Computerized information collection and processing apparatus

• US 10,028,645 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2017
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: West View Research LLC
• Original Assignee: West View Research LLC
• Inventors: Gazdzinski, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Roy, Baisakhi
• Application Number:
  US15/481,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20170209029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0002 provided with data storages
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00032 internally powered
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00036 Means for power saving, e.g. sleeping mode
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0004 for electronic operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00059 provided with identification means for the endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00156 using self propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00158 using magnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/043 for fluorescence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0638 providing two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/273 for the upper alimentary canal, e.g. oesophagoscopes, gastroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/31 for the rectum, e.g. proctoscopes, sigmoidoscopes , colonoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/02 Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/20 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/162 Capsule shaped sensor housings, e.g. for swallowing or implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0071 by measuring fluorescence emission
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0075 by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy A61B5/0071 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 : for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 : Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/411 : Detecting or monitoring allergy or intolerance reactions to an allergenic agent or substance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4255 : Intestines, colon or appendix
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6861 : Capsules, e.g. for swallowing or implanting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7232 : involving compression of the physiological signal, e.g. to extend the signal recording period
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 : Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 : in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 : involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4472 : Wireless probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4488 : the transducer being a phased array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 : Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/002 : in combination with another treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1005 : with asymmetrical radiation pattern
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1014 : Intracavitary radiation therapy
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30028 : Colon; Small intestine
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 : Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 : Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/004 : by using forward error control H04L1/0618 takes precedence; coding, decoding or code conversion, for error detection or correction H03M13/00

Abstract

Computerized information acquisition and processing apparatus. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes an ingestible (e.g., swallowable) computerized device that includes a video apparatus, digital processor apparatus, and a wireless interface. A non-ingestible portion of the system communicates with the ingestible device via the wireless interface and, using computer software and algorithms, processes video data generated by the ingestible device relating to the intestinal tract of a living subject, so as to enhance the speed and/or accuracy of review by a physician or other individual. In one variant, the algorithmic processing by the non-ingestible apparatus includes one or more of: (i) color intensity analysis; (ii) artifact shape analysis; and/or (iii) inter-frame similarity analysis. In another variant, the ingestible device is configured to compress the data using the processor apparatus prior to transmission over the interface to conserve wireless bandwidth.

Claims

1. Computerized apparatus, comprising:

ingestible apparatus comprising;

a power source;

at least one imaging apparatus;

video apparatus in communication with the at least one imaging apparatus and configured to generate digital image data from signals received from the at least one imaging apparatus;

first processor apparatus in data communication with the video apparatus;

data storage apparatus in data communication with the first processor apparatus; and

a data interface in data communication with the first processor apparatus and configured for information transfer; and

non-ingestible apparatus configured to communicate with the ingestible apparatus via the data interface to receive at least a portion of the digital image data, and comprising anatomical analysis apparatus comprising at least one computer program operative to run on a second processor apparatus of the analysis apparatus and configured to, when executed, analyze at least one anatomical aspect of an intestinal tract of a human being represented within the digital image data so as to facilitate identification of one or more diseases within said intestinal tract;

wherein said digital image data comprises color image data, and said analysis of the at least one anatomical aspect of the intestinal tract of the human being represented within the digital image data comprises analysis of the intensity of one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data, the one or more colors or wavelengths is/are selected from the group consisting of red, green and blue (R-G-B); and

wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed;

process said at least portion of the digital image data into a plurality of frames; and

identify a portion of the plurality of frames to a user, the identification of the portion of the plurality of frames based at least on the analysis of the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data.

2. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data interface comprises a wireless interface, and the ingestible apparatus is configured to transfer the at least portion of the digital image data over the wireless interface using radio-frequency energy, and the second apparatus comprises a wireless receiver configured to perform said reception of said at least portion of the digital image data when the wireless receiver is disposed within communication range of the ingestible apparatus while the ingestible apparatus is in vivo.

3. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a computer program having a data compression algorithm, the computer program operative to run on the first processor apparatus and to compress at least portions of the digital image data according to the data compression algorithm, the compression of the digital image data configured to enable reduction of communications bandwidth necessary to transmit the compressed digital image data over the wireless interface as compared to the digital image data uncompressed.

4. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed:

analyze data associated with one or more shapes associated with the at least one anatomical aspect, and generate a score based at least on the analysis of the one or more shapes for display to a user; and

utilize a plurality of nodes or points associated with the at least one anatomical aspect as part of said analysis of the one or more shapes.

5. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, access one or more stored representations of the at least one anatomical aspect previously obtained from the human being using at least one ingestible probe for comparison to the at least portion of the digital image data, the one or more stored representations of the at least one anatomical aspect comprising visual-band imagery of the intestinal tract.

