Method and apparatus for diagnosing respiratory disorders and determining the degree of exacerbations
First Claim
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1. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
- securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient, wherein said probe is configured to generate a photoplethysmography waveform;
processing said plethysmography waveform from said probe to obtain a separate pulsatile arterial component waveform and a separate venous impedance component waveform; and
quantifying in real time with a computer said pulsatile arterial component waveform, said venous impedance component waveform, or both, to determine respiratory rate, occurrence of an inspiratory event, occurrence of an expiratory event, occurrence of an air restriction event, occurrence of an air obstruction event, or a combination thereof,wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are apparatuses and methods to monitor respiration and abnormal respiration events utilizing plethysmography. The apparatuses and methods provide an alternative to conventional respiration monitoring methods while enabling accurate yet minimally interruptive and invasive monitoring of respiration. The methods and apparatuses may be employed in the context of sleep studies to determine respiratory related sleep disorders.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient, wherein said probe is configured to generate a photoplethysmography waveform; processing said plethysmography waveform from said probe to obtain a separate pulsatile arterial component waveform and a separate venous impedance component waveform; and quantifying in real time with a computer said pulsatile arterial component waveform, said venous impedance component waveform, or both, to determine respiratory rate, occurrence of an inspiratory event, occurrence of an expiratory event, occurrence of an air restriction event, occurrence of an air obstruction event, or a combination thereof, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of monitoring respiration in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography waveform; processing said plethysmography waveform from said probe to obtain a venous impedance component waveform; and quantifying in real time with a computer changes in said venous impedance component waveform to determine respiratory rate, occurrence of an inspiratory event, occurrence of an expiratory event, occurrence of air restriction, occurrence of air obstruction, or a combination thereof, of said patient, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A system for monitoring respiration of a patient comprising
at least one pulse oximeter probe configured for securing to a central source site of said patient and effective to generate a plethysmography waveform; - and
a computer communicatingly connected to said at least one pulse oximeter probe, said computer comprising at least one processing module, a first computer-readable program code module configured to cause said computer to process said plethysmography waveform of said at least one pulse oximeter probe to obtain an arterial component waveform, a venous impedance component waveform, or both, and a second computer-readable program code module configured to cause said computer to quantify in real time said pulsatile arterial component waveform, venous impedance component waveform, or both, to determine occurrence of an inspiratory event, occurrence of an expiratory event, occurrence of an air restriction event, occurrence of an air obstruction event, or a combination thereof, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A computer program product embodied on a non-transient computer-usable storage medium comprising
a computer-usable medium comprising computer readable program code modules embodied in said computer-usable medium, wherein said computer readable program code modules comprise: -
a computer readable first program code module configured to cause said computer to process a plethysmography waveform obtained from a pulse oximeter probe by separating out a pulsatile arterial component waveform and a venous impedance component waveform; and a computer-readable second program code module configured to cause said computer to quantify in real time said pulsatile arterial component waveform, said venous impedance waveform, or both, to determine an occurrence of an abnormal respiration event, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath.
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22. A device useful for diagnosing a respiratory condition, said device comprising
a computer configured to communicate with at least one pulse oximeter probe, said computer comprising at least one processing module; -
a first computer-readable program code module configured to cause said computer to process a plethysmography waveform from said at least one pulse oximeter probe to obtain a pulsatile arterial component waveform, a venous impedance component waveform, or both, and a second computer-readable program code module configured to cause said computer to quantify in real time said pulsatile arterial component waveform, venous impedance component waveform, or both, to identify a respiratory condition, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of diagnosing a respiration-related sleep disorder in a patient, said method comprising:
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securing a pulse oximeter probe to a central source site of said patient wherein said probe is configured to generate a plethysmography waveform from said central source site; processing said plethysmography waveform from said probe to obtain a separate pulsatile arterial component waveform and a separate venous impedance component waveform, wherein processing said plethysmography waveform comprises processing plethysmography signal information generated while said patient is asleep; and quantifying in real time with a computer said arterial component waveform, said venous impedance component waveform, or both, to determine occurrence of an inspiratory event, occurrence of an expiratory event, occurrence of an air restriction event, occurrence of an air obstruction event, or a combination thereof, wherein quantifying in real time comprises evaluating changes in an amplitude of a waveform, peak or trough counting, peak-peak timing, peak-trough height, area under a curve, shape of curves, or evaluating changes in positions of peaks, troughs or midpoints from heartbeat to heartbeat or breath to breath.
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Specification