Method for animal blood-pressure measurement, inspection apparatus, computer program and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

To provide a solution which makes medical examinations of dogs or cats that are highly reliable, accurate, high-speed and / or noninvasive, and do not use cuffs in particular, especially blood-pressure measurement possible, and makes the examination or measurement as comfortable as possible for animals.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a method for an animal medical examination, especially blood-pressure measurement. Animals preferably have legs and belong to felinae animals in particular. The method records curves including animal's artery blood flow and information about a photoplethysmogram in particular. The curves are divided into a plurality of curve sections so that each curve section corresponds to heart beat. According to another independent mode, a sensor or a subset of sensors are selected from a plurality of sensors of the same kind to perform examination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for medical examination of animals according to the preamble of claim 1 or 17, as well as to an examination device, a computer program and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0002] In general, the object of the present invention is to enable or simplify non-invasive blood pressure measurement in pets, such as cats or dogs. In humans, non-invasive blood pressure measurement often involves an inflatable cuff worn around the arm. However, measuring blood pressure using a cuff is not without problems for dogs, and particularly cats, because these animals are not accustomed to such tests and, for cats in particular, it can be difficult to apply the cuff. On the other hand, applying the cuff is stressful for the animal, which can lead to erroneous measurements and is therefore something that should be avoided if possible.

[0003] However, the invention is not limited to application to pets such as cats or dogs, but can in principle also be used for any kind of animal, in particular humans.Furthermore, the invention is not limited to blood pressure measurement, but is generally designed or adapted for medical tests, in particular optical, non-invasive and / or transcutaneous tests, particularly preferably photoplethysmography and / or pulse oximetry.

[0004] In addition to cuff-based blood pressure measurements, other methods of measuring blood pressure non-invasively are already known in the prior art.

[0005] WO85 / 03211A1 relates to a method for measuring arterial blood pressure, in which heart rate is measured by an electrocardiograph and arterial blood flow is measured by photoplethysmography. Blood pressure is then determined from the time interval between the heart rate and the arterial pulse wave caused thereby and measured by photoplethysmography. This is done by taking advantage of the fact that blood pressure is correlated with the time span between the heart rate and the arterial pulse wave caused thereby.

[0006] The time between the heartbeat and the resulting arterial pulse wave is also called the pulse transit time.

[0007] WO 89 / 08424 A1 relates to a method for continuously measuring a person's blood pressure. To determine one of three blood pressure volumes (systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure), pulse transit time is continuously measured using a probe-specific calibration curve showing pulse transit time as a function of the blood pressure volume used. To measure pulse transit time, two electrodes are placed over the patient's heart, a sensor is attached to the earlobe with an ear clip, and an ECG is recorded. A small light source in the sensor shines through the earlobe, and a photodiode measures the transmittance of the earlobe, which varies proportionally with blood pressure. The temporal transmittance curve indicates the arrival of the pulse wave at the earlobe relative to the systolic period registered by the ECG signal. Thus, the pulse transit time is determined relative to the distance between the heart and the earlobe. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 85 / 03211A1 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 89 / 08424A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a solution which allows reliable, accurate, fast and / or non-invasive medical examinations of animals such as dogs or cats, in particular blood pressure measurements, in particular without the use of a cuff, and which makes the examination or measurement as comfortable as possible for the animal.

[0010] The above object is solved by a method according to claim 1 or 17, an inspection device according to claim 31 or 35, a computer program according to claim 36 or a computer-readable storage medium according to claim 37. Further advantageous developments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0011] The present invention relates in particular to a method for medical examination of animals, in particular in which the blood pressure of the animal is determined, which may in particular be the diastolic blood pressure.

[0012] Furthermore, the method is preferably configured and / or suitable for testing legged animals, preferably animals from the superfamily Felidae (cat-like) or superfamily Canidae (dog-like), in particular animals from the family Felidae (cats) or family Canidae (dogs), particularly preferably animals from the subfamily Felinae (small cats) or subfamily Caninae (true dogs), and within this family in particular animals from the family Canidae (wolf-like and jackal-like), particularly preferably domestic cats or domestic dogs.

[0013] In principle, however, the method is suitable for medical examinations, in particular blood pressure measurements, in any animal, especially in humans.

[0014] In the method according to the present invention, the arterial blood flow of an animal is optically examined, preferably using a sensor device. Particularly preferably, photoplethysmography is performed. This makes it possible to avoid the need for a cuff. Furthermore, the sensor device allows the animal to move freely during the examination. This allows for a comfortable and therefore stress-free examination for the animal. As a result, accurate and reliable examinations, particularly blood pressure measurements, can be performed.

[0015] Furthermore, the method comprises recording a curve, in particular a photoplethysmogram, containing information about the arterial blood flow of an animal, and dividing the curve into curve sections, each curve section corresponding to a heartbeat, in particular to a single and / or exactly one heartbeat, thereby enabling reliable and accurate tests, in particular blood pressure measurements, to be performed.

[0016] The curve evaluation is preferably based on a plurality of curve sections and averaging is performed, which simplifies and / or improves the accuracy of the evaluation, in particular noise in the signal and / or curve sections can be suppressed and / or filtered, and movement artifacts can be corrected.

[0017] It is preferred to select a subset of the curve sections for evaluation, and in particular the curve sections not selected can be discarded, which improves the accuracy and / or reliability of the method, especially when the test conditions result in temporary disturbances, for example when the tested animal moves.

[0018] Preferably, a resampling method, in particular a bootstrap method, is used for the evaluation, whereby subsamples, in particular bootstrap samples, are generated from the curve sections, which contributes to the reliability and accuracy of the method.

[0019] The sub-sample preferably has less than 200, preferably less than 100, in particular less than 60, and / or more than 15, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 45 curve sections. The present example shows in a surprising way that even such a small number of curve sections leads to reliable and accurate results with a relatively low amount of calculation.

[0020] More preferably, less than 1000 subsamples are generated, preferably less than 500, particularly preferably less than 250, particularly preferably less than 100, very particularly preferably less than 75 and / or more than 10, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 50. It has surprisingly been shown that even with such a small number of subsamples reliable and accurate results are obtained.

[0021] From the curve sections and / or sub-samples, preferably curve features are determined. Preferably, a curve feature is determined for each sub-sample and / or an average value is determined from multiple curve features, preferably of the same type. This improves accuracy and reliability in determining the curve features.

[0022] Preferably, the degree of dispersion of the curve characteristics, in particular the interquartile range and / or standard deviation, is determined. It is particularly preferred here that multiple curves are recorded simultaneously and / or consecutively and one of the curves is selected for further evaluation based on the degree of dispersion, thereby improving the reliability and accuracy of the curve characteristics and / or blood pressure measurements.

[0023] Particularly preferably, the blood pressure is measured based on the curve characteristics, preferably by means of an empirically determined correlation function.

[0024] Preferably, a heart rate curve, in particular an electrocardiogram, is recorded simultaneously with the curve, and preferably information from the heart rate curve is used to cut the curve into curve sections, which facilitates dividing the curve into sections corresponding to the heart beats.

[0025] Particularly preferably, the QRS complexes of the heartbeat curve or the electrocardiogram, in particular the R peak of the QRS complex, are used to determine the time of the heartbeat, and preferably the curve is cut into curve sections at times determined by the QRS complexes, which allows for a simple and accurate determination of the curve characteristics.

[0026] Preferably, the heart rate curve is automatically checked for usefulness. In particular, if the heart rate curve is not useful, the heart rate curve and preferably the heart rate curve and / or the curve containing information about the arterial blood flow corresponding to the respective time segment are discarded. Preferably, a new or different heart rate curve is then recorded or another time segment of the heart rate curve is used. Also preferably, a new curve is recorded and / or another time segment of the curve corresponding to another time segment of the heart rate curve is used. As a result, the usefulness of the heart rate curve is preferably a prerequisite for using the curve containing information about the arterial blood flow for further evaluation. This increases the reliability and accuracy of the method.

[0027] Preferably, the curve containing information about arterial blood flow is automatically checked for usefulness, and if the curve is not useful, it is discarded and a new curve is recorded, which makes the method reliable and accurate.

[0028] Preferably, multiple curves are recorded simultaneously and / or consecutively and curve sections from different or multiple recorded curves are used for evaluation, which results in increased reliability and accuracy of the method.

[0029] In this method, the arterial blood flow of an animal is optically examined, preferably using a sensor device, in particular photoplethysmography, which eliminates the need for a cuff and provides a comfortable, stress-free examination for the animal, resulting in accurate and reliable examinations, particularly blood pressure measurements.

[0030] The sensor device preferably comprises one or more emitters of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation and a plurality of detectors of the same type for detecting the radiation emitted by the emitters, in particular the emitters and detectors form a plurality of sensors of the same type.

[0031] Preferably, a sensor or a subset of sensors is selected, which results in accurate and reliable testing, in particular blood pressure measurements, and preferably reduces the effort involved in measuring and / or evaluating the signals.

[0032] Preferably, each sensor has a sensor area or a detection area, and the sensor areas of the sensors are each located at a different position and together form a recording / sensing area, with each sensor recording / sensing or being able to record / sensing a different partial area of ​​the sensing area. In the case of medical tests, particularly blood pressure measurements, a specific part of the sensing area is selected. In particular, this makes it possible to dispense with very precise positioning and / or fixation of the leg relative to the sensor and / or sensor device. This therefore allows for a very comfortable and stress-free test for the animal. This results in reliable and accurate tests, particularly blood pressure measurements, and preferably reduces the effort involved in measuring and / or evaluating the signals.

[0033] Preferably, it is checked whether the leg is positioned on the sensor or on the detection area of ​​the sensor. For this check, the signal recorded by the sensor is analyzed. In particular, it is checked whether the absolute signal strength of the signal exceeds or falls below a threshold value. In particular, this makes it possible to omit very precise positioning and / or fixation of the leg relative to the sensor and / or sensor device. This therefore makes it possible to perform a very comfortable and stress-free test for the animal. This results in an efficient, fast, accurate and reliable test, especially for blood pressure measurement.

[0034] Preferably, the sensor is used to record several curves or one curve at a time containing information about the arterial blood flow, in particular the photoplethysmogram. At least one of the curves or parts thereof can be selected for evaluation. In particular, (only) a subset of all recorded curves or parts thereof can be selected for evaluation, and / or curves or parts thereof that are not selected can be discarded. In particular, this allows to correct movement artifacts or errors caused by animal and / or leg movements during measurement and / or recording. This leads to accurate and reliable tests, in particular blood pressure measurements.

[0035] Particularly preferably, the quality of the recorded curves is determined by statistical analysis, and the curve with the highest quality is selected for evaluation. In principle, multiple curves of the same or similar quality can be selected. In particular, this allows compensation for movement artifacts or errors caused by animal and / or leg movements during measurement and / or recording. This results in reliable and accurate testing, especially blood pressure measurements.

[0036] The curve selected for evaluation is preferably divided into curve sections, and particularly preferably, only a subset of the curve sections of the selected curve is used for evaluation. In particular, this allows compensation for movement artifacts or errors caused by animal and / or leg movements during measurement and / or recording. This results in accurate and reliable tests, especially blood pressure measurements.

[0037] It is preferred to record multiple curves, especially curves in sequence, divide the curves into curve sections, and use curve sections of curves recorded in sequence with the same sensor for the evaluation. This results in reliable and accurate testing, especially blood pressure measurements. In particular, this method can be applied even if the animal moves during the test, making individual curves or curve sections unusable.

[0038] Alternatively or additionally, multiple curves can be recorded simultaneously, the curves can be divided into curve sections, and the curve sections of the curves recorded simultaneously by different sensors can be used for the evaluation. This results in a reliable and accurate test, especially blood pressure measurement. This method can be applied especially when the animal moves during the test, making individual curves or curve sections unusable.

[0039] The proposed method is particularly flexible, since multiple curves can be recorded simultaneously and / or consecutively, and curve sections of one or more of these curves can be used for the evaluation. The curves recorded simultaneously with different sensors are preferably recorded at different positions, so that the curves represent different areas of the cat's leg. This allows reliable and accurate testing, especially blood pressure measurements, even if the leg is not optimally positioned relative to one or more of the sensors and / or if the leg moves during the test.

[0040] Preferably, the curve characteristics, in particular the pulse transit time, are determined by the curve. From the curve characteristics, in particular the pulse transit time, the blood pressure is determined by a correlation function, preferably empirically determined.

[0041] The curve is preferably divided into curve sections, each of which corresponds in particular to exactly one heartbeat. From these curve sections, an average value is preferably calculated. In particular, this allows correction of movement artifacts or errors caused by animal and / or leg movements during measurement and / or recording. This results in reliable and accurate tests, in particular blood pressure measurements.

[0042] In particular, it is preferable to simultaneously record the heart rate curve and use the heart rate information from the heart rate to segment the curve into sections, thereby providing reliable and accurate testing, especially for blood pressure measurements.

[0043] According to another aspect, the invention relates to an examination device for medical examination, in particular for blood pressure measurement, of animals, in particular of legged animals, particularly preferably of felines.

[0044] The examination apparatus comprises a sensor device for performing an optical examination, in particular photoplethysmography, of the arterial blood flow of an animal.

[0045] For this purpose, the inspection device preferably has at least one emitter for emitting electromagnetic radiation, in particular light including infrared radiation, and at least one detector for detecting radiation emitted by the emitter, in particular light including infrared radiation.

[0046] Furthermore, the test device comprises means and / or measuring and / or evaluation devices suitable for carrying out the steps of the method according to the invention.

[0047] According to another aspect, which can also be realized independently, the present invention relates to an examination device for medical examination of animals. This examination device is designed in particular for blood pressure measurement. Furthermore, the examination device is preferably designed and / or suitable for the examination of animals, preferably from the superfamily Felidae (cat-like) or superfamily Canidae (dog-like), in particular from the family Felidae (cats) or family Canidae (dogs), particularly preferably from the subfamily Felinae (small cats) or subfamily Caninae (true dogs), and within this family, in particular from the family Canidae (wolf-like and jackal-like), particularly preferably from a domestic cat or a domestic dog, using one leg.

[0048] However, the examination device according to the invention is in principle suitable for medical examinations of any animal, in particular humans, and in particular for blood pressure measurements.

[0049] The examination device has a sensor device for optical examination of the arterial blood flow of an animal. The examination device is preferably designed for transcutaneous and / or non-invasive examination of blood flow and / or animals. The sensor device and / or examination device is particularly preferably designed for performing photoplethysmography.

[0050] The sensor device comprises one or more emitters of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation and a plurality of detectors of the same type for detecting the radiation emitted by the emitters, the emitters and detectors forming a plurality of sensors of the same type.

[0051] According to the present invention, the testing device has a controller designed to select a sensor or a subset of sensors, which results in a reliable, fast and accurate test, particularly blood pressure measurement.

[0052] The sensors preferably each have multiple emitters, which results in reliable and accurate testing, especially blood pressure measurements.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, each emitter may be part of multiple sensors, which may reduce and / or lower the number of emitters required, simplifying the design of the inspection apparatus and making it more cost-effective.

[0054] Preferably, each sensor has a sensor area, the sensor areas of the sensors being each at a different position and together forming a sensing area, each sensor area forming a different partial area of ​​the sensing area, the different partial areas of the sensing area being selectable by the controller. In particular, this makes it possible to omit very precise positioning and / or fixation of the leg relative to the sensor and / or sensor device. This therefore makes it possible to perform a very comfortable and stress-free test for the animal. This results in reliable and accurate tests, especially blood pressure measurements.

[0055] The inspection device and / or the controller are preferably designed to carry out the method according to the invention. The inspection device preferably comprises means adapted to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0056] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by the computer program, cause an inspection device to carry out the steps of the method.

[0057] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause an inspection device to carry out the steps of a method.

[0058] As a result, the present invention makes it possible to measure blood pressure in animals, particularly in animals that, in experience, have a high motility and / or low stress tolerance with respect to physical manipulation, as is the case in particular with domestic dogs and cats.

[0059] However, blood pressure measurements have traditionally always placed a great deal of stress on animals. The present invention solves this problem in a completely different way than known approaches in which the animal is immobilized and / or the sensor technology is immobilized on the animal. The present invention provides a solution in an unexpected and surprising way by combining measures that do not require movement restrictions but at least essentially do not restrict freedom of movement. Instead of immobilizing the animal, measurement problems that may arise due to possible animal movement during the test are technically solved. In particular, so-called movement artifacts, i.e., measurement inaccuracies and measurement errors caused by movement, are eliminated and / or compensated for.

[0060] To achieve this goal, different measures are described and / or applied, which can be realized individually but which interfere with each other and therefore in a synergistic way allow a particularly reliable and equally stress-free blood pressure measurement.

[0061] Therefore, on the one hand, it is preferably intended that the position of the animal, in particular the position of the legs, is not strictly given, instead multiple sensors are used and the sensor suitable for the measurement can be selected.

[0062] This is preferably combined with further means, each of which can be implemented separately and combined in a particularly advantageous way, in order to finally determine curve characteristics from the measured curve and in particular to measure blood pressure based on the curve characteristics.

[0063] A particularly advantageous and basis for some of the further measures is the subdivision or division of the signal or curve into curve sections based on the simultaneously determined heart rate curve. Another basis for most of the proposed measures is averaging between curve sections.

[0064] Furthermore, there is also a choice between several alternative results determined in particular by the selection of suitable curve sections and / or curve characteristics and / or filter means and / or statistical methods. In particular, these and further means described in detail lead to the conclusion that simply placing one or more paws on or at the sensor device and / or placing the animal on the testing apparatus is sufficient to achieve a meaningful determination of the curve characteristics and a reliable blood pressure measurement resulting therefrom, which previously did not appear possible in this form.

[0065] "Animal" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a vertebrate, in particular a mammal, particularly preferably a terrestrial mammal. In particular, the term "animal" within the meaning of the present invention also includes humans. Preferably, the animal to be examined has legs. Preferably, the animal to be examined is an animal of the superfamily Felidae (cat-like) or superfamily Canidae (dog-like), in particular an animal of the family Felidae (cat) or Canidae (dog), particularly preferred are animals of the family Felinae (small cats) or Caninae (true dogs), and within this family, in particular an animal of the family Canidae (wolf-like and jackal-like), particularly preferred are domestic cats or domestic dogs.

[0066] An "emitter" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a structure that emits or is designed to emit electromagnetic radiation, in particular in the optical and / or infrared range. Preferably, the emitter is formed by a light-emitting diode, a laser diode, or generally a light-generating element. However, the emitter can also be formed by the end of an optical fiber, at least as far as the position of the emitter is concerned, from which emerges light guided by the optical fiber. In some respects, the combination of the associated light source and light guide is the emitter. In principle, therefore, the term "emitter" in the sense of the present invention is preferably understood in a broad sense.

[0067] A "detector" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a structure designed to detect electromagnetic radiation, in particular in the light and / or infrared range. Preferably, the detector is formed by a photodiode. However, in principle, the detector can also be formed by another structure designed in particular for the detection of electromagnetic radiation emitted by an emitter, such as a photocathode, a photocell, a CCD sensor or the like. The detector can also have a light guide having one end onto which the light guided by the light guide can enter. In this case, the end of the light guide is the detector, at least as far as the position of the detector is concerned.

[0068] The "emission area" of an emitter in the sense of the present invention is preferably the area in which the radiation emitted by the emitter reaches or can reach. Preferably, the emitter emits radiation in a certain direction, for example in a certain angular range. The emission area is therefore preferably defined or limited by one or more emission angles. The emission area may be essentially conical.

[0069] The "detection area" of a detector in the sense of the present invention is preferably the area in which radiation reaches or can reach the detector. The detection area is preferably defined or limited by one or more detection angles. The detection area may be essentially conical.

[0070] A "sensor" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a combination of at least one emitter and at least one detector. In particular, a detector together with one or more emitters forms a sensor in the sense of the present invention. A sensor preferably comprises precisely one detector and at least one emitter. The emitter is designed to emit electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength that the detector is sensitive to and / or is able to detect this electromagnetic radiation.

[0071] The "sensor area" of a sensor in the sense of the present invention is preferably the area that can be detected / sensed by the sensor or the area where measurements can be made by the sensor. In particular, the sensor area is the area where the emission area of ​​the emitter and the detection area of ​​the detector of the sensor overlap. The sensor area can be formed by a continuous area or by several separated or separated areas.

[0072] A "sensor device" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a device having one or more sensors. In particular, the sensor device is a device for optical examination of animal body parts. The sensor device is in particular designed to perform photoplethysmography.

[0073] A "sensing area" of a sensor device in the sense of the present invention is preferably an area detectable / sensible by the sensor device and / or emitter and / or detector. The sensing area is in particular an overlapping area of ​​an emission area of ​​an emitter and a detection area of ​​a detector. Preferably, the sensing area is formed by one or more overlapping emission areas and one or more detection areas. The sensing area can be connected or formed by several separate areas. In particular, the sensing area can be formed by one or more overlapping areas of essentially conical emission and detection areas.

[0074] A "periodic" arrangement of emitters and / or detectors in the sense of the present invention is preferably an arrangement in which the emitters and / or detectors are arranged in an at least substantially equally spaced repeating structure, such periodicity may in particular exist in one or more mutually orthogonal directions.

[0075] "Optical examination" in the sense of the present invention is preferably an examination in which an animal's body part is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation in the optical and / or infrared range visible to humans, in particular in the wavelength range of 380 nm to 1400 nm, and the radiation reflected and / or scattered by and / or transmitted through the body part is measured by a detector. The optical examination is preferably a reflectometric examination. Results can then be derived from the reflected, scattered and / or transmitted radiation, for example regarding arterial blood flow. In particular, electromagnetic radiation of a defined wavelength or a defined wavelength range is used for the optical examination. Particularly preferably, the optical examination is a non-invasive and / or percutaneous examination of the interior of the body.