6. The computerized apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed:

analyze data associated with one or more shapes associated with the at least one anatomical aspect, and generate a score based at least on the analysis of data associated with the one or more shapes for display to a user; and

utilize at least a plurality of nodes or points associated with the at least one anatomical aspect as part of said analysis of the one or more shapes, the utilization of the at least a plurality of nodes or points comprising;

(i) performance of a mathematical function or curve-fitting algorithm based at least the plurality of nodes or points; and

(ii) utilization of a result of the mathematical function or curve-fitting algorithm as part of said analysis of data associated with the one or more shapes.

7. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, analyze data associated with one or more shapes associated with the at least one anatomical aspect, and generate a score based at least on the analysis of the one or more shapes for display to a user.

8. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification of the portion of the plurality of frames comprises selection of only the portion of the plurality of frames for display to the user, the portion being less than all of the plurality of frames, and the second computerized apparatus is further configured to cause generation of a display portion comprising only the selected portion of the plurality of frames.

9. The computerized apparatus of claim 8, wherein the selection of only the portion of the plurality of frames for display expedites review of the plurality of frames as compared to review of all of the plurality of frames.

10. The computerized apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification of the portion of the plurality of frames comprises flagging of only frames in the portion of the plurality of frames, and the second computerized apparatus is further configured to cause generation of a display portion comprising only the flagged ones of the plurality of frames so as to enable a user to review only the flagged frames.

11. Computerized apparatus, comprising:

ingestible apparatus comprising;

a battery-based power source;

at least one imaging apparatus;

video apparatus in communication with the at least one imaging apparatus and configured to generate image data from signals received from the at least one imaging apparatus;

first processor apparatus in data communication with the video apparatus;

data storage apparatus in data communication with the first processor apparatus; and

a wireless interface configured for information transfer; and

non-ingestible apparatus configured to communicate wirelessly with the wireless interface at least while the ingestible apparatus is in vivo to receive at least a portion of the image data, and anatomical analysis apparatus comprising at least one computer program operative to run on a second processor apparatus, and configured to analyze at least one anatomical aspect of an intestinal tract of a human being represented within the image data so as to facilitate identification of one or more diseases within said intestinal tract, the non-ingestible apparatus configured to process the received at least portion of the image data into a plurality of frames;

wherein said at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, selectively delete or omit at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data.

12. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein said digital image data comprises color image data, and

said analysis of at least one anatomical aspect of the intestinal tract of the human being represented within the image data comprises analysis of the intensity of one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data.

13. The computerized apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more colors or wavelengths is/are selected from the group consisting of red, green and blue (R-G-B);

and wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured, when executed, to select one or more of said plurality of frames for display to the user, the selection based on the analysis of the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data.

14. The computerized apparatus of claim 13, wherein the ingestible apparatus is configured to transfer the at least portion of the digital image data over the wireless interface using radio-frequency energy, and

the second apparatus comprises a wireless receiver configured to perform said reception of said at least portion of the digital image data when the wireless receiver is disposed proximate the abdomen of the human being.

15. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, analyze data associated with one or more shapes associated with the at least one anatomical aspect, and generate a score based at least on the analysis of the one or more shapes for display to a user.

16. The computerized apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, utilize a plurality of nodes or points associated with the at least one anatomical aspect as part of said analysis of the one or more shapes.

17. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, access one or more stored representations of the at least one anatomical aspect previously obtained from the human being using at least one ingestible probe for comparison to the at least portion of image data, the one or more stored representations of the at least one anatomical aspect comprising visual-band imagery of one or more disease conditions of the intestinal tract.

18. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the selective deletion or omission of the at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data comprises selective deletion or omission according to a prescribed temporal window or number of frames, the prescribed temporal window or number of frames comprising a prescribed number of frames before a user-selected frame of interest in a sequence of the plurality of frames, and a prescribed number of frames after the user-selected frame of interest, at least one of each of the prescribed number of frames before the frame of interest and the prescribed number of frames after the frame of interest being temporally contiguous with the frame of interest.

19. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the selective deletion or omission of at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data comprises selective deletion or omission according to an absence of motion-related artifact.

20. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the selective deletion or omission of the at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data comprises selective deletion or omission based on an analysis of the intensity of one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data, the one or more colors or wavelengths is/are selected from the group consisting of red, green and blue (R-G-B).

21. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the selective deletion or omission of the at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data comprises selective deletion or omission based on a similarity analysis of one or more portions of at least one of said plurality of frames as compared to another frame of said plurality of frames.

