Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) system with enhanced safety features
US6014587A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 18, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jan 11, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 18, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/38
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) system includes both hardware and software safety detectors and monitors generator that generates a pulse train of a plurality of pulses with parameters specified by the user. The safety monitors monitor these user-specified parameters as well as other important pulse parameters both during treatment of a patient and prior to treatment in order to ensure that the system is operating according to specification and, therefore, will not injure the patient. The pulse generator is responsive to the safety monitors in that if any of the safety detectors detect a parameter that is out of tolerance, the safety monitor disables the pulse generator so that no further pulses are delivered to the patient. The safety detectors detect the plurality of pulse characteristics including pulse width, frequency, voltage, current, treatment duration, as well as energy. In addition to these real time safety checks, the system includes a pre-treatment arming routine that applies a pre-treatment ECT pulse train to an internal load and monitors these same parameters during this internal test. If all of these parameters are within tolerance, the system moves to an armed s…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.