Surgery – Truss – Pad
Patent
1996-07-31
1998-02-24
Jaworski, Francis
Surgery
Truss
Pad
128746, A61B 1300
Patent
active
057202982
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system, which collects data corresponding to electrophysiological responses to appropriate stimulation such as sound, touch or visual stimulation. Such a system is particularly, but not exclusively, useful in the diagnosis of diseases on the basis of the data collected.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
It is well established that different stimuli will produce different electrophysiological responses in a subject, and variations in those responses from one subject to another can be used in the diagnosis, prognosis and management of diseases. However, existing attempts to make use of such electrophysiological responses have been carried out in an ad hoc way. A specialist may set up means for presenting different stimuli to a subject, and data corresponding to the electrophysiological responses of the subject may then be recorded. The specialist uses his or her expertise and experience to interpret the data derived from those responses.
However, variations in the conditions under which the subject experienced the stimulus cause variations in the results obtained. The specialist may be able to compensate for this on the basis of his or her own knowledge, when he or she interprets the data, but this makes it very difficult to compare a diagnosis obtained by one specialist with those obtained by another. Moreover, the tests carried out on the subject must be controlled and interpreted by the specialist, so that the tests cannot be carried out by the inexperienced. As a result, the costs of such tests are high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention seeks to overcome these problems by providing an electrophysiological data collection system, in which the conditions under which the subject is exposed to the stimulation are controlled to permit standardisation to be achieved.
In order to achieve such standardisation, one or more of the following three features must be present in the system: firstly, means for monitoring, and preferably controlling, the ambient light in the vicinity of the subject, so that tests can be carried out under standardised ambient light conditions, or at least being prevented from being carried out if the ambient light levels do not fall within desired parameters: secondly, means for monitoring, and preferably controlling, the stimulus which the subject experiences, to ensure that the stimulus has predetermined characteristics, or at least characteristics within a given range, and thirdly, means for varying the processing of the electrophysiological data from the subject in dependence on the stimulus, which itself will vary in dependence on the electrodiagnostic test being carried out on the subject.
The present invention is applicable to tests involving many different types of stimulation. It has been developed particularly for visual stimulation, but may be applied to auditory, somatosensory, cognative or autonomic tests. In each case, it is desirable that all conditions be controlled, since an auditory event occurring at the time of the visual stimulus could affect the results obtained from a test based on that visual stimulus.
Ideally, the system would ensure that the conditions under which the tests were carried out were entirely uniform. In some cases, however, variation may arise, not from the environment, the stimulus or the subject, but from unequal amplification of the many amplifiers used simultaneously to amplify the signals from the subject. The system therefore preferably has means for compensating for any such variations to equalise the behaviour of all amplifiers.
Thus, a subject may be placed in a suitable location, such as a windowless room, and the ambient light controlled on the basis of detection of that light by suitable sensors. Once the operator has input the diagnosis test to be carried out, the system is configured to adapt it to the signals that are expected to result from that test, and then the subject is exposed to appropriate stimulation corresponding to the desir
REFERENCES:
patent: 4955389 (1990-09-01), Schneider
patent: 5422690 (1995-06-01), Rothberg et al.
patent: 5507291 (1996-04-01), Stirbl et al.
patent: 5617872 (1997-04-01), Scinto et al.
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