Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of body portion
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-28
2002-12-17
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3747)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of body portion
Reexamination Certificate
active
06496725
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining a degree of restoration of a diseased part on a human body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a symptom known as a lymphatic edema frequently seen after the surgical operation for breast cancer, uterine cancer and other cancer. This is a kind of swell mainly appeared only at one side or on a portion of an arm, a leg or an armpit, that frequently involves no change of color or no pain. That is to say, this is under such condition that a portion is swelled somehow. In an initial stage for the lymphatic edema there is no significant obstacle occurred in the life of a person if he does not concern about it. In addition a physician may not positively deal with such swelled portion and frequently leave it without any treatment. With the progress of such symptom, however, it may happen that the swelled portion becomes larger or suddenly turns red color with a fever, for which the person feels uneasy.
In the past a several types of diagnosis and assessment method for the lymphatic edema have been developed. For instance, a palpation by a physician has been conducted by touching the diseased part with his hand, or a change in circumferential length or volume of the target part has been measured. Alternatively some device with an echo effect has been used to produce an image with which the diagnosis for the diseased part is carried out.
On the other hand, the muscle of a human body consists of an aggregation of fine cells known as muscular fibers. The number of such muscular fibers on a person is naturally determined when he was born and does not increase or decrease thereafter, but each of them may become thicker or thinner. Such phenomenon may be generally expressed by the words “growth or decline of the muscles”. If a person had an accident such as fracture of a bone or breakage of a tendon then the diseased part and its surrounding area are covered with a gypsum after the surgical operation in order to protect that part against any movement. Of course, the person should restrain himself from carrying out a physical exercise. Due to the restriction in movement of the person in his daily life the muscle of the person, and in particular, the skeletal muscle becomes declined only in a part such as one arm or one leg. Therefore some rehabilitation is necessary for the person to rapidly restore the declined muscular fibers after removing the gypsum.
In such circumstances the prior art method of knowing a degree of such restoration is simply to measure the muscle power for that part of the person.
The prior art diagnosis and assessment method for the lymphatic edema mainly depend on the subjective decision by the physician, and therefore, there may frequently be some difference in decision and assessment made by the different physicians. In addition, touching the diseased part of the patient with the hand of the physician may cause any possibility of occurrence of pain even some time interval after the surgical operation, which leads to uneasiness for the patient. Then the prior art method is not preferable for the diagnosis for the diseased part that is in the course of restoration.
The prior art method for measuring the muscle power to know the degree of restoration of an external damaged part after the surgical operation is difficult to embody because various types of the measuring devices are necessary and a patient is required to move by himself a part of his body including the diseased part.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above it is an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for determining a degree of restoration of a diseased part on a person, that can solve the prior art problems as described above.
To attain such object the present invention provides an apparatus for determining a degree of restoration of a diseased part, comprising: two pairs of electrodes; an electric current source; a voltage measuring unit; and an arithmetic unit; whereby said two pairs of electrodes are contacted with a skin in the surrounding area of the diseased part, said electric current source feeds a measuring current via selected ones of said electrodes, said voltage measuring unit measures a voltage between another selected ones of said electrodes, and said arithmetic unit calculates a parameter representing a degree of restoration of the diseased part based on the measurement data from said voltage measuring unit.
According to one embodiment of the present invention said electrodes of the two electrode pairs are placed on a line at such interval that the diseased part is positioned therebetween.
According to another embodiment of the present invention said apparatus further comprises a display unit and said display unit indicates the parameter produced by said arithmetic unit.
According to further embodiment of the present invention said apparatus further comprises a storage unit and a comparison unit, said storage unit stores the parameter produced by said arithmetic unit, and said comparison unit compares the parameter representing the current measurement data with the parameter representing the previous measurement data stored in said storage unit or the predetermined reference and outputs the result of comparison, which is then displayed on said display unit.
According to yet further embodiment of the present invention said parameter includes a bioelectrical impedance
According to yet further embodiment of the present invention said parameter includes an information on a swell in the surrounding area of the diseased part.
According to yet further embodiment of the present invention said parameter includes an information on an amount of muscle in the surrounding area of the diseased part.
According to yet further embodiment of the present invention said parameter includes a ratio of intra-cellular water to extra-cellular water.
According to yet further embodiment of the present invention said current source selectively feeds the measuring current having any one of a plurality of frequencies.
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patent: WO98/26714 (1998-06-01), None
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Fukuda Yoshinori
Kamada Mitsugu
Castro Arnold
Mancene Gene
McDermott & Will & Emery
Tanita Corporation
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