[0076] "Photoplethysmography" within the meaning of the present invention is a method for optically examining the arterial blood flow of an animal. In particular, photoplethysmography is a method for non-invasive optical examination in which an animal's body part is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation, in particular with radiation in the human-visible range and / or the infrared range, and the radiation scattered and / or (particularly diffusely) reflected and / or transmitted by the body part is measured using a detector. The proportion of reflected and / or scattered and / or transmitted electromagnetic radiation, in particular reflected or transmitted in the direction of the detector, depends, inter alia, on the arterial blood flow, in particular on the arterial blood volume and / or oxygen saturation of the arterial blood. Preferably, fluctuations in arterial blood flow and / or changes in arterial blood volume and / or changes in oxygen saturation change the signal measured by the detector, and the fluctuations in the measurement signal and / or the course of the measurement signal make it possible to derive conclusions about the arterial blood flow. Therefore, pulse oximetry is also (extended) photoplethysmography within the meaning of the present invention.

[0077] In the sense of the present invention, pulse oximetry includes at least one photoplethysmography, in which the oxygen content of the blood is determined, and in which two photoplethysmographies are carried out, in particular simultaneously, to determine the oxygen content, and these two photoplethysmographies use different wavelengths. From the different absorption rates at the two wavelengths, the oxygen saturation of the blood can be determined.

[0078] A "photoplethysmogram" in the sense of the present invention is in particular a curve that is recorded or measured during the performance of photoplethysmography.

[0079] However, optical tests that do not represent or include photoplethysmography are also known from the prior art, for example for determining the oxygen content in the blood. In particular, methods of cerebral oximetry and tissue oximetry do not include photoplethysmography. These methods are also not suitable for examining arterial blood flow, in particular due to the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation used.

[0080] A "cardiogram" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a curve representing the activity of the animal's heart. Particularly preferably, the cardiac curve is recorded electrically, in particular by means of electrodes in contact with the animal's skin, and / or is an electrocardiogram. However, in principle, other methods for recording the cardiac curve are also conceivable, such as, for example, an impedance cardiogram or an acoustic recording, so that the cardiac curve is a phonocardiogram.

[0081] A "sensing element" in the sense of the present invention is preferably an element for detecting cardiac activity of an animal. The sensing element is particularly suitable or designed for recording a cardiac curve. The sensing element is preferably formed by an electrode. However, the sensing element can also be formed by or comprise a microphone or other sound sensor or the like.

[0082] "Arterial blood flow" in the sense of the present invention preferably refers to the flow of blood through an artery. An artery is in particular a blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. In particular, the arterial blood flow is the blood flow of the animal being tested.

[0083] "Blood pressure" in the sense of the present invention preferably refers to the pressure (force per area) of blood in a blood vessel, in particular in the blood vessel of a test animal. The blood vessel is preferably an artery. Preferably, the blood pressure is the aortic blood pressure. The blood pressure can be systolic, diastolic and / or mean blood pressure. In particular, in the context of the present invention, it has surprisingly been shown that the proposed method and / or examination device can also be used to measure diastolic blood pressure. However, this is not essential.

[0084] A "curve" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a time course of a signal measured by a detector or sensor. The term "curve" also includes data-technical equivalents such as individual data points which (together) represent or correspond to a course. A curve is preferably a time course over several heartbeats.

[0085] A "curve section" in the sense of the present invention is preferably also a section or part of the curve, i.e. in particular also a time course of a signal measured by a detector or sensor. In particular, the curve section is a section of the curve that corresponds to a heartbeat, in particular starting at the time of the heartbeat and preferably ending at the time of a subsequent heartbeat.

[0086] A "curve containing information about arterial blood flow" in the sense of the present invention is in particular a curve from which results can be drawn about the arterial blood flow, in particular the arrival of a pulse wave, changes in the blood volume in the artery, changes in the oxygen saturation of the blood in the artery or the like. A photoplethysmogram is a particularly preferred example of a curve containing information about arterial blood flow.

[0087] "Curve features" in the sense of the present invention are preferably features of a curve and / or a section of a curve that contain information, in particular about arterial blood flow. Curve features are preferably features related to and / or correlated with pulse transit time and / or blood pressure. In particular, curve features are features by means of which blood pressure can be measured. Curve features are particularly preferably features of a curve and / or a section of a curve that correspond to the course and / or shape of the curve and / or the curve section and / or contain information about the shape of the curve and / or the curve section. For example, curve features can be the positions of (absolute) extrema, the distance between (absolute) extrema, the position or absolute value of the (maximum) gradient, the distance between extrema and / or zero points of the first and / or second derivative of the curve, or features of the Fourier transform of the curve.

[0088] Particularly preferably, the characteristic of the curve corresponds to the pulse wave transit time.

[0089] In the sense of the present invention, the "pulse wave transit time" preferably refers to the time required for a pulse wave to travel a distance in the vascular system. Here, the pulse wave refers to the pressure wave that originates in the heart and passes through the artery due to the heartbeat. The speed of this pressure wave is particularly faster than the flow velocity of blood through the artery. The pulse wave transit time is often abbreviated as "PTT." In particular, in the present invention, the term pulse wave transit time includes the time required for the heartbeat and the pulse wave caused by this heartbeat to reach a specific location in the artery, i.e., the time required for the pulse wave to travel the distance from the heart to the location in the artery. However, preferably, the term pulse wave transit time also includes the time distance for the pulse wave to reach a first location and the time distance for the pulse wave to reach a second location.

[0090] "Pulse wave velocity" in the sense of the present invention is preferably the quotient between the distance traveled by a pulse wave and the pulse transit time required by the pulse wave to travel this distance. Pulse wave velocity is often abbreviated as "PWV".

[0091] A "subset" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a subset that does not include all of the elements of a proper subset, in particular a superset, thus assigned to the subset. In particular, a subset of sensors of a sensor device is a set of sensors that does not include or have all of the sensors of the sensor device.

[0092] "Transcutaneous" testing in the sense of the present invention is preferably testing through the skin. In optical transcutaneous testing, the inside of the body is irradiated through the skin with electromagnetic radiation, preferably in the optically visible (for humans) and / or infrared range, and the scattered, transmitted and / or reflected parts thereof are detected.

[0093] A "non-invasive" test within the meaning of the present invention is preferably a test in which the animal being tested is not injured or harmed.

[0094] A "resampling method" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a mathematical and / or statistical method, in particular a method in which statistical properties of a "sample statistic", such as an estimator or a test statistic, are determined based on repeated drawing of samples, so-called sub-samples, from an initial sample. A "sample statistic" in this sense is preferably any measurable function of the random variables of the sample, the statistic preferably being used for statistical purposes. Preferably, in a resampling method, the sample statistic is repeatedly calculated based on the drawn sub-samples, and in particular the results are used to study their distribution properties.

[0095] The aspects and features described above, and further aspects and features emerging from the claims and the following description, can be realized independently of one another and in different combinations.

[0096] Further advantages, features, characteristics and aspects of the present invention emerge from the following description of preferred embodiments based on the claims and the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0097] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic top view of an inspection device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a testing device according to the present invention with an animal placed thereon; FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic top view of a sensor device according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of a sensor device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic cross-section through a sensor device; [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a sensor device with electrodes disposed thereon. [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sensor device with legs disposed thereon. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an inspection device. [Figure 9] 1 is a schematic diagram of a heart rate curve and a curve containing information about arterial blood flow; [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram of the sequence of the method according to the invention; [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the selection of sensors and / or curves. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating averaging of curve sections. [Figure 13] 3 is another schematic diagram of the sequence of the method according to the invention; [Figure 14] 1 is a schematic diagram showing different stages of a medical examination of an animal. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is an example diagram illustrating calculation of the curvature of a curve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0098] In the schematic drawings, some of which are not to scale, the same reference numerals are used for identical or similar parts, and corresponding or equivalent features and advantages can be obtained even if repeated description is omitted.

[0099] FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of the inspection device 1. As shown in FIG.

[0100] The examination device 1 is preferably designed for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure BP, of an animal T, in particular of an animal T having a leg 2, preferably of a feline animal T, particularly preferably of a domestic cat.

[0101] In principle, however, the examination device 1 is suitable for medical examination of any animal T, in particular humans, in particular animals T in which blood pressure BP can be measured. Examinations using the examination device 1 are particularly advantageous if the animal T has legs or the like.

[0102] However, the testing device 1 may also be designed and / or suitable for medical testing of other animals T, in particular domestic animals such as dogs, mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs or the like, in particular for measuring blood pressure BP, and / or may be particularly adapted for testing of these animals T.

[0103] The blood pressure BP may be systolic, diastolic and / or mean blood pressure. In particular, it has been surprisingly shown in the context of the present invention that the proposed method and / or testing device can also be used to measure diastolic blood pressure BP, although this is not essential.

[0104] In FIG. 2, a testing device 1 according to the present invention is shown in a schematic perspective view with an animal T placed thereon.

[0105] Preferably, the testing device 1 is designed as a support for at least one leg 2 or other part of the body of the animal T, in particular a leg-like part, such as a hand or a finger.

[0106] Particularly preferably, the test device 1 and / or the support are designed so that the animal T to be tested can be completely placed and / or positioned on the test device 1 and / or the support, in particular so that all legs of the animal T can be positioned on the test device 1. However, this is not necessary. In principle, the test device 1 can also be designed so that only one or more legs 2 can be placed or positioned on the test device 1.

[0107] The inspection device 1 is preferably designed as a plate or mat, or as a mat-like or plate-like device, or in the form of a mat or plate. In particular, a plate or mat is understood to be a device whose width and length are more than a multiple of its height. A plate is preferably understood to be an at least substantially rigid device. A mat is preferably understood to be an at least partially flexible device. For example, if the inspection device 1 is designed as a mat, the inspection device 1 can be at least partially rollable and / or foldable.

[0108] Preferably, the test device 1 has a resting surface 3. An animal T, in particular a domestic dog, a domestic cat or another animal T of equal or smaller size, can be placed preferably entirely on the resting surface 3.

[0109] Preferably, the testing device 1 and / or the resting surface 3 are at least essentially flat and / or planar.

[0110] Preferably, the inspection device 1 has a mounting surface 3 on one of its upper surfaces, and / or the mounting surface 3 is formed by the upper surface of the inspection device 1 or a part thereof.

[0111] The placement surface 3 is in its use position, and in particular during testing, is preferably at least substantially horizontal or forms a horizontal surface. The use position is a preferred position of the testing device 1 in which an animal T can be placed on the testing device 1 for testing. The use position is particularly shown in FIG. 2.

[0112] The testing device 1 and / or the resting surface 3 preferably have a width B greater than 20 cm, preferably greater than 40 cm, and / or less than 80 cm, preferably equal to or less than 60 cm.

[0113] The inspection device 1 and / or the rest surface 3 preferably have a length L of more than 40 cm, preferably more than 60 cm, and / or less than 120 cm, preferably less than 80 cm. In principle, different widths B and / or different lengths L of the inspection device 1 and / or the rest surface 3 are also conceivable.

[0114] Preferably, the testing device 1 is intended to contact the leg 2 and / or body part on only one side during testing and / or to be stationary or positioned on only one side. Therefore, the testing device 1 is preferably designed to contact the animal T and / or its leg 2 on one side.

[0115] The test device 1 preferably does not have fixing and / or fastening means. Preferably, the test device 1 is not designed to fasten the leg 2. Preferably, the test device 1 does not have a clip for attachment to the leg 2, nor does it have a cuff for application to the leg 2 or other fixing or fastening means for attaching, fixing or fastening test means such as sensors or electrodes to the animal T. In contrast, it is preferred that the test device 1 has a contact surface and a rest surface 3, which allow testing to take place when the leg 2 or body part is placed or positioned on the device.

[0116] The design of the testing device 1 as a support and / or resting surface 3 for the animal T makes the test particularly comfortable and therefore stress-free for the animal T. Preferably, it is not intended to fix the animal T to the testing device 1 to perform the test, or to attach or fix parts of the testing device 1, such as sensors or the like, to the animal T. Such methods cause stress to the animal T, making the test uncomfortable for the animal T, and it has been shown that stress affects the blood pressure BP. In contrast, the design of the testing device 1 according to the present invention allows for an extremely comfortable and stress-free test for the animal T.

[0117] Preferably, the test device 1 or the resting surface 3 is designed so that the animal T can move freely on the test device 1 and / or the resting surface 3.

[0118] The design of the testing device 1, which will be described in more detail below, and in particular the design and / or arrangement of the sensor device 4 and / or electrode 15, has achieved the effect that testing of the animal T, in particular reliable and / or accurate blood pressure measurement, can be performed while avoiding fixation of the animal T, or can be performed without fixation of the animal T, or can be performed or is possible when the animal T moves during testing with the testing device 1.

[0119] The examination apparatus 1 preferably comprises a sensor device 4. The sensor device 4 is designed for optical examination of the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T, in particular for recording a curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T. In particular, the sensor device 4 is designed to perform photoplethysmography and / or to record a photoplethysmogram.

[0120] A curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF is shown by way of example in FIG. 9 and will be explained in more detail later.

[0121] The sensor device 4 and / or the examination apparatus 1 are preferably designed to enable or tolerate movement of the animal T during the examination, and / or to enable reliable and accurate examinations, in particular blood pressure measurements, and / or to reduce, avoid and / or compensate for movement artifacts.

[0122] The test device 1 preferably comprises a sensor device 4 in the region of the rest surface 3. Thus, a test by means of the sensor device 4 can be carried out when the leg 2 or body part is placed on the surface.

[0123] The sensor device 4 is preferably arranged on or integrated into the testing apparatus 1 in such a way that the leg 2 of the animal T can be located at, above and / or in the vicinity of the sensor device 4, particularly when the animal T is positioned on the testing apparatus 1 and / or the resting surface 3. In the example shown in Figure 1, the sensor device 4 is arranged in such a way that the left front leg 2 of the animal T can be located above the sensor device 4 without any problems and in a position that is comfortable and / or natural for the animal T. However, the sensor device 4 can also be provided in other positions.

[0124] 2 and 7 show, by way of example, the positioning of the leg 2 during testing with the sensor device 4. For testing with the sensor device 4, the leg 2 is preferably positioned so that one or preferably several paw pads of the leg 2 are in contact with the sensor device 4, in particular the cover 14 and / or the electrodes 15.

[0125] The testing device 1 may also have several, in particular two, sensor devices 4, for example a sensor device 4 for the left front leg 2 and a sensor device 4 for the right front leg 2 of the animal T to be tested. In this case, the sensor devices 4 are preferably of similar or identical design. This is particularly shown in FIG. 2.

[0126] The sensor device 4 is preferably designed for the reflectance measurement of arterial blood flow BF.

[0127] The sensor device 4 has at least one emitter 5 that emits electromagnetic radiation R (particularly light including ultraviolet and / or infrared rays) and preferably at least one detector 6 that detects the electromagnetic radiation R (particularly light including ultraviolet and / or infrared rays) emitted by the emitter 6.

[0128] The emitter 5 is preferably designed as a light-emitting diode or a laser diode.

[0129] The detector 6 is preferably designed as a photodiode.

[0130] Preferably, the emitters 5 can be activated and / or deactivated and / or switched on and / or off separately, in particular by means of MOSFETs assigned to the emitters 5 .

[0131] 3 and 4 show examples of schematic top views of sensor devices 4 in different embodiments. The sensor devices 4 according to Figs. 3 and 4 are basically of the same or similar design, differing mainly in the number of emitters 5 and detectors 6.

[0132] Preferably, the sensor device 4 has a plurality of emitters 5 and a plurality of detectors 6. In principle, however, the sensor device 4 can also have exactly one emitter 5 and exactly one detector 6, or exactly one emitter 5 and multiple detectors 6, or multiple emitters 5 and exactly one detector 6.

[0133] However, preferably, the sensor device 4 has at least nine, and in the example shown in Figures 1 and 3 exactly nine, emitters 5 and / or at least four, and in the example shown in Figures 1 and 3 exactly four detectors 6.

[0134] The emitter 5 and the detector 6 are preferably arranged on the same plane.

[0135] The emitters 5 and detectors 6 are preferably arranged in a repeating and / or repetitive structure. Particularly preferably, the emitters 5 and detectors 6 are arranged in a periodic or cyclic structure.

[0136] Preferably, the emitters 5 and detectors 6 are arranged in the form of a matrix having (virtual) rows and columns or in rows and columns, or in a matrix or array. Preferably, the matrix or array has three or more rows and / or three or more columns.

[0137] The emitters 5 and detectors 6 are preferably arranged in an alternating fashion. Preferably, the emitters 5 and detectors 6 form one or more, in particular linear, rows, with the emitters 5 and detectors 6 alternating in each row. The rows may also be curved and / or may mimic organic shapes such as legs 2.

[0138] Preferably, each detector 6 (except for emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 which are, in some cases, located at the outermost and / or edge of the sensor device 4 and / or row and / or matrix) is (immediately) surrounded by a plurality of emitters 5, and / or each emitter 5 is (immediately) surrounded by a plurality of detectors 6.

[0139] Particularly preferably, several emitters 5 are assigned to each detector 6, or vice versa. This preferably allows multiple use of emitters 5 and / or detectors 6.

[0140] Emitters 5 and detectors 6 are assigned to one another in particular if they are arranged in such a way that the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 reaches or can reach the detector 6, in particular after scattering or reflection on the legs 2. Particularly preferably, these emitters 5 are assigned to the detector 6 which has the smallest distance D to this detector 6 and / or is (directly) adjacent to this detector 6. Likewise, in particular, these detectors 6 are assigned to the emitter 5 which has the smallest distance D to this emitter 5 and / or is (directly) adjacent to this emitter 5.

[0141] The distance D between the emitter 5 and the detector 6 is understood in particular as the distance between the center point or geometric center of the emitter 5 or its light-emitting surface and the center point or geometric center of the detector 6 or its detection surface. Preferably, the emitter 5 and the detector 6 are formed by components and / or rectangular components of different sizes, as also shown by the rectangles of different sizes in Figures 1 to 4, and the emitter 5 and the detector 6 are arranged such that the center points or geometric centers of gravity of these components, shown as dots in Figure 3, are at the same distance D from each other.

[0142] Preferably, the emitters 5 assigned to a detector 6 have the same distance D to the detector 6. Similarly, this also applies to the detectors 6 assigned to the emitters 5.

[0143] The distance D is preferably greater than 2 mm, more preferably greater than 3 mm, in particular greater than 4 mm, and / or less than 10 mm, preferably less than 8 mm, in particular less than 7 mm. The distance D is particularly preferably between 4 mm and 6 mm.

[0144] Preferably, the emitters 5 of the sensor devices 4 are of the same design or type. Particularly preferably, the emitters 5 of the sensor devices 4 are of the same construction and / or are designed to emit light of the same wavelength or wavelength range.

[0145] Preferably, the detectors 6 of the sensor devices 4 are of the same design or type. Particularly preferably, the detectors 6 are of identical construction and / or design, in particular for the detection of the same radiation R or wavelength emitted by the emitter 5.

[0146] The sensor device 4 is preferably designed for inspection with electromagnetic radiation R in the infrared range. Particularly preferably, the emitter 5 is designed for emitting infrared radiation and / or the detector 6 is designed for detecting infrared radiation.

[0147] Infrared radiation is in particular electromagnetic radiation R having a wavelength between 780 nm and 1400 nm.

[0148] Preferably, the emitters 5 are designed for emitting electromagnetic radiation R having a wavelength above 900 nm and / or below 1200 nm or 1100 nm. Particularly preferably, the emitters 5 are designed for emitting electromagnetic radiation R having a wavelength above 920 nm and / or below 960 nm, in particular at (approximately) 940 nm. However, alternatively or additionally, it is also possible for the emitters 5 or a subset of the emitters 5 to be designed to emit electromagnetic radiation R having a wavelength above 1030 nm and / or below 1070 nm, in particular at (approximately) 1050 nm.

[0149] The detector 6 is preferably designed to detect the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 .

[0150] Preferably, the sensor device 4 comprises at least one, preferably several, sensors 7. The sensor 7 comprises or is formed as such, at least one emitter 5 and at least one detector 6. Particularly preferably, the sensor 7 comprises exactly one detector 6 and several emitters 5, exactly four emitters 5 in the example shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0151] Preferably, the emitters 5 of the sensors 7 are arranged symmetrically around the detector 6 of the sensors 7 and / or the emitters 5 of the sensors 7 have the same distance D to the detector 6 of the sensors 7 .

[0152] In particular, the sensor device 4 comprises a plurality of sensors 7 of the same type or kind, in particular of identical construction. Particularly preferably, all sensors 7 of the sensor device 4 are identical. However, other solutions are also possible here.

[0153] In the illustrated example shown in Figure 3, the sensor device 4 has exactly four sensors 7, one of which is shown by a dotted line in Figure 2. Also, in Figure 4, multiple sensors 7 are shown by dashed lines.

[0154] Preferably, an emitter 5 is assigned to a plurality of sensors 7 and / or each emitter 5 forms part of a plurality of sensors 7 (apart from the emitters 5 arranged at the outermost edges of the sensor device 4). In particular, each emitter 5 is assigned to a row or column of adjacent detectors 6 and / or to the detectors 6 having a minimum distance D. In the example shown, an emitter 5 (apart from the emitters 5 arranged at the edges) is assigned to each of four detectors 6.

[0155] In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of emitters 5 are assigned to each detector 6, and these emitters 5 (except the outermost emitters 5 or the emitters 5 located at the edges) are assigned in turn to each of the plurality of detectors 6. This forms a plurality of sensors 7, particularly of the same kind or type, and the emitters 5 (except the outermost emitters 5 or the emitters 5 located at the edges) are each part of the plurality of sensors 7. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the emitter 5 located in the center of the sensor device 4 is assigned to each of the four detectors 6. The emitters 5 located at the top, bottom, leftmost, and rightmost in FIG. 3 are each assigned to only one detector 6. The remaining four emitters 5 in FIG. 3 are each assigned to two detectors 6. In this way, four sensors 7, particularly of the same kind or type, are formed in FIG. 3 .

[0156] While Figure 3 shows the basic design of the sensor device 4 or the basic arrangement of the emitters 5, detectors 6 and / or sensors 7, the sensor device 4 preferably has a significantly larger number of emitters 5, detectors 6 and / or sensors 7, as shown by way of example in Figure 4. In this way, a large sensor area can be achieved, so that the exact positioning of the leg 2 for the examination and / or blood pressure measurement is not critical and a larger area can be examined by the sensor device 4. This reduces stress on the animal T during the examination, as the leg 2 of the animal T does not need to be immobilized, and allows for examinations, in particular blood pressure measurements, that are faster, more accurate, more reliable and as comfortable as possible for the animal T.

[0157] The sensor device 4 preferably has more than 30, in particular more than 60, and / or less than 500, preferably less than 200, more preferably less than 100, in particular less than 100, particularly preferably about 80 emitters 5.

[0158] Preferably, the sensor device 4 comprises more than 20, preferably more than 40 and / or less than 500, preferably less than 200, in particular less than 100, particularly preferably about 60 detectors 6 .

[0159] Preferably, the detectors 6 together with a plurality of emitters 5 form sensors 7, so that the number of sensors 7 corresponds to the number of detectors 6. However, when the emitters 5 together with a plurality of detectors 6 form sensors 7, the number of sensors 7 preferably corresponds to the number of emitters 5.

[0160] The sensor device 4 and / or the matrix of emitters 5 and detectors 6 preferably has a length of 10 cm 2 Above 20cm 2 More than 30 cm is particularly preferred 2 More than 40 cm, very particularly preferably 2 and / or 200cm 2 Less than 150cm, preferably 2 Less than 100cm, more preferably 2 Less than 80cm 2 It has the following area:

[0161] Preferably, the areal density of the emitters 5, the areal density of the detectors 6, the areal density of the sensors 7, and / or the joint areal density of the emitters 5 and the detectors 6 is less than 0.5 / cm 2 preferably greater than 1 / cm 2 Above 2 / cm 2 and / or 40 / cm 2 Less than 20 / cm 2 Less than 10 / cm 2 Here, the number of emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 per area is particularly referred to as area density.

[0162] The number, arrangement, area and / or area density of the sensor devices 4, emitters 5, detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 preferably allow reliable and accurate tests, in particular photoplethysmography and / or blood pressure BP measurements, to be performed without fixing the leg 2 of the animal T relative to a test means such as a sensor, thereby allowing the animal T to move freely relative to the sensor device 4 during the test. This makes the test particularly comfortable and stress-free for the animal T and improves measurement accuracy.

[0163] The emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 are preferably each divided into or preferably form a plurality of groups, which are in particular separate from one another and / or connected separately.

[0164] Preferably, the emitters 5 are divided into two groups and / or the emitters 5 form two groups.

[0165] Preferably, the detectors 6 are divided into five groups and / or the detectors 6 form five groups.

[0166] The emitters 5 within a group and / or the detectors 6 within a group are preferably connected or interconnected in series.

[0167] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-section through the sensor device 4.

[0168] FIG. 6 shows the sensor device 4 in a schematic exploded view.

[0169] The sensor device 4 preferably comprises a limiting device 8 .

[0170] At this point, it should be noted that the limiting device 8 and the associated features and advantages can in principle be realized independently of the above-described design of the sensor device 4. In particular, the limiting device 8 can also be advantageous for sensor devices 4 having exactly one emitter 5 and exactly one detector 6. Consequently, in the following, the terms "emitter" and "detector" are preferably used in the singular. Of course, this description also applies to designs of sensor devices 4 having multiple emitters 5 and / or multiple detectors 6, in particular to sensor devices 4 designed as described above.

[0171] The limiting device 8 is preferably designed to determine, define and / or limit the emission area 9 of the emitter 5, the detection area 10 of the detector 6, the sensor area 11 of the sensor 7 and / or the sensing area 12 of the sensor device 4. In particular, the limiting device 8 is designed as an aperture for the emitter 5 and / or the detector 6.

[0172] For this purpose, the limiting device 8 in the shown example comprises or is formed by a barrier 13, which will be explained in more detail below. However, alternatively or additionally, the limiting device 8 can comprise one or more lenses, not shown, in particular focusing lenses, which in particular focus the radiation R and thereby result in a corresponding limitation of the emission area 9 and / or the detection area 10.

[0173] The emission area 9 of the emitter 5 is generally the area over which radiation R can be emitted by the emitter 5. For example, the emission area 9 of the emitter 5 may be at least essentially conical and / or may be defined by one or (particularly in the case of a non-conical emission area 9) multiple emission angles 9a.

[0174] The detection region 10 of the detector 6 is generally the range over which radiation R can reach the detector 6 and / or the range over which radiation R can be detected by the detector 6. For example, the detection region 10 of the detector 6 may be at least essentially conical and / or may be defined by one or (particularly in the case of a non-conical detection region 10) multiple detection angles 10a.

[0175] Preferably, the emitter 5 and / or the detector 6 necessarily have a certain emission area 9 or detection area 10, respectively. Preferably, this natural emission area 9 and / or detection area 10 is limited or restricted, respectively, by a limiting device 8, or a limiting device 8 is designed for this purpose. Therefore, the terms "emission area" and "detection area" in the sense of the present invention preferably refer to the emission area 9 or detection area 10 defined or restricted by the limiting device 8, and not to the natural emission area 9 or detection area 10 of the emitter 5 or detector 6 per se.

[0176] The emission region 9 is indicated in Figure 5 by a V-shaped dotted line originating from the emitter 5. The dotted line represents the boundary of the emission region 9, which is defined in particular by the limiting device 8. In particular, the emission region 9 is the area enclosed or limited by the line.

[0177] The detection area 10 is shown in Figure 5 by a V-shaped dotted line originating from the detector 6. The dotted line represents the boundary of the detection area 10, in particular where the limiting device 8 is defined. In particular, the detection area 10 is an area bounded or limited by a line.

[0178] The emission area 9 of the emitter 5 is preferably limited by a (virtual) line, in particular the line shown by the dashed-dotted line in Figure 5, which represents the optical path of the outermost rays of light that can leave the sensor device 4 with the center point or geometric center origin of the emission area of ​​the emitter 5. In particular, the line represents the edge or boundary of the emission area 9. In particular, the emission area 9 is an area enclosed or limited by the line.

[0179] As shown in Figure 5, when the limiting device 8 is realized by a barrier 13, these outermost beams are beams that are not blocked by the limiting device 8 as a central point or geometric central origin, so the lines representing these beams in Figure 5 are in contact with the edges or corners of the limiting device 8 or barrier 13.

[0180] If the limiting device 8 comprises or is formed by a lens instead of or in addition to the barrier 13, these outermost rays are the rays that pass from the central point or geometric center of the light emitting surface of the emitter 5 through the outermost edge of the lens.

[0181] The detection area 10 of the detector 6 is preferably limited by a (virtual) line, in particular the line shown by the dashed-dotted line in Fig. 5, which represents the optical path of the outermost light rays that can reach the detection surface of the detector 6, in particular its center point or geometric center, from the outside of the sensor device 4. In particular, the line represents the edge or boundary of the detection area 10. In particular, the detection area 10 is an area enclosed or limited by the line.

[0182] As shown in Figure 5, when the limiting device 8 is realized by a barrier 13, these outermost rays are the rays that are not blocked by the limiting device 8 and can therefore reach the central point or geometric center of the detection surface of the detector 6, so the lines in Figure 5 representing these rays touch the rim or edge or corner of the limiting device 8 or barrier 13.

[0183] If the limiting device 8 comprises or is formed by a lens instead of or in addition to the barrier 13, these outermost light rays are light rays that can pass from outside the sensor device 4 through the outermost edge of the lens to reach the central point or geometric center of the detection surface of the detector 6.

[0184] Preferably, the emission angle 9A is the angle between lines (imaginary, in particular outside of which the sensor device 4 extends) representing the boundaries of the emission area 9. This is shown in particular in FIG.

[0185] Preferably, the detection angle 10A is the angle between lines (imaginary, in particular outside of which the sensor device 4 extends) representing the boundaries of the detection area 10. This is shown in particular in FIG.

[0186] In the above definitions of the emission region 9 and the detection region 10, an idealized approach was chosen and reference was made to the central point or geometric center of the emission region or detection region, whereas in reality they deviate from being point-like and form an extended region (even if very small). This makes it possible that in reality the radiation R from the emitter 5 can also reach regions outside the above-defined emission region 9 and / or that radiation R from outside the above-defined detection region 10 can reach the detector 6, in particular as scattered light. However, the above definitions of the emission region 9 and the detection region 10 remain unaffected by this. Furthermore, the above-defined emission region 9 and detection region 10 also represent in reality the region from which the majority of the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 is emitted and / or the region from which the radiation R can reach the detector 6.

[0187] The sensor area 11 of the sensor 7 is generally the area that can be inspected or sensed by the sensor 7. Preferably, only objects located in the sensor area 11 can be inspected by the sensor 7. In particular, the sensor area 11 of the sensor 7 is the area where the emission area 9 of the emitter 5 of the sensor 7 and the detection area 10 of the detector 6 of the sensor 7 overlap.

[0188] 5, by way of example, arrows indicate how radiation R can pass from emitter 5 to detector 6. The arrows very schematically indicate the path of a light beam emitted by emitter 5 and reaching detection region 10, and thus the area of ​​overlap between emission region 9 and detection region 10, and scattered or reflected by an object not shown in the figure towards detector 6 and thus reaching detector 6.

[0189] In principle, it is possible, deviating from the idealized view chosen here, that in practice objects outside the above-defined sensor area 11 can be at least partially detected or sensed by the sensor 7. On the one hand, this can be achieved by the fact that, as already mentioned above, in practice small amounts of radiation R can also reach areas outside the defined emission area 9 and / or that radiation R from outside the defined detection area 10 can also reach the detector 6. However, on the other hand, for example in the case of multiple scattering in the object, it can also happen that an object or part of an object is detected by the sensor 7 located outside the defined sensor area 11.

[0190] The sensing area 12 of the sensor device 4 is the area that can be inspected and / or detected / sensed by the sensor device 4. In particular, the sensing area 12 comprises or is formed by the emission area 9, the detection area 10 and / or the sensor area 11.

[0191] Preferably, the sensing area 12 is the sum / total of the sensor areas 11 of the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4 .

[0192] The sensing area 12 may be formed by a continuous / connected area, which is the case when the sensor areas 11 of the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4 overlap.

[0193] However, it is also possible that the sensing area 12 is not connected or is formed by separate or unconnected areas or sensor areas 11. This is the case when at least a part of a sensor area 11 of a sensor 7 does not overlap with another sensor area 11.

[0194] The sensing area 12 preferably has a boundary G. The boundary G is preferably formed by an edge or the entire edge of the sensor area 11. The boundary G is in particular a point or a line where the emission area 9 and the detection area 10 intersect. This is in particular shown in FIG. 5.

[0195] The sensitive area 12 and / or its boundary G preferably have a distance X from the sensor device 4. In particular, a (minimum) penetration depth into the leg 2 of the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6 during the test can be achieved or ensured. In particular, this minimum penetration depth or distance X prevents light reflected or scattered from the surface of the leg 2 from reaching the detector 6. This improves the accuracy and reliability of the test, in particular the blood pressure measurement.

[0196] Distance X is preferably the minimum distance of sensing area 12 or its boundary line G from sensor device 4. Preferably, as can be seen in particular from FIG. 5 , boundary line G of sensing area 12 does not extend in a straight line or parallel to sensor device 4. In a cross-sectional view such as that shown in FIG. 5 , boundary line G extends in a particularly zigzag manner. This is due in particular to the fact that sensor area 11 of sensor 7 preferably increases (in cross section) in a V-shape with increasing distance from sensor device 4. As a result, sensing area 12 preferably has different distances from sensor device 4 at different positions on sensor device 4, and distance X is the minimum of these different distances.

[0197] The limiting device 8 is preferably designed so that the distance X of the boundary G of the sensing area 12 from the sensor device 4 is more than 0.5 mm, preferably more than 1 mm, and / or less than 10 mm, preferably less than 5 mm, in particular less than 3 mm.

[0198] The limiting device 8 preferably limits the emission angle 9A of the emitter 5 and / or the detection angle 10A of the detector 6 (particularly in the cross-sectional plane shown in Figure 5) to less than 90°, preferably less than 75°, in particular about 60°. The cross-sectional plane shown in Figure 5 is perpendicular to the plane defined by the matrix of emitters 5 and detectors 6 and intersects the emitters 5 and detectors 6 along the rows or columns of the matrix.

[0199] The restriction device 8 is preferably formed by one or more barriers 13. The barriers 13 are arranged between the emitters 5 and the detectors 6. Preferably, a barrier 13 is arranged between each detector 6 and each adjacent emitter 5.

[0200] The barrier 13 is impermeable to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5, in particular to infrared radiation.

[0201] The barrier 13 is preferably arranged or designed to reach or achieve the above-mentioned distance X of the boundary G of the detection range 8 from the sensor device 4 .

[0202] The dimensions of the limiting device 8 or barrier 13, in particular its height HB and / or width BB, as well as the distance DB of the limiting device 8 or barrier 13 from the emitter 5 and detector 6 and the distance D of the emitter 5 from the detector 6, are preferably matched to one another so that the emission area 9 of the emitter 5 and the detection area 10 of the detector 6 overlap and reach or realize the above-mentioned distance X of the boundary G of the sensing area 12 from the sensor device 4 and / or the above-mentioned emission angle 9A and / or detection angle 10A.

[0203] Preferably, the barrier 13 performs several functions and / or has several sections 13B, 13C that specifically fulfill these functions.

[0204] The function of the barrier 13 is preferably to shield the emitter 5 from the detector 6, in particular in such a way that the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 cannot reach the detector 6 directly or without intermediate scattering and / or reflection. For this purpose, the barrier 13 preferably has a shielding section 13b. The shielding section 13b is thus preferably designed to shield the detector 6 from the emitter 5 or to prevent direct crosstalk from the emitter 5 to the detector 6. The shielding section 13b is preferably arranged between the emitter 5 and the detector 6. The shielding section 13b preferably extends at least substantially parallel to the main radiation direction of the emitter 5 and / or transversely, in particular at least substantially perpendicularly, to the plane formed by the emitter 5 and the detector 6.

[0205] Another function of the barrier 13 is preferably to limit the emission area 9, the detection area 10, the sensor area 11 and / or the sensing area 12, as already mentioned above. In other words, the barrier 13 and / or parts thereof preferably represent apertures for the emitter 5 and / or the detector 6. For this purpose, the barrier 13 preferably has an aperture section 13C. The aperture section 13C is preferably designed and / or arranged such that the emission area 9 of the emitter 5 and / or the detection area 10 of the detector 6 are limited or restricted, in particular in the manner mentioned above. The aperture section 13C preferably forms an aperture. In particular, the aperture section 13C preferably extends transversely, preferably at least substantially perpendicularly, to the main emission direction of the emitter 5 and / or at least substantially parallel to the plane formed by the emitter 5 and the detector 6.

[0206] Preferably, the shielding section 13B and the aperture 13C are designed in one piece and / or are formed by different sections of the same component. In particular, the aperture section 13C can be wider than the shielding section 13B, resulting in a T-shaped cross section of the barrier 13, as shown in Figure 5. However, this is not necessary.

[0207] The restriction device 8 and / or the barrier 13, in particular the aperture section 13C, preferably has a width BB greater than 1 mm, in particular greater than 2 mm, and / or less than 5 mm, in particular less than 4 mm. Furthermore, the restriction device 8 and / or the barrier 13 preferably has a height HB greater than 1 mm, preferably greater than 2 mm, and / or less than 5 mm, in particular less than 4 mm.

[0208] Preferably, the barrier 13 forms or limits regions 13A that are transparent and / or semi-transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6. These transparent regions 13A are arranged corresponding to the emitters 5 and detectors 6, respectively, so that the material located above the emitters 5 and detectors 6, respectively, in the sensor device 4 and between or surrounding the transparent regions 13A forms the limiting device 8 and / or the barrier 13. This is shown by way of example in Figures 5 and 6.

[0209] The testing device 1 and / or the sensor device 4 preferably comprises a barrier element 13D. Preferably, the barrier element 13D comprises or forms one or more barriers 13.

[0210] The barrier element 13D is preferably a one-piece part, in particular a flat and / or plate-like part, having the transparent area 13A.

[0211] The transparent areas 13A are preferably formed by through-holes in the barrier element 13D, but in principle it is alternatively or additionally possible for the transparent areas 13A to be formed by or to comprise a material that is transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6, such as glass, plexiglass or the like.

[0212] The restriction device 8 and / or the barrier 13 and / or the barrier elements 13D and / or the transparent areas 13A preferably form a grid or grating, in particular a grating aperture, corresponding to the emitters 5 and / or detectors 6.

[0213] Preferably, the sensor device 4 has a cover 14 that is transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6. The cover 14 can be made of glass, plexiglass, transparent plastic or the like.

[0214] Preferably, the cover 14 covers the sensor device 4 completely, continuously and / or without gaps.

[0215] The cover 14 is preferably designed to protect the sensor device 4 and / or the emitter 5 and / or the detector 6 from dirt and / or damage. The cover 14 preferably forms or has an at least substantially flat and / or uniform, in particular smooth, surface for supporting the legs 2.

[0216] Particularly preferably, the distance X of the boundary G of the sensing area 12 from the sensor device 4 is or corresponds to the distance of the boundary G of the sensing area 12 from the cover 14, in particular from the side of the cover 14 facing away from the emitter 5 and / or detector 6.

[0217] Preferably, the examination device 1 comprises one or more detection elements for detecting the cardiac activity of the animal T, in particular for recording the cardiac curve KG.

[0218] The heart rate curve KG preferably represents the activity of the heart, in particular of the animal T examined by the examination device 1, and / or contains information about the activity of the heart.

[0219] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a heart rate curve KG.

[0220] In particular, the heart beats or the times at which the heart beats occur can be read, derived or determined from the heart rate curve KG.

[0221] The cardiogram KG is preferably an electrocardiogram, but in principle it can also be an impedance cardiogram, a phonocardiogram, a ballistocardiogram or the like.

[0222] The detection element is preferably formed by an electrode 15. In principle, however, the detection element can also be formed by or comprise one or more microphones or other sound sensors or the like.

[0223] Preferably, the test device 1 thus has at least one electrode 15, preferably at least two electrodes 15. In the example shown, the test device 1 has three electrodes 15. In principle, however, the test device 1 can also have a significantly greater number of electrodes 15.

[0224] Preferably, the heart rate curve KG can be recorded by the electrodes 15 and / or the electrodes 15 are designed to record the heart rate curve KG, in particular the heart rate curve KG being an electrocardiogram.

[0225] The electrode 15 is preferably flat and / or layered, in particular consisting of or comprising an electrically conductive material.

[0226] Preferably, at least one of the electrodes 15 is designed as a tissue electrode. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 by the hatching of the electrodes 15. Preferably, all electrodes 15 are designed as cloth electrodes. This has proven to be particularly advantageous for testing animals T, such as cats or dogs, since the test can be particularly comfortable for the animal T. In particular, it has proven to be easily irritated by metallic and / or shiny surfaces, which can be avoided by using tissue electrodes.

[0227] Hereinafter, the at least two electrodes 15 will be referred to as a first electrode 15A and a second electrode 15B in order to clearly distinguish between them. The electrodes 15A and 15B may be identical or may have different designs.

[0228] Therefore, any description made with reference to the first electrode 15A preferably also applies to the second electrode 15B, and vice versa.

[0229] Preferably, electrodes 15A, 15B are each designed to contact a leg 2 of animal T. Particularly preferably, first electrode 15A is designed to contact the left front leg, and second electrode 15B is designed to contact the right front leg.

[0230] Optionally, the test device 1 has a third electrode 15C, which is preferably designed as a reference electrode or a current collecting electrode, and which is preferably designed to simultaneously contact multiple parts of the body of the animal T to be tested, in particular multiple legs 2, in particular the two hind legs of the animal T.

[0231] The electrodes 15 are preferably arranged so that when the animal T is placed on the testing device 1 in a natural posture for the animal T, particularly in a sitting or lying position, one leg 2 of the animal T comes into contact with one of the electrodes 15. In this way, the testing can be performed particularly comfortably for the animal T.

[0232] The placement, size and design of the electrodes 15 are preferably adapted to the anatomical structure of the animal T being tested, in particular a domestic cat, so that the test can be carried out in a natural, preferably comfortable, position for the animal T and / or so that the animal T can move freely relative to the electrodes 15 during the test.

[0233] The electrodes 15, in particular the first electrode 15A and the second electrode 15B, are preferably arranged at a distance DE of more than 2 cm, in particular more than 5 cm and / or less than 25 cm, in particular less than 20 cm, particularly preferably less than 15 cm, very particularly preferably about 10 cm.

[0234] The distance DE between two electrodes 15 is particularly referred to as the distance DE between the center points or geometric centers of the electrodes 15 or their surfaces, which is shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0235] The electrodes 15, in particular the distance DE of the first electrode 15A from the second electrode 15B, is preferably fixed and / or not variable.

