Medical examination apparatus, system, and/or method

• US 20070106179A1
• Filed: 10/20/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tiba Medical, Inc. (Mortara Instruments Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tiba Medical, Inc. (Mortara Instruments Inc.)
• Inventors: Sun, I-Chiang, Bagha, Merat, McCoy, Steven, Nevin, Richard, Roethig, David, Tirandaz, Arash, Henneman, Kim
• Granted Patent: US 8,092,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/586
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R

Abstract

An embodiment of an auscultation device can be constructed using electronic components to provide improved acquisition, processing, and communication of sound signals. An input device can be used for detecting sounds, and electrical signals representing the sounds can be processed and transmitted via Bluetooth and/or another form of wireless communication. Such embodiments can employ, at least in part, one or more of several commercially available wireless receiver devices, such as, without limitation, headsets and headphones, mobile phones, PDAs and/or other handheld devices, desktop, laptop, palmtop, and/or tablet computers and/or other computer devices and/or electronic devices.

Claims

1. An auscultation device, comprising:

a casing having a contact surface to be placed in contact with a subject;

an input device for detecting sound from the subject and converting the sound into an electrical signal;

a controller for processing said electrical signal; and

a wireless communication interface configured for transmitting the processed signal to a remote receiver.

2. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication interface is configured for transmitting the processed signal substantially consistent with a Bluetooth communications protocol.

3. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication interface includes a transceiver for enabling radio frequency communications.

4. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the remote receiver includes a second controller for processing the transmitted signal.

5. The auscultation device of claim 4, wherein the remote receiver is a computer device and the second controller enables at least one of storage, visual display, audio representation, or analysis of the transmitted signal.

6. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the remote receiver converts the transmitted signal into corresponding audio tones.

7. The auscultation device of claim 6, wherein the remote receiver is a headset.

8. The auscultation device of claim 6, wherein the remote receiver is an electronic speaker.

9. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the input device is a microphone.

10. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the controller is a microcontroller having onboard memory.

11. The auscultation device of claim 10, wherein the onboard memory includes programmable memory for storage of data corresponding to the electrical signal.

12. The auscultation device of claim 1, further comprising a display coupled to the casing.

13. The auscultation device of claim 12, wherein the display includes an LED.

14. The auscultation device of claim 12, wherein the display includes an LCD screen.

15. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the controller includes a digital signal processor.

16. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the controller enables amplification of the electrical signal.

17. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein:

the detected sound includes ambient noise; and

the controller includes filtering logic for removing the ambient noise from the electrical signal.

18. The auscultation device of claim 1, further comprising a user interface including one or more input controls.

19. The auscultation device of claim 18, wherein the user interface includes an input control to select an auscultation mode from among a predetermined set of auscultation modes.

20. The auscultation device of claim 19, wherein the predetermined set of auscultation modes includes a bell mode and a diaphragm mode.

21. The auscultation device of claim 20, wherein the predetermined set of auscultation modes further includes a wide frequency mode encompassing frequencies substantially representing both the bell mode and the diaphragm mode.

22. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the casing is ergonomically shaped for single-handed operation.

23. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the contact surface is constructed from a latex-free non-metallic polymer material.

24. The auscultation device of claim 1, wherein the casing is constructed in a tamper resistant assembly.

25. The auscultation device of claim 1, further comprising a second input device for gathering additional data from the subject.

26. The auscultation device of claim 25, wherein:

the second input device includes an ultrasonic flowmeter; and

the additional data represents blood flow in the subject.

27. The auscultation device of claim 25, wherein:

the second input device includes electrocardiograph leads; and

the additional data represents electrical voltage in the subject.

28. An auscultation system, comprising:

a chest piece, including;

a microphone provisioned within the device to detect sound emitted from a subject when the device is substantially in contact with the subject;

a controller configured for processing one or more electrical signals representing the sound detected by the microphone; and

a wireless communication interface coupled to the controller so as to enable, at least in part, wireless transmission of the processed electrical signals from the controller; and

a remote receiver for receiving the transmitted electrical signals from the chest piece.

29. The auscultation system of claim 28, wherein the wireless communication interface supports Bluetooth communications.

30. The auscultation system of claim 28, wherein the remote receiver converts one or more of the transmitted signals into corresponding audio tones.

31. The auscultation system of claim 30, wherein the remote receiver is a headset.

32. The auscultation system of claim 30, wherein the remote receiver is an electronic speaker.

33. The auscultation system of claim 28, wherein the remote receiver is a computer device.

34. The auscultation system of claim 33, wherein the computer system is chosen from among a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a PDA, and a mobile phone.

35. The auscultation system of claim 33, wherein the computer device includes programming instructions to facilitate analysis of the transmitted electrical signals.

36. The auscultation system of claim 28, further comprising a second remote receiver, wherein the first remote receiver is configured to enable propagation of one or more of the transmitted electrical signals to the second remote receiver.

37. The auscultation system of claim 28, wherein:

the chest piece further includes a rechargeable power source.

38. The auscultation system of claim 37, further comprising a charging station configured for selective coupling with the chest piece to recharge the rechargeable power source.

39. An auscultation method comprising the steps of:

detecting sounds from a subject using an electronic auscultation device enabled for wireless communications;

generating electrical signals representing the detected sounds;

transmitting the electrical signals;

receiving the transmitted electrical signals at a remote receiver; and

presenting the electrical signals for analysis.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the transmitting step includes wireless communication using a protocol substantially complying with a Bluetooth specification.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of establishing a Bluetooth pairing relationship between the electronic auscultation device and the receiver.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the presenting step includes generating a visual display of the electrical signals.

43. The method of claim 39, wherein the presenting step includes generating audible audio tones representing the electrical signals.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising the step of amplifying the audio tones.

45. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of selecting an operating mode for the auscultation device.