Apparatus and method for continuous noninvasive measurement of respiratory function and events
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining a change in the dielectric or spatial configurations of multiple portions of a lung or lungs of a patient by interrogating the portions of the lung or lungs with electromagnetic energy, comprising:
- a plurality of antennas adapted to be worn by the patient and located adjacent different portions of the lung; and
a plurality of sensing units each configured to resolve a change in reflected signals, wherein said sensing units are configured to examine an interrogation volume smaller than a lung, and to resolve a change in reflected signals that is functionally related to a change in respiratory volume in a portion of the lung, wherein each of the sensing units comprises;
an ultra wide-band (UWB) medical radar transceiver configured to transmit UWB electromagnetic energy towards the portion of lung and to receive reflections of the UWB electromagnetic energy that are reflected back towards the UWB medical radar transceiver after encountering the portion of lung; and
a high speed sample and hold circuit configured to capture said reflections based on a round trip time of flight of the reflections from the UWB medical radar transceiver; and
a central processing unit configured to compare information received from each sensing unit to determine differences between different portions of the lung,wherein each of the one or more sensing units transmits information about the portions of the lung determined from the sensing unit based on the round trip time of flight,further wherein each sensing unit is configured to independently monitor and transmit data about different portions of the lung.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for non-invasive and continuous measurement of respiratory chamber volume and associated parameters including respiratory rate, respiratory rhythm, tidal volume, dielectric variability and respiratory congestion. In particular, a non-invasive apparatus and method for determining dynamic and structural physiologic data from a living subject including a change in the spatial configuration of a respiratory chamber, a lung or a lobe of a lung to determine overall respiratory health comprising an ultra wide-band radar system having at least one transmitting and receiving antenna for applying ultra wide-band radio signals to a target area of the subject'"'"'s anatomy wherein the receiving antenna collects and transmits signal returns from the target area.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining a change in the dielectric or spatial configurations of multiple portions of a lung or lungs of a patient by interrogating the portions of the lung or lungs with electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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a plurality of antennas adapted to be worn by the patient and located adjacent different portions of the lung; and a plurality of sensing units each configured to resolve a change in reflected signals, wherein said sensing units are configured to examine an interrogation volume smaller than a lung, and to resolve a change in reflected signals that is functionally related to a change in respiratory volume in a portion of the lung, wherein each of the sensing units comprises; an ultra wide-band (UWB) medical radar transceiver configured to transmit UWB electromagnetic energy towards the portion of lung and to receive reflections of the UWB electromagnetic energy that are reflected back towards the UWB medical radar transceiver after encountering the portion of lung; and a high speed sample and hold circuit configured to capture said reflections based on a round trip time of flight of the reflections from the UWB medical radar transceiver; and a central processing unit configured to compare information received from each sensing unit to determine differences between different portions of the lung, wherein each of the one or more sensing units transmits information about the portions of the lung determined from the sensing unit based on the round trip time of flight, further wherein each sensing unit is configured to independently monitor and transmit data about different portions of the lung. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus for determining changes in dielectric or spatial configuration of multiple, different portions of a patient'"'"'s lungs by interrogating the different portions of the lungs with electromagnetic energy, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of antennas each adapted to be worn by the patient and located against the patient; and a plurality of sensing units configured to resolve movements of different portions of a patient'"'"'s lungs, wherein each of the sensing units is configured to examine an interrogation volume smaller than a lung and comprises; an ultra wide-band (UWB) medical radar transceiver coupled to one or more of the antennas and configured to transmit ultra wide-band electromagnetic energy towards one of the portions of lung and to receive reflections of the electromagnetic energy that are reflected back towards the UWB medical radar transceiver after encountering the one of the portions of lung, and a high speed sample and hold circuit configured to capture said reflections based on a round trip time of flight of the reflections from the UWB medical radar transceiver; and a central processing unit configured to compare information received from each sensing unit to determine differences in the relative motion between different portions of the lungs, wherein each of the sensing units transmits information about the portion of the lungs determined from the sensing unit based on the round trip time of flight of the reflections, further wherein each sensing unit is configured to independently monitor and transmit data about different portions of the lung. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification