Intelligent stethoscope

Patent 5010889 Issued on April 30, 1991. Estimated Expiration Date:

April 30, 2008. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

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Inventors

Assignee

Bloodline Technology

Application

No. 153719 filed on 02/04/1988

US Classes:

600/528, Detecting heart sound381/67, STETHOSCOPES, ELECTRICAL600/586Detecting sound generated within body

Examiners

Primary: Hindenburg, Max
Assistant: Lacyk, John P.

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Merchant, Gould, Smith, Edell, Welter & Schmidt

International Classes

A61B 005/62
A61B 007/00

Abstract

An intelligenet stethoscope for performing auscultation and for automatically diagnosing abnormalities based on body sounds is described in which the body sounds are received, digitized and stored in memory. The body sounds are recorded from a plurality of locations on the body, and all of the sounds are categorized according to specific characteristics to form a matrix of information. The generated matrix is then compared against a plurality of stored matrices using a technique similar to signature analysis. Each of the stored matrices contain information indicative of known abnormalities such as specific heart murmurs, lung abnormalities, etc. When a matrix match is found, the diagnosis is displayed on an LCD display formed in the body of the stethoscope. The LCD display is also capable of displaying a visual representation of the recorded body sounds. The resent invention is applicable to heart sounds, lung sounds, and bruits. A wide variety of heart and lung abnormalities along with their signatures are described and the specific steps required for the signature analysis is described.