Abstract: Systems and methods for quantifying the likelihood of the contribution of multiple possible forms of chronic disease to patient reported dyspnea can include the testing protocol having a flow/volume loop, performed at rest, flowed by the measurement of cardiopulmonary exercise gas exchange variables during rest, exercise and recovery as unique data sets. The data sets are analyzed using feature extraction steps to produce a pictorial image consisting of disease silos displaying the likelihood of the contribution of various chronic diseases to patient reported dyspnea. In some embodiments, the silos are split into subclass silos. In some embodiments, multiple chronic disease indexes are used to differentiate between sub-types of a particular chronic disease (e.g., differentiating WHO 1 PH from WHO 2 or WHO 3 PH). Test results are plotted serially to asses to provide feedback to the physician on the efficacy of therapy provided to the patient.

Abstract: Systems and methods to indicate heart failure co-morbidity are described. In an example, one or more physiological signals can be analyzed for a specified time period to determine at least one of an indication of a heart failure event or a characteristic of heart failure co-morbidity, such as a characteristic of a non-heart failure physiological event. At least one of the different physiological signals can be compared to a specified criterion indicative of the heart failure event to provide a comparison value, where the comparison value is indicative of whether the at least one of the different physiological signals contributed towards the indication of the heart failure event. An indication of a non-heart failure physiological event can be determined using the heart failure event indication, the non-heart failure physiological event characteristic, and the comparison value indicative of whether the one or more physiological signals contributed towards the heart failure event.

Abstract: Particles are exhaled in the breath of animals. The nature and amounts of the particles can be indicative of certain medical conditions. They can therefore be collected, sorted according to size or mass and used in the diagnosis of one or more medical conditions. The invention provides a method and system for collecting and sorting exhaled particles and a method for diagnosis using said exhaled particles.

Abstract: A respiratory waveform analyzer, operable to analyze a respiratory waveform, which is generated based on a temporal change of a concentration of a component in respiratory gas of a subject, includes: a respiratory gas concentration generator which generates a concentration signal based on an output signal from a sensor that is placed to measure the concentration of the component; a flatness calculator which calculates a flatness indicative of flat degree of the respiratory waveform based on a temporal change of the concentration signal; and a reliability calculator which calculates a reliability of the respiratory waveform based on the flatness and the concentration signal.

Abstract: A method of brain wave analysis is to be implemented using a brain wave measuring instrument and a medical device. The method includes transmitting a nerve stimulation signal to cerebrum of a patient, measuring the nerve stimulation signal through the body of the patient so as to obtain discharge time information, measuring a brain wave signal from a head portion of the patient, obtaining energy distribution information according to the brain wave signal, and calculating behavior information according to the discharge time information and the energy distribution information.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and method for automatically configuring a mobile device for collecting and inferring heart rate data of a user. The method may include capturing heart rate data for a user with a heart rate sensor that is coupled with a mobile device. The method may also include monitoring a activity state of the user from activity data captured by the mobile device, and detecting a constant activity state of the user. The method may also include inferring heart rate data for the user from the captured heart rate data during a period in which the user remains in the constant activity state. The method may also include providing the inferred heart rate data, as captured heart rate data, to a heart rate calculator during the period in which the user remains in the constant activity state.

Abstract: A method of avoiding a contaminant which would skew an analyte result in a breath analysis method and of calibrating subject of the breath analysis includes, immediately before the breath analysis method or the collection of breath for the breath analysis method, administering to the subject a predetermined gas composition. A system for analyzing an analyte in breath of a subject while avoiding a local contaminant which would skew an analyte result and calibrating the subject of so that the result of the analyte analysis will be the same regardless of where the test is performed geographically, includes a source of a predetermined gas composition immediately before the breath analysis method or the collection of gas for the breath analysis method, administering to the subject a predetermined gas mixture.

Abstract: There is provided a throwaway cuff cover capable of being used for all types of cuffs and performing triage at the same time. The cuff cover has a long main cover 20 which is wound around the upper arm of the human body and a sub-cover 30 shorter than the main cover 20, the sub-cover 30 being provided connectingly along one side of the main cover 20 and capable of being folded onto the main cover 20 side, and the cuff housing portions 21 and 31 are allotted to the main cover 20 and the sub-cover 30, respectively.

Abstract: A system and method for time-frequency analysis in which acquired signals are modeled as frictionally damped harmonic oscillators having a friction factor that is not a free parameter are provided. The friction factor is selected as a function of the frequency value of the associated oscillator, such that an increase in both temporal and spectral resolution are provided over existing time-frequency analysis methods. The friction factor is also selected to define a spectral band, within which the given oscillator can detect data oscillations. The properly selected friction factor thereby provides the analysis over a broad spectral range that can span many orders of magnitude.

Abstract: There is provided an airway tube for breath sampling, comprising a breath sampling port comprising two or more inlets adapted to sample breath from the airway tube. The inlets are connected to each other through a junction located outside of the air passageway of the airway tube.

Abstract: A system for automatically predicting acute airway events in patients, comprising: a device for measuring the respiratory impedance of a human subject during a plurality of respiratory cycles of said human subject; said respiratory impedance comprising a real part and an imaginary part; said device measuring said respiratory impedance two times per day to provide a plurality of measurements; means for calculating the relative variation of said plurality of measurements; means for evaluating the probability of respiratory pathology presence in the subject under examination when the value of the imaginary part of said impedance is greater than 35%; means for predicting a relapse in the patent under examination within an established future time window, once the presence of the pathology has been ascertained, if the variation coefficient of the real part of said impedance is greater than 0.4.