[0236] The electrodes 15A, 15B are preferably spaced apart by 10 cm 2 Above 15cm 2 and / or 100cm 2 Less than 80cm 2 Less than 50 cm is particularly preferred 2 having an area of ​​less than

[0237] The third electrode 15C is preferably 50 cm 2 Above 100cm 2 and / or greater than 1000 cm 2 Less than 500cm 2 Less than 200cm 2 having an area of ​​less than

[0238] The third electrode 15C preferably has a larger area than the first electrode 15A and / or the second electrode 15B, and more preferably has an area that is two or three times larger, and particularly preferably four times larger, than the area of ​​the first electrode 15A and / or the second electrode 15B.

[0239] Preferably, the first electrode 15A is arranged on the leg 2, in particular the left front leg or the right front leg, so that the heart rate curve KG can be recorded by the first electrode 15A and simultaneously an optical examination can be performed and / or a curve K, in particular a photoplethysmogram, can be recorded by the sensor device 4.

[0240] FIG. 7 shows, by way of example, a leg 2 positioned so that a heart rate curve KG can be recorded by a first electrode 15A while optical testing can be performed and / or a curve K can be recorded by a sensor device 4.

[0241] The first electrode 15A is preferably designed as a tissue electrode.

[0242] A tissue electrode is preferably an electrode that comprises or is formed by a tissue. In particular, in the case of a tissue electrode, the contact surface that comes into contact with a body part, and in particular with the leg 2, comprises or is formed by a tissue. The tissue is preferably a conductive tissue, for example a tissue incorporating conductive threads and / or a tissue coated with a conductive layer.

[0243] The first electrode 15A is preferably arranged on the sensor device 4 and / or on the cover 14, particularly preferably on the side of the cover 14 facing away from the emitter 5 and the detector 6. This is shown in particular in Figures 5 to 7.

[0244] The first electrode 15A is preferably arranged (only) between the emitter 5 and the detector 6 and / or opposite the barrier 13 in a projection perpendicular to the plane formed by the cover 14 and / or the emitter 5 and the detector 6. Alternatively or additionally, the electrode 15A is transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5. Thereby, the optical examination of the animal T and / or the leg 2 by the sensor device 4 is not affected by the first electrode 15A.

[0245] The first electrode 15A preferably has areas 16 that are transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6. These transparent areas 16 are arranged corresponding to the emitter 5 and the detector 6, so that they are located above the emitter 5 and the detector 6, respectively (in a projection perpendicular to the plane of the emitter 5 and / or the detector 6 and / or to the cover 14).

[0246] This is particularly shown in FIGS.

[0247] The transparent areas 16 of the first electrode 15A are preferably formed by through holes in the electrode 15A. In principle, alternatively or additionally, the transparent areas 16 or the entire first electrode 15A can be formed by or comprise a material that is transparent to the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 and / or detected by the detector 6.

[0248] The first electrodes 15A and / or the transparent areas 16 preferably form a lattice or grid corresponding to the emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 .

[0249] Optionally, the testing apparatus 1 comprises a positioning aid 24. The positioning aid 24 is designed to assist in the correct positioning of the animal T or leg 2 for testing. In particular, the positioning aid 24 is designed to indicate or mark an area for positioning the leg 2 or multiple legs 2, in particular the left front leg and / or the right front leg. The positioning aid 24 is preferably arranged near the sensor device 4 and / or preferably surrounds the sensor device 4. Alternatively or additionally, the position of one or more of the electrodes 15 can be indicated by the positioning aid 24.

[0250] The positioning aid 24 is preferably formed by a protuberance or a recess in the testing device 1 and / or the resting surface 3. The positioning aid 24 can, for example, be funnel-shaped or have the shape of a funnel.

[0251] However, the positioning aid 24 is merely optional and not required.

[0252] The testing device 1 preferably comprises a circuit board 17, in particular a printed circuit board (PCB).

[0253] Preferably, the circuit board 17 holds the sensor device 4 and / or the sensor device 4 is arranged on the circuit board 17 .

[0254] Preferably, the circuit board 17 carries the first and / or second electrodes 15A, 15B, or the first and / or second electrodes 15A, 15B are disposed on the circuit board 17. Optionally, the circuit board 17 also carries the third electrode 15C, and / or the third electrode 15C is also disposed on the circuit board 17.

[0255] The circuit board 17 preferably has or forms peripherals and / or electrical lines necessary for the operation of the sensor device 4, in particular the emitter 5 and / or detector 6 and / or sensor 7, and the electrodes 15A, 15B, and for the evaluation of the signals measured by the detector 6 and / or electrode 15.

[0256] The inspection device 1 preferably includes a scale 18. The scale 18 is preferably an electronic scale 18.

[0257] The scale 18 is preferably designed to measure the weight of an animal T positioned or placed on the testing device 1 .

[0258] The testing device 1 and / or the scale 18 are preferably designed for body fat measurement, i.e. for determining the body fat percentage of the animal T on the scale 18. The body fat measurement or determination of the body fat percentage is preferably performed via bioimpedance measurements. In particular, two or more of the electrodes 15, 15A, 15B, 15C can be used for this purpose.

[0259] The testing device 1 preferably comprises a force sensor 18A, which is preferably designed to measure or detect the force exerted by the animal T on the testing device 1, in particular the gravitational force.

[0260] The force sensor 18A may form part of or be integrated into the scale 18, but may also be provided instead of or in addition to the scale 18.

[0261] The force sensor 18A can be designed, for example, as a piezo element or a strain gauge or the like.

[0262] The testing device 1 can also have several force sensors 18A, particularly of the same kind or type. Preferably, one or more force sensors 18A are arranged below the sensor device 4, below the resting surface 3 and / or below the electrodes 15 (respectively) and / or the force sensors 18A are integrated into the sensor device 4 and / or the resting surface 3 and / or the electrodes 15. In particular, the force sensors 18A can be designed with such an arrangement to determine the presence and / or positioning of the animal T and / or to assist in such a determination.

[0263] The inspection device 1 preferably comprises a display device 19. The display device 19 is especially designed for optical display and is preferably formed by a display, for example an LCD display, an LED display, an OLED display or the like.

[0264] The display device 19 is preferably designed to display values ​​measured or determined by the testing device 1, such as the heart rate curve KG, heart rate, blood pressure BP, weight, body fat percentage or the like. In particular, the display of the blood pressure BP and the heart rate curve KG by the display device 19 is shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0265] Alternatively or additionally, the display device 19 may be designed for user guidance, for example to display instructions, selection menus, error messages, warning messages or the like regarding the operation or use of the inspection apparatus 1 .

[0266] Furthermore, the inspection apparatus 1 preferably comprises an input device 20. The input device 20 is preferably designed for setting and / or adjusting and / or controlling the inspection apparatus 1. The input device 20 is preferably arranged in the immediate vicinity of the display device 19 and / or is integrated into the display device 19.

[0267] For example, the input device 20 may be formed by one or more keys, buttons, switches or the like. However, the display device 19 may be designed as a touch display or a touch-sensitive display, such that the display device 19 comprises or forms the input device 20 and / or the input device 20 is integrated into the display device 19.

[0268] The test device 1 preferably comprises a power supply device 21. The power supply device 21 is designed to supply the test device 1 with electrical energy.

[0269] Preferably, the power supply device 21 comprises an energy storage device for storing electrical energy, such as an accumulator, a battery, or the like. In particular, the power supply device 21 is designed for charging the accumulator or the battery, particularly preferably for inductive charging. For this purpose, the power supply device 21 preferably comprises a corresponding charging device. Alternatively or additionally, the power supply device 21 can also comprise or form a connection for connecting the power supply device 21 to an external power source, such as a domestic power source. In particular, the connection can comprise or form a charging device or part thereof.

[0270] The inspection device 1 preferably comprises a control device 25 for controlling the inspection device 1 and / or the inspection. The control device 25 is preferably formed by and / or preferably comprises a processor P. The processor P is preferably a microprocessor. The control device 25 and / or the processor P are preferably designed to control the sensor devices 4, in particular the emitters 5, the detectors 6 and / or the sensors 7, to control the electrodes 15 and / or to control the scale 18.

[0271] Thus, the control device 25 is preferably coupled to the sensor device 4, the emitter 5, the detector 6, the sensor 7, the electrode 15, the scale 18 and / or the force sensor 18A.

[0272] Furthermore, the power supply unit 21 is preferably designed to supply power to the control unit 25. In particular, the control unit 25 is coupled to the power supply unit 21.

[0273] The control device 25 is preferably designed to control and / or is coupled to the display device 19. Preferably, the control device 25 is coupled to and / or can be operated by the input device 20.

[0274] The control device 25 is preferably designed to process and / or forward the signals measured by the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15 .

[0275] The testing device 1 preferably comprises a memory and / or storage medium 26 for data storage. Preferably, the storage medium 26 is coupled to the control device 25. In particular, the storage medium 26 is designed for at least temporary storage of signals measured by the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15.

[0276] Storage medium 26 may comprise and / or be formed by multiple separate components.

[0277] Preferably, storage medium 26 comprises one or more permanently attached memory modules and / or storage elements, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), RAM modules and / or flash memory or the like.

[0278] Alternatively or additionally, the storage medium 26 may comprise or be formed by one or more storage elements separate from and / or connectable to the testing device 1, such as a USB stick or the like.

[0279] In principle, the storage medium 26 can be formed by or comprise one or more arbitrary storage devices for storing electronic data, such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a USB memory, a flash memory, a cloud memory, an external database, or other computer equipment separate from or external to the inspection device 1, and / or a mobile terminal device with integrated memory, such as a PC, a data center, a supercomputer, a cloud computer, a server, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or the like.

[0280] The testing device 1 is preferably designed for the analysis and / or evaluation of signals measured by the electrodes 15, the sensor device 4 and / or the scale 18. The evaluation of the signals is preferably performed by and / or controlled by a control device 25 and / or a processor P, in particular by using a storage medium 26.

[0281] The inspection apparatus 1 preferably comprises an interface device 22 for connecting the inspection apparatus 1 to one or more external devices 23. The interface device 22 may comprise a plurality of, in particular different, interfaces. The interfaces may be wired or wireless interfaces. For example, the interface device may comprise one or more serial interfaces, one or more USB interfaces, one or more HDMI interfaces, and / or several or more other interfaces, which are particularly designed for (in particular wired) data exchange between the external device 23 and the inspection apparatus 1. Alternatively or additionally, the interface device 22 may also comprise one or more wireless interfaces, such as a WiFi interface, a Bluetooth interface, in particular a Bluetooth Low Energy interface (BLE interface), an NFC interface, or the like.

[0282] In other words, the inspection device 1 is preferably designed for data exchange with an external device 23 , in particular by means of the interface device 22 .

[0283] The testing device 1 is preferably designed to transmit data or signals measured by the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15 and / or results or evaluations determined on the basis of these data or signals to an external device 23, in particular by means of the interface device 22.

[0284] The external device 23 is preferably a separate, in particular physically separated, device from the testing device 1 .

[0285] The external device 23 may be designed to control the testing apparatus 1 and / or to record and / or evaluate and / or analyze and / or display or otherwise output the signals and / or data measured by the testing apparatus 1 and / or the results transmitted by the testing apparatus 1. Preferably, the external device 23 is designed to display the heart rate curve KG and / or the blood pressure BP, as shown schematically in Fig. 8.

[0286] The external device 23 is preferably designed as a mobile end device, such as for example a smartphone, tablet, laptop, and / or as a PC, server, computer network, cloud, internet portal, app and / or other computing device.

[0287] Alternatively or additionally, the external device 23 is designed as a storage medium 26, such as a memory stick, etc. In particular, the external device 23 may form or comprise the storage medium 26 or part thereof.

[0288] Preferably, the inspection apparatus 1 comprises an external device 23 , which forms part of the inspection apparatus 1 or which is assigned to the inspection apparatus 1 .

[0289] Preferably, the evaluation of the signals measured by the test apparatus 1, in particular by the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15, 15A, 15B, 15C, is performed in or by the test apparatus 1 itself. Alternatively or additionally, the evaluation or parts thereof can also be performed outside the test apparatus 1 and / or by an external device 23.

[0290] In FIG. 8, the wiring of the electrodes 15 and the processing of the signals measured by the sensor device 4 and the electrodes 15 are shown in a block diagram-like schematic representation.

[0291] The inspection device 1 preferably comprises a pre-processing device 27. The pre-processing device 27 preferably comprises or is formed by an amplifier, in particular a differential amplifier. The differential amplifier is particularly preferably formed by an operational amplifier or comprises such an amplifier. However, other solutions are also possible.

[0292] The pre-processing device 27 is preferably coupled or connected to the electrodes 15 and is particularly designed to pre-process the signals measured by the electrodes 15, 15A, 15B, 15C. In particular, the pre-processing device 27 is designed to amplify differences between signals measured by different electrodes 15, in particular voltages such as biopotentials, and particularly preferably between the signal measured by the first electrode 15A and the signal measured by the second electrode 15B.

[0293] Optionally, the electrode 15 is coupled to the pretreatment device 27 via a capacitance or capacitor, which is indicated in Figure 8 by the capacitance symbol within the dotted box.

[0294] Furthermore, the pre-processing device 27 is preferably designed to filter the signals measured by the electrodes 15 .

[0295] Preferably, but only optionally, the pre-processing device 27 comprises a common mode suppression device 28 .

[0296] The common mode suppression device 28 is preferably designed to suppress or filter DC current or voltage components of the signals measured by the various electrodes 15 .

[0297] The inspection device 1 preferably comprises an A / D converter 29. The A / D converter 29 is preferably designed to convert signals, in particular analog signals, preprocessed by the electrodes 15 and possibly by the preprocessing device 27 into digital signals. The A / D converter 29 is preferably located downstream of the preprocessing device 27.

[0298] The signals measured by the electrodes 15, in particular the heart rate curve KG recorded by the electrodes 15, are preferably further evaluated and / or processed, in particular after conversion to a digital signal. In particular, a usability check can be performed, for example, by a checking device 29A. During the usability check, it is preferably determined whether the heart rate curve KG is useful, i.e. whether it can be meaningfully evaluated and / or whether it contains useful information. This is schematically indicated by the box in the lower right corner in FIG. 8.

[0299] Preferably, the inspection apparatus 1 comprises, as an alternative or in addition to the pre-processing device 27, one or more further pre-processing devices 30. The pre-processing devices 30 are preferably designed for pre-processing of the signals S measured by the sensor device 4 or the detector 6 and / or the sensor 7.

[0300] The pre-processing device 30 preferably comprises an amplifier 31. The amplifier 31 is preferably designed to amplify the signal S measured by the detector 6 or sensor 7. In particular, the amplifier 31 is a transimpedance amplifier and / or converts a current into a voltage.

[0301] Preferably, the pre-processing device 30 comprises a filter device 32 for filtering the signal S, in particular the signal S amplified by the amplifier 31 .

[0302] The filter device 32 preferably comprises a plurality of different electrical filters. In particular, the filter device 32 may comprise or form one or more passive filters and / or one or more active filters. The filter device 32 may, for example, comprise or form one or more band-pass filters, band-stop filters, high-pass filters and / or low-pass filters.

[0303] Preferably, each detector 6 or sensor 7 is assigned or has a pre-processing device 30 .

[0304] Preferably, the evaluation of the signal S measured by the sensor device 4 and preferably preprocessed by the preprocessing device 30, in particular the curve K, is carried out together with and / or taking into account the heart rate curve KG.

[0305] The results of the evaluation can then be transferred to an external device 23, for example as already mentioned above and shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0306] Preferably, the inspection device 1 is designed to carry out the method described below. Alternatively or additionally, the inspection device 1 can be used to carry out the method described below. This use can also be realized independently of further aspects of the invention.

[0307] The method according to the present invention will now be described in detail.

[0308] The method is preferably carried out using the above-described inspection device 1. The above-described inspection device 1 is particularly advantageous for carrying out the method, in particular for selecting one or more sensors 7 and / or evaluating one or more curves K. However, the method can also be carried out independently of the described inspection device 1, preferably using an inspection device 1 that is designed differently from the one described above.

[0309] The inspection device 1 is preferably designed to carry out the methods described below. Alternatively or additionally, the inspection device 1 can be used to carry out the methods described below. This use can also be realized independently of further aspects of the invention.

[0310] In particular, the inspection device 1 comprises means for carrying out the steps of the method, these means preferably comprising or being formed by a computer program.

[0311] The means and / or computer program preferably comprise instructions which, when executed, cause the inspection device 1 to carry out the described method.

[0312] According to another aspect, the computer program and / or instructions are stored on or include the computer readable storage medium 26 .

[0313] For medical testing with the testing device 1, in particular for blood pressure measurement, it is preferably intended that an animal T, in particular a domestic cat or dog, be placed on the testing device 1. In particular, the animal T is placed completely on the testing device 1, i.e. preferably with all limbs, in particular legs 2, on the testing device 1 and / or with the entire weight of the animal T being supported by the testing device 1.

[0314] Particularly preferably, the animal T is positioned on the testing apparatus 1 so that the legs 2, in particular the front legs, of the animal T rest on the sensor device 4 and / or are located directly above the sensor device 4, and / or a curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF can be recorded for the legs 2.

[0315] Preferably, the animal T is positioned so that each of the electrodes 15, 15A, 15B, 15C contacts a body part of the animal T, in particular the legs 2, so that the heart rate curve KG can be recorded by the electrodes 15. In particular, the animal T is positioned so that one of its front legs contacts the first electrode 15A, the other leg contacts the second electrode 15B, and, if the testing device 1 has a third electrode 15C, one or both of its rear legs contact the third electrode 15C.

[0316] After positioning the animal T, the medical examination and / or blood pressure measurement is preferably started. Optionally, after positioning the animal T, a short wait can first be performed to allow the animal T to settle down, and only after this waiting period the medical examination and / or blood pressure measurement is started. In particular, a curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T is recorded for the medical examination or blood pressure measurement. This curve K is in particular a photoplethysmogram.

[0317] The lower part of FIG. 9 shows a curve K as an example.

[0318] Particularly preferably, a reflectance measurement is carried out or the testing device 1 is designed for this purpose in order to record the curve K. This means in particular that the sensor device 4 is arranged only on one side of the leg 2 and / or does not have any components arranged on the opposite side of the leg 2.

[0319] Preferably, the inspection or measurement is carried out using radiation R in the infrared range.

[0320] It is particularly preferred that the examination device 1 records the heart rate curve KG of the animal T at the same time as recording the curve K which contains information about the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T.

[0321] The upper part of FIG. 9 shows a heart rate curve KG as an example.

[0322] The testing device 1 may comprise a processor P which receives and / or processes information and / or signals S and / or curves K from the testing device 1, in particular from the sensor device 4, the sensor 7, the detector 6 and / or the electrodes 15. Alternatively or additionally, the processor P and / or the testing device 1 may comprise a storage medium 26 which contains a computer program representing the proposed method, which program can be executed by the processor P to perform the method. In particular, the computer program is stored on the storage medium 26. Furthermore, results can be formed in the processor P. These results can be output in particular via a display device 19 and / or transmitted in particular to an external device 23.

[0323] The storage medium 26 can be integrated into the inspection device 1 or can be a separate storage means connectable to the inspection device 1 via an interface, such as, for example, a memory stick or an external database, server or the like. The computer program can also be supplied to the inspection device 1 from the outside and stored in the inspection device 1. However, other solutions are also possible here.

[0324] The method, in particular the optical inspection, is preferably carried out using at least one sensor 7, preferably a plurality of sensors 7. Preferably, each sensor 7 corresponds to one measurement channel, each sensor 7 corresponds to one measurement channel and / or one measurement channel is assigned to each sensor 7.

[0325] A "measurement channel" in the sense of the present invention is preferably a transmission path of a signal S measured by a sensor 7, in particular a curve K measured by the sensor 7. In this sense, the terms "measurement channel" and "sensor" are closely connected to each other, so that in the following no distinction will be made between sensor 7 and measurement channel. Instead, in the following the terms "measurement channel" and "sensor" will be used synonymously, with the term "sensor" being predominantly used. In particular, the terms "measurement channel" and "sensor" are interchangeable.

[0326] A plurality of curves K can be recorded via a plurality of sensors 7, preferably separately or independently of one another, simultaneously and / or one after the other.

[0327] Preferably, each sensor 7 has at least one detector 6. Very particularly preferably, each sensor 7 has exactly one detector 6. Therefore, by selecting a sensor 7, the detector 6 is also selected, and vice versa. In this respect, the terms "sensor selection" and "detector selection" are preferably synonymous and in particular interchangeable.

[0328] Furthermore, as already mentioned above, each sensor 7 preferably has a sensor area 11. In other words, each sensor 7 is preferably assigned to a different measurement position or partial area of ​​the sensing area 12 of the sensor device 4. In particular, each sensor 7 corresponds to a certain measurement position and / or sensor area 11 and / or partial area of ​​the sensing area 12. Selection of a sensor 7 can therefore be understood as selection of a measurement position and / or sensor area 11 and / or partial area of ​​the sensing area 12. The terms "selection of a sensor", "selection of a measurement position", "selection of a sensor area" and "selection of a partial area of ​​the sensing area" are therefore preferably synonymous with each other and in particular interchangeable.

[0329] Furthermore, one or more curves K are preferably recorded for each sensor 7. In other words, each curve K is assigned to a sensor 7. In particular, each curve K corresponds to a particular sensor. The selection of a curve K can therefore be understood as and / or represents the selection of a sensor 7. Indirectly, the selection of a curve K also represents the selection of a measurement location and / or a sub-area of ​​the sensor area 11 and / or sensing area 12. The terms "selection of a curve", "selection of a measurement location", "selection of a sensor area", and "selection of a sub-area of ​​a sensing area" are preferably synonymous with each other and in particular interchangeable.

[0330] Furthermore, in the above-described inspection device 1, the sensors 7 are preferably of the same kind or type, so that each sensor 7 performs the same measurement in principle, the measurements differing only in that they are performed at different positions, resulting in different (simultaneous) measurement signals S or curves K.

