Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Measuring anatomical characteristic or force applied to or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-04
2001-11-13
Lacyk, John P. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Measuring anatomical characteristic or force applied to or...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315740
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to seizure monitors, and more particularly relates to means for monitoring movements attributable to seizures and convulsions of patients having epilepsy or other seizure disorders.
As is well known by those skilled in the art, it is common practice to attach electrodes to patients to observe bio-electrical body functions. For instance, electrical activity of the heart may be monitored by electrodes interconnected with the body. Unfortunately, electrodes are inconvenient and tend to become detached from the patient, wherein false alarms and patient-anxiety are undesirable sideeffects. Furthermore, if and when, a patient awakes while being observed and monitored, electrodes are likely to result in physical and psychological discomfort, and inhibited mobility. Such adverse reactions to monitoring devices are obviously contrary to efforts to remedy and improve a patient's infirmity and to improve a patient's well-being.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,766, Alihanka et al. attempt to improve the art with a “static charge sensitive bed” that records signals corresponding to a patient's body movements while disposed in a supine position in bed. Configured with an antenna assembly to communicate amplified signals for recording changes in static charges produced by body movements, this bed may be used to monitor a patient's motor activity during sleep. Instead of using electrodes or the like, the Alihanka bed is constructed with a built-in antenna assembly consisting of plates, nets, or rods arranged in a matrix contained in a supplemental mattress disposed either between the patient and the regular mattress or beneath the regular mattress. However this assembly is complicated and somewhat cumbersome to apply to patients, and to operate without inadvertent interference by patients.
Notwithstanding these and related developments in the art, there appears to be no apparatus which provides a means for providing accurate, reliable, and interference-free signals corresponding to the motor movements of patients experiencing seizures, convulsions, and other sleep disorders during periods of sleep.
Accordingly, these limitations and disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, wherein a seizure monitoring apparatus is provided that is particularly useful for enabling accurate and unobtrusive monitoring and recording of movements attributable to seizures and convulsions of patients having epilepsy or other seizure disorders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an apparatus for accurately monitoring a patient's body movements during periods of sleep. In particular, the present invention monitors motor movements attributable to seizures and convulsions of patients having epilepsy or other seizure disorders, and motor movements attributable to periodic leg movements, tremors, respiration, mechanical cardiac functions, or any other motorics during periods of sleep. As will be hereinafter described, the present invention achieves this monitoring function without attaching any detection apparatus to the patient. Embodiments of the present invention measure patient movements essentially by relating mattress displacement to such motor movements. In order to reliably and accurately monitor such movements, it has been found that accurate sensing devices such as geophones—representative of seismic sensors or velocity sensors—or the like should preferably be used.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is constructed with a geophone configuration intended to receive an analog signal corresponding to mattress movement and to communicate this signal to an electrically interconnected detection assembly for monitoring and recording the patient's pattern of body movements. According to the preferred embodiment, a plurality of insulated and padded geophones is parked upon a bed proximal to a patient situated thereon in a supine position. These geophones may alternatively be attached to the head-board, side-rail or the foot board of the bed. Any patient body movements cause corresponding displacements in the underlying mattress and the bed-frame that are, consequently, received by the plurality of geophones or the like. It will be appreciated that the present invention also contemplates that other suitable movement sensing devices such as devices based upon piezoelectric, fiber optics, microwave, infrared, and ultrasound phenomena may be used either in addition to or instead of geophones, so long as the sensitivity contemplated by the present invention is obtained. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, to achieve the objectives of the present invention, such sensors may require positioning on the bed or, in case of microwave, infrared, and ultrasound motion sensors, may require hanging positioning from a wall near the bed or from the ceiling thereabove.
The analog signals received by these sensors are then communicated to a computerized detection assembly wherein these signals are converted from waveforms to digital signals for subsequent analysis and remedial medical treatment as appropriate. Once these digital signals are analyzed, if seizures or convulsions or other sleep disorders appear to be occurring, then medical professionals or other healthcare personnel, including family members, are notified either locally or remotely.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for accurately monitoring a patient's body movements during periods of sleep.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for promoting the safety and health of patients suffering from epilepsy, seizures, and other sleep disorders.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that detects most patients' motor seizures during periods of sleep.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that detects some patients' complex partial motor seizures during periods of sleep.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that detects patients' motor movements attributable to epileptic convulsive seizures and other deviant movements including periodic leg movements, tremors, respiration, mechanical cardiac functions, or any other motorics during periods of sleep, without attaching any detection apparatus to the patient.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, wherein reference is made to the figures in the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4197856 (1980-04-01), Northrop
patent: 4320766 (1982-03-01), Alihanka et al.
patent: 5194847 (1993-03-01), Taylor et al.
patent: 5523742 (1996-06-01), Simkins et al.
patent: 5610590 (1997-03-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 5808552 (1998-09-01), Wiley et al.
patent: 5879309 (1999-03-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 5905436 (1999-05-01), Dwight et al.
patent: WO 96/36950 (1996-11-01), None
patent: WO 98/34577 (1998-08-01), None
Lacyk John P.
Szmal Brian
Trop Pruner & Hu P.C.
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