Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Cardiovascular
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-21
2002-03-26
Nasser, Jr., Robert L. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Cardiovascular
C600S485000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06361501
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and device for extracting information related to the body's state from the pulse wave, and measuring or diagnosing the body's state based on this extracted information.
2. Background of the Invention
Blood pressure, heart rate and the like are typical measurements employed when diagnosing the condition of the circulatory system in the human body. Accordingly, systolic and diastolic blood pressure values and pulse rates measured in the body are of great importance as a type of information for understanding the state of the circulatory system and, in a greater sense, the state of the body. Since these indices are obtained by measuring the pulse over a fixed period of time, they serve as representative values for the period of measurement.
As research on pulse waves has progressed, it has become clear that a variety of physiological states which cannot be gleaned from blood pressure values and the pulse rate alone, can be obtained using a variety of methods to analyze a pulse waveform obtained in the human body. Diagnosis can then be made based on the thus-obtained physiological state. The term “pulse wave” as employed here indicates the wave of blood that is pumped out from the heart and propagates through the blood vessels. It is known that various medical information can be obtained by detecting and analyzing the pulse wave.
In Eastern medicine, for example, the physician performs a pulse diagnosis by applying pressure on the skin over the patient's radius artery with his fingers. A diagnosis of the patient's physiological state is then made based on the pulse sensed by the physician through his fingers. The Ping mai, Hua mai, and Xuan mai are representative forms which the pulse wave may assume.
However, since the pulse wave is used to diagnose the body's state based on very subtle touch sensations felt through the fingers of the examiner, it can be difficult to teach this technique. Accordingly, much practice over a period of months and years is required. Moreover, if body motion is present, then it can be particularly difficult to get an accurate pulse type due to fluctuations in blood flow.
When performing physical training, exercise of a certain intensity is carried out regularly. The intensity of this exercise is obtained from a subjective evaluation by the exerciser who qualifies the exercise as “difficult” or “easy”.
However, an exercise intensity obtained based on a subjective evaluation is not a suitable index since it does not take into consideration the subject's physical strength.
When evaluating cardiac function, an index which focuses on the amount of blood ejected from the heart is employed. Stroke-volume-per-beat SV and cardiac output CO are examples of such indices.
Some degree of body motion accompanies exercise or daily activities, however. Accordingly, blood flow is acted upon by this body motion, causing a body motion component to be superimposed on the pulse waveform. As a result, it is not possible to continuously measure stroke-volume-per-beat SV and cardiac output CO while exercising or performing daily activities.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention takes into consideration the aforementioned physiological states in providing the following devices.
1) A device and method for objectively specifying the pulse type based on the pulse waveform
2) A device and method for objectively detecting exercise intensity
3) A device and method for measuring stroke volume per beat and cardiac output.
The following devices and methods are available for objectively specifying the pulse type based on the pulse waveform.
The first aspect of the present invention relates to a pulse wave diagnosing device, characterized in that it comprises a pulse wave detecting means for detecting a pulse waveform at a detection site on the body; a wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the pulse waveform detected by the pulse wave detecting means, and then generating analyzed pulse wave data in each frequency region; and a pulse type data generating means for performing calculations on the analyzed pulse wave data and then generating pulse type data indicating the type of pulse waveform.
The second aspect of the present invention relates to a pulse wave diagnosing device, characterized in that it comprises a pulse wave detecting means for detecting a pulse waveform at a detection site on the body; a first wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the pulse waveform detected by the pulse wave detecting means, and then generating analyzed pulse wave data in each frequency region; a body motion detecting means for detecting body motion and outputting a body motion waveform; a second wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the body motion waveform detected by the body motion detecting means, and generating analyzed body motion data in each frequency region; a mask means for subtracting analyzed body motion data from the analyzed pulse wave data, and generating corrected pulse wave data from which body motion components have been removed; and a pulse type data generating means for performing calculations on the corrected pulse wave data generated by the mask means, and generating pulse type data indicating the type of pulse waveform.
The third aspect of the present invention relates to a pulse wave diagnosing device, characterized in that it comprises a pulse wave detecting means for detecting a pulse waveform at a detection site on the body; a wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the pulse waveform detected by the pulse wave detecting means, and then generating analyzed pulse wave data in each frequency region; a frequency correcting means for correcting analyzed pulse wave data by normalizing the power at each frequency based on each corresponding bandwidth in the frequency regions, and generating corrected pulse wave data; and a pulse type data generating means for performing calculations on the corrected pulse wave data, and then generating pulse type data indicating the type of pulse waveform.
The forth aspect of the present invention relates to a pulse wave diagnosing device, characterized in that it comprises a pulse wave detecting means for detecting a pulse waveform at a detection site on the body; a first wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the pulse waveform detected by the pulse wave detecting means, and then generating analyzed pulse wave data in each frequency region; a first frequency correcting means for correcting analyzed pulse wave data based by normalizing the power at each frequency based on each corresponding bandwidth in the frequency regions, and generating corrected pulse wave data; a body motion detecting means for detecting motion of the body, and outputting a body motion waveform; a second wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the body motion waveform detected by the body motion detecting means, and generating analyzed body motion data in each frequency region; a second frequency correcting means for correcting analyzed body motion data by normalizing the power at each frequency based on each corresponding bandwidth in the frequency regions, and generating corrected body motion data; a mask means for subtracting the corrected body motion data from the corrected pulse wave data, and generating corrected pulse wave data from which body motion components have been removed; and a pulse type data generating means for performing calculations on the corrected pulse wave data generated by the mask means, and generating pulse type data indicating the type of pulse waveform.
The fifth aspect of the present invention relates to a pulse wave diagnosing device, characterized in that it comprises a pulse wave detecting means for detecting a pulse waveform at a detection site on the body; a first wavelet transforming means for performing wavelet transformation on the pulse
Amano Kazuhiko
Ishiyama Hitoshi
Uebaba Kazuo
Nasser Jr. Robert L.
Seiko Epson Corporation
LandOfFree
Pulse wave diagnosing device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Pulse wave diagnosing device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pulse wave diagnosing device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2820122