22. The computerized apparatus of claim 11, wherein the selective deletion or omission of the at least one of said plurality of frames before causing display of remaining ones of the plurality of frames so as to expedite review of the received at least portion of image data comprises selective deletion or omission based on an analysis performed by said at least one computer program of one or more portions of at least one of said plurality of frames, the analysis comprising identification of one or more portions of the received image data corresponding to a reduced probability of disease, the selective deletion or omission comprising deletion or omission of one or more frames associated with said identified one or more portions.

23. Computerized apparatus, comprising:

ingestible apparatus comprising;

a power source;

at least one imaging apparatus;

video apparatus in communication with the at least one imaging apparatus and configured to generate image digital data from signals received from the at least one imaging apparatus;

a wireless data interface configured for information transfer;

first processor apparatus in data communication with the video apparatus and the wireless data interface;

a computer program having a data compression algorithm, the computer program operative to run on the first processor apparatus and to compress at least portions of the digital image data according to the data compression algorithm before transfer via the wireless data interface; and

data storage apparatus in data communication with the first processor apparatus; and

non-ingestible apparatus configured to communicate with the ingestible apparatus via the data interface to receive at least a portion of the image data, and further comprising anatomical analysis apparatus comprising at least one computer program operative to run on a second processor apparatus of the analysis apparatus, the at least one computer program configured to, when executed, analyze at least one anatomical aspect of an intestinal tract of a human being represented within the image data so as to facilitate identification of one or more diseases within said intestinal tract;

wherein the ingestible apparatus is configured to transfer the at least portion of the digital image data over the wireless interface using radio-frequency energy, and the second apparatus comprises a wireless receiver configured to perform said reception of said at least portion of the digital image data when the wireless receiver is disposed within communication range of the ingestible apparatus while the ingestible apparatus is in vivo;

wherein said digital image data comprises color image data, and said analysis of at least one anatomical aspect of an intestinal tract of a human being represented within the image data comprises analysis of the intensity of one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data; and

wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed;

process said at least portion of image data into a plurality of frames; and

select specific ones of the plurality of frames for display to a user, the selection based at least on the analysis of the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data.

24. The computerized apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more colors or wavelengths is/are selected from the group consisting of red, green and blue (R-G-B).

25. The computerized apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed:

analyze data associated with one or more shapes associated with the at least one anatomical aspect, and generate a score based at least on the analysis of the one or more shapes for display to a user; and

access one or more stored representations of at least one anatomical aspect previously obtained from a human being using at least one ingestible probe for comparison to the at least portion of digital image data, the one or more stored representations of the at least one anatomical aspect comprising visual-band imagery of one or more disease conditions of the intestinal tract and relating to at least one of the one or more shapes.

26. Computerized apparatus, comprising:

ingestible apparatus comprising;

an electrical power source;

at least one imaging apparatus;

video apparatus in communication with the at least one imaging apparatus and configured to generate image data from signals received from the at least one imaging apparatus;

first processor apparatus in data communication with the video apparatus;

data storage apparatus in data communication with the first processor apparatus; and

a wireless interface configured for information transfer; and

non-ingestible apparatus configured to communicate wirelessly with the wireless interface at least while the ingestible apparatus is in vivo to receive at least a portion of the image data, and anatomical analysis apparatus comprising at least one computer program operative to run on a second processor apparatus and configured to, when executed, perform analysis of at least one anatomical aspect of an intestinal tract of a human being represented within the image data so as to facilitate identification of one or more diseases within said intestinal tract, the non-ingestible apparatus configured to process the received at least portion of the image data into a plurality of frames;

wherein said digital image data comprises color image data, and said analysis of the at least one anatomical aspect of the intestinal tract of the human being represented within the image data comprises computerized analysis of the intensity of one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data, the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus further configured to, when executed, select only a portion of said plurality of frames based on the computerized analysis of the intensity said selection of only the portion of said plurality of frames based on the computerized analysis of intensity expediting review of the received at least portion of the image data.

27. The computerized apparatus of claim 26, wherein the selection of the portion of said plurality of frames based on the computerized analysis of the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths of light within said color image data comprises:

(i) forming a pixel intensity map of at least a portion of at least one frame of the plurality of frames; and

(ii) performing algorithmic analysis of the pixel intensity map.

28. The computerized apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one computer program operative to run on the second processor apparatus is further configured to, when executed, algorithmically identify a physiological feature or artifact within the at least one of the plurality of frames.

29. The computerized apparatus of claim 26, wherein the identification of the physiological feature or artifact comprises analysis of the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths associated with a first portion of the at least one frame relative to the intensity of the one or more particular colors or wavelengths associated with a second portion of the at least one frame so as to identify a boundary or edge of the physiological feature or artifact.