Method and apparatus for indicating the emergence of a pre-ulcer and its progression
First Claim
1. A method of determining emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer on at least one foot of a patient, the method comprising:
- providing one or more processors;
providing an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors;
generating, using the plurality of temperature sensors, a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot;
forming, by at least one of the processors, at least one thermogram of the sole of each of the at least one foot from the discrete temperature data values, the thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole;
determining, by at least one of the processors, at any location within the at least one thermogram of the sole, whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; and
producing, by at least one of the processors, output information indicating an emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot, producing being a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of monitoring a patient'"'"'s foot provides an open platform for receiving at least one foot. The platform has at least one temperature sensor for generating a plurality of temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot. The method then forms a thermogram of the sole of the at least one foot from the temperature data, and determines whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns. Next, the method produces output information indicating the emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot as a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern.
81 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of determining emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer on at least one foot of a patient, the method comprising:
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providing one or more processors; providing an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors; generating, using the plurality of temperature sensors, a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot; forming, by at least one of the processors, at least one thermogram of the sole of each of the at least one foot from the discrete temperature data values, the thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole; determining, by at least one of the processors, at any location within the at least one thermogram of the sole, whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; and producing, by at least one of the processors, output information indicating an emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot, producing being a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of determining emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer on at least one foot of a patient, the method comprising:
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providing one or more processors; receiving a thermogram message through a network from an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors, the plurality of temperature sensors having generated a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot, the thermogram message including the temperature data values; forming, by at least one of the processors, at least one thermogram of the sole of each of the at least one foot from the temperature data values, the thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole; determining, by at least one of the processors, at any location within the at least one thermogram of the sole, whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; and producing by at least one of the processors, output information indicating an emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot, producing being a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for determining emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer on at least one foot of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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an open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors configured to generate a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot; a thermogram generator operatively coupled with the open platform, the thermogram generator having a processor configured to form at least one thermogram of the sole of each of the at least one foot from the temperature data values, the thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole; a pattern recognition system operatively coupled with the thermogram generator, the pattern recognition system configured to determine, at any location within at least one thermogram of the sole, whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; and an analyzer operatively coupled with the pattern recognition system, the analyzer being configured to produce output information indicating the emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot as a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A computer program product for use on a computer system for determining emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer on at least one foot of a patient, the computer program product comprising a tangible, non-transient computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising:
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program code for receiving a thermogram message through a network from an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors, the plurality of temperature sensors being configured to generate a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot, the thermogram message including the temperature data values; program code for forming at least one thermogram of the sole of each of the at least one foot from the temperature data values, the thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole; program code for determining, at any location within at least one thermogram of the sole, whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; and program code for producing output information indicating the emergence of a pre-ulcer or progression of a known pre-ulcer in the at least one foot, producing being a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification