part. A number of diagnostic methods based on homologous electrical difference analysis are disclosed, including the calculation of a number of metrics used to indicate disease states by comparison with pre-established threshold values, and the construction of a number of graphical displays for indicating the location of disease to a body part sector.
122 Citations
38 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, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across predetermined portions of each of the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken across corresponding portions of each of the parts;
b) identifying the set with a lower mean impedance value;
c) arranging each of the first and second sets in respective mathematical matrices;
d) creating an absolute difference matrix by subtracting each measurement of the set with the lower mean impedance value from the corresponding measurement of the other set; and
e) analyzing the absolute difference matrix to diagnose the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across predetermined portions of each of the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken across corresponding portions of each of the parts;
b) arranging each of the first and second sets arranged in respective mathematical matrices;
c) creating a relative difference matrix by calculating the relative differences between each measurement from the first set with the corresponding measurement of the second set; and
d) analyzing the relative difference matrix to diagnose the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across predetermined portions of each of the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken across corresponding portions of each of the parts;
b) calculating an impedance range by subtracting the minimum impedance measurement from either of the first and second sets from the maximum impedance measurement from such sets;
c) creating a plurality of numbered bins by subdividing the impedance range into smaller range sizes then numbering the smaller range sizes consecutively;
d) assigning a bin number to each of the impedance measurements from the first and second sets;
e) creating a bin difference set by subtracting the bin number of each impedance measurement from one of the first and second sets from the bin number of each corresponding impedance measurement of the other set; and
f) calculating a sum of all of the bin difference values in the bin difference set and comparing to a pre-established threshold to diagnose the possibility of a disease state.
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14. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements across predetermined portions of each of the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken across corresponding portions of each of the parts;
b) calculating a first impedance range for the first set by subtracting the minimum impedance measurement from the maximum impedance measurement of that set, and calculating a second impedance range for the second set by subtracting the minimum impedance measurement from the maximum impedance measurement of that set;
c) creating a plurality of first numbered bins by subdividing the first impedance range into a first set of smaller range sizes then numbering the first set of smaller range sizes consecutively, and creating a plurality of second numbered bins by subdividing the second impedance range into a second set of smaller range sizes then numbering the second set of smaller range sizes consecutively;
d) assigning one of the first bin numbers to each of the impedance measurements from the first set, and assigning one of the second bin numbers to each of the impedance measurements from the second set;
e) creating a bin difference set by subtracting the bin number of each impedance measurement from one of the first and second sets from the bin number of each corresponding impedance measurement of the other set; and
f) analyzing the bin difference set to diagnose the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements taken between a predetermined plurality of points encircling the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken between a corresponding plurality of points;
b) assigning a bin number to each of the impedance measurements from the first and second sets;
c) producing a bin chord plot for each of the parts by graphically depicting the plurality of points as nodes in an encircling path for each part and the impedance measurements taken between the plurality of points as a bin chord extending between the respective nodes;
d) dividing each graphical depiction into sectors; and
e) analyzing the bin chords that converge on a given node within a sector to diagnose the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements taken between a predetermined plurality of points encircling the parts to produce first and second sets of impedance measurements, the first set for the first part and the second set for the second part, and wherein each measurement of the first set has a corresponding measurement in the second set when taken between a corresponding plurality of points;
b) producing a pixel grid from a chord plot produced by the impedance measurements taken between the plurality of points; and
c) analyzing the pixel grid to diagnose the possibility of a disease state. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification