Apparatus for indicating uterine activity in labor
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for indicating uterine activity in labor including:
- means adapted to be coupled to a uterine pressure transducer for providing a first signal representative of intrauterine pressure,means for providing a second signal .[.which is equal to.]. .Iadd.representative of .Iaddend.the first signal except .[.when a.]. .Iadd.during each .Iaddend.contraction .[.occurs.]. when .[.it takes up a value equal to that of.]. the .Iadd.value the .Iaddend.first signal .Iadd.would have had .Iaddend.in the absence of .[.the.]. .Iadd.that .Iaddend.contraction .Iadd.is represented.Iaddend.,.[.means for subtracting the second signal from the first 65 signal, to provide a third signal,.]. .Iadd.means for deriving a third signal from the first and second signals, the third signal being representative of the additional uterine pressure, which occurs during contractions, above the uterine pressure existing in the absence of contractions.Iaddend., andmeans for integrating the third signal over intervals of at least ten but not more than thirty minutes to provide an activity signal indicative of uterine activity in labor.
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Abstract
Apparatus for providing an indication of uterine activity in labor is described. Intrauterine pressure above the basal pressure existing between contractions is integrated over intervals of between ten and thirty minutes to give the required indication. An algorithm is disclosed for calculating dosage of a labor inducing substance, the algorithm containing safeguards to prevent hyperstimulation.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. Apparatus for indicating uterine activity in labor including:
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means adapted to be coupled to a uterine pressure transducer for providing a first signal representative of intrauterine pressure, means for providing a second signal .[.which is equal to.]. .Iadd.representative of .Iaddend.the first signal except .[.when a.]. .Iadd.during each .Iaddend.contraction .[.occurs.]. when .[.it takes up a value equal to that of.]. the .Iadd.value the .Iaddend.first signal .Iadd.would have had .Iaddend.in the absence of .[.the.]. .Iadd.that .Iaddend.contraction .Iadd.is represented.Iaddend., .[.means for subtracting the second signal from the first 65 signal, to provide a third signal,.]. .Iadd.means for deriving a third signal from the first and second signals, the third signal being representative of the additional uterine pressure, which occurs during contractions, above the uterine pressure existing in the absence of contractions.Iaddend., and means for integrating the third signal over intervals of at least ten but not more than thirty minutes to provide an activity signal indicative of uterine activity in labor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. Apparatus for automatically calculating the dosage of a labour stimulating substance including
activity-indicating means, adapted to be coupled to a uterine pressure transducer, for providing an activity signal representative of the integral of the additional intrauterine pressure which occurs during contractions above the pressure existing between contractions, the said integral being taken over at least 10 but not more than 30 minutes, .[.first comparison means for comparing the most recently obtained value of an activity signal with the value of a recently obtained previous activity signal,.]. and dose calculating means for determining the dosage of a labour stimulating substance in dependence upon values of the activity signal .[.and for stabilising or reducing the dosage, at least when the value of the activity signal is above a predetermined minimum and below a predetermined maximum, if the first comparison means indicates that the said most recently obtained value of the activity signal is equal to or less than the said recently-obtained previous value of the activity signal,.]. the dosage being so calculated, in operation, that when employed in stimulating labour, labour progresses without substantial interruption and without the activity signal exceeding a dangerous value.
Specification