Monitoring device including compliant variable capacitor for respiration and cardiac sensing applications
First Claim
1. A device for monitoring expansion and contraction of a thoracic or abdominal cavity of a patient, comprising:
- a movement sensor secured to the thoracic or abdominal cavity, wherein the movement sensor includes a plurality of compliant variable capacitors that each change capacitance as the thoracic or abdominal cavity expands and contracts, wherein the plurality of variable capacitors are positioned on top of each other and electrically connected in parallel; and
a monitoring circuit that senses the changing capacitance in the parallel connected plurality of variable capacitors and generates a monitoring signal that indicates the expansion and contraction of the thoracic or abdominal cavity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A monitoring device for obtaining data from a patient during a respiratory and/or cardiac cycle of the patient. The monitoring device includes a compliant variable capacitor securely attached to the patient. The capacitance of the compliant variable capacitor changes during movement of the patient caused by the respiratory cycle and/or a cardiac cycle. The changing capacitance is used to generate a monitoring signal that includes the frequency, timing and amplitude of either the respiratory or cardiac cycle. The signal from the monitoring device is provided to a medical imaging system such that the medical imaging system can compensate for the motion of the patient during the reparatory/cardiac cycle.
7 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A device for monitoring expansion and contraction of a thoracic or abdominal cavity of a patient, comprising:
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a movement sensor secured to the thoracic or abdominal cavity, wherein the movement sensor includes a plurality of compliant variable capacitors that each change capacitance as the thoracic or abdominal cavity expands and contracts, wherein the plurality of variable capacitors are positioned on top of each other and electrically connected in parallel; and a monitoring circuit that senses the changing capacitance in the parallel connected plurality of variable capacitors and generates a monitoring signal that indicates the expansion and contraction of the thoracic or abdominal cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of generating a monitoring signal representative of a respiratory and/or cardiac cycle of a patient, comprising the steps of:
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attaching a movement sensor to a patient, the movement sensor including a plurality of compliant variable capacitors that each change capacitance as the size of the compliant variable capacitors change during the respiratory and/or cardiac cycle of the patient, wherein the plurality of variable capacitors are positioned on top of each other and electrically connected in parallel; monitoring the changes in the capacitance of the plurality of parallel connected compliant variable capacitors; and converting the changes in the capacitance into a monitoring signal that represents the respiratory and/or cardiac cycle of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A device for monitoring expansion and contraction of a thoracic cavity or abdominal cavity of a patient for use with a medical imaging system, comprising:
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a movement sensor secured to the thoracic or abdominal cavity of the patient, wherein the movement sensor includes a plurality of compliant variable capacitors positioned on top of each other and electrically connected in parallel, each capacitor including a dielectric elastomer located between two electrodes, wherein the capacitance of the dielectric elastomer changes as a surface area and/or a thickness of the dielectric elastomer changes; a monitoring circuit that detects the changes in the capacitance of the dielectric elastomer and generates a monitoring signal; and a transceiver coupled to the monitoring circuit to transmit the monitoring signal from the device to the medical imaging system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification