Non-invasive method and apparatus for diagnosing and monitoring aortic valve abnormalities, such as aortic regurgitation
First Claim
1. A method for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient comprising the steps of:
- (1) providing a non-invasive pressure inducing means for inducing a pressure on a body part of a patient and applying pressure to the body part;
(2) providing a data receiving means;
(3) using the data receiving means to receive a stream of pulsation signal data from the patient relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient;
(4) providing a data processing means;
(5) using the data processing means for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of pulse wave forms; and
(6) identifying wave form characteristics that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and device is provided for determining aortic valve abnormalities. The method first includes the step of providing a sphygmomanometer device for inducing a pressure on a body part of a patient. A data stream receiver is provided for receiving a stream of data relating to the pressure response of the pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient. A data processor is provided for processing the data to create a series of time dependant pulse wave forms. The data can be converted by Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) to obtain Power Spectrum (PS) which comprises a frequency dependant array of pulse signals. Both of the time dependant and frequency dependant (Power Spectrum) data can be displayed and analyzed to help determine the condition of the aortic valve and the percentage of regurgitation of the patient. With the Power Spectrum display, the determination is made based on first, identifying the existence of an additional second series of harmonically occurring regurgitation signals that have a frequency different from the main signals indicative of the forward flow of fluid through the aortic valve. The ratio of the amplitude or density of the regurgitation signal peak can be divided by the amplitude or density of the associated main signal peak, to determine the ratio of the associated “Regurgitation” flow to and “Main” flow, to thereby semi-quantitatively determine the percent of regurgitation flow of the patient.
8 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A method for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient comprising the steps of:
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(1) providing a non-invasive pressure inducing means for inducing a pressure on a body part of a patient and applying pressure to the body part;
(2) providing a data receiving means;
(3) using the data receiving means to receive a stream of pulsation signal data from the patient relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient;
(4) providing a data processing means;
(5) using the data processing means for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of pulse wave forms; and
(6) identifying wave form characteristics that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
(1) the step of using the data processing means comprises the step of using the data processing means to create a time dependant array of pulse wave forms, (2) the time dependant array of pulse wave forms are graphically displayed, (3) the time dependant array of pulse wave forms being graphically displayed include a series of pulse wave forms each having a peak, (4) the step of graphically displaying the time dependant array includes the step of displaying an envelope line that extends between the peaks of adjacent wave forms, and (5) the step of identifying wave form characteristics includes the step of identifying the slope of the envelope line to determine whether it denotes the presence of aortic valve abnormalities.
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9. A method for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities, comprising the steps of:
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(1) providing a non-invasive pressure inducing means for inducing a pressure on a body part of a patient and applying pressure to the body part;
(2) providing a data receiving means;
(3) using the data receiving means to receive a stream of pulsation signal data from the patient relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient having a cardiovascular system;
(4) providing a data processing means;
(5) processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of time dependant wave form data;
(6) converting the array of time dependant wave form data to an array of frequency dependant wave form data; and
(7) identifying characteristics of the frequency dependant wave form data that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
each of the flow signals of the first series has a density, D1 each of the flow signals of the second series has a density, D2 and further comprising the step of comprising the density D2 of the flow signal of the second series to the density D1 of the flow signal of the first series to obtain a semi-quantitative value of the aortic regurgitation. -
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of comparing the densities comprises the step of determining the ratio D2/D1 of corresponding flow signals of the second and first series to approximate the ratio of aortic regurgitation flow, to the flow of fluid forward through the aortic valve.
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16. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of evaluating the frequency shift between the flow signals of the first series and the flow signals of the second series.
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17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of evaluating the frequency shift comprises the step of evaluating the frequency shift between the flow signals of the first series and the flow signals of the second series to determine at least one of the nature, type and characteristics of the aortic regurgitation of the patient.
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18. A device for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient comprising:
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(1) a non-invasive pressure inducing means for inducing a pressure to a body part of a patient;
(2) a data receiving means for receiving a stream of pulsation signal data from the patient relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient;
(3) a data processing means for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create a time dependant array of pulse wave forms; and
(4) means for aiding in the identification of wave form characteristics that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
the means for aiding in the identification of wave form characteristics includes means for identifying the slope of the envelope line to determine whether it denotes the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. -
25. The device of claim 24 wherein the means for identifying the slope of the envelope line comprises means for determining whether the envelope line has an undulating slope, thereby suggesting the presence of aortic valve abnormalities.
