Device and method for quantifying edema
First Claim
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1. A method of measuring edema comprising:
- contacting a region of skin tissue of an arm or leg of a patient with a displacement member the region of tissue including edematous tissue;
applying pressure to the region of skin tissue to displace the region of tissue a distance to a displaced position with the displacement member;
releasing the pressure applied with the displacement member to the region of skin tissue;
subsequently measuring a displacement of the region of tissue with the displacement member and a sensor that measures a displacement of the displacement member over a time during which the region of tissue relaxes from the displaced position; and
displaying a quantitative value from the measured displacement with a display device, the measured displacement indicating a level of edema.
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Abstract
The preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed at a device that provides a reliable, accurate and quantifiable measure of a patient'"'"'s edema. The device improves on the current method of digital manipulation by evaluating the pitting phenomena in a user-independent manner. The output of the device allows a physician to categorize edema into at least ten different levels of severity. The systems of the present invention provides the ability to distinguish between tissues of varying viscosity.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of measuring edema comprising:
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contacting a region of skin tissue of an arm or leg of a patient with a displacement member the region of tissue including edematous tissue; applying pressure to the region of skin tissue to displace the region of tissue a distance to a displaced position with the displacement member; releasing the pressure applied with the displacement member to the region of skin tissue; subsequently measuring a displacement of the region of tissue with the displacement member and a sensor that measures a displacement of the displacement member over a time during which the region of tissue relaxes from the displaced position; and displaying a quantitative value from the measured displacement with a display device, the measured displacement indicating a level of edema. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for measuring edema in an arm or leg of patient comprising:
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contacting a region of tissue on the arm or the leg of a patient with a displacement member, the region of tissue including edematous tissue; applying pressure to the region of tissue to displace the region of tissue a selected distance to a displaced position with the displacement member; releasing the pressure applied with the displacement member to the region of interest; subsequently measuring a displacement of the region of tissue from the displaced position with the displacement member and a sensor that measures a displacement of the displacement member over a period of time during relaxation of the edematous tissue from the displaced position; and displaying a quantitative value from the measured displacement with a display device, the measured displacement indicating a level of edema. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification