Method and apparatus for indicating the emergence of an ulcer
First Claim
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1. A method of determining an emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on at least one foot of a patient, the method comprising:
- providing one or more processors;
providing an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors;
generating, using the plurality of temperature sensors, a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at last one foot;
forming, by at least one of the one or more processors, at least one thermogram of a sole of each of the at least one foot of the patient from the discrete temperature data values, each thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole of one foot;
determining, by at least one of the one or more processors, whether the at least one thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns;
said determining comprising comparing the at least one thermogram against a prior thermogram of the same foot; and
producing, by at least one of the one or more processors, output information indicating an emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot, said producing being a function of whether the at least one thermogram is determined to present the at least one prescribed pattern, said producing also being a function of the comparison, the prior thermogram showing non-ulcerated tissue at the given portion.
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Abstract
A method of monitoring a patient'"'"'s foot forms a thermogram of the sole of at least one foot of the patient, and determines whether the thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns. The method also compares the thermogram against a prior thermogram of the same foot, and produces output information indicating the emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot as a function of 1) whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern, and 2) the comparison with the prior thermogram, which shows non-ulcerated tissue at the given location.
58 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of determining an emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on at least one foot of a patient, the method comprising:
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providing one or more processors; providing an open platform for receiving at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors; generating, using the plurality of temperature sensors, a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at last one foot; forming, by at least one of the one or more processors, at least one thermogram of a sole of each of the at least one foot of the patient from the discrete temperature data values, each thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole of one foot; determining, by at least one of the one or more processors, whether the at least one thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; said determining comprising comparing the at least one thermogram against a prior thermogram of the same foot; and producing, by at least one of the one or more processors, output information indicating an emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot, said producing being a function of whether the at least one thermogram is determined to present the at least one prescribed pattern, said producing also being a function of the comparison, the prior thermogram showing non-ulcerated tissue at the given portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer program product for determining the emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot of a patient, the computer program product comprising a tangible, non-transient computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising:
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program code for receiving a plurality of discrete temperature data values from an open platform configured to receive at least one foot, the open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors, the plurality of temperature sensors being configured to generate the plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot; program code for forming at least one thermogram of a sole of at least one foot of the patient from the discrete temperature data values, each thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole of one foot; program code for determining whether the at least one thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; said program code for determining comprising program code for comparing the at least one thermogram against a prior thermogram of the same foot; and program code for producing output information indicating the emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot as a function of
1) the comparison and
2) whether the at least one thermogram is determined to present the at least one pattern, the prior thermogram showing non-ulcerated tissue at the given portion. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus for determining an emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on at least one foot of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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an open platform having a plurality of temperature sensors configured to generate a plurality of discrete temperature data values after receipt of the at least one foot, a thermogram generator operatively coupled with the open platform and configured to form at least one thermogram of a sole of each of the at least one foot of the patient from the plurality of discrete temperature data values, each thermogram comprising a spatially continuous data set of two-dimensional temperature values across the sole of one foot; a pattern recognition system operatively coupled with the thermogram generator, the pattern recognition system configured to determine whether the at least one thermogram presents at least one of a plurality of prescribed patterns; a comparator operatively coupled with the pattern recognition system, the comparator configured to compare the at least one thermogram against a prior thermogram of the same foot; and an analyzer operatively coupled with the comparator, the analyzer being configured to produce output information indicating the emergence of an ulcer on a given portion on the at least one foot as a function of whether the thermogram is determined to present the at least one of the prescribed patterns, the output information also being a function of the comparison, the prior thermogram showing non-ulcerated tissue at the given portion. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification