Weighted gradient method and system for diagnosing disease
First Claim
1. A method for diagnosing a possibility of disease in a body part, the method comprising:
- representing the body part with a grid having a plurality of finite elements, the grid contained within a volume;
dividing the volume into a plurality of voxels;
obtaining a set of weights associated with a particular one of the voxels using a model of the body part, each weight in the set of weights obtained by computing a baseline quantity in the particular one of the voxels for a corresponding current injection in a plurality of current injections into the body part using an electrode array;
computing a diagnostic at the particular one of the voxels, the diagnostic computed as an average of a function weighted over the plurality of current injections using the set of weights, and the function used to compute the diagnostic defined in relation to a measured electrical property of the body part obtained with the electrode array; and
utilizing the diagnostic to diagnose the possibility of disease in the body part.
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Abstract
A method for detecting and diagnosing disease states in a body part is described. The method starts with a preparatory step of modeling the body part as a grid of many finite elements, then calculating an electrical property between two finite elements at which current from two corresponding electrodes flows through the body part. This is termed the weight (influence) of the element. With this baseline information, electrical impedance measurements made at the plurality of electrodes on the periphery of the body part can be used in a diagnostic module to calculate a Weighted Element Value (WEVal) for each element. In a preferred embodiment of invention, the difference in WEVal magnitude between corresponding elements of homologous body parts serves as an indicator of the presence of disease.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for diagnosing a possibility of disease in a body part, the method comprising:
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representing the body part with a grid having a plurality of finite elements, the grid contained within a volume; dividing the volume into a plurality of voxels; obtaining a set of weights associated with a particular one of the voxels using a model of the body part, each weight in the set of weights obtained by computing a baseline quantity in the particular one of the voxels for a corresponding current injection in a plurality of current injections into the body part using an electrode array; computing a diagnostic at the particular one of the voxels, the diagnostic computed as an average of a function weighted over the plurality of current injections using the set of weights, and the function used to compute the diagnostic defined in relation to a measured electrical property of the body part obtained with the electrode array; and utilizing the diagnostic to diagnose the possibility of disease in the body part. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for obtaining a representation of a part of a human body in the form of an electrical network, the method comprising:
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representing the body part with a grid having a plurality of finite elements, the grid contained within a volume; dividing the volume into a plurality of voxels; obtaining a set of weights associated with a particular one of the voxels using a model of the body part, each weight in the set of weights obtained by computing a baseline quantity in the particular one of the voxels for a corresponding current injection in a plurality of current injections into the body part using an electrode array; and computing a diagnostic at the particular one of the voxels, the diagnostic computed as an average of a function weighted over the plurality of current injections using the set of weights, and the function used to compute the diagnostic defined in relation to a measured electrical property of the body part obtained with the electrode array.
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22. A system for diagnosing a possibility of disease in a body part, the system comprising:
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a grid module for representing the body part with a grid having a plurality of finite elements; a voxel module for dividing a volume into a plurality of voxels, the grid being contained by the volume; a weight module for using a model of the body part to compute a set of weights associated with a particular one of the plurality of voxels, each weight in the set of weights obtained by computing a baseline quantity in the particular one of the voxels for a corresponding current injection in a plurality of current injections into the body part using an electrode array; and a diagnostic module for computing a diagnostic at the particular one of the voxels to diagnose the possibility of disease in the body part, wherein the diagnostic module is configured to compute the diagnostic as an average of a function weighted over the plurality of current injections using the set of weights, and the function used to compute the diagnostic is defined in relation to a measured electrical property of the body part obtained with the electrode array.
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23. A system for obtaining a representation of a part of a human body in the form of an electrical network, the system comprising:
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a grid module for representing the body part with a grid having a plurality of finite elements; a voxel module for dividing a volume into a plurality of voxels, the grid being contained by the volume; a weight module for using a model of the body part to compute a set of weights associated with a particular one of the plurality of voxels, each weight in the set of weights obtained by computing a baseline quantity in the particular one of the voxels for a corresponding current injection in a plurality of current injections into the body part using an electrode array; and a diagnostic module for computing a diagnostic at the particular one of the voxels to diagnose the possibility of disease in the body part, wherein the diagnostic module is configured to compute the diagnostic as an average of a function weighted over the plurality of current injections using the set of weights, and the function used to compute the diagnostic is defined in relation to a measured electrical property of the body part obtained with the electrode array.
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Specification