Patents Examined by Patricia C. Mallari
  • Patent number: 8021307
    Abstract: A delivery system for fixation of an implant assembly having an intracorporeal device at a deployment site using an anchoring structure. This invention provides an implant assembly having a an anchor for fixation within a vessel. The anchoring structure adapted to be delivered via a catheter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: CardioMEMS, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason White, Kelly Tumlin
  • Patent number: 8021306
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method, device, and computer program product for monitoring the physiological state of a person. In the method, the heartbeat of the person is detected in order to obtain a pulse signal, and at least one parameter depicting the respiration of the person is determined in the time domain with the aid of time stamps made of the basis of the pulse signal. With the aid of the method, it is possible to calculate an estimate of the person's energy consumption during exercise, without complicated calculations or preliminary data based on measurements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Suunto Oy
    Inventors: Mikko Martikka, Erik Lindman
  • Patent number: 8021308
    Abstract: An improved apparatus and method for capturing and analyzing the end-tidal portion of an exhalation. The CO2 level of air drawn into the system (10) is monitored to distinguish inhalation and exhalation of breath. Upon detection of a decrease in the CO2 level in the air drawn into the system (10), indicating a transition between exhalation and inhalation a pair of flow selector valves (26, 28) are operated to capture the end-tidal volume of air drawn into the system (10) immediately prior to the detection of the decrease in the CO2 level. Incoming air is diverted around the captured volume of air, and the CO2 levels are continually monitored to ensure that the captured volume of air corresponds to the end-tidal portion of an exhalation. Once the captured volume of air is positively identified as the end-tidal portion of an exhalation, the captured volume is routed through a gas analyzer (44) for analysis of one or more predetermined gas levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Capnia, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee R. Carlson, Edward A. McClatchie, Joe Martinosky, Ralph Walden, Elvir Causevic
  • Patent number: 8016765
    Abstract: The present invention provides a new multi-mode sphygmomanometer which integrates into one enclosure a full manual sphygmomanometer comprising a mechanical cuff pressure measuring and display system, a manual inflation bulb and deflation valve such elements comprising the manual/mechanical aspect of the integrated device. Within the same physical enclosure and integrated with the manual sphygmomanometer the device also comprises an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device comprising electronic sensing of the pressure, electronic indication of the cuff pressure and oscillation or KS amplitudes and logic implemented in a microprocessor that automatically interprets these signals to determine the BP parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Inventor: Maynard Ramsey
  • Patent number: 8016763
    Abstract: A method for analysing pressure-signals derivable from pressure measurements on or in a body of a human being or animal, includes the steps of sampling said signals and converting the signals to pressure-related digital data with a time reference, wherein the method comprises the further steps of: identifying from said digital data features related to absolute pressures relative to atmospheric pressure, recording repeatedly at specific time intervals, intermittently, in any reiterated manner, or continuously absolute pressure data to create a pressure trend plot against time, determining from said recording either a) a plurality of different pressure levels and duration thereof, or b) a plurality of different pressure changes of different levels and duration thereof, and presenting a) numbers of different pressure levels of various time durations in format of a matrix, or b) presenting numbers of different pressure change levels of various time durations in format of a matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: DPCOM AS
    Inventor: Per Kristian Eide
  • Patent number: 8005534
    Abstract: The present invention is a system and method of deriving and computing features and indices that predict the likelihood of psychological and neurological adverse events such as suicidal thoughts and/or actions. The method of the present invention further predicts the likelihood of suicidal thoughts and/or actions prior to and or during treatment for psychological disease. To obtain such features and indices, power spectrum and time domain values are derived from biopotential signals acquired from the subject being tested. The system and method identify people who are likely to experience changing, especially worsening, symptoms of psychological and neurological adverse events such as suicidal thoughts or actions and who therefore may be at risk (e.g. suicide).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett LLC
    Inventors: Scott D. Greenwald, Philip H. Devlin, Jeffrey C. Sigl
  • Patent number: 8002712
    Abstract: A system for collecting an exhaled breath sample and exhaled breath aerosol from a subject includes a condensation chamber having an outerwall defining an interior space. The outer wall has an inlet port and an outlet port therethrough in fluid communication with the interior space. The inlet port is placeable in fluid communication with an exhaled breath sample of the subject. A condensation element is positioned within the condensation chamber interior space and has a shape tapering downwardly toward a bottom tip thereof. A condensation of fluid on the condensation element is enhanced through various elements. A collection area is positioned within the condensation chamber's interior space beneath the condensation element bottom tip. The collection area is for collecting condensate accumulating on an outer surface of the condensation element and dropping from the tip thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Inventors: Vikas V. Meka, Neil R. Euliano, Craig T. Flanagan, Brent Joseph Lutz
  • Patent number: 8000762
    Abstract: Body fluid sampling device comprising a sampling element having a fluid pathway (11) for receiving body fluid, at least a portion of the fluid pathway is open to the environment and further comprising a fluid receiving means (40) being spaced from the fluid pathway so that fluid in the pathway will not contact the fluid receiving means initially. The fluid receiving means has two or more test zones (45) for performing analytical reactions. Fluid from the channel is contacted with the fluid receiving means either by bringing the fluid receiving means and the fluid into mechanical contact or by electrically transporting fluid from the channel onto the fluid receiving means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Irio G. Calasso, Patrick Griss, Emad Sarofim, Rainer Jaeggi, Uwe Kraemer, David Hasker, Volker Zimmer
  • Patent number: 7998080
    Abstract: A method of estimating blood flow in the brain, comprising: a) causing currents to flow inside the head by producing electric fields inside the head; b) measuring at least changes in the electric fields and the currents; and c) estimating changes in the blood volume of the head, using the measurements of the electric fields and the currents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Orsan Medical Technologies Ltd.
