Medical device for determining the posture of patient
First Claim
1. A method for determining the posture of a patient comprising the steps of:
- with a bio-impedance measurement device having a plurality of electrodes configured to interact with the patient in a plurality of different electrode configurations, initiating a patient posture determining session by measuring an impedance value of the patient with said electrodes in at least one configuration among said plurality of configurations;
selecting a reference impedance value from among a plurality of stored reference impedance values for said at least one configuration, said plurality of stored reference impedance values being respectively associated with different postures of the patient, and the posture associated with the selected reference impedance value representing a candidate posture;
comparing the measured impedance value with the selected reference impedance value, thereby obtaining a comparison result; and
dependent on said comparison result, automatically electronically determining whether the current posture of the patient conforms to the candidate posture.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method and a device for determining the posture of a patient, a bio-impedance measurement device, having a number of electrodes configured to interact with the patient in a number of different electrode configurations, is operated to initiate a patient posture determining session by measuring an impedance value of the patient with the electrodes in at least one configuration among the number of configurations. A reference impedance value from among a number of stored reference impedance values for the at least one configuration is selected. The number of stored reference impedance values are respectively associated with different postures of the patient, and the posture associated with the selected reference impedance value represents a candidate posture. The measured impedance value is compared with the selected reference impedance value, thereby obtaining a comparison result. Dependent on said comparison result, it is automatically determined whether the current posture of the patient conforms to the candidate posture.
35 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for determining the posture of a patient comprising the steps of:
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with a bio-impedance measurement device having a plurality of electrodes configured to interact with the patient in a plurality of different electrode configurations, initiating a patient posture determining session by measuring an impedance value of the patient with said electrodes in at least one configuration among said plurality of configurations; selecting a reference impedance value from among a plurality of stored reference impedance values for said at least one configuration, said plurality of stored reference impedance values being respectively associated with different postures of the patient, and the posture associated with the selected reference impedance value representing a candidate posture; comparing the measured impedance value with the selected reference impedance value, thereby obtaining a comparison result; and dependent on said comparison result, automatically electronically determining whether the current posture of the patient conforms to the candidate posture. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A device for determining the posture of a patient comprising the steps of:
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a bio-impedance measurement device having a plurality of electrodes configured to interact with the patient in a plurality of different electrode configurations, that initiates a patient posture determining session by measuring an impedance value of the patient with said electrodes in at least one configuration among said plurality of configurations; a memory containing for said at least one configuration, a plurality of stored reference impedance values respectively associated with different postures of the patient; a processor that selects a reference impedance value from said memory, the posture associated with the selected reference impedance value representing a candidate posture; said processor comprising a comparator that compares the measured impedance value with the selected reference impedance value to obtain a comparison result; and said processor dependent on said comparison result, automatically determining whether the current posture of the patient conforms to the candidate posture. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer-readable medium encoded with programming instructions for determining the posture of a patient for use with a bio-impedance measurement device having a plurality of electrodes configured to interact with the patient in a plurality of different electrode configurations, said programming instructions causing a computerized circuit to:
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operate said bio-impedance measurement device to initiate a patient posture determining session by measuring an impedance value of the patient with said electrodes in at least one configuration among said plurality of configurations; select a reference impedance value from among a plurality of stored reference impedance values for said at least one configuration, said plurality of stored reference impedance values being respectively associated with different postures of the patient, and the posture associated with the selected reference impedance value representing a candidate posture; compare the measured impedance value with the selected reference impedance value, thereby obtaining a comparison result; and dependent on said comparison result, determine whether the current posture of the patient conforms to the candidate posture.
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Specification