System, method and apparatus for measuring blood flow and blood volume
First Claim
1. A system for measuring blood flow in an organ of a subject, the system comprising:
- a radiofrequency generator for generating output radiofrequency signals;
a plurality of electrodes, designed to be connectable to the skin of the subject, said electrodes being for transmitting said output radiofrequency signals to the organ and for sensing input radiofrequency signals of the organ;
a mixer, electrically communicating with said radiofrequency generator and at least a portion of said plurality of electrodes, for mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal having a radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow;
electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal; and
a data processor for calculating at least one quantity using a remaining portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, said at least one quantity being selected from the group consisting of a stroke volume, a cardiac output, a brain intra luminal blood flow and an artery blood flow rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for measuring blood flow in an organ of a subject, particularly useful for non-invasive cardiac output monitoring (N.I.C.O.M.™), the system comprises: a radiofrequency generator for generating output radiofrequency signals; a plurality of electrodes, designed to be connectable to the skin of the subject, the electrodes being for transmitting the output radiofrequency signals to the organ and for sensing input radiofrequency signals of the organ. The system further comprises a mixer, electrically communicating with the radiofrequency generator and at least a portion of the plurality of electrodes, for mixing the output radiofrequency signals and the input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal being indicative of the blood flow. The system further comprises electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of the mixed radiofrequency signal so as to substantially increase a signal-to-noise ratio of a remaining portion of the mixed radiofrequency signal.
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Citations
67 Claims
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1. A system for measuring blood flow in an organ of a subject, the system comprising:
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a radiofrequency generator for generating output radiofrequency signals; a plurality of electrodes, designed to be connectable to the skin of the subject, said electrodes being for transmitting said output radiofrequency signals to the organ and for sensing input radiofrequency signals of the organ; a mixer, electrically communicating with said radiofrequency generator and at least a portion of said plurality of electrodes, for mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal having a radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow; electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal; and a data processor for calculating at least one quantity using a remaining portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, said at least one quantity being selected from the group consisting of a stroke volume, a cardiac output, a brain intra luminal blood flow and an artery blood flow rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for determining blood flow in an organ of a subject, the apparatus having a radiofrequency measuring unit, the radiofrequency measuring unit is capable of transmitting output radiofrequency signals to the organ and receiving input radiofrequency signals of the organ, the apparatus further comprising:
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(a) a mixer, electrically communicating with said radiofrequency measuring unit, for mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal having radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow; and (b) electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, wherein said electronic circuitry comprises a differentiator for performing at least one time-differentiation, to provide a respective derivative of an impedance between a first location and a second location of the body of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of measuring blood flow in an organ of a subject, the method comprising:
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generating output radiofrequency signals; transmitting said output radiofrequency signals to the organ and sensing input radiofrequency signals of the organ; mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal having a radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow; filtering out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal; and calculating at least one quantity using a remaining portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, said at least one quantity being selected from the group consisting of a stroke volume, a cardiac output, a brain intra luminal blood flow and an artery blood flow rate. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A system for measuring blood flow in an organ of a subject, the system comprising:
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a radiofrequency generator for generating output radiofrequency signals; a plurality of electrodes, designed to be connectable to the skin of the subject, said electrodes being for transmitting said output radiofrequency signals to the organ and for sensing input radiofrequency signals of the organ; a bioimpedance detector electrically communicating with at least a portion of said plurality of electrodes for detecting a voltage between a first location and a second location of the subject and for generating input radiofrequency signals in response to said voltage, wherein said input radiofrequency signals are indicative of impedance of the organ; a mixer, electrically communicating with said radiofrequency generator and at least a portion of said plurality of electrodes, for mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow; and electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, wherein said electronic circuitry comprises a differentiator for performing at least one time-differentiation, to provide a respective derivative of said impedance between said first and said second locations.
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67. An apparatus for determining blood flow in an organ of a subject, the apparatus having a radiofrequency measuring unit, the radiofrequency measuring unit is capable of transmitting output radiofrequency signals to the organ and receiving input radiofrequency signals of the organ, the apparatus further comprising:
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(a) a mixer, electrically communicating with said radiofrequency measuring unit, for mixing said output radiofrequency signals and said input radiofrequency signals, so as to provide a mixed radiofrequency signal having radiofrequency sum and a radiofrequency difference and being indicative of the blood flow; (b) electronic circuitry, constructed and designed to filter out a portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal; and (c) a data processor for calculating at least one quantity using a remaining portion of said mixed radiofrequency signal, said at least one quantity being selected from the group consisting of a stroke volume, a cardiac output, a brain intra luminal blood flow and an artery blood flow rate.
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Specification