Abstract: The present invention relates to a device, system and method for determining pulse pressure variation of a subject. To enable more reliably determining pulse pressure variation of a subject the device comprises a signal input (11) configured to obtain an input signal representing a hemodynamic signal of the subject, a processor (12) configured to process the input signal and compute a pulse pressure variation and a signal output (13) configured to output the computed pulse pressure variation. The pulse pressure variation is computed by deriving a pulse height signal from the input signal, deriving a pulse height baseline and a de-trended pulse height signal from the pulse height signal as the ratio between the difference between extrema of the de-trended pulse height signal and the respective value of the pulse height baseline signal, and computing the pulse pressure variation from the de-trended pulse height signal and the pulse height baseline.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for guiding the acquisition of ultrasound data. The method begins by obtaining ultrasound data from a plurality of data acquisition planes and performing spatial registration of the data acquisition planes. A number of vessels are then identified in each data acquisition plane. A location of a vessel bifurcation is then identified based on the spatial registration of the data acquisition planes and the number of vessels in each data acquisition plane. A guidance instruction is generated based on the location of the vessel bifurcation, wherein the guidance instruction is adapted to indicate a location to obtain further ultrasound data.

Abstract: An inductive sensing system (8) is adapted to apply electromagnetic excitation signals into a body, the system comprising a resonator circuit (10) incorporating a loop antenna (12). The system senses signals returned back from the body with the same antenna, based on variation in electrical characteristics of the resonator circuit. The system is configured for separating signals received from different physiological sources within the body. This is performed based on detecting in the resonator circuit electrical characteristics indicative of both a real and an imaginary part of an additional inductance component added to the antenna by received electromagnetic signals. The separating the signals from different physiological sources is based on relative magnitudes of said detected real and imaginary inductance components added to the resonator circuit by the returned signals.

Abstract: An inductive sensing device comprises first (16) and second (24) loops, the first loop (16) being coupled with a capacitor to form a resonator circuit (20), and the resonator circuit and second loop being coupled via an active buffering component (28). The active buffering component provides voltage to current amplification, and an output of the buffering component drives a current in the second loop. Conductive lines forming each of the first and second loop parts are radially spaced apart.

Abstract: For the purpose of obtaining information about a person's sleep and wake states, an arrangement (100) comprising a video camera (10) and a processing unit (20) is used. The video camera (10) serves for capturing a sequence of video frames during a time period, and the processing unit (20) is configured to process video frames provided by the video camera (10) and to provide output representative of the person's sleep and wake states during the time period. In particular, the processing unit (20) is configured to execute an algorithm according to which (i) a motion value-time relation, (ii) sets of features relating to respective epochs in the motion value-time relation and (iii) classifiers of the respective epochs are determined, wherein the algorithm is further configured to apply an adaptive prior probability determined for the particular person in dependence of the motion values of the respective epochs to the classifiers.

Abstract: A medical device (10) configured for attachment to skin of a patient includes a vital sign sensor or drug delivery patch (14); and a plurality of suction cells (12) arranged around a periphery of the vital sign sensor or drug delivery patch.

Abstract: An inductive sensing device (22) is for sensing at two different frequencies. The device includes an antenna (24) which comprises at least two loop parts (30, 32), each loop part coupled to a different respective tuning capacitor (36a, 36b) to thereby provide different respective resonant frequencies for the first and second loop parts. The two loop parts are jointly connected to a shared input connection (38) for receiving driving signals for driving both antenna parts. A control means (44) controls a drive circuit (34) to supply the antenna, via the shared input connection, drive signals of each of the frequencies, implementing switching between the two.

Abstract: A wearable bladder monitoring device is disclosed (1) comprising securing means (27, 29) for securing the device to a subject's (40) body; a phased array (11) of ultrasound transducers (10) having configurable output frequencies; a configurable phased array controller (13) adapted to control the phased array to direct ultrasound beams (30, 30?, 30?) into the subject's body under a plurality of discrete beam angles and to collect echo signals (31, 31?, 31?) of said ultrasound beams, wherein the phased array controller (13) is adapted to direct a set of ultrasound beams (30, 30?, 30?) into the subject's body for at least a subset of said discrete beam angles in response to a configuration instruction defining the respective output frequencies of the ultrasound beams in said set; and a device communication module (21) for communicating data pertaining to said echo signals to a remote device (5) to facilitate the remote processing of said data and to receive said configuration instruction from the remote device.

Abstract: A system for monitoring blood distribution in a subject, the system comprising a processor(38) responsive to Doppler ultrasound data representing arterial blood flow in at least two different locations of the subject, such as the neck and the arm, to obtain velocity (C, B1, B2, B3) or volumetric flow rate at each location, to monitor changes in a predetermined function of the blood flows, and to provide an output indicative of the monitored changes which may result from blood volume centralization. This can indicate the onset of hypovolemia or hypervolemia.

Abstract: Disclosed is a patient monitor control unit (10) comprising a processor arrangement (11, 13) adapted to receive a series of ultrasound measurements received from a sensor (30) comprising at least one configurable ultrasound transducer; process said series of ultrasound measurements to obtain haemodynamic data of a patient coupled to the sensor; control a patient monitor (20) to display the obtained haemodynamic data; evaluate the obtained haemodynamic data to detect a variance in said data; and generate a reconfiguration signal for the at least one configurable ultrasound transducer, wherein the timing of said generation is a function of said evaluation. Also disclosed are a patient monitoring system, a method of operating a patient monitor control unit and a computer program product for implementing such a method.

