Non-invasively measuring physiological process
First Claim
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1. A method of non-invasively measuring a physiological process to determine the presence of a foetal cardiac signal to detect pregnancy of a subject, the method comprising:
- placing a receiver relative to a body of the subject being examined and using the receiver to detect a plurality of signals from the body of the subject, wherein the receiver comprises a plurality of different type of sensors detecting different types of signals;
determining whether at least one signal of the plurality of signals is a foetal cardiac signal; and
pre-processing the at least one signal to enhance the signal and to suppress other received signals that are not of interest,wherein determining whether the at least one signal is a foetal cardiac signal further comprises;
using a plurality of predefined techniques in parallel, combining outputs of the applied plurality of predefined techniques, using a classifier to make a final decision whether or not the signal of interest is a foetal cardiac signal; and
outputting, as part of the decision, data relating to a measure of confidence in the decision.
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Abstract
Equipment (10) for non-invasively measuring a physiological process includes at least one receiver (12) to be placed relative to a body of a subject being examined to detect at least one signal from the body of the subject. A discrimination unit (20.1) determines if the at least one signal is a signal of interest associated with the physiological process. A processor (20) processes the signal of interest to enhance the signal of interest and suppresses other received signals that are not of interest.
25 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of non-invasively measuring a physiological process to determine the presence of a foetal cardiac signal to detect pregnancy of a subject, the method comprising:
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placing a receiver relative to a body of the subject being examined and using the receiver to detect a plurality of signals from the body of the subject, wherein the receiver comprises a plurality of different type of sensors detecting different types of signals; determining whether at least one signal of the plurality of signals is a foetal cardiac signal; and pre-processing the at least one signal to enhance the signal and to suppress other received signals that are not of interest, wherein determining whether the at least one signal is a foetal cardiac signal further comprises;
using a plurality of predefined techniques in parallel, combining outputs of the applied plurality of predefined techniques, using a classifier to make a final decision whether or not the signal of interest is a foetal cardiac signal; and
outputting, as part of the decision, data relating to a measure of confidence in the decision. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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- 2. The method of claim l further comprising determining the presence of at least one foetal cardiac signal within naturally radiated signals obtained from the placement of one or more receivers against or near the body of the subject being examined.
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16. Equipment for non-invasively measuring a physiological process to detect pregnancy of a subject comprising:
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a receiver to be placed relative to a body of a subject being examined to detect a plurality of signals from the body of the subject, wherein the receiver comprises a plurality of different type of sensors detecting different types of signals; a discrimination unit for determining whether at least one signal of the plurality of signals is a signal of interest of being a foetal cardiac signal; a pre-processing module for pre-processing the at least one signal to enhance the at least one signal and to suppress other received signals that are not of interest; a processor, in communication with the pre-processing module to diagnose the presence of the foetal cardiac signal using a plurality of predefined techniques in parallel; a combining module controlled by the processor for combining outputs of the applied plurality of predefined techniques; and a classifier in communication with the combining module for making a final decision whether or not the at least one signal is a foetal cardiac signal, and outputting, as part of the decision, data relating to a measure of confidence in the decision, - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification