Electrocardiogram systems and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9872628-B2
Application number	US-201514791323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2015
Priority date	Jul 3, 2015
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to electrocardiogram systems and systems of using electrocardiogram systems. The electrocardiogram systems are configured to detect at least two electrical potentials (e.g., a first electrical potential and a second electrical potential) at two or more surfaces of a subject (e.g., a first surface and a second surface). In an embodiment, the electrocardiogram system includes at least one position sensor configured to detect the position of the at least one electrode relative to a surface of the subject.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of using an electrocardiogram system, the method comprising:
contacting a first surface of a subject with at least one electrode of at least one glove that is worn by an individual other than the subject;
with the at least one electrode, detecting a first electrical potential on the first surface of the subject;
storing the detected first electrical potential in memory;
after storing the detected first electrical potential in the memory, contacting a second surface of the subject with the at least one electrode of the at least one glove;
with the at least one electrode, detecting a second electrical potential on the second surface of the subject;
storing the detected second electrical potential in the memory; and
with a processor, determining a voltage between the detected first electrical potential and the detected second electrical potential.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
detecting the first electrical potential on the first surface of the subject includes detecting a plurality of first electrical potentials on the first surface of the subject; and
storing the detected first electrical potential in the memory includes storing at least some of the detected plurality of first electrical potentials in memory.

3. The method of claim 2 , further including, with the processor:
selecting an antecedent first electrical potential and a subsequent first electrical potential from the detected plurality of first electrical potentials, wherein the at least one electrode detects the antecedent first electrical potential at an antecedent time and the subsequent first electrical potential at a subsequent time;
selecting a target time, the target time between the antecedent time and the subsequent time; and
predicting an interpolated first electrical potential at the target time, the interpolated first electrical potential is predicted based on the antecedent first electrical potential and the subsequent first electrical potential.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein selecting a target time includes:
determining another time, the another time when the detected second electrical potential is detected by the at least one electrode or an interpolated second electrical potential at least partially predicted from the detected second electrical potential is detected; and
selecting the target time to be substantially the same as or a specified number of heartbeats before or after the another time.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
detecting the second electrical potential on the second surface of the subject includes detecting a plurality of second electrical potentials on the second surface of the subject; and
storing the detected second electrical potential in the memory includes storing at least some of the detected plurality of second electrical potentials in memory.

6. The method of claim 5 , further including, with the processor:
selecting an antecedent second electrical potential and a subsequent second electrical potential from the detected plurality of second electrical potentials, wherein the at least one electrode detected the antecedent second electrical potential at an antecedent time and the subsequent second electrical potential at a subsequent time;
selecting a target time, the target time between the antecedent time and the subsequent time; and
predicting an interpolated second electrical potential detected at the target time, the interpolated second electrical potential is predicted based on the antecedent second electrical potential and the subsequent second electrical potential.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein selecting a target time includes:
determining another time, the another time when the detected first electrical potential is detected by the at least one electrode or an interpolated first electrical potential at least partially predicted from the detected first electrical potential is detected; and
selecting the target time to be substantially the same as or a specified number of heartbeats before or after the another time.

8. The method of claim 1 , further including, with the processor, determining a heartbeat or a heart rate from the detected first electrical potential, the detected second electrical potential, or the voltage between the detected first electrical potential and the detected second electrical potential.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting a second surface of the subject with the at least one electrode of the at least one glove includes contacting a surface of the subject with the at least one electrode that is on a distinctly different portion of the subject than the first surface.

10. The method of claim 1 , further including,
after storing the detected second electrical potential in the memory, contacting a third surface of the subject with the at least one electrode of the at least one glove;
with the at least one electrode, detecting a third electrical potential on the third surface of the subject; and
storing the detected third electrical potential in the memory.

11. The method of claim 10 , further including,
with the processor, determining a composite electrical potential from an average electrical potential of two of the detected first, second, or third electrical potentials; and
with the processor, determining a voltage between the composite electrical potential and the detected first, second, or third electrical potentials that was not used to determine the composite electrical potential.

12. The method of claim 10 , further including, with the processor, determining a voltage between the detected third electrical potential and at least one of the detected first electrical potential or the detected second electrical potential.

13. The method of claim 1 , further including,
estimating an undetected electrical potential of a surface of the subject using at least one of historical data of the subject or population data; and
with the processor, determining a voltage between the undetected electrical potential and at least one of the detected first electrical potential or the detected second electrical potential.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a voltage between the detected first electrical potential and the detected second electrical potential includes adjusting data associated with at least one of the detected first electrical potential or the detected second electrical potential to compensate for the detected first electrical potential and the detected second electrical potential being detected during different portions of a heartbeat of the subject or exhibiting different heart rates.

15. The method of claim 1 , further including, with the processor, generating a report including the voltage determined between the detected first electrical potential and the detected second electrical potential.

16. The method of claim 15 , further including comparing data of the report with at least one of historical data of the subject or population data to determine at least one characteristic of a heart of the subject.

17. The method of claim 1 , further including, with at least one position sensor, detecting one or more positions of the at least one electrode relative to the subject.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein detecting one or more positions of the at least one electrode relative to the subject includes detecting a skin topography of a surface of the subject using the at least one position sensor.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein detecting one or more positions of the at least one electrode relative

Assignees

• Elwha Llc

Inventors

• Hyde Roderick A
• Sweeney Elizabeth A

Classifications

• A61B5/0245

  by using sensing means generating electric signals, {i.e. ECG signals} · CPC title

• A61B5/066

  Superposing sensor position on an image of the patient, e.g. obtained by ultrasound or x-ray imaging · CPC title

• A61B5/7275

  Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor · CPC title

• A61B5/067

  using accelerometers or gyroscopes · CPC title

• A61B8/00

  Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves · CPC title