[0331] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of the general sequence of the method.

[0332] The method preferably includes a number of steps S1 to S9, which are shown schematically in Figure 10. Below, we will first provide a rough outline of steps S1 to S9, and then we will describe steps S1 to S9 in more detail.

[0333] The method according to the invention does not necessarily include all steps S1 to S9. In particular, the individual steps S1 to S9 or individual aspects of steps S1 to S9 may be feasible independently of one another or in different combinations.

[0334] In the method according to the invention, the animal T is medically examined. Preferably, the pulse transit time PTT and / or blood pressure BP of the animal T are determined in the method according to the invention.

[0335] The animal T is preferably placed for testing on the testing apparatus 1. Preferably, the animal T is not fixed on the testing apparatus 1 and can move freely, in particular relative to the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15.

[0336] In step S1, it is preferably determined whether the animal T is located on the testing device 1 and / or whether it is positioned on the testing device 1 so that a medical test can be performed by the testing device 1. However, step S1 is only optional and may be omitted.

[0337] In step S2, it is preferably determined whether leg 2 is positioned on or above sensor device 4 so that an optical examination, in particular photoplethysmography, can be performed using sensor device 4. Alternatively or additionally, in step S2 it is determined on which sensor 7 leg 2 is positioned or by which means of sensor 7 the examination can be performed. Preferably, only sensors 7 on which leg 2 is positioned and / or on which means the examination can be performed are selected and / or used. Step S2 can be performed simultaneously with step S1 or can replace step S1. Step S2 is optional and can also be omitted.

[0338] Preferably, the selection of the sensor 7 or a subset of sensors 7 on which the test is to be performed is performed in step S3. This is particularly advantageous when the sensor device 4 has a plurality or a large number of sensors 7. In this way, the effort required for the measurement and / or evaluation can be significantly reduced, in particular by excluding and / or not selecting from the measurement or evaluation sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 on which no leg 2 is located. Step S3 can also be performed simultaneously with step S1 and / or step S2. However, step S3 is in principle optional and can also be omitted.

[0339] On the other hand, step S3 or the selection of a sensor 7 or a subset of sensors 7 may be advantageous without the subsequent steps, and in particular it is possible to form the invention without the subsequent steps.

[0340] In step S4, a curve K, in particular a photoplethysmogram, is recorded which contains information about the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T. Preferably, a heart rate curve KG is recorded, in particular at the same time as the curve K is recorded.

[0341] In particular, it is preferred to record several curves K simultaneously, in particular simultaneously with the heart rate curve KG. Alternatively or additionally, several curves K and / or heart rate curves KG can be recorded one after the other, in particular at a time interval. In step S4, the quality of the measurements and / or the usefulness of the recorded curves K and / or heart rate curves KG are preferably also checked.

[0342] In step S5, the curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF is preferably cut or divided into curve sections KA. This is done in particular in such a way that the curve sections KA correspond to heart beats, and particularly preferably in such a way that each curve section KA corresponds to exactly one heart beat. Preferably, the curve K is cut into curve sections KA using information from the heart rate curve KG. However, other solutions are also possible here.

[0343] In step S6, a selection of curve sections KA is preferably made for further evaluation, in particular for determining the curve characteristics M and / or the blood pressure BP. For this purpose, in step S6, some of the curve sections KA can be discarded. The selection of curve sections KA preferably constitutes the selection of one or more sensors 7, in particular if only curve sections KA are selected from a single sensor 7 or a subset of sensors 7. However, step S6 is optional and can also be omitted.

[0344] In step S7, an averaging or averaging determination based on the curve sections K A is preferably performed. Preferably, one or more curve mean values ​​K M are determined based on the curve sections K A. Preferably, a bootstrap method is used or applied.

[0345] In step S8, preferably, a curve feature M is determined. For this purpose, preferably, a plurality of curve features M are first determined. In particular, a curve feature M is determined separately for each sensor 7, each curve section K A and / or each curve mean value K M . Particularly preferably, in addition to each curve feature M, an assigned degree of dispersion is determined in each case. Particularly preferably, the curve feature M having the lowest degree of dispersion is selected as the final result of the curve features M determined in step S8. This selected curve feature M then represents the curve feature M determined in step S8. The determined curve feature M can then be output and / or used as the basis for blood pressure BP measurement.

[0346] In step S9, preferably the blood pressure BP is determined, in particular from the curve characteristics M determined in step S8. This is done in particular by means of a correlation function F, which is preferably empirically determined.

[0347] During one or more of steps S5, S6, S7 and / or S8, a check can be made in particular as to the usability of the heart rate curve KG and / or curve K.

[0348] The check on the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG is preferably carried out immediately after the start of the examination or recording of the heart rate curve KG, in particular after a few seconds, preferably after a maximum of about 5 seconds, particularly preferably after about 2 seconds.

[0349] The usefulness of the curve K is preferably checked after checking the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG, in particular after at least about 5 seconds and / or at most about 45 seconds, particularly preferably after about 10 seconds and / or about 30 seconds. It is particularly preferred to check the usefulness of the curve K several times and / or after two different time periods, in particular a first check after about 10 seconds and a second check after about 30 seconds.

[0350] The (first and / or second) check of the usefulness of the curve K is preferably carried out during or in parallel with the recording of the curve K.

[0351] If the measurement is determined to be unhelpful and / or further measurements are required, then after these steps S5, S6, S7 and / or S8, one can return to step S4, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 10, and / or new and / or additional measurements can be made.

[0352] Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to return to step S3 after one of steps S4, S5, S6, S7 and / or S8 and / or to make a new and / or different selection of sensors 7.

[0353] After returning to step S3 or step S4, it is preferable to execute the following steps S4 to S9 or S5 to S9 again, either completely or partially.

[0354] By returning to previous steps and performing one or more steps multiple times and / or again, the examination of the animal T, particularly the measurement of the blood pressure BP, can be performed accurately and reliably, even if the animal T moves during the examination or the leg 2 moves during the examination. In particular, by repeating one or more steps, cumulative measurements or recordings can be performed until a sufficient number of data or curves K are measured or available. This allows for compensation for measurement errors and / or movement artifacts, and allows for movement of the animal T or leg 2 during the examination. Since the animal T is preferably able to move freely during the examination, the examination is very comfortable for the animal T and therefore stress-free. This contributes to accurate and reliable examinations, particularly blood pressure measurements.

[0355] Steps S1 to S9 will be explained in more detail below.

[0356] Step S1 Preferably, in step S1, the presence of an animal T on the testing device 1 is determined.

[0357] The test device 1 is preferably designed to identify the (potential) presence of an animal T, in particular a leg 2, on or in the test device 1, in particular on the mounting surface 3, at least one of the electrodes 15 and / or on the sensor device 4.

[0358] In principle, different methods can be used and / or different sensors can be provided for this purpose. For example, the testing device 1 can have a presence sensor such as a light barrier, a motion detector or the like (not shown). However, it is particularly preferred to use a sensor which includes one or more components of the testing device 1, in particular an electrode, which also serves another purpose.

[0359] Very particularly preferably, the sensor device 4, or one or more of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6, the force sensor 18A and / or one or more electrodes 15 are used to detect the presence of the animal T or leg 2 on the testing apparatus 1 and / or the sensor device 4.

[0360] Particularly preferably, the testing device 1 identifies the contact of the leg 2 with one or more of the electrodes 15, in particular by measuring the impedance or resistance between the electrodes 15. The resistance measured at the electrodes 15 varies depending in particular on whether the electrodes 15 are in contact with the leg 2 of the animal T. In this way, the presence of the animal T and / or the correct positioning of the leg 2 on the electrodes 15 can be identified, in particular the positioning of the leg 2 such that the heart rate curve KG can be recorded by the electrodes 15.

[0361] Alternatively or additionally, the force sensor 18A and / or the scale 18 can be used to identify the presence of this animal T. In particular, a force or weight threshold can be specified or can be specified for this purpose. In this case, the force or weight threshold is preferably selected so that it is exceeded when a domestic cat or dog or other animal T to be tested is placed on the testing device 1. Exceeding the weight threshold thus indicates the presence of the animal T. Falling below the weight threshold indicates that the animal T is not positioned on the testing device 1 and / or that the animal T is only partially positioned on the testing device 1 or is not positioned on the testing device 1 in the intended manner.

[0362] By suitable positioning of the force sensor 18A, it is also possible for the force sensor 18A to preferably determine whether and / or which electrodes 15 and / or sensor devices 4 the animal T is in contact with.

[0363] Alternatively or additionally, one or more of the sensor device 4 or the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 may be used to identify or determine the presence of the animal T. In particular, the sensor device may determine whether the leg 2 or other body part of the animal T is located directly above the sensor device 4 and / or whether it is positioned so that the leg 2 and / or body part can be optically inspected by the sensor device 4, in particular whether photoplethysmography can be performed. This is preferably done by comparing the signals S measured by the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4.

[0364] In this connection, it can be exploited on the one hand that the radiation R emitted by one or more of the emitters 5 reaches one of the detectors 6 at least essentially only in the presence of an object, i.e. preferably an animal T, in particular by reflection or scattering. On the other hand, it can be exploited that, due to the legs 2 arranged on the sensor device 4, ambient light is at least partially blocked and / or reaches only some of the sensors 7. Information about the presence of an animal T can therefore be gleaned from the signals S measured by the respective detectors 6 or sensors 7, without the need to particularly evaluate the signals S in detail. For example, it is sufficient to identify a particular signal S by comparing the signal level, for example with a threshold value, or by comparing it with signals S measured by other sensors 7 or the like.

[0365] The presence detection or presence determination can be performed continuously, but is preferably performed intermittently for energy efficiency.

[0366] The result of the presence detection or presence determination is preferably stored. The result is preferably binary information, since either the animal T is present or its presence can be determined (positive result), or the animal T is not present or its presence cannot be determined (negative result). In particular, the result or information is encoded in the signal for one or more of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 and / or electrodes 15, in particular in bits, most preferably in the least significant bits. Such a method is also known as "lead-off detection".

[0367] Preferably, the presence detection or presence determination is performed automatically, continuously and / or repeatedly and / or (again) at regular intervals, for example at intervals of less than 2 seconds or less than 1 second, during the examination and / or recording of the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG.

[0368] If it is determined that an animal T or its leg 2 is (potentially) present on the inspection device 1, the inspection device 1 can be (automatically) switched on, in particular switched from a power-saving mode to an operational mode. The inspection device 1 can therefore be designed to support a power-saving mode and to leave this power-saving mode as soon as the presence of the animal T or its leg 2 is detected.

[0369] Although determining the presence of the animal T or leg 2, and in particular controlling the power supply of the testing device 1 thereby, is advantageous, in principle, particularly for further steps of the invention, activating the testing device 1 is not essential, although it is less convenient, as this can be done alternatively or additionally, in particular by a switch or other operating device of the testing device 1.

[0370] Step S2 Preferably, in step S2 the inspection device 1 checks whether and / or in what position the leg 2 is on the sensor device 4 or whether the inspection device 1 is specifically designed for this purpose by the sensor device 4.

[0371] To enable the proposed test, the leg 2 of the animal T must be on or in contact with the sensor device 4 so that the optical test described above can be performed. Particularly preferably, the leg 2 rests directly on the sensor device 4, in particular on the cover 14 for this purpose. In this case, a reliable optical test can be performed. Alternatively or additionally, the leg 2 of the animal T must be in direct electrical, galvanic, or possibly capacitive contact with the electrode 15, so that the recording of the heart rate curve KG can be reliably performed.

[0372] In step S2, it is preferably automatically checked whether the leg 2 is resting on the sensor device 4 or whether it is in contact with the sensor device 4 in an appropriate manner, allowing an examination, in particular an optical examination and / or recording of the heart rate curve KG.

[0373] On the one hand, the signals S measured by the sensor 7 can be evaluated. This can consist simply in determining whether one or more signals S correspond to the incidence of light. In this way, the shadow cast by the animal T or the leg 2 can be determined and thus the position of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4 can be detected.

[0374] It is particularly advantageous to measure the electromagnetic radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 by means of the detector 6. When the emitter 5 is activated, by evaluating one or more signals S from the detector 6, it is also possible to determine whether the object, and in particular the leg 2 of the animal T, is positioned in such a way that the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 reaches the detector 6. In this case, or depending on its intensity, the presence of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4 can be deduced.

[0375] Determining the presence and / or position of the leg 2 above the sensor device 4 is preferably done by comparing the signals S measured by the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4 .

[0376] The comparison of the signals S measured by the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 is preferably carried out with the emitters 5 activated or switched on or emitting, but can also be carried out with the emitters 5 switched off.

[0377] By comparing the signals S from the different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6, it is preferably possible to determine in which position the leg 2 is, in particular relative to the sensor device 4 and / or the different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6. In particular, it is possible to determine on which of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 of the sensor device the leg 2 is located, and thus by which sensor 7 and / or detector 6 an examination, in particular a measurement of the blood pressure BP, can be performed. In particular, it is preferably possible to model the shape and / or positioning of the leg 2.

[0378] When the legs 2 are positioned on the sensor device 4, preferably some areas and / or some sensors 7 of the sensor device 4 are covered by the legs 2, while other areas and / or sensors 7 are not covered by the legs 2. In particular, this results in differences in the brightness and / or radiation R measured by the individual sensors 7. For inspection by the sensor device 4, it is intended that the legs 2 are preferably positioned on the sensor device 4 such that the sensor 7, or at least one sensor 7, is completely covered by the legs 2. In this way, ambient light cannot reach the sensor 7 or its detector 6, and only radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 or one of the emitters 5 of the sensor 7 and scattered in the legs 2 towards the detector 6 can reach it.

[0379] The comparison of different sensors 7 and / or signals S measured by the sensors 7 is preferably carried out by forming a difference between the signals S of the different sensors 7 .

[0380] Alternatively or additionally, the determination of location or presence by the sensor device 4 can be performed by checking whether the signal S measured by the sensor device 4 exceeds or falls below a threshold value, in particular an absolute signal strength.

[0381] Preferably, the threshold value represents an absolute brightness. In this way, it is possible to determine in particular whether the leg 2 and / or any other body part of the animal T is located above a sensor 7 of the sensor device 4 and / or which sensor 7 of the sensor device 4 the leg 2 or any other body part is located above.

[0382] In particular, exceeding the threshold indicates that no part of the body of the animal T is over the sensor device 4 or sensor 7, and / or falling below the threshold indicates that the leg 2 or another part of the body of the animal T is located over the sensor device 4 and / or sensor 7 so that the curve K can be recorded.

[0383] Alternatively or additionally, the wavelength of the radiation R measured by the detector 6 or sensor 7 can be analyzed. Preferably, the emitter 5 is designed to emit radiation R at a specific wavelength or narrow wavelength range. In other words, the emitter 5 preferably has a narrow spectrum. In contrast, ambient light such as sunlight and / or artificially generated light for room lighting usually has a broad spectrum, i.e., several different wavelengths, which are outside the wavelength range specifically emitted by the emitter 5. Thus, spectral analysis of the radiation R detected by the detector 6 or sensor 7 preferably makes it possible to determine whether the sensor 7 is covered by the leg 2 or whether ambient light is being measured.

[0384] If it is determined that the leg 2 is located only over some of the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4, and in particular not over all of the sensors 7 of the sensor device 4, then these sensors 7 can be selected for performing an examination and / or for recording a curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF.

[0385] For the presence and / or position determination by the sensor device 4, in particular a scan or search can be carried out by the sensors 7, in which different sensors 7 and / or emitters 5 are activated or switched on one after the other. In particular, the influence of ambient light can be determined in this way and / or by comparing the signal S measured with the emitters 5 switched on with the signal S measured with the emitters 5 switched off.

[0386] In order to determine the position of the leg 2 above and / or relative to the sensor device 4, the center of mass or centroid of the signals S measured by the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 is calculated or determined in particular. The signals S are preferably proportional to the intensity of the radiation R measured by the respective sensors 7 and / or detectors 6.

[0387] The determination of the center of mass or centroid of the measured signal S is carried out in particular as follows.

[0388] First, preferably, each emitter 5, detector 6 and / or sensor 7 is assigned a position, preferably represented by two coordinates x, y. Thus, the position of each emitter 5, detector 6 and / or sensor 7 is represented by the coordinates (x i、 y i ) pair, where the index i counts the number of emitters 5, detectors 6 and / or sensors 7. This is also shown in particular in FIG.

[0389] The position of leg 2 or the center of mass or gravity of signal S is given by the following coordinate pair (x c ,y c ) is given by

number

number

[0390] where S i are the coordinates x ior y i The signal strength S of the signal S measured at orig,i , or the respective coordinate x i or y i The signal strength S measured at orig,i The coefficient 1 / S is the sum of the tot is a normalization factor and can be omitted if desired. Preferably

number

[0391] Signal Strength S orig is preferably the value of the signal S measured by the sensor 7 and / or detector 6, e.g. a voltage, current or the like, in particular a DC value measured by the sensor 7 and / or detector 6.

[0392] Signal Strength S orig,i The value S corresponding to i is the signal strength S orig,i A value that is directly linked to the signal strength S orig,i Its own value (S i =S orig,i ) is particularly preferred. i is the signal strength S orig,i and signal strength S i The mean or median value S m The difference between (S i =S orig,i -S m ) or its absolute value (S i =|S orig,i -S m |).

[0393] Position of leg 2 or center of mass or center of gravity (x c ,y cAfter determining the center of mass or gravity (x), one or preferably several sensors 7, emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 are preferably selected or used based on the determined location or the determined center of gravity for medical examinations, in particular photoplethysmography. Preferably, the sensors 7, emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 are selected or used that are closest to the determined location and / or at certain locations around the determined location. For example, the center of mass or gravity (x c ,y c ) are selected sensors 7, emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 located in a square, rectangle, (regular) hexagon, (regular) octagon or the like.

[0394] During the optical inspection and / or during one or more of the subsequent steps, in particular during one of steps S3 and / or S4, it is preferably checked whether the position of leg 2 has changed, in particular during the measurement and / or after the initial position determination, and / or the determination of the position of leg 2 is repeated. This position check is preferably performed automatically, continuously and / or at regular intervals, preferably at intervals of less than 2 seconds or less than 1 second.

[0395] signals S measured by the sensors 7, emitters 5 and / or detectors 6, in particular those selected or used for the test, or control values ​​S determined from these signals S, in order to check whether the position of the leg 2 has changed after the initial position determination; new However, the standard value S ref It is compared to.

[0396] Standard value S ref is a value that is preferably measured and / or determined during the initial determination of the position of the leg 2 prior to the check, and is preferably stored.

[0397] Control value S new is preferably a reference value S ref In the same way as and / or the reference value S ref In other words, the control value S is determined based on the signals S measured using the same sensors 7, emitters 5 and / or detectors 6 as those signals S used to determine the control value S.new and the reference value S ref The only difference between these is that they are recorded or determined at different times, i.e., at the initial determination of the position of leg 2 or at the baseline value S before the medical examination. ref and a control value S after the initial determination of the position of the leg 2 or during a medical examination, in particular photoplethysmography. new is.

[0398] Preferably, the reference value is the signal S or signal strength S measured by the selected sensor 7, emitter 5 and / or detector 6. orig The value S is determined based on ref Particularly preferably, the reference value S ref is the value S of the (selected) sensor 7, emitter 5 and / or detector 6 i Sum of (

number

number

[0399] Control value S new and the reference value S ref When comparing with the control value S new The standard value S ref Deviation from the control value S new and the reference value S ref The ratio of the control value S new and the reference value S ref The difference between, or the like, is determined or calculated.

[0400] Particularly preferably, the control value S new and the reference value S ref withnew / S ref By determining the control value S new is the standard value S ref It is compared to.

[0401] More preferably, to obtain the result of the comparison, the value determined in the comparison, e.g., the control value S new and the reference value S ref The difference between the two is particularly preferably the quotient S new / S ref is checked to see if it is greater than or equal to a specified or specifiable threshold.

[0402] Control value S new and the reference value S ref The result of the comparison with is preferably either that the position of the leg 2 has changed or that the position of the leg 2 has not changed.

[0403] The value determined in the comparison, in particular the quotient S new / S ref If ≡ ...

[0404] Control value S new and the reference value S ref If the result of the comparison with is that the position of the leg 2 has changed (from its originally determined position), the position of the leg 2 is preferably determined again, in particular by the method described above.

[0405] Control value S new and the reference value S ref The comparison with is preferably made at regular (time) intervals, for example every 1 second, every 2 seconds, every 3 seconds or the like.

[0406] If it is found that the position of leg 2 has changed, and / or the reference value S ref and the control value S new If the value determined in the comparison with is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the determination of the position of the leg 2, in particular the search run or scan, is preferably carried out again, in particular automatically.

[0407] As an alternative or in addition to presence and / or position determination by the sensor device, one or more of the electrodes 15 can be used to detect the presence of a leg 2 on the sensor device 4. In this case, measurements are preferably carried out to determine whether a conductive, in particular direct (galvanic) or capacitive, electrical connection exists between the leg 2 and the electrode 15 assigned to the sensor device 4 or whether it is located as part of or on the sensor device. If an electrical connection exists, this indicates the presence of the leg 2.

[0408] These measures can be combined in a particularly advantageous way: in particular, the sufficient presence of the leg 2 is automatically detected if both a contact with the electrode 15 and an occlusion of one or more detectors 6 or an identification of the detector 6 of the electromagnetic radiation coming from the emitter 5 are registered.

[0409] Presence detection is preferably performed in an energy-saving manner, for example, the presence detection of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4 can be performed in several steps.

[0410] The measures can be stacked on top of each other, for example a particularly intermittent and / or energy-saving measure can be used first, and if the (potential) presence of an animal T is detected, this can be verified by one or more of the other measures.

