Method and system for non-invasively monitoring biological or biochemical parameters of individual

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9636041-B2
Application number	US-201414168730-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2014
Priority date	Jan 28, 2011
Publication date	May 2, 2017
Grant date	May 2, 2017

Abstract

A system and method monitoring conditions of a subject's body including a control unit receiving image data and data indicative of an external stimulation applied to the body during collection of the image data therefrom, a memory utility, and a processor utility. The image data is indicative of a sequence of speckle patterns generated by the body according to a certain sampling time pattern. The processor utility performs processing the image data utilizing the data indicative of the applied external field(s), including determining a spatial correlation function between successive speckle patterns in the sequence, and determining a time varying spatial correlation function in the form of a time-varying function of a feature of the correlation function indicative of a change of the speckle pattern over time; selecting a parameter of the time-varying spatial correlation function, and applying a model to the parameter to determine a corresponding body condition; and generating output data indicative of the corresponding body condition.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for use in monitoring one or more conditions of a subject's body, the system comprising a control unit configured as a computer system comprising:
an input port configured to receive input data indicative of one or more measurement sessions applied to at least a portion of the subject's body, said input data comprising measured image data in the form of a sequence of speckle patterns generated by the portion of the subject's body during a certain time period of said one or more measurement sessions, and data indicative of parameter of at least one external stimulation applied to said portion of the subject's body during certain said time period;
a non-transitory computer readable memory for storing one or more predetermined models, the model comprising data indicative of a relation between one or more measurable parameters and one or more conditions of the subject's body; and
a processor configured to carry out the following:
translating said sequence of the speckle patterns into a time varying spatial correlation function indicative of a change of the speckle pattern over time, said translating comprising determining a spatial correlation function between successive speckle patterns in the sequence, and determining the time varying spatial correlation function in the form of a time-varying function of at least spatial position of a peak of the correlation function indicative of the change of the speckle pattern over time;
selecting at least one spatial feature of the time varying special correlation function corresponding to the parameter of the at least one external stimulus, and using said at least one selected spatial feature as the measurable parameter of the model, to determine one or more corresponding body conditions; and
generating output data indicative of said one or more corresponding body conditions, and

an output port configured to transmit the output data from to at least one device configured to present the output data to a user, the output data comprising at least one of the following: a graph of the temporal changes in the spatial correlation function; a value of one or more of extracted parameters, and a value of at least one body condition being determined.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said processor utility is configured to carry out said selecting of the at least one spatial feature by transforming the time variation of the spatial feature into a spectral variation, and selecting an amplitude of a frequency component of the spectrum corresponding to a frequency of the applied external stimulation.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein said one or more body conditions to be monitored comprises at least one of the following: blood glucose concentration, intra-ocular pressure (IOP), and bone fracture.

4. The system of claim 1 , comprising an optical measurement unit producing the measured data in the form of said sequence of speckle patterns generated by a portion of the subject's body, and at least one external field source generating said at least one external stimulation.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the measurement unit comprises an imaging device for imaging a predetermined portion of the subject's body, the imaging device comprising a coherent light source for illuminating said portion of the subject's body with a predetermined number of wavelengths according to a certain sampling time pattern, and a pixel detector array configured and operable for detecting secondary speckle pattern generated by the illuminated portion of the body and generating measured image data indicative of the detected sequence of secondary speckle patterns.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein said at least one external field source comprises at least one of the following: a magnet unit generating a magnetic field; and an acoustic waves' generator generating an acoustic pressure field of a predetermined profile.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the imaging device comprises an endoscope for inspecting an internal organ.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the endoscope comprises a rigid or flexible guide for directing illuminating and collected light towards and from a region of interest.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the endoscope comprises a multicore fiber configured for transferring light between a proximal end and a distal end of the multicore fiber, the distal end being intended to be placed in proximity of the internal organ being inspected.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is further configured to apply component analysis in order to characterize and separate between the temporal characteristics of the correlation peak for reflections related to different values of the inspected biomedical parameters.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein said processor utility of the control unit is configured and operable to determine at least one biomedical parameter by carrying out the following:
translating the time varying spatial correlation function into a temporal evolution of a spatial feature of the correlation peak; and
calculating an attribute of the temporal evolution of the extracted feature by processing the extracted feature on a predetermined period of time.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control unit comprises a memory utility configured for storing the reference model, the reference model relating the calculated attribute and the biomedical parameter.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the feature extracted comprises at least one of: a position of the correlation peak of the correlation function and an intensity of the correlation peak of the correlation function.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the attribute comprises at least one of: an amplitude of a pulse in the extracted feature, a ratio between positive and negative peak amplitudes in the extracted feature, a period between peaks in the extracted feature, a standard deviation of a background noise.

15. The system of claim 11 , configured for monitoring internal pressure of a blood vessel and the one or more attributes comprise: the amplitude of the main peak in the extracted feature over time.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the system is configured for monitoring a concentration of a chemical in a fluid stream of the internal organ and the one or more attributes comprise at least one of: a positive pulse amplitude in the extracted feature over time and a ratio between positive and negative peak amplitudes in the extracted feature over time.

17. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an ultrasound device configured to excite an inspected organ.

18. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the multicore fiber is a fiber bundle or a photonic crystal.

19. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the multicore fiber has a polygonal cross section defining two opposite substantially parallel facets.

20. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a display unit configured for displaying a value of the determined parameter determined.

Assignees

• Univ Bar Ilan
• Univ Valencia

Inventors

• Zalevsky Zeev
• Garcia Javier
• Beiderman Yevgeny
• Margalit Israel
• Ozana Nisim Nisan
• Arbel Nadav
• Mico Vicente
• Sabater Martin Sanz
• Bishitz Yael
• Shahmoon Asaf

Classifications

• A61B5/72

  Signal processing specially adapted for physiological signals or for diagnostic purposes · CPC title

• A61B5/02035

  Determining blood viscosity · CPC title

• A61B5/14532

  for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement · CPC title

• A61B5/0295

  using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography · CPC title

• A61B5/083

  Measuring rate of metabolism by using breath test, e.g. measuring rate of oxygen consumption · CPC title