Fundamental frequency estimation of Electro-Islet Graphy
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring biological micro-structure activity which produces detectable signals characterizing events, comprising the steps of estimating the fundamental frequency of the occurrence of events from the detectable signals, without detecting the occurrence of individual events, wherein the estimating step includes performing an autocorrelation operation and locating and estimating a pitch that is represented by a valley between adjacent autocorrelation peaks.
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Abstract
The fundamental frequency of EIG events is determined directly, without first detecting the events themselves. Use is made of an analysis window containing more than one event (3–5). Techniques (1–8) are utilized which are somewhat similar to those utilized to detect, and estimate pitch in speech processing. The invention is based on two important biological discoveries. The first is that the EIG is generated by a functional pace maker. The second is that the EIG signal is quasi-periodic most of the time. The use of pitch detection algorithms is based on the essentially quasi-periodic nature of the EIG signal. Quasi-periodic means that the intervals between successive events are not exactly identical, but may vary slightly, that the amplitude and shape of successive events may also exhibit some variance.
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Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A method for monitoring biological micro-structure activity which produces detectable signals characterizing events, comprising the steps of estimating the fundamental frequency of the occurrence of events from the detectable signals, without detecting the occurrence of individual events, wherein the estimating step includes performing an autocorrelation operation and locating and estimating a pitch that is represented by a valley between adjacent autocorrelation peaks.
- 10. In a system for monitoring biological micro-structure activity which produces detectable signals characterizing events, a sensor capable of receiving the sensible signals and a processor including a module for estimating the fundamental frequency of the occurrence of events from the detectable signals, without first detecting the occurrence of individual events, wherein the module for estimating the fundamental frequency includes components configured to perform an autocorrelation operation and to locate and estimate a pitch that is represented by a valley between adjacent autocorrelation peaks.
Specification