[0411] In a first step, the emitter 5 can be deactivated to save power. Then, if shadowing is detected at the detector 6 and / or electrical contact is detected at the electrode 15, it can be verified in a further step by other means as mentioned above and / or by activating the emitter 5 that the leg 2 is resting on or lying against the sensor device 4 so that the test can be performed.

[0412] In principle, it is therefore particularly preferred to use the devices provided by the inspection device 1 to carry out the inspection in addition to determining the presence of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4 .

[0413] Preferably, the further steps of the method are only executed if the presence of a leg 2 on or at the sensor device 4 is identified, otherwise energy and computing power would be expected to be expended without any meaningful results being expected.

[0414] However, in principle, the proposed method can also be performed without step S2, especially if, in certain cases, the additional effort of accepting the evaluation of signals that may not have corresponding information is acceptable and / or if, based on the evaluation at a later point in the proposed method, suitable signals S or parts thereof are selected and / or unsuitable ones are discarded.

[0415] In principle, step S1 can be complemented or replaced by step S2, due to the fact that the identification or detection of the presence of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4 is preferably concomitant with the detection of the animal T on the testing apparatus 1. This means that the evaluation of one or more signals S from one or more detectors 6 and / or the use of one or more electrodes 15 of the testing apparatus 1 for determining electrical contact with the leg 2 can also be used to determine the presence of the animal T on the testing apparatus 1.

[0416] Step S2, in particular the determination of the position of the leg 2 above the sensor device 4 and / or checking whether the position of the leg 2 has changed, can also be carried out multiple times and / or simultaneously with the measurement or recording of the heart rate curve KG and / or one or more curves K and / or simultaneously with the evaluation of the measured or recorded values. Particularly preferably, the movement of the leg 2 is checked automatically, continuously or periodically and / or at short intervals, for example every 2 seconds or less than 1 second. In particular, step S2 can therefore be carried out simultaneously with one or more of steps S4, S5, S6, S7, S8 and / or S9.

[0417] In particular, this allows the examined animal T to move during the examination and / or the leg 2 to move during the examination. Measurement errors and / or resulting movement artifacts can be compensated for by position determination, in particular in connection with the selection of sensors 7 and / or the discarding of unusable curves K or curve sections KA. In particular, during and / or after the movement of the animal T or leg 2, the examination can be continued or continued with one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before the movement. The fact that the animal T can preferably move freely during the examination makes the examination very comfortable and stress-free for the animal T. This results in accurate and reliable examinations, in particular blood pressure measurement examinations.

[0418] Step S3 Very particularly preferably, the detector 6 and / or the sensor 7 are selected. In particular, the selection of the detector 6 or the selection of the signal S measured by the sensor 7 also represents or constitutes the selection of the sensor 7, or vice versa. In particular, the pre-selection of the sensor 7 is performed in such a way that further steps, in particular the evaluation of the signal S measured by the sensor 7, are carried out if information and / or assessability for the determination of the curve characteristic M and / or the measurement of the blood pressure BP is expected.

[0419] The selection of a sensor 7 is thus effected in particular by a measurement being performed with this sensor 7 and in particular a signal S and / or a curve K being recorded and in particular supplied for further evaluation. Alternatively or additionally, the selection of a sensor 7 can also be effected by activating and / or switching on the emitter 5 of the sensor 7 and / or in terms of recording the measured signal S.

[0420] The non-selection of a sensor 7 is effected in particular in that no signal S is measured by the sensor 7 and / or no curve K is recorded and / or the signal S measured by the sensor 7 or the recorded curve K is not taken into account in the further evaluation. In particular, the signal S from the non-selected sensor 7 is thus rejected.

[0421] The selection of detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 is shown schematically in Figure 11, where a cross indicates that the respective detector 6 or sensor 7 is not selected and a hook indicates that the respective detector 6 or sensor 7 is selected. In the example of step S3, two of the six detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 shown are selected and four detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 are not selected.

[0422] In this connection, it should be taken into account that in order to carry out an optical examination, and in particular photoplethysmography, a part of the leg 2 having at least one artery A must be positioned in the sensor area 11 of the sensor 7, so that the optical examination and in particular photoplethysmography can be carried out. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 7.

[0423] For carrying out an optical examination, in particular photoplethysmography, a body part, in particular a leg 2, is therefore preferably placed on the sensor device 4 and / or on the cover 14, such that the arterial blood flow BF is examined by the sensor device 4 and / or the signal S comprises information about the arterial blood flow BF. In other words, the body part, in particular the leg 2, is particularly positioned such that the signal S comprises information about the arterial blood flow BF.

[0424] For carrying out optical testing, in particular photoplethysmography, it is particularly preferred to place the ball / paw of the leg 2 on / in contact with the sensor device 4 and / or cover 14. In particular, the hairless area on the underside of the leg 2 is referred to as the paw. It has been shown that optical testing can be carried out particularly well in the area of ​​the paw. Furthermore, it has been found that optical testing and photoplethysmography are difficult to carry out on the outside of the paw due to the presence of hair.

[0425] It is therefore preferably detected or determined which of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 are located under the leg 2, in particular under the pad, and are therefore particularly suitable for performing an optical examination. Preferably, these detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 or the signals S measured with them are selected. In this way, further evaluation can be limited to signals S or sensors 7, respectively, which potentially lead to a curve K that shows useful or assessable information about the arterial blood flow, and / or on the basis of which photoplethysmography can be performed, in particular measurements of the pulse wave transit time PTT and / or blood pressure BP. This allows the examination to be performed in a particularly energy-saving manner.

[0426] The selection of the signal S and / or the sensor 7 preferably at least indirectly results in the selection of a part of the sensor device 4, a subset of the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6, and / or a subset of the sensing area 12 or the sensor area 11 and / or the detection area 10, such that preferably only the information or signal S or the curve K originating from the selected part or area is recorded and / or evaluated and / or processed in the further course.

[0427] The selection and / or selective evaluation of information and / or signals S is particularly advantageous as it can save both computing power and thus energy consumption, reducing the computing power that needs to be provided and therefore saving resources.

[0428] Step S3 can be carried out together with or simultaneously with step S2 and / or step S1. In particular, measures based on one another can, on the one hand, enable the determination of the presence and / or position of the animal T on the examination apparatus 1 and the presence and / or position of the leg 2 on the sensor device 4, and, on the other hand, enable the selection of the detector 6 and / or the sensor 7, preferably based on one another or simultaneously or the same signal S. However, in principle, the further steps of the method can also be realized without such selection and / or separately.

[0429] The selection of the detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 in step S3 is performed in particular automatically, in particular by a search run or scan, and / or based on the determination of the position of the leg 2 performed in step S2. Preferably, therefore, in step S3, the detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 are selected for which it was determined in step S2 that the leg 2 is located above or covers these detectors 6 and / or sensors 7.

[0430] Step S3 can also be repeated, especially if it is found in step S2 or by a new position determination that the position of leg 2 on the sensor device 4 has changed, for example, due to movement of leg 2 during measurement and / or examination and / or recording of curve K. In this case, preferably one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before are selected. In particular, this allows the animal T to move during the examination or for leg 2 to move during the examination. Measurement errors and / or movement artifacts caused by this can be compensated for by selecting sensors 7 again and / or by a different selection of sensors 7, especially in connection with (again) position determination and / or discarding unusable curve K or curve section KA. In particular, during or after movement of animal T or leg 2, the examination can be continued or continued with one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before the movement. The fact that animal T can preferably move freely during the examination makes the examination very comfortable and stress-free for animal T. This results in accurate and reliable examinations, especially blood pressure measurement examinations.

[0431] Furthermore, step S3 or the measures performed in step S3 may advantageously be realized independently of the further steps S4 to S9.

[0432] Step S4 In step S4, one or more measurements are preferably taken, in particular by means of the sensor device 4. In particular, one or more curves K, in particular photoplethysmograms, containing information about the arterial blood flow BF are recorded.

[0433] This can be done using one or more detectors 6 and / or sensors 7. Curve K therefore preferably corresponds to the electromagnetic radiation R detected by detector 6, and in particular the intensity of this radiation.

[0434] The electromagnetic radiation R preferably originates from an emitter 5. In this connection, the curve K indicates and preferably contains information about the arterial blood flow BF, since the detected electromagnetic radiation R varies with the arterial blood flow BF, in particular its intensity.

[0435] The radiation R emitted by the emitter 5 can be scattered and / or reflected within the leg 2 during examination of the leg 2 and can therefore reach the detector 6. This is shown by way of example in Figure 7. The signal S measured by the detector 6 thus corresponds to the scattering, reflection and / or absorption within the leg 2 of the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5, where the scattering, reflection and / or absorption depends, inter alia, on the volume of blood in the blood vessels extending into the leg 2 and / or the oxygen saturation of the blood.

[0436] The scattering, reflection and / or absorption measured by the detector 6 and / or sensor 7, and thus the curve K, consists of a component that is at least approximately constant in time and a component that varies in time.

[0437] The constancy of the time course of the signal S recorded by the detector 6 or sensor 7 is caused in particular by tissues surrounding the blood vessels, such as muscles, nerves, tendons, bones and / or skin, since scattering and / or absorption by these tissues preferably does not vary or varies only to a small extent. In particular, this at least approximately constant component in time is not correlated with the heart rate of the animal T. Blood flowing through the veins may also contribute to this at least approximately constant component.

[0438] The time-varying component is preferably caused at least essentially by the arterial blood flow BF, i.e., by temporal variations in the blood flowing through artery A. Artery A is a blood vessel through which blood is transported from the heart. The volume or volumetric flow rate of blood flowing through artery A and the oxygen saturation of the blood in artery A vary in a manner correlated with the heartbeat. In particular, the absorption and / or scattering of blood in artery A depends not only on the blood volume or blood flow rate in artery A, but also on the oxygen content or oxygen saturation of the blood in artery A.

[0439] In this connection, the time course of a coherently and / or continuously recorded signal S is shown as curve K. In the graphical representation of signal S, as shown in Figure 9, curve K is the corresponding graph in the figure.

[0440] However, the curve K can also be formed or represented by an equivalent, in particular a data equivalent, of a graph or a course of the signal S. The curve K can also be represented or formed by a number of connected single points or data points, by a vector sequence or the like, although it is preferably a continuous course. The curve K can be or comprise a digitized analog signal S coming from the detector 6 and / or the sensor 7.

[0441] Particularly preferably, the curve K is a digital signal S in the form of individual data points and / or the curve K is converted into individual data points after acquisition for further evaluation.

[0442] Preferably, the curve K starts at the start of measuring or recording the signal S. Preferably, the curve K ends at the end or interruption of measuring or recording the signal S.

[0443] A "recording" of a signal S or a curve K is in particular a preferably temporary or intermediate storage of the signal S or the curve K. In particular, the term "recording" means a measurement and simultaneous or intermediate storage of the signal S or the curve K. The term "recording" therefore also includes a measurement, in particular photoplethysmography.

[0444] The different curves K can be generated by carrying out different measurements, each of which is recorded, or by recording, storing and / or using (sequentially) the measured signal S only partially or section by section.

[0445] Preferably, multiple curves K are recorded simultaneously, in particular by different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 of the sensor device 4. Alternatively or additionally, multiple curves K can be recorded in sequence by the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6, and / or multiple curves K can be recorded in sequence by different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6.

[0446] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, multiple curves K are thus recorded simultaneously, in particular with different sensors 7, where the different sensors 7 preferably correspond to different regions of the sensor device 4 or leg 2, as explained above, such that resulting curves K are recorded from different regions of the sensor device 4. Preferably, the curves K are recorded only with the detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 selected in step S3, but this is not essential.

[0447] According to another embodiment, several curves K are recorded in sequence by one detector 6 and / or sensor 7. However, further curves K can be recorded by other sensors 7 simultaneously with the recording of a curve K by this sensor 7 and / or with a time delay.

[0448] In other words, the sensors 7 are preferably separated from one another, even if as described above some of the emitters 5 preferably form part of multiple sensors 7, and multiple curves K can be recorded or are recorded in sequence at each sensor 7, while independently of this, one or more curves K can be recorded or are recorded simultaneously at other sensors 7.

[0449] However, the sensors 7 are particularly preferably synchronized so that the curves K are recorded simultaneously with the sensors 7 .

[0450] Particularly preferably, but not necessarily, a heart rate curve KG, in particular an electrocardiogram and / or an impedance cardiogram, is recorded simultaneously with the curve or curves K. The heart rate curve KG is in particular recorded by means of electrodes 15. In principle, however, the heart rate curve KG can also be recorded by means of another detection element, for example a microphone or the like, and can be a phonocardiogram.

[0451] To record the heart rate curve KG, particularly preferably an electrode 15 is used, which electrode is in contact with the leg 2 that is optically examined by the sensor device 4. Preferably, a (first) electrode 15A assigned to the sensor device 4 is used for this purpose, which (first) electrode 15A is preferably designed and arranged in such a way that when the leg 2 is placed on the sensor device, an electrical connection between the leg 2 and the electrode 15a is established and at the same time photoplethysmography can be performed. In the example shown, the first electrode 15A is arranged or formed on or in the immediate vicinity of the sensor device 4.

[0452] Preferably, the heart rate curve KG is checked for usability, in particular in an automatic or automated manner. The usability check can take place during or after the recording of the heart rate curve KG.

[0453] For recording the heart rate curve KG, preferably a plurality of electrodes 15 are used, one of which, an electrode 15A, can be, but need not be, the electrode 15A assigned to the sensor device 4. Furthermore, the testing device 1 has one or more electrodes 15, so that the animal T or its different legs 2 or other body parts are preferably electrically coupled or contacted by different electrodes 15.

[0454] Here, one of the electrodes 15, in particular the third electrode 15C, can function as a collector or reference electrode for one or more of the other electrodes 15. Preferably, unipolar and / or bipolar leads are used, in particular after the lead systems of Frank Norman Wilson in 1934, Emanuel Goldberger in 1942, and / or Willem Einthoven in 1913. However, other approaches are also possible here.

[0455] The collecting or reference electrode 15C can be used to compensate for DC voltages or set potentials, introduce currents or set potentials in the animal T. The collecting or reference electrode 15C preferably serves to measure an average or reference potential that forms a reference point for the potentials measured at the other electrodes 15.

[0456] In principle, one channel of the heart rate curve KG and / or two electrodes 15 are sufficient. The use of at least a third electrode 15 is particularly preferred, making it possible to record several heart rate curves KG, in particular ECG channels, which can furthermore be used alternatively or in combination with one another.

[0457] Preferably, the heart rate curve KG is preprocessed, in particular in a preprocessing device 27. In particular, the heart rate curve KG can be filtered, particularly preferably band-pass filtered, whereby low-frequency and high-frequency bands adjacent to the mid-frequency band are attenuated. Alternatively or additionally, the heart rate curve KG can be filtered using a notch filter and / or a band-stop filter, whereby specific frequencies or frequency bands are attenuated or suppressed. In particular, disturbances from the power grid, for example disturbances with a frequency of 50 Hz, can be suppressed.

[0458] If the heart rate curve KG is not useful, i.e. does not meet the usefulness check criteria, the heart rate curve KG is preferably discarded. In particular, if the heart rate curve KG is not useful, the K curves recorded simultaneously with the heart rate curve KG will also be discarded. Preferably, further evaluation is carried out exclusively on the curves K and / or heart rate curves KG that have not been discarded.

[0459] Particularly preferably, if the heart rate curve KG is not available, a new heart rate curve KG and preferably one or more new curves K corresponding to the new heart rate curve KG are recorded, preferably simultaneously with the new heart rate curve KG.

[0460] The usability check is preferably performed on the heart rate curve KG or on a section of the heart rate curve KG having or corresponding to more than 2, preferably more than 4, and / or less than 20, preferably less than 15, in particular less than 10, most preferably about 6 to 8 heart beats and / or QRS complexes.

[0461] The usability check is thereby, alternatively or additionally preferably performed on the heart rate curve KG or on a section of the heart rate curve KG whose length is or corresponds to more than 0.5 seconds, preferably more than 1 second and / or less than 10 seconds, in particular less than 5 seconds, particularly preferably less than 3 seconds. Most preferably, the length or section of the heart rate curve KG is respectively about 2 seconds. The length or section of the heart rate curve KG is in particular the duration of the measurement of the heart rate curve KG or section.

[0462] Preferably, one or more criteria are checked when checking the usefulness of a heart rate curve KG. A heart rate curve KG is preferably useful if it fulfills all of the criteria described below. However, in principle, other methods are possible in which only some of the criteria described below are checked, and / or a heart rate curve KG is also considered useful if only one or a subset of the criteria are fulfilled. Alternatively or additionally, other criteria than those described below may also be provided.

[0463] According to the first criterion, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the heart rate curve KG is preferably determined. A filtered and / or pre-processed heart rate curve KG is preferably used for this purpose. The peak-to-peak amplitude is the difference between the absolute maximum and the absolute minimum of the heart rate curve KG. If the peak-to-peak amplitude is greater than or equal to a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not to be fulfilled.

[0464] According to the second criterion, the power spectral density or power distribution of the heart rate curve KG is preferably determined. In particular, it is checked whether the quotient of the integral of the power density spectrum in the first interval and the integral of the power density spectrum in the second interval is greater than or equal to a lower threshold and / or less than or equal to an upper threshold. If the quotient is greater than or equal to a lower threshold and / or less than or equal to an upper threshold, the criterion is considered fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not fulfilled.

[0465] According to the third criterion, the skewness and / or kurtosis of the amplitude distribution function of the heart rate curve KG is preferably examined. If the kurtosis and / or skewness is equal to or greater than a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not fulfilled.

[0466] According to the fourth and fifth criteria, preferably the Pan-Tompkins plot of the heart rate curve KG is examined.

[0467] The Pan-Tompkins algorithm is an algorithm for detecting QRS complexes in a heart rate curve KG, particularly an electrocardiogram. According to the Pan-Tompkins algorithm, the heart rate curve KG is filtered, derived, squared, and then convolved and / or integrated. The curve resulting from these steps or application of the Pan-Tompkins algorithm to the heart rate curve KG is called a Pan-Tompkins plot. The QRS complexes and / or R peaks of the heart rate curve KG can be reliably determined from the Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0468] It has also been found that in the context of the present invention, the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG can also be checked by means of a Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0469] According to the fourth criterion, the minimum and / or average amplitude of the peaks in the Pan-Tompkins plot is examined. If the minimum and / or average amplitude of the Pan-Tompkins plot is equal to or greater than a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not fulfilled. Different thresholds may be set for the minimum and average amplitudes.

[0470] According to the fifth criterion, the minimum, maximum, and / or average distance of the peaks in the Pan-Tompkins plot are examined. If the minimum, maximum, and / or average distance of the peaks in the Pan-Tompkins plot is greater than or equal to a lower threshold and / or less than or equal to an upper threshold, the criterion is considered met. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not met. Different thresholds may be set for the minimum, maximum, and average distances.

[0471] According to the sixth criterion, the degree of saturation of the heart rate curve KG or the signal measured by the electrodes 15 is examined. Saturation of the signal or heart rate curve KG occurs when the signal, when measured by the electrodes 15, assumes the maximum or minimum possible value. Preferably, the sixth criterion is used to determine the percentage, particularly the temporal percentage, of the signal or heart rate curve KG measured by the electrodes 15 that is saturated. If this percentage is equal to or less than a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not fulfilled. For example, the threshold can be 0.15 or 15%, and if more than 15% of the heart rate curve KG is saturated, the criterion is not fulfilled.

[0472] Alternatively or in addition to checking the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG, the usefulness of the curve K can be checked. This check of the usefulness of the curve K is preferably carried out after measuring or recording the curve K, in particular on the basis of the individual curve sections KA, and preferably if the heart rate curve KG meets the criteria for its usefulness.

[0473] The check of the usability of the curve K is preferably carried out in step S6 and is therefore explained in more detail below with respect to step S6. However, it is also possible in principle for the (basic) usability check of the curve K to additionally form part of step S4 and / or for the usability check to be carried out during the recording of the curve K. In order to check the usability of the curve K, it is preferably evaluated with respect to criteria, such as for example an expected basic shape, an expected spectrum, an expected amplitude or the like.

[0474] A check of the usefulness of the curve K is carried out after measuring or recording the curve K, in particular on the basis of the individual curve sections KA, and preferably if the heart rate curve KG meets the criteria for usefulness.

[0475] In principle, it is not necessary to check the usability of the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K. However, this has proven to be particularly advantageous for testing animals T, in particular domestic dogs or cats, since useless measurements, i.e., measurements that do not contain any useful information and / or do not provide reliable evaluation results, can be filtered out and / or ignored or not taken into account for further evaluation in a simple and / or quick manner. In particular, the usability check preferably makes it possible to perform medical tests, in particular blood pressure measurements, on the animal T even if the animal T is not fixed relative to the testing device 1, in particular relative to the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15, or even if the animal T moves or can move relative to the testing device 1, in particular relative to the sensor device 4 and / or the electrodes 15, during the test. In particular, the usability check makes it possible to detect and preferably filter out or not take into account for further evaluation measurements in which the animal T has moved. In this way, the test can be made particularly comfortable and stress-free for the animal T. This results in reliable and accurate tests, in particular blood pressure measurements.

[0476] Preferably, the duration of the measurement or recording of the curve K is more than 30 seconds and / or less than 60 seconds, in particular about 45 seconds, whereby several curves K and / or heart rate curves KG are preferably recorded simultaneously.

[0477] Particularly preferably, it is determined whether and / or when the animal T, in particular leg 2, moved during the recording of the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG, preferably by checking the position of the leg 2 as already described in step S2. Segments of the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG in which the animal T and / or leg 2 moved are preferably removed or cut out from the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG. Segments in which no movement of the animal T or leg 2 has occurred or been detected and which have a length of less than 5 seconds or at most 5 seconds are also preferably cut out from the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG.

