Method and apparatus for the early diagnosis of subacute, potentially catastrophic illness
US6216032A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 17, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 17, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG16H50/50
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In one aspect, there is provided a method and apparatus for early detection of subacute, potentially catastrophic infectious illness in a premature newborn infant. The method comprises: (a) continuously monitoring heart rate variability in the premature newborn infant; and (b) identifying at least one characteristic abnormality in the heart rate variability that is associated with the illness. This method can be use to diagnose illnesses such as, but not limited to, sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, pneumonia and meningitis. In another aspect, there is provided a method and apparatus for early detection of subacute, potentially catastrophic infectious illness in a patient. The method comprises: (a) continuously monitoring the patient's RR intervals; (b) generating a normalized data set of the RR intervals; (c) calculating one or more of (i) moments of the data set selected from the third and higher moments and (ii) percentile values of the data set; and (d) identifying an abnormal heart rate variability associated with the illness based on one or more of the moments and the percentile values.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.