Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for processing signals used in oximetry

US4800495A · kind A · utility

311Cited by
15References
43Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 18, 1986
Grant dateJan 24, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 18, 2006

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B5/7239
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The present invention relates to the processing of signals containing information about the pulse rate and oxygen saturation of arterial blood flowing in tissue. These signals have a relatively periodic pulsatile component superimposed upon a varying baseline component. To determine the pulse rate and oxygen saturation from the signals, the positive peaks, negative peaks, and period of the signal must be determined. The present invention accomplishes this by first searching for a sustained positive sloping region of the signal. Then the first derivative of the signal with respect to time is analyzed and points on the signal before and after the occurrence of a slope reversal marked. If the slope at the first point is positive, the interval between the two points is searched for a maximum amplitude that is identified as a positive peak. After the occurrence of a negative sloping region of the signal, another pair of points are marked occurring before and after a subsequent slope reversal. The minimum amplitude of the signal between these points is then identified as a negative peak. For improved accuracy, these positive and negative peaks are then compared with waveform templates to…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.