Abstract: A respiratory waveform analyzer, operable to analyze a respiratory waveform, which is generated based on a temporal change of a concentration of a component in respiratory gas of a subject, includes: a respiratory gas concentration generator which generates a concentration signal based on an output signal from a sensor that is placed to measure the concentration of the component; a flatness calculator which calculates a flatness indicative of flat degree of the respiratory waveform based on a temporal change of the concentration signal; and a reliability calculator which calculates a reliability of the respiratory waveform based on the flatness and the concentration signal.

Abstract: A system for detecting abnormalities or inconsistencies and a method to utilize the same are provided. In particular, a computer system may be adapted to detect the abnormality or inconsistency within at least a portion of a subject by generating internal impedance data which indicates that an impedance change within the portion of the subject has occurred. For example, the impedance change may be associated with a change in at least one characteristic of a blood vessel within the subject (such as a change in a fluid flow rate within at least a portion of the subject), a change in a fluid volume within at least a portion of the subject, etc. The impedance change also may be associated with the presence of a foreign object within the portion of the subject. In an exemplary embodiment, it is possible to detect the abnormality or inconsistency within the subject by generating a continuous, real time internal impedance map indicating the impedance change within the subject.

Abstract: A patient monitoring system may receive a physiological signal such as a photoplethysmograph (PPG) signal. The PPG signal may include a pulsatile component that functions as a carrier signal and an amplitude modulation component that represents respiration information. The patient monitoring system may move the amplitude modulation component to a baseline component of the PPG signal. Respiration information may be calculated based on the amplitude modulation component.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein for measuring the electromechanical delay of the heart of a patient. An electrocardiogram (EKG) signal may be used to detect heart electrical activity. Photoplethysmograph (PPG) signals may be used to detect heart mechanical activity. The electromechanical delay may be calculated based at least in part on the timing of an EKG signal and at least two PPG signals.

Abstract: A neuronal recording system featuring a large number of electrodes and a portable wireless front-end integrated circuit for signal processing for low-power spike detection and alignment. The system is configured as a Neuroprocessor and introduces hardware architectures for automatic spike detection and alignment algorithms. The Neuroprocessor can be placed next to the recording electrodes and provide for all stages of spike processing, stimulating neuronal tissues and wireless communications to a host computer. Some of the algorithms are based on principal component analysis (PCA). Others employ a novel Integral Transform. The algorithms execute autonomously, but require off-line training and setting of computational parameters. Pre-recorded neuronal signals evaluate the accuracy of the proposed algorithms and architectures: The recorded data are processed by a standard PCA spike sorting software algorithm, as well as by the several hardware algorithms, and the outcomes are compared.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a pulse wave velocity measuring device includes a first sensor, a second sensor, a base body and a calculation unit. The first sensor is configured to sense a pulse wave propagating through an interior of a vessel. The second sensor is separated from the first sensor and is configured to sense the pulse wave. The base body is configured to hold the first sensor and the second sensor and regulate a distance between the first sensor and the second sensor. The calculation unit is configured to derive a difference between a time of the sensing of the pulse wave by the first sensor and a time of the sensing of the pulse wave by the second sensor.

Abstract: A biological information monitor includes: a first measuring unit which measures a pulse wave propagation time of a patient; a second measuring unit which measures a blood pressure of the patient; a calculating unit which calculates an estimated blood pressure value of the patient based on the pulse wave propagation time of the patient; a setting unit which sets a threshold; and a determining unit which compares the estimated blood pressure value with the threshold. The second measuring unit is activated to measure the blood pressure of the patient at least one of at time intervals and at a time when an operator operates the second measuring unit, and the second measuring unit is activated to measure the blood pressure of the patient by the determining unit based on the comparison result.

Abstract: A device embodiment is configured to deliver vagal stimulation therapy (VST) to a vagus nerve of a patient. The device embodiment includes a neural stimulator, an implantable impedance sensor and an impedance analyzer. The neural stimulator is configured to deliver the VST to the vagus nerve in a cervical region of the patient. The implantable impedance sensor is configured to detect impedance changes in a cervical region of the patient caused by laryngeal vibrations. The impedance sensor is configured to generate sensed impedance values. The impedance analyzer is configured to analyze the sensed impedance values generated by the sensor. The analyzer is configured to detect laryngeal vibrations or cough from the sensed impedance values.

Abstract: A device embodiment is configured to deliver vagal stimulation therapy (VST) to a vagus nerve of a patient. The device embodiment includes a neural stimulator, an implantable pressure sensor, and a pressure analyzer. The neural stimulator is configured to deliver the VST to the vagus nerve in a cervical region of the patient. The implantable pressure sensor is configured to be implanted in the cervical region and to detect pressure changes in the cervical region caused by laryngeal vibrations. The pressure sensor is configured to generate sensed pressure values. The pressure analyzer is configured to analyze the sensed pressure values generated by the pressure sensor. The analyzer is configured to detect laryngeal vibrations or cough from the sensed pressure values.