Medical device for diagnosing pressure ulcers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11317852-B2
Application number	US-201213361471-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2012
Priority date	Nov 27, 2007
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

Medical device or instrument for diagnosing pressure ulcers using optical reflectance spectroscopy. The device may comprise a tip and a controller. The tip is pressed against the skin of the patient and collects the optical reflectance data. The controller processes the data to determine whether there exists a pressure ulcer and, if there is one, its depth. The tip may also include a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure at which the tip is applied to the patient's skin.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A monitoring device for use in conjunction with a subject, the monitoring device comprising:
a handheld device comprising:
a handheld housing having a proximate end and a distal end;
a tip extending from the distal end of the handheld housing, wherein the tip comprises:
an outer surface for pressing against tissue in a measurement region of the subject;
at least one emitter in the tip between the outer surface and the distal end of the handheld housing, where the at least one emitter is for emitting light energy from the tip toward the tissue of the subject;
at least one photodetector in the tip between the outer surface and the distal end of the handheld housing, where the at least one photodetector is for sensing reflected light energy from the at least one emitter that is reflected by a plurality of layers of the tissue in the measurement region; and

at least one pressure sensor for sensing the pressure at which the outer surface of the tip is applied to the tissue of the subject; and
wherein the handheld housing houses a processor-based controller in communication with the at least one photodetector and the at least one pressure sensor, wherein the processor-based controller is programmed to detect a first condition of the subject, wherein the first condition is selected from the group consisting of a skin-associated condition and a vascular-related condition, and wherein the first condition is detected by the processor-based controller based on a comparison of at least (i) reflected light energy sensed by the at least one photodetector at the measurement region during a first measurement time period at a first pressure level sensed by the at least one pressure sensor to (ii) reflected light energy sensed by the at least one photodetector at the measurement region during a second measurement time period at a second pressure level sensed by the at least one pressure sensor, wherein the first measurement time period is before the second measurement time period and wherein the first pressure level is different than the second pressure level, and wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to determine at which of a plurality of layers of the tissue the first condition is located.

2. The monitoring device of claim 1 further comprising an emitter assembly in the tip between the outer surface and the distal end of the handheld housing, the emitter assembly comprising a plurality of emitters wherein the plurality of emitters comprises the at least one emitter.

3. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one emitter has a first center wavelength and wherein the at least one emitter further comprises a second emitter having a second center wavelength different than the first center wavelength.

4. The monitoring device of claim 3 , wherein the first emitter comprises a first LED and the second emitter comprises a second LED.

5. The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising a speaker in communication with the processor-based controller to audibly indicate a result of the monitoring of the first condition.

6. The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising a displacement sensor in communication with the processor-based controller.

7. The monitoring device of claim 6 , wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to monitor the first condition of the subject based on input from the displacement sensor.

8. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to monitor the first condition of the subject, at least in part by calculating a rate of change of a blood property of the subject.

9. The monitoring device of claim 8 , wherein the rate of change of the blood property of the subject is calculated during a time period following application of the tip to the tissue of the subject in the measurement region.

10. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to provide to a remote device a signal indicative of the first condition of the subject.

11. The monitoring device of claim 10 , further comprising a wireless transceiver in communication with the processor-based controller, wherein the wireless transceiver transmits the signal to the remote device wirelessly.

12. The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising a speaker in communication with the processor-based controller, wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to generate an audible signal utilizing the speaker.

13. The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising a detachable covering around the tip and that is connected to the handheld housing.

14. The monitoring device of claim 13 , wherein the detachable covering comprises a flared skirt around the tip.

15. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein monitoring the first condition of the subject further comprises measuring a consistency of the tissue.

16. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to generate an error alert.

17. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one emitter comprises at least two LEDs having different center frequencies and located in the tip between the outer surface and the distal end of the handheld housing.

18. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one emitter is optically isolated from the at least one photodetector.

19. The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising a display mounted to the housing, wherein the display visually displays feedback, from the at least one pressure sensor, indicative of a pressure at which the outer surface of the tip is applied to the tissue of the subject.

20. The monitoring device of claim 19 , wherein the display visually indicates a result of the detecting of the first condition.

21. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the outer surface is a curved outer surface.

22. The monitoring device of claim 21 , wherein the tip is semi-spherical.

23. The monitoring device of claim 22 , wherein the outer surface of the semi-spherical tip comprises an optically transmissive material.

24. The monitoring device of claim 23 , wherein:
the at least one photodetector comprises a first photodetector and a second photodetector;
the at least one emitter comprises a first emitter; and
the distance from the first photodetector to the first emitter is different than the distance from the second photodetector to the first emitter.

25. The monitoring device of claim 24 , wherein the at least one photodetector comprises a plurality of photodetectors that are arranged around the at least one emitter.

26. The monitoring device of claim 25 , wherein a first group of the plurality of photodetectors is positioned a first distance from the at least one emitter and a second group of the plurality of photodetectors is positioned a second distance from the at least one emitter, wherein the first photodetector is a member of the first group and the second photodetector is a member of the second group.

27. The monitoring device of claim 24 , wherein the handheld device further comprises:
a temperature sensor to measure a temperature of the tissue in the measurement region.

28. The monitoring device of claim 27 , wherein the processor-based controller is further programmed to detect the first condition of the subject ba

Assignees

• Gaspard Sanna
• Siegel Mel
• Przybycien Todd M
• Antaki James F
• Brienza David M
• Friedman Mark B
• Univ Carnegie Mellon

Inventors

• Gaspard Sanna
• Siegel Mel
• Przybycien Todd M
• Antaki James F
• Brienza David M
• Friedman Mark B

Classifications

• A61B5/6843

  Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure · CPC title

• A61B2560/0462

  Apparatus with built-in sensors · CPC title

• A61B5/445 Primary

  Evaluating skin irritation or skin trauma, e.g. rash, eczema, wound, bed sore · CPC title

• A61B5/742

  using visual displays (displays for heart-related electrical signals, e.g. ECG, A61B5/339) · CPC title

• A61B5/01

  Measuring temperature of body parts {; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue} (clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20) · CPC title