[0478] The remaining segments of the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG, i.e. the segments in which no movement of the animal T or leg 2 was detected and / or the segments that were not removed, are preferably joined together to form, in particular, a new curve K.

[0479] Preferably, the curve K or the curve KKG thus combined and / or the heart rate curve KG thus combined form the basis for further evaluations or medical tests, in particular for blood pressure measurements. In other words, the further steps S5 to S9 are preferably carried out using the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG from which the segments in which the animal T and / or leg 2 have moved have been deleted.

[0480] The removal of segments in which the animal T and / or leg 2 have moved is preferably performed in addition to and / or after the usefulness check (described above) of the heart rate curve KG.

[0481] The curve K and / or heart rate curve KG thus combined should have a length of at least 20 seconds, particularly preferably at least 30 seconds, and / or should consist only of segments having a length of more than 3 seconds, preferably more than 5 seconds. If these requirements are not met after cutting out the segments in which the movement occurred, the recording of the curve K and / or heart rate curve KG is preferably restarted or repeated.

[0482] Furthermore, the curve K may also be composed of segments of multiple curves K measured or recorded with different detectors 6 and / or sensors 7, in particular if the position of the leg 2 is changed during the recording of multiple curves K and / or if the curves K are recorded with different detectors 6 and / or sensors 7 due to such a change in the position of the leg 2.

[0483] During step S4 or while recording the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG, it is particularly preferred that the presence determination, particularly performed or described in step S1, the position determination, particularly described in step S2, and / or the position check, particularly described in step S2, are performed. This is particularly performed automatically, continuously, and / or at regular intervals, preferably at intervals of less than 2 seconds or less than 1 second. In particular, it is possible in this way to determine whether the animal T has moved or is moving and / or the position of one or more legs 2 changes. If it is found that the animal T or its legs 2 have moved, the presence and / or position determination is preferably repeated, particularly automatically, and preferably new sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 are selected and, using these newly selected sensors 7 and / or detectors 6, the measurement or recording of the curve K is continued or further or new curves K are recorded, particularly automatically. This is explained below with respect to the different situations or phases P1 to P7 that may occur during the examination of the animal T.

[0484] 14 shows, by way of example only, various phases P1-P7 that may occur during the measurement or recording of the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K. The order of the phases P1-P7 is therefore purely exemplary for purposes of explanation and does not represent a required order for the phases P1-P7. Rather, the phases P1-P7 may occur in any order, and the phases P1-P7 may occur multiple times and / or not at all during the examination or recording of the curve K and / or the heart rate curve KG.

[0485] In the following description of phases P1 to P7, it is assumed that the examination apparatus 1 has (at least) two electrodes 15, in particular an electrode 15A for the left (front) leg of the animal T and an electrode 15B for the right (front) leg. It is further assumed that the examination apparatus 1 has only one or exactly one sensor device 4, which is assigned to or positioned below the left (front) leg of the animal T under examination. Preferably, the presence of the animal T is determined by the electrodes 15A, 15B, and the position of the leg 2, in particular the left front leg, is determined and checked by the sensor device 4, and a curve K is recorded. Of course, other versions of the examination apparatus 1 are possible, in which case the following description applies accordingly.

[0486] Figure 14 shows in four rows R1 to R4 the different actions or results of actions carried out during phases P1 to P7. The horizontal or X-axis of the diagram in Figure 14 represents in particular the time axis.

[0487] In row R1, the results of the presence test carried out in particular in step S1 are shown. During the presence test, it is preferably determined whether the leg 2 of the animal T, in particular the right front leg, is placed on the assigned electrodes 15A, 15B so that the heart rate curve KG can be recorded, as described. Here, a value "1" means that the presence test was successful or that the right front leg was placed correctly (positive result). A value "0" means that the presence test could not be made or that the right front leg was not placed correctly (negative result).

[0488] In row R2, the execution of a determination of the position of leg 2, in particular the left front leg, is shown. The position determination is preferably performed by performing a search run or scan using sensor 7 and / or by determining the center of mass or centroid of the measurement signal S, as described above, in particular in step S2. Here, a value "1" means that a position determination and / or a search run or scan is performed. A value "0" means that no position determination or search run or scan is performed.

[0489] In row R3, the results of checking the position of leg 2, in particular the left front leg, are shown, which is preferably performed as described in step S2 above. In particular, as described, it is continuously and / or periodically checked whether the position of the left front leg has changed compared to an initial or previously determined position. A value of "1" means that the position has been successfully detected or has not changed from the initial or previously determined position (positive result). A value of "0" means that the position has not been detected or has changed compared to the initial previously detected position (negative result).

[0490] In row R4, the performance of measurements or tests, in particular the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG, is shown. The recording of curve K is carried out in particular by means of sensor device 4 on the left front leg of animal T. The recording of heart rate curve KG is carried out by means of electrodes 15A, 15B, one electrode 15A contacting the left front leg of animal T and the other electrode 15B contacting the right front leg. A value "1" means that curve K and heart rate curve KG are being recorded. A value "0" means that curve K and / or heart rate curve KG are not being recorded.

[0491] Phase P1 is particularly the start phase. In phase P1, the animal T is placed on the testing device 1 for testing. In phase P1, a determination of the presence of the animal T or leg 2 is preferably performed first. Once the presence of the animal T has been successfully determined or detected (the value of R1 jumps from 0 to 1), a search run and / or position determination is preferably performed using the sensor 7 to determine the position of the left front leg (the value of R2 jumps from 0 to 1). Once the position of the left front leg has been successfully determined and thus the search run and / or position determination is terminated (the value of R2 jumps from 1 to 0 and the value of R3 jumps from 0 to 1), measurements are started and / or at least one curve K and heart rate curve KG are recorded (the value of R4 jumps from 0 to 1).

[0492] During phase P2, the position of the left front leg changes without removing or lifting the left front leg from the sensor device. During this time, the right front leg remains in contact with the assigned electrode 15B. The result of the presence detection during the entire phase P2 is that the animal's leg 2 is present (R1 value is 1). During the position check, the position of the left front leg is determined to be changed compared to the originally determined position (R3 value jumps from 1 to 0). Therefore, the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is interrupted or terminated (R4 value jumps from 1 to 0) and a new position determination is performed (R2 value jumps from 0 to 1). Once the (new) position of the left front leg is successfully determined (R2 value jumps from 1 to 0 and R3 value jumps from 0 to 1), a new recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is started or the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is continued (R4 value jumps from 0 to 1).

[0493] In phase P3, the right front leg is first lifted from the assigned electrode 15B and then placed back on electrode 15B. During this time, the position of the left front leg does not change. Therefore, when or after the right front leg is lifted, the presence detection result becomes negative (the value of R1KG jumps from 1 to 0). Because the position of the left front leg does not change, the position check result becomes positive and no new position determination is performed (the value of R3 remains constant at 1 and the value of R2 remains constant at 0). Because the right front leg is lifted from electrode 15B, the heart rate curve KG is not recorded, and the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is interrupted or terminated (the value of R4 jumps from 1 to 0). After the right front leg is returned to electrode 15B, the presence detection result becomes positive again (the value of R1 jumps from 0 to 1). Therefore, the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG continues (the value of R4 jumps from 0 to 1).

[0494] In phase P4, the left front leg is lifted from the sensor device 4 and assigned electrode 15A, and then placed again in the same position on the sensor device 4 and assigned electrode 15A. When or after the left front leg is lifted, the presence detection result is negative (the value of R1 jumps from 1 to 0). The position check result is also negative (the value of R3 goes from 1 to 0). Therefore, the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is interrupted or stopped (the value of R4 goes from 1 to 0). When the left front leg is placed again on the assigned electrode 15A and sensor device 4 (in the same position as before), the presence detection result is again positive (the value of R1 jumps from 0 to 1) and the position check result is also positive (the value of R3 jumps from 0 to 3). Since the position of the left front leg has not changed compared to the previously determined or saved position, no new position determination is performed (the value of R2 remains constant at 0). After the left foreleg 2 is placed again, a new recording of the curve K and the heart rate curve KG begins, or the recording of the curve K and the heart rate curve KG continues (the value of R4 jumps from 0 to 1).

[0495] In phase P5, the left front leg is lifted from the electrode 15A and / or sensor device and then placed again in a changed position on the sensor device 4 and assigned electrode 15A. After lifting the left front leg, the presence detection and position check result becomes negative (R1 and R3 values ​​jump from 1 to 0), causing the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG to be interrupted or terminated (R4 value jumps from 1 to 0). As soon as the leg is placed back, the presence detection result becomes positive (R1 jumps from 0 to 1). Because the position has changed, the position detection result initially remains negative (R3 value remains 0) and the position of the left front leg is determined again (R2 value jumps from 0 to 1). When the new position of the left front leg is successfully determined and the position determination is completed (the value of R2 jumps from 1 to 0 and the value of R3 jumps from 0 to 1), a new recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is started or the recording of curve K and heart rate curve KG is continued (the value of R4 jumps from 0 to 1).

[0496] In phase P6, the animal T or both front legs are moved away from the assigned electrodes 15A, 15B. Therefore, the result of the presence detection and location check is negative (the values ​​of R1 and R3 jump from 1 to 0) and the recording of the curve K and the heart rate curve KG is interrupted or terminated (the value of R4 jumps from 1 to 0). The value of R2 is always 0, since the re-presence of the animal T is not detected.

[0497] In phase P7, the front legs contact the assigned electrodes 15A, 15B, but the left front leg is positioned in such a way that it is not possible to determine its position and / or to perform meaningful measurements. The result of the presence detection is therefore negative (R1 value jumps from 0 to 1). Position determination is repeatedly performed without good results (R2 value alternates between 0 and 1, R3 value is 0). Therefore, neither curve K nor heart rate curve KG is recorded (R4 value is 0).

[0498] Step S4 or the recording and / or checking of the usefulness of one or more heart rate curves KG and / or curves K can also be performed multiple times or multiple times in succession, in particular even after an evaluation or partial evaluation of curve K has already been performed, in particular according to any one of steps S5, S6, S7, S8 and / or S9. For example, the evaluation may reveal that there are not enough useful curve sections KA and therefore further curves K must be included. This may be caused, for example, by movement of the animal T or leg 2.

[0499] In particular, multiple recordings of the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K or repetition of step S4 allow the animal T to move during the test and / or to move the leg 2 during the test. Measurement errors and / or movement artifacts resulting from this can be compensated for by multiple recordings of the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K, in particular in connection with multiple presence detections and / or selection of sensors 7 and / or discarding unusable curves K or curve sections KA. In particular, during or after movement of the animal T or the leg 2, it is possible to continue or continue the test using one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before the movement. The fact that the animal T can preferably move freely during the test makes the test very comfortable and stress-free for the animal T. This results in accurate and reliable tests, in particular blood pressure measurement tests.

[0500] Step S5 In step S5, the curve K is preferably divided into curve sections KA in such a way that each curve section KA corresponds to one heart beat, and particularly preferably, each curve section KA corresponds to exactly one heart beat.

[0501] Cutting or slicing a curve K in the sense of the present invention is preferably understood as dividing or partitioning the curve K along the time axis. In this way, the curve K is divided into temporal sections. This can be achieved by data processing in such a way that the beginning and / or end of the curve sections KA are identified and / or marked. In principle, it is possible to separate the curve sections KA from one another. In further processing, the curve sections KA are also preferably treated separately. However, in this context, "slicing" or "cutting" does not necessarily mean physically separating the resulting curve sections KA from one another.

[0502] As can be seen from the example curve K shown in Figure 9, which corresponds to a photoplethysmogram actually measured in a cat and which is usually in contrast to the heart rate curve KG in particular, it is not possible to directly ascertain the regularity or periodicity of the curve K, and in particular its correlation with the heart rate. It is therefore advantageous to use information from the heart rate curve KG to segment the curve K and then carry out further evaluation based on the individual curve sections KA.

[0503] In the following, the cutting or slicing of a curve K will be explained using the example of a single curve K. Preferably, all recorded curves K are cut into curve sections KA in the same way.

[0504] The cutting of the curve K into curve sections KA is preferably automated or performed in an automated manner.

[0505] Particularly preferably, the curve K is divided into curve sections KA using information on the heart rate curve KG recorded simultaneously with the curve K. In principle, however, other methods are also conceivable.

[0506] The use of the heart rate curve KG to slice / cut the curve K into curve sections KA is particularly advantageous since the time TH of the heart beat can be determined particularly easily and reliably in the heart rate curve KG and the curve K can be cut at or based on this time TH.

[0507] Preferably, the heartbeat times TH are determined based on the heartbeat curve KG, and the curve K at these times TH is divided into curve sections KA. Preferably, each curve section KA starts at the time TH of a heartbeat and ends at the time TH of the immediately following heartbeat.

[0508] However, in general, the exact determination of the end of the curve section KA is not important, since the curve section KA serves in particular for an accurate or reliable determination of the curve feature M. For this purpose, it is of utmost importance to select as accurately as possible the time TH of the heartbeat as the beginning of the curve section KA and / or to select as accurately as possible the same point relative to the time TH of the heartbeat as the beginning of the curve section KA.

[0509] Preferably, the curve sections K A are of equal length and / or the curve K is divided into curve sections K A each having the same length. Preferably, the length of the curve section K A corresponds to the average heart rate or corresponds to the duration between the time TH of two (closest) consecutive heart beats at this heart rate. This simplifies the determination of the usefulness or quality of the curve K or curve section K A and has been shown to allow the measurement of blood pressure BP to be performed with greater accuracy.

[0510] The average heart rate is preferably, in particular, the arithmetic mean and / or median value of the heart rate, in particular the heart rate being determined by the heart rate curve KG. "Heart rate" in particular means the (average) number of heart beats per unit of time, in particular per minute. For example, if the average heart rate is 120 bpm, this corresponds to a (average) duration of a heart beat of 0.5 seconds, or to a (average) interval between two heart beats of 0.5 seconds.

[0511] The length L of the curved section KA is preferably determined by the formula: L=d HB Determined by a, where d HB is the average duration of a heartbeat, determined in particular on the basis of the average heart rate, and a is a factor preferably having a value greater than or equal to 1. By means of the factor a, the length L of the curve section KA can also be selected to be greater than the average duration of a heartbeat, which has proven advantageous for determining the usefulness or quality of the curve K or the curve section KA and for measuring blood pressure BP.

[0512] Thus, the length of the curve section KA can be selected independently of the specific / respective duration between the time TH of two successive heartbeats.

[0513] As described, the curve sections KA preferably each begin at a time TH of a heartbeat and are equal in length, allowing the curve sections KA to overlap and / or segments of the curve K to be included in multiple curve sections KA, particularly when the length of the curve section KA is greater than the distance between two adjacent heartbeats.

[0514] Particularly preferably, the heart rate curve KG is an electrocardiogram. In particular, on the basis of the electrocardiogram, various characteristic structures can be identified which can be assigned to or result from different phases of cardiac activity. In this method, the so-called QRS complex is of particular interest.

[0515] In figure 9, the different QRS complexes of the heart rate curve KG are marked, one QRS complex preferably representing one heart beat.

[0516] Preferably, the location of one or more QRS complexes of the heart rate curve KG is used to divide the curve K into curve sections KA. In particular, the QRS complexes of the heart rate curve KG are used to determine the time TH of the heartbeat, and preferably the curve K is divided into curve sections KA at the time TH determined by the QRS complex. In other words, the QRS complexes or parts thereof are information on how the curve K is divided into sections KA.

[0517] The QRS complex preferably has three peaks, in particular a Q peak, an R peak and an S peak.

[0518] The Q peak refers to the initial, particularly negative or downward deflection or peak of the QRS complex.

[0519] The R peak refers specifically to the negative or downward deflection or peak of the QRS complex that follows the Q peak.

[0520] The S peak refers specifically to the positive or upward deflection or peak of the QRS complex that follows the R peak.

[0521] In particular, the position of the R-peak or the position of the maximum of the R-peak can be used as the time TH of the heartbeat, which is shown as an example in FIG.

[0522] Also, instead of using the R peak as the time TH of the heartbeat, it is conceivable to use other structures or other characteristic points of the heartbeat curve KG, such as the Q peak, the S peak, the midpoint or inflection point between two peaks, in particular the R peak and the S peak, or the like.

[0523] The determination of the R-peak or its position is preferably carried out by means of a Pan-Tompkins plot of the heart rate curve KG, as will be explained in more detail below.

[0524] For the determination of the R peak, preferably first all local peaks, in particular all maxima of the Pan-Tompkins plot, are determined.

[0525] As explained above, the heart rate curve KG, and thus the Pan-Tompkins plot, preferably exists as a set of discrete data points d i, where d is the value of the Pan-Tompkins plot at location i. The subscript i counts through the data points d i and preferably corresponds to the time at which each data point d i was measured. In particular, a local maximum of the Pan-Tompkins plot is thus represented by a data point d i and / or a portion of the data points d i represent a local maximum of the Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0526] Data point d i is especially d i >d (i-1) and d i >d (i+1) is true, i.e., data point d i A local maximum is represented when the value of is greater than the value of the adjacent data point.

[0527] Data point d showing the maximum i In the next step, preferably, the data point d i Only data points with higher values ​​are selected within a certain interval around the interval. This interval preferably has a width of more than 200 ms, in particular more than 300 ms, and / or less than 600 ms, preferably less than 500 ms, in particular less than 400 ms. Particularly preferably, the interval has a width between 300 and 400 ms, for example about 372 ms.

[0528] The peak or data point d of the Pan-Tompkins plot determined or selected in this way i For , preferably the embrasure height or prominence is determined.

[0529] Preferably, the peak or data point d is defined as the R peak of the Pan-Tompkins plot whose autonomous height or prominence is equal to or exceeds a specified or identifiable threshold. i Only the following is selected or determined.

[0530] The threshold is preferably an adaptive threshold. An adaptive threshold in the sense of the present invention is preferably a threshold that is applied to all data points d i for different thresholds or different data points d i For example, individual thresholds ti are set for each time point i or each data point d i Preferably, an adaptive threshold t i is determined, in particular, for each point i by determining and / or calculating the convolution between the Pan-Tompkins plot and a window function. Then, the threshold t i Specifically, is the value of the convolution of the Pan-Tompkins plot with the window function at position i.

[0531] In principle, any window function can be used. Particularly preferably, the window function is the Blackman-Nuttall window. Preferably, a window width of 0.6 seconds and / or a gain factor of 3 is used. However, other values ​​are also possible here.

[0532] Preferably, the position of the R-peak determined in this way is also corrected. That is, the position of the R-peak in the Pan-Tompkins plot may be slightly shifted compared to the position of the R-peak in the original heart rate curve KG, and / or the peak shift may be caused by convolution with a window function. Therefore, the position of the R-peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot may be "inaccurate" or may differ from the position of the R-peak in the raw signal of the heart rate curve KG and / or the filtered heart rate curve KG.

[0533] Correcting the R-peak position prevents potential shifts caused by the application of filters and / or the unintentional use of the Q-peak instead of the R-peak to generate the Pan-Tompkins plot. Correcting the R-peak position therefore allows for accurate determination of the heart rate, resulting in reliable or accurate testing of the animal's T, particularly blood pressure measurements.

[0534] The correction of the R-peak position is preferably performed based on a filtered and / or preprocessed heart rate curve KG, but can also be based on the unprocessed heart rate curve KG, in other words the "raw signal" of the heart rate curve KG.

[0535] Preferably, for the correction of the position of the R-peak, starting from the position determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot, this position of the R-peak is preferably searched for or determined in the heart rate curve KG, in particular in a filtered and / or preprocessed heart rate curve KG. This position in the heart rate curve KG, in particular in a filtered and / or preprocessed heart rate curve KG, is then preferably used as the position of the R-peak, in particular replacing the position of the R-peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0536] Particularly preferably, the gradient or slope or derivative of the heart rate curve KG at the position of the R-peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot is determined in the heart rate curve KG, and based on this, the next maximum of the heart rate curve KG is searched for and / or determined. Preferably, if the gradient or slope or derivative is positive, the heart rate curve KG is advanced to the right and / or the next data point in the heart rate curve KG is examined. If the gradient or slope or derivative is negative, the heart rate curve KG is advanced to the left and / or the previous data point is examined. At this point, in particular at the next or previous data point, the gradient or slope or derivative of the heart rate curve KG is preferably determined again, in particular by comparing it with the previous value of the gradient or slope or derivative. These steps are preferably repeated until a position where the gradient or slope or derivative has a minimum value or amount is found. This position is the position of the R-peak.

[0537] To put it more simply, based on the slope, the cardiac curve KG is sampled or scanned in the direction of the maximum value until the slope or its absolute value reaches a value of zero and / or a minimum value and thus the maximum value of the cardiac curve KG is obtained.

[0538] This method for determining the position of the maximum and / or R peak in the heart rate curve KG has the advantage that the positions can be calculated quickly, the corresponding algorithms are simple to implement, and at the same time the positions are determined reliably.

[0539] However, other methods or algorithms for determining and / or correcting the position of the maximum and / or R-peak in the cardiogram KG are also conceivable.

[0540] For example, the maximum value of the heart rate curve KG can be determined in the section around the location of the R peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0541] Alternatively or additionally, the three highest peaks can be determined in an interval around the position of the R peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot, and it can be checked whether the first and third of these peaks point in a different direction from the second or central peak, i.e., whether the first and third peaks represent maxima and the second peak represents a minimum, or vice versa (the first and third peaks represent minima and the second peak represents a maximum). If so, the second or central peak represents the R peak, and its position is therefore determined as the search or corrected position of the R peak.

[0542] In general, various methods for determining the maximum or R-peak of the cardiogram KG are conceivable in order to correct the position of the R-peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot.