Abstract: In a sensor system (12), output signals of at least one PPG sensor (14) are processed to derive a modified pulse amplitude variation (PAV) value, being modified to take account of a baseline variation of the PPG sensor output signal. In particular, the modified PAV is derived through performing a modification step (42) in which either: a baseline variation of the PPG sensor output is derived and combined with a previously derived PAV, or, a PPG sensor output is first processed to perform baseline variation compensation, in advance of then deriving a PAV from the compensated signal.

Abstract: The present application discloses a bladder monitoring system comprising a wearable bladder monitoring device (1) including securing means (27, 29) for securing the device to a subject's (40) body; a phased array (11) of ultrasound transducers (10); and a phased array controller (13) adapted to control the phased array to direct a plurality of ultrasound beams (30, 30?, 30?) into the subject's body under a range of beam angles, as well as a signal processor (23) adapted to receive data pertaining to echo signals (31, 31?, 31?) of said ultrasound beams from the phased array.

Abstract: A vital sign monitoring device (10) includes a radio frequency (RF) loop coil (12) that is resonant at both a low frequency and a high frequency that is different from and higher than the low frequency. An annular Faraday shield (18) is arranged to shield the RF loop coil. An oscillator circuit (22) is connected to the both lower and higher oscillation frequency determining RF loop. Readout electronics (24) are connected to measure an electrical response of the RF loop coil energized by the voltage source at both the low frequency and the high frequency and to: extract at least one signal component of the electrical response at the low frequency; extract at least one signal component of the electrical response at the high frequency; and generate vital sign data using both the at least one signal component of the electrical response at the low frequency and the at least one signal component of the electrical response at the high frequency.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device, system and method for determining pulse pressure variation of a subject. To enable more reliably determining pulse pressure variation of a subject the device comprises a signal input (11) configured to obtain an input signal representing a hemodynamic signal of the subject, a processor (12) configured to process the input signal and compute a pulse pressure variation and a signal output (13) configured to output the computed pulse pressure variation. The pulse pressure variation is computed by deriving a pulse height signal from the input signal, deriving a pulse height baseline and a de-trended pulse height signal from the pulse height signal as the ratio between the difference between extrema of the de-trended pulse height signal and the respective value of the pulse height baseline signal, and computing the pulse pressure variation from the de-trended pulse height signal and the pulse height baseline.

Abstract: Presented are concepts for monitoring cardio-respiratory function of a patient. One such concept employs an optical sensor unit (10) for sensing light from tissue of the patient in response to temporary airway pressure changes provided via a respiratory support unit (50). By sensing variations in blood volume in the central site vein in response to temporary airway pressure changes, venous information of the person may be obtained.

Abstract: The present disclosure pertains to a system and method for monitoring and for facilitating pulmonary and systemic hemodynamics in the treatment and/or prevention of cardiac arrhythmias or structural cardiac changes, caused by altered preload. The system comprises: a pressure generator; a first sensor configured to generate output signals conveying information related to venous blood accumulation during cardiac preload in the subject; a second sensor configured to generate output signals conveying information related to systemic arterial circulation in the subject; and one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions to control the pressure generator to adjust the pressure levels of the flow of breathable gas during one or both of inhalation and exhalation to facilitate the pulmonary and systemic circulation based on the output signals from the first sensor and the second sensor.

Abstract: Presented are concepts for monitoring cardio-respiratory function of a patient. One such concept comprises detecting light or sound from the sublingual vasculature using a sublingual sensor unit adapted to be positioned at a sublingual vasculature of the patient's tongue and to generate a sensor output signal based on the detected light or sound. A processing unit adapted to receive at least one of the sensor unit output signal, wherein the sensor unit and the processing unit are arranged to analyze the venous component in the sensor output signal. An output signal from the sublingual sensor may then be used to provide information on cardio-respiratory parameters like respiration rate and respiration rate variability, for example.

Abstract: The invention provides a magnetic inductive sensing device (30) comprising a loop antenna (10) for inductively coupling with electromagnetic (EM) signals emitted from a medium in response to stimulation of the medium with electromagnetic excitation signals. The device includes an electromagnetic shield (36) element which is arranged such as to intercept electromagnetic signals travelling to or from the antenna. The shield element is formed of conductive material such as to block electrical field components of incident signals but further incorporates a non-conductive gap in the material so as to prevent the formation of eddy currents. A loop of the antenna is broken by an opening, the opening being bridged by a capacitor, and the device comprises a signal processing means which is electrically coupled to the antenna via only a single point of the antenna, located to one side of the opening.

Abstract: The invention provides a magnetic inductive sensing system for sensing electromagnetic signals emitted from a body in response to electromagnetic excitation signals applied to the body. The electromagnetic signals are generated and sensed by the same loop resonator which comprises a single-turn loop antenna and a tuning capacitor. The loop antenna of the resonator and a signal generation means for exciting the resonator to generate excitation signals are together configured so as to optimize the value of a ratio between the radial frequency of the generated electromagnetic excitation signals and a reference frequency of the antenna, where the reference frequency is the frequency for which one wavelength of the generated excitation signals (waves) matches the circumferential length of the antenna. This ratio, which corresponds to a normalized radial frequency of the generated excitation signals, is maintained between a value of 0.025 and 0.50.

Abstract: According to an aspect, there is provided a stethoscope apparatus stethoscope apparatus, the stethoscope apparatus comprising a sound sensor for measuring sounds produced by the breathing of a subject and for outputting a sound signal representing the measured breathing sounds; an antenna for receiving a modulated electromagnetic signal from the body, wherein the modulated electromagnetic signal is modulated by movement of air, fluid and/or tissue in the body; a processing unit that is configured to receive the sound signal from the sound sensor and the modulated electromagnetic signal from the antenna; and normalise the sound signal using the modulated electromagnetic signal.