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26. A device for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities, comprising:
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(1) a non-invasive pressure inducing means for inducing a pressure to a body part of a patient;
(2) a data receiving means for receiving a stream of pulsation signal data from the patient relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through a cardiovascular system of the patient;
(3) a data processing means for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of time dependant wave form data;
(4) means for converting the array of time dependant wave form data to an array of frequency dependant wave form data; and
(5) means for aiding in the identification of characteristics of the frequency dependant wave form data that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
each of the flow signals of the first series has a density D1 each of the flow signals of the second series has a density, D2 and further comprising means for comparing the density D2 of the flow signal of the second series to the density D1 of the flow signal of the first series to obtain a semi-quantitative value of the aortic regurgitation. -
32. The device of claim 31 wherein the means for comparing the densities comprises means for determining the ratio D2/D1 of corresponding flow signals of the second and first series to approximate the ratio of aortic regurgitation flow, to the flow of fluid forward through the aortic valve.
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33. A method for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient wherein the patient employs a non-invasive pressure inducer for inducing a pressure on a body part of the patient by applying pressure to the body part, and generating a stream of pulsation signal data relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) providing a data receiver;
(2) using the data receiver to receive the stream of pulsation signal data;
(3) providing a data processor;
(4) using the data processor for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of wave forms; and
(5) identifying wave form characteristics that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
(1) the step of using the data processor comprises the step of using the data processor to create a time dependant array of wave forms including a series of waveforms each having a peak, (2) the step of graphically displaying the array of waveforms comprises the step of graphically displaying the time dependant array of wave forms includes the series of wave forms each having a peak, (4) the step of graphically displaying the time dependant array includes the step of displaying an envelope line that extends between the peaks of adjacent wave forms, and (5) the step of identifying wave form characteristics includes the step of identifying the slope of the envelope line to determine whether it denotes the presence of aortic valve abnormalities.
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41. A method for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient wherein the patient employs a non-invasive pressure inducer for inducing a pressure on a body part of the patient, and who exerts a pressure on the body part, thereby generating a stream of pulsation signal data relating to the pressure response of pulsed pressure flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) providing a data receiver;
(2) using the data receiver to receive the stream of pulsation signal data (3) providing a data processor;
(4) processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of time dependant wave form data;
(5) converting the array of time dependant wave form data to an array of frequency dependant wave form data; and
(6) identifying characteristics of the frequency dependant wave form data that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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47. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of comparing the densities comprises the step of determining the ratio D2/D1 of corresponding flow signals of the second and first series to approximate the ratio of aortic regurgitation flow, to the flow of fluid forward through the aortic valve.
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48. The method of claim 43 further comprising the step of evaluating the frequency shift between the flow signals of the first series and the flow signals of the second series.
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49. The method of claim 48 wherein the step of evaluating the frequency shift comprises the step of evaluating the frequency shift between the flow signals of the first series and the flow signals of the second series to determine at least one of the nature, type and characteristics of the aortic regurgitation of the patient.
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50. A device for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient wherein a non-invasive pressure inducer has been employed for applying a pressure to a body part and for generating a stream of pulsation signal data relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient, the device comprising:
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(1) a data receiver for receiving the stream of pulsation signal data; and
(2) a data processor for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create a time dependant array of wave forms, the data processor including a program for aiding in the identification of wave form characteristics that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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57. The device of claim 56 wherein the program for identifying the slope of the envelope line is capable of determining whether the envelope line has an undulating slope, thereby suggesting the presence of aortic valve abnormalities.
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58. A device for identifying the existence of aortic valve abnormalities in a patient wherein a non-invasive pressure inducer has been employed for applying a pressure to a body part of the patient, and for generating a stream of pulsation signal data relating to the pressure response of pulsed fluid flowing through the cardiovascular system of the patient, the device comprising:
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(1) a data receiver for receiving the stream of pulsation signal data;
(2) a data processor for processing the stream of pulsation signal data to create an array of time dependant wave form data;
(3) a conversion program for converting the array of time dependant wave form data to an array of frequency dependant wave form data; and
(4) a program for aiding in the identification of characteristics of the frequency dependant wave form data that denote the presence of aortic valve abnormalities. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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64. The device of claim 63 wherein the comparison program for comparing the densities is capable of determining the ratio D2/D1 of corresponding flow signals of the second and first series to approximate the ratio of aortic regurgitation flow, to the flow of fluid forward through the aortic valve.
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Specification