    Inventors: Shlomi Ben-Ari, Alon Rappaport, Aharon Shapira
  • Patent number: 7998084
    Abstract: A method of determining the presence of pulmonary embolism is a postoperative patient using the carbox ratio of the patient prior to the surgical procedure and the carbox ratio of the patient after to the surgical procedure. The characteristics of the breath of the patient are obtained prior to a surgical procedure for a baseline and then afterwards if the patient has difficult breathing. The mean carbox ratios from the baseline and post-surgical data collections are then compared to non-invasively predict the likelihood that the patient has developed pulmonary embolism. A decrease in the carbox ratio of more than twenty-five percent (25%) represents an abnormal test and is consistent with possible pulmonary embolism. No change or an increase in the carbox ratio suggests the absence of pulmonary embolism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority
    Inventor: Jeffrey A Kline
  • Patent number: 7993268
    Abstract: A method for enhanced exercise training or performance utilizing intentional controlled tachypnea and somatic sensory alkalosis biofeedback training to maintain an essentially non-acidic state during exercise. A trainee is instructed to decrease measured transcutaneous CO2 levels by increased ventilation and to correlate measured transcutaneous CO2 levels with subjective somatic symptoms. Studies under exercise conditions measure the intensity of exercise correlating to an onset in blood acid accumulation in the trainee and such level of intensity is in turn correlated with a predetermined heart rate. The trainee is then instructed to use heart rate and somatic sensory changes as a guide to the need for increased ventilation to lower blood CO2. In another embodiment, the method of the instant invention utilizes intentional controlled tachypnea to increase maximum breath holding time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Inventor: Gary Nadeau
  • Patent number: 7993276
    Abstract: A pulse rate sensor that includes an accelerometer for measuring periodic motion and a piezo sensor for detecting erratic motion is capable of more accurately determining pulse rate by accounting for these types of motion. The pulse rate sensor in accordance with the present invention diminishes pulse rate signal degradation due to erratic motion through a combination of algorithms that control signal boosting, waveform refinement and signal noise suppression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Pulse Tracer, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard A. Nazarian, Lori E. Lucke, Susan S. Alfini, Mark J. Bina, Paul Harris, Michael W. Geatz, Don W. E. Evans
  • Patent number: 7988635
    Abstract: A method of identifying sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in a patient includes monitoring a hemodynamic pressure, deriving high, middle, and low values representative of the distribution of the hemodynamic pressure over a storage interval, measuring a ratio of a lower range to a full range of the hemodynamic pressure based on the derived high, middle, and low values, and using the ratio to determine whether the patient has experienced an SDB episode. Certain embodiments of the invention compare the ratio to a threshold value to identify the occurrence of an SDB episode, while other embodiments of the invention identify the occurrence of an SDB episode by monitoring for a simultaneous increase in both the ratio and the full range of the hemodynamic pressure. In certain other embodiments of the invention, activity level and/or duration criteria may be employed to confirm the occurrence of an SDB episode detected using the ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Yong K. Cho, Tommy D. Bennett, Barbro M. Kjellstrom
  • Patent number: 7988630
    Abstract: A method and system for monitoring and/or controlling a glycemic state of a subject, comprising a housing device having one or more chambers, extendable and retractable sensors, extendable and retractable catheters, insulin reservoir, neuroprotective agent reservoir, release mechanism for releasing insulin and neuroprotective agent into the subject, and a control mechanism with a processor for receiving and analyzing outputs from the sensors and for controlling the release mechanism, a clock mechanism for providing logging and/or circadian information to the processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Flint Hills Scientific LLC
    Inventors: Ivan Osorio, Mark G. Frei
  • Patent number: 7991461
    Abstract: Various embodiments of a biological interface system and related methods are disclosed. The system may comprise a sensor comprising a plurality of electrodes for detecting multicellular signals emanating from one or more living cells of a patient and a processing unit configured to receive the multicellular signals from the sensor and process the multicellular signals to produce a processed signal. The processing unit may be configured to transmit the processed signal to a controlled device that is configured to receive the processed signal. The system is configured to perform an integrated patient training routine to generate one or more system configuration parameters that are used by the processing unit to produce the processed signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: BrainGate Co., LLC
    Inventors: J. Christopher Flaherty, Mijail D. Serruya, Daniel S. Morris, Abraham H. Caplan, Maryam Saleh, John P. Donoghue
  • Patent number: 7988638
    Abstract: The invention concerns a conditioning circuit (10) for an external signal (IN) representative of a physiological quantity, arranged between an optical sensor (11) and a processing unit (12), the received external signal (IN) being broken down into a useful component and an ambient component, characterized in that the conditioning circuit includes a first stage (13) including a transimpedance amplifier with an incorporated high pass filter (15) using a feedback loop to subtract the ambient signal component from the received external signal, and to deliver at output an amplified useful signal (IN1), a second stage (16) including a blocker sampler circuit (17) for demodulating the amplified useful signal and delivering at output a demodulated useful signal (IN2), and a third stage (18) including a bandpass filter (19) for filtering the demodulated useful signal in the frequency band of the physiological quantity to be detected and for transmitting a conditioned signal (OUT) to the processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: EM Microelectronic-Marin S.A.
    Inventor: Pinchas Novac
  • Patent number: 7986991
    Abstract: A system and method for prediction of cognitive decline, comprises an input receiving input data corresponding to brain activity of an individual and a processor coupled to the input for analyzing the input data to obtain a selected set of features, the processor comparing the selected set of features to at least a portion of entries in a database corresponding to brain activity of a plurality of individuals, wherein entries in the database have been separated into a plurality of categories corresponding to one of a degree of cognitive decline and a propensity for future cognitive decline of individuals relating to the entries, the processor determining, based on the comparison, a category most closely corresponding to the selected set of features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: New York University
    Inventor: Leslie S. Prichep
  • Patent number: 7986986
    Abstract: Systems and methods for processing sensor analyte data, including initiating calibration, updating calibration, evaluating clinical acceptability of reference and sensor analyte data, and evaluating the quality of sensor calibration. During initial calibration, the analyte sensor data is evaluated over a period of time to determine stability of the sensor. The sensor may be calibrated using a calibration set of one or more matched sensor and reference analyte data pairs. The calibration may be updated after evaluating the calibration set for best calibration based on inclusion criteria with newly received reference analyte data. Fail-safe mechanisms are provided based on clinical acceptability of reference and analyte data and quality of sensor calibration. Algorithms provide for optimized prospective and retrospective analysis of estimated blood analyte data from an analyte sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: DexCom, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul V. Goode, James Brauker, Apurv U. Kamath, Victoria E. Carr-Brendel
  • Patent number: 7981045
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining a respiratory condition includes a breath sound measuring unit 111 measuring a breath sound passing through a subject's airway by a breathing; a frequency converting unit 132 converting a frequency on the breath sound to obtain a frequency spectrum; a respiratory synchronous component extracting unit 134 extracting a respiratory synchronous component, which varies depending on the breathing, from the frequency spectrum; a frequency distribution detecting unit 136 detecting a frequency distribution of the respiratory synchronous component; and a respiratory condition determining unit 138 determining a subject's respiratory condition based on the frequency distribution. According to the apparatus, various symptoms, such as airway occlusion, respiratory obstruction and the like in relation to breathing during sleep can be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Takuji Suzuki, Atsushi Sugahara
  • Patent number: RE43039
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for a continuous analyte sensor, such as a continuous glucose sensor. One such system utilizes first and second working electrodes to measure additional analyte or non-analyte related signal. Such measurements may provide a background and/or sensitivity measurement(s) for use in processing sensor data and may be used to trigger events such as digital filtering of data or suspending display of data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: DexCom, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Brister, James R. Petisce, Peter C. Simpson, James H. Brauker