[0543] The determination of the R-peak of the heart rate curve KG is preferably performed after step S4, but alternatively or additionally, the determination of the R-peak can also be performed before and / or during step S4, in particular the usability check of the heart rate curve KG.

[0544] Preferably, saturated sections of the heart rate curve KG are removed, especially for the purpose of measuring the blood pressure BP and / or the pulse transit time PTT. A section is particularly saturated if the signal within that section assumes the theoretically possible maximum or minimum signal value. A saturated signal can occur, for example, if the leg 2 is moved and / or removed during the measurement.

[0545] Preferably, saturated sections of the cardiogram KG are deleted if they reach or exceed a certain minimum length, preferably greater than 10 ms and / or less than 20 ms, for example 12 ms or 15 ms.

[0546] Furthermore, preferably, R-peaks that are below a minimum temporal distance from the saturated section, for example less than 200 ms or 100 ms before or after the saturated section (already determined), are removed from the cardiogram KG.

[0547] If a saturated section is deleted from the heart rate curve KG, the section of the curve K that corresponds to the saturated section of the heart rate curve KG is preferably also removed, with corresponding sections in this sense meaning in particular the sections of the curve K that were recorded or measured simultaneously with the saturated section of the heart rate curve KG.

[0548] Preferably, R-peaks that are below a minimum temporal distance (already determined) from adjacent R-peaks are removed from the heart rate curve KG, where preferably both R-peaks that are below the minimum distance are deleted from the heart rate curve KG.

[0549] The minimum distance is preferably determined or defined based on the degree of dispersion of the distribution of the R-peaks of the heart rate curve KG, for example based on the interquartile range or standard deviation, In particular, the minimum distance is determined so that R-peaks that are far below the mean distance of the R-peaks are eliminated.

[0550] For example, the minimum distance is defined or determined by the formula: MA=Q1-f·IQR, where MA is the minimum distance, Q1 is the value of the lower quartile (0.25 quartile), IQR is the interquartile range, i.e., the difference between the upper quartile (0.75 quartile) and the lower quartile, and f is a factor preferably having a value greater than or equal to 1, for example 1.5.

[0551] If an R-peak or a section with an R-peak is deleted from the heart rate curve KG, then preferably the corresponding section of the curve K is also deleted. Corresponding sections in this sense are understood in particular to be sections of the curve K that were recorded or measured at the same time as the section of the heart rate curve KG that is deleted from the heart rate curve KG.

[0552] Step S5 may be performed multiple times and / or repeatedly, especially if one or more of the previous steps S1, S2, S3 and / or S4 are performed multiple times and / or repeatedly, thereby providing an accurate and reliable test, especially blood pressure measurements, especially if the animal T or leg 2 moves during the test.

[0553] Step S6 The curve K is preferably filtered. This is preferably already performed at least in part in a preprocessing device 30 assigned to the detector 6 and / or the sensor 7. Alternatively or additionally, filtering can also be performed before or after the formation of the curve section KA. By filtering, disturbing influences in frequency ranges not caused by the influences caused by the pulse wave are advantageously removed, thereby removing parts of the curve K or curve section KA that contain information about the arterial blood flow BF. Filtering can be performed in connection with this step S6 or beforehand, but this is not necessary.

[0554] Before further evaluation, in particular the determination of the curve characteristics M by the curve sections KA, preferably some curve sections KA or a subset of the curve sections KA are selected, and the curve sections KA not specifically selected are discarded.

[0555] It is usually not possible to directly tell from the course of the curve section K A whether the curve section K A is useful or not. This is particularly clear from the curve shown in Figure 9, which at first glance appears to be chaotic and does not contain any useful information. It should be emphasized here that the curve K depicted in Figure 9 is not a randomly selected curve K, but corresponds to an actual photoplethysmogram measured in a cat.

[0556] However, in the context of the present invention, it has surprisingly been found that a reliable determination of the curve characteristic M can nevertheless be achieved by the proposed measures, preferably in combination, in that, in particular, by selection and / or elimination of the curve section KA, movement artifacts can be compensated for, so that tests can be performed and, in particular, blood pressure BP can be reliably measured even if the animal T and / or the leg 2 moves during the test with the sensor device, in particular relative to the sensor device.

[0557] Particularly preferably, the selection of the curve section KA is performed based on certain criteria, which will be explained in more detail below: In particular, the usefulness of the curve K or the curve section KA can be evaluated, and the evaluation result can be improved by discarding unusable curve sections KA.

[0558] In particular, a more accurate determination of the curve characteristics M can be achieved if unusable curve sections KA are filtered out or discarded or no longer considered.

[0559] The curve sections KA are preferably checked for usefulness, in particular by check criteria, and preferably useful curve sections KA are selected and / or unusable curve sections KA are discarded, with discarded curve sections KA not being used for further evaluation.

[0560] Preferably, a subset of the (usable) curve sections KA are selected for further evaluation, and a subset of the (unusable) curve sections KA are discarded.

[0561] In particular, checking the usability of a curve section KA constitutes checking the usability of the curve K from which the curve section KA was generated. Thus, excluding an individual curve section KA of a curve K or excluding a subset of the curve sections KA of a curve K constitutes in particular a partial elimination of the curve K. Similarly, excluding all curve sections KA of a curve K constitutes the (complete) elimination of the curve K.

[0562] Alternatively or additionally, potentially suitable curve sections KA are selected or chosen based on a check of the usability of the curve sections KA. The selected or chosen curve sections KA are used for further evaluation. However, the non-selected or unchosen curve sections KA are not used as a basis for further evaluation, i.e., they are discarded.

[0563] The curve sections KA, which are checked for usefulness and selected or discarded, can come from different curves K. In this case, the curve sections KA can come from different curves K, which have been recorded successively with the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6.

[0564] Alternatively or additionally, the curve section KA can be derived from curves K recorded simultaneously or successively with different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 .

[0565] Preferably, when checking the usefulness of a curve section KA, one or more criteria are checked: A curve section KA is preferably useful if one, some or all of the criteria described below are met.

[0566] According to the first criterion, preferably, the amplitude of the first extremum of the curve section KA, in particular the amplitude of the absolute maximum, is determined. If the amplitude of the first extremum or its absolute value is equal to or greater than a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is preferably considered to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is preferably considered not to be fulfilled.

[0567] Alternatively or in addition to the amplitude of the first extremum, according to the first criterion, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the curve section K A can be determined and preferably compared with a specified or prescribable threshold. The peak-to-peak amplitude is the difference between the absolute maximum and absolute minimum values ​​of the curve section K A. If the peak-to-peak amplitude or its absolute value is greater than or equal to the specified or prescribable threshold, the criterion is preferably considered to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is preferably considered not to be fulfilled.

[0568] The first criterion allows for the discarding of curve sections KA having particularly flat profiles, since it has been found that such curve sections KA do not contain any useful information, and that it is particularly difficult to accurately or reliably determine, in particular, the maxima and thus the pulse transit time PTT and / or other curve features M. Therefore, if such curve sections KA are discarded, the accuracy and / or reliability of the evaluation is improved.

[0569] According to the second criterion, it is preferably checked whether a valid value of the curve characteristic M, in particular the pulse transit time PTT, results or can result from the curve section KA. In particular, for this purpose, the position of a first, preferably absolute maximum, of the curve section KA is determined, which preferably corresponds to the pulse transit time PTT. If this position is greater than or equal to a specified or specifiable lower threshold and / or less than or equal to an specified or specifiable upper threshold, the criterion is considered to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not to be fulfilled.

[0570] Here, the lower threshold preferably corresponds to a minimum pulse transit time PTT and / or the upper threshold preferably corresponds to a maximum pulse transit time PTT.

[0571] In this way, it is possible to eliminate curve sections KA that result in biologically, physically, or anatomically unrealistic pulse transit times PTT, particularly pulse transit times PTT that are too low and / or too high. Due to biological, physical, or anatomical principles, pulse transit times PTT can only exist within a certain interval. For example, there is a certain minimum time between a heartbeat and the arrival of a pulse wave caused by the heartbeat at a certain location in artery A. Therefore, a very small pulse transit time PTT below a lower threshold is not realistic. On the other hand, an upper threshold can also be used, which corresponds to a pulse transit time PTT that is not realistic to reach or exceed.

[0572] For example, for a domestic cat testing on (front) leg 2, the lower threshold may be defined as 20 ms and the upper threshold may be defined as 175 ms. However, for other animal species or body parts, other thresholds and / or minimum and / or maximum pulse transit times (PTT) may be appropriate or specifiable.

[0573] According to a third criterion, the course of the curve K in the curve section KA is preferably examined or checked. For this purpose, the curve K is in particular smoothed and preferably the first derivative of the smoothed curve K as well as the zeros of the first derivative are calculated. The criterion is considered to be fulfilled if the number of zeros of the first derivative of the smoothed curve K is preferably at least 2 and / or at most 4, and if the slope of the first derivative of the curve K or the slope of the second derivative of the curve K at the first position of the first zero of the first derivative is negative. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not to be fulfilled.

[0574] The third criterion specifically checks whether the curve K has a wave-like profile with distinct maximum and minimum values, with the maximum values ​​assumed first and the minimum values ​​assumed second. Such an "optimal" profile is shown as an example on the right side of Figure 12.

[0575] The first, second and third criteria are preferably absolute criteria, i.e. criteria in which the curve section KA is considered or analysed or checked for usability alone, in particular without taking into account other curve sections KA in this check.

[0576] The further criteria described below are preferably relative criteria, i.e. criteria in which the usefulness of a curve section KA is checked by taking other curve sections KA into account and / or by comparison with results determined on the basis of other curve sections KA, such as other curve sections KA or average values.

[0577] The fourth, fifth and sixth criteria preferably check whether a particular curve section KA deviates too much from other curve sections KA, and in particular the fourth to sixth criteria serve to filter out or discard extreme outliers.

[0578] The fourth, fifth and / or sixth criterion is preferably checked separately for each curve K and / or for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6. In particular, when checking the curve sections KA of the fourth, fifth and / or sixth criterion, only the curve sections KA assigned to the same curve K and / or the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6 are taken into account or used.

[0579] In the fourth, fifth and / or sixth criteria, the curve sections KA are preferably scaled, in particular normalized, so that the curve sections KA, in particular the curve sections KA selected in step S5, have the same amplitude, mean value, maximum and minimum values ​​and / or peak-valley values, which makes it easier to compare the curve sections KA.

[0580] Subsequently, it is preferred to determine a curve mean value KM from the curve section KA, i.e. the mean value of the course of the curve section KA. The curve mean value KM is in particular the mean or mean course of the curve section KA or the curve K in the curve section KA. In particular, the curve mean value KM is determined by calculating the mean value or mean value at each point in time of the curve section KA. This mean value is preferably an arithmetic mean value or a median value, but can also be another mean value.

[0581] By way of example, the averaging of the curve sections KA or the determination of the curve mean value KM preferably corresponds to the superposition of the curve sections KA and the subsequent determination of the average course of the superposed curve sections KA.

[0582] Averaging in this sense based on multiple curve sections KA is shown as an example in the graph of FIG. 12, where different curve sections KA are shown on the left side of FIG. 12, the curve sections KA are superimposed in the center of FIG. 12, and the curve average value KM determined from the curve sections KA is shown on the right side of FIG. 12.

[0583] Viewed another way, the curve mean value KM is the sum or superposition of the curves K or curve sections KA.

[0584] Each curve section KA preferably corresponds to a discrete data point (t i (KAj) , k i (KAj) ) in the form of the j-th curve section KA. Preferably, the j-th curve section KA is thus i (KAj) , k i (KAj) ), where i is an index that counts the data points.

[0585] where t i (KAj) is the x-coordinate of the i-th data point (t i (KAj) , k i (KAj)) In the following, the x-coordinate or the physical quantity t i (KAj) is called the position of the ith data point. i (KA j ) is preferably a data point (t i (KAj) , k i (KAj) ) corresponds to the time, in particular, the data point (t i (KAj) , k i (KAj) ) corresponds to the (temporal) distance.

[0586] Furthermore, k i (KAj) is the y-coordinate of the i-th data point, i.e., the position t i (KAj) is the value or measurement of the curve section KA at the point . In the following, the y-coordinate or physical quantity k i (KAj) is referred to as the value of the ith data point.

[0587] The formation of the curve mean value KM involves the calculation of the mean value of the curve at a specific position or at a specific time t i (KAj) The value k exists in i (KA j ) are summed. The result is preferably normalized. The curve mean value KM is therefore preferably calculated as i (KM) , k i (KM) ), especially k i (KM) is the position or time t i (KM) The value of the curve section KA at k i (K) Preferably, therefore,

number

[0588] Physical quantity t of the data point of the curve section KA i (KAj) , k i (KAj) Similarly to the designation of i (KM) is called the position of the i-th data point of the curve mean value KM, and the physical quantity k i (KM) is called the value of the i-th data point of the curve mean KM.

[0589] After determining the curve mean value KM, a correlation coefficient (also called product-moment correlation coefficient), in particular an empirically determined correlation coefficient, in particular a Pearson correlation coefficient or Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, of the curve section K A to be checked for usefulness relative to the mean curve section is calculated for the curve section K A to be checked. If the correlation coefficient reaches or exceeds a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered to be met. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not to be met. For example, the threshold can be 0.5.

[0590] The correlation coefficient is preferably calculated using the following formula:

number

number

number

[0591] where r j is the correlation coefficient of the jth curve section KA,

number

number

[0592] In the fourth criterion, the deviation of the distance between two extrema of the curve section KA is preferably checked compared with the distance between the extrema of the remaining curve section KA. The distance between two extrema or the peak-to-peak distance is understood here in particular as the time distance or the distance between the positions of the absolute extrema, in particular as such the distance between the extrema on the x-axis. As can be seen, for example, from FIG. 12, the curve sections KA preferably each have two absolute extrema, in particular an absolute maximum and an absolute minimum. The distance between the extrema is in particular the difference between the minimum position PM2 and the maximum position PM1, or the absolute value of this difference.

[0593] In particular, the fourth criterion involves, for each curve section KA, the extreme values ​​(peak-to-peak distances), the lower quartile (0.25-quartile), the upper quartile (0.75-quartile) and the interquartile range, i.e. the difference between the upper and lower quartiles, the peak-to-peak distances or the distribution of the peak-to-peak distances. The criterion is preferably considered fulfilled if the peak-to-peak distances of the examined curve section KA reach or exceed an upper specified or specifiable threshold and / or reach or fall below a lower specified or specifiable threshold. The upper threshold is preferably the sum of the upper quartile or its position and the product of a coefficient f and the interquartile range, i.e.: UTV=Q3+f·IQR, where UTV is the upper threshold, Q3 is the upper quartile value or its location, and IQR is the interquartile range. The lower threshold is preferably the difference between the lower quartile value or its location and the product of a factor f and the interquartile range, i.e.: LTV=Q1-f·IQR, where LTV is the lower threshold, Q1 is the lower quartile or its position, and IQR is the interquartile range. The coefficient f is preferably greater than 1 and particularly preferably has the value 1.5.

[0594] According to a fourth criterion, in particular curve sections KA having particularly large and / or particularly small peak-to-peak distances (compared to other curve sections KA) can be sorted out or discarded.

[0595] The fifth criterion is preferably the variance of the value of the curve section KA k compared to the variance of the values ​​of the other curve sections KA. i (KAj) The deviation of the variance or sample variance is examined.

[0596] In particular, the fifth criterion requires that the value k i (KAj) The variance or sample variance, the lower quartile (0.25-4 quartile), the upper quartile (0.75-4 quartile), and the interquartile range, i.e., the variance or distribution of the variances of the difference between the upper and lower quartiles, are calculated for each curve section KA. The variance of the value of the j-th curve section KA is preferably calculated using the following formula:

number

number

[0597] The fifth criterion is preferably considered to be met if the dispersion of the values ​​of the examined curve section K A reaches or exceeds an upper specified or specifiable threshold and / or reaches or falls below a lower specified or specifiable threshold. The upper threshold is preferably the sum of the upper quartile value or its position and the product of the factor f and the interquartile range. The lower threshold is preferably the difference between the lower quartile value or its position and the product of the factor f and the interquartile range. The factor f is preferably greater than 1 and particularly preferably has a value of 1.5.

[0598] According to the fifth criterion, in particular curve sections KA can be selected or excluded whose values ​​exhibit a particularly large and / or a particularly small variance.

[0599] In the sixth criterion, preferably, the difference between the curve section KA and the curve mean value KM is calculated, i.e., in particular for each position t i (KAj) For the difference k i (KAj) -k i (KM) Then, for the resulting curve or difference curve, the spectral power density is calculated for a specified or specifiable frequency range, for example, 15 Hz to 40 Hz. If the integral of the spectral power density in this frequency range is less than or equal to a specified or specifiable threshold, the criterion is considered to be met. Otherwise, the criterion is considered not to be met.

[0600] By selecting the curve section KA on the basis of the described criteria, it is possible to determine the curve characteristic M on the basis of heart beats or curve sections KA with a maximum value of preferably 200, preferably a maximum value of 100, particularly preferably a maximum value of 60, particularly preferably a maximum value of 45, particularly preferably a maximum value of 30. This makes it possible to keep the time required for measuring or recording the curve K and / or the heart beat curve KG as short as possible.

[0601] All or some of the criteria may be applied, and alternatively or additionally other criteria may be used to check the usefulness of the curve K or curve section KA.

[0602] Curve section K A is preferably discarded and / or not used for further evaluation if one of the described criteria is not met. If curve section K A meets all of the criteria or all applied criteria, curve section K A is preferably selected or used for further evaluation.

[0603] Preferably, the curve section KA is selected only if it fulfills all of the described criteria. However, in principle, other methods are possible, which check only one or some of the described criteria and / or select the curve section KA even if only one or some of the criteria are fulfilled. Alternatively or additionally, criteria other than those described may be provided.

[0604] Alternatively or additionally, for the assessment or check of the usefulness of the curve section KA, the measurement results using the force sensor 18A and / or the scale 18 can be taken into account. For example, a low measurement value can be an indication that the animal T or leg 2 is not correctly positioned on the sensor device 4, and the curve section KA is accordingly discarded.

[0605] By checking the usefulness of the curve sections K and / or selecting useful curve sections K and / or discarding unusable curve sections K, it is possible to reduce or minimize the number of curve sections K required for evaluation and thus the measurement time. This is advantageous for making the examination as quick and comfortable as possible and therefore stress-free for the animal T. This is particularly advantageous for accurate and reliable examinations, especially blood pressure measurements. It also increases the probability of obtaining meaningful measurements during the movement of the animal T.

[0606] In particular, the number of curve sections KA required is reduced by reducing the scatter or variance of the curve sections KA by discarding unusable curve sections KA, which in turn improves the statistics.

[0607] When the scatter or variance of the measurements is large, i.e., when the measurement results vary widely, a particularly large number of measurements is required to obtain a reliable average value or the like. The better the agreement of the measurements, the fewer measurements are required for good statistics. In this way, filtering out unusable curve sections KA synergistically leads to fewer curve sections KA being required for evaluation in the first place.

[0608] In particular, if one or more of the preceding steps S1, S2, S3, S4 and / or S5 are performed multiple times and / or repeatedly, step S6 can be performed multiple times and / or repeatedly, which results in accurate and reliable testing, especially blood pressure measurements, especially if the animal T or leg 2 moves during the test.

[0609] In particular, if in step S6 it is found that too many curve sections KA of one or more sensors 7 and / or too many curve sections in total are unusable or do not meet / fulfill the criteria for usability, or that too few of the curve sections are useful or meet / fulfill the criteria for usability, it is possible to return to any of steps S1, S2, S3 and / or S4.

[0610] Returning to a previous step allows, in particular, for the animal T to move during the test or for the leg 2 to move during the test. Measurement errors and / or movement artifacts resulting from this can be compensated for by discarding unusable curves K or curve sections KA, in particular in connection with multiple presence detections and / or selection of sensors 7 and / or multiple recordings of the heart rate curve KG and / or curve K. In particular, during or after movement of the animal T or leg 2, it is possible to continue or continue the test using one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before the movement. The fact that the animal T is preferably able to move freely during the test makes the test very comfortable and stress-free for the animal T. This results in accurate and reliable tests, in particular blood pressure measurement tests.

[0611] Step S7 In step S7, averaging is preferably performed based on a plurality of curve sections KA, in particular, only those curve sections KA that were not selected or discarded in step S6 are used in this averaging.

[0612] "Averaging" in this sense is in particular the determination of the mean or average course of a set of several curve sections KA or of the mean or average course of the curve K during a heartbeat.

[0613] During the averaging, in particular the curve mean value KM is determined. The averaging or determination of the curve mean value KM from the curve section KA is preferably carried out as already mentioned above in step S6. For the determination of the curve mean value KM, preferably a certain position or a certain time t of the curve section KA is determined. i (KAj) There exists a value k for i (KAj) are thus added. The result is preferably normalized. The curve mean value KM is therefore preferably calculated as i (KM) , k i (KM) ), especially k i (KM) is the position or time t i (KM) The value of the curve section KA at k i (K) Preferably, therefore,

number

[0614] In particular, in step S7, only the curve sections KA that were not selected or discarded in step S6 are used to determine one or more curve mean values ​​KM. The method for determining the curve mean values ​​KM from the curve sections KA is thus preferably the same in steps S6 and S7, but the curve mean values ​​KM determined in step S6 and the curve mean values ​​KM determined in step S7 differ in that different amounts of the curve sections KA are used or taken as a reference for determining the curve mean values ​​KM.

[0615] To determine the curve mean value KM, the curve sections KA are preferably scaled and / or normalized, in particular so that all curve sections KA used to determine the curve mean value KM have the same range of values, for example between -1 and 1 or similar values.

[0616] Preferably, in step S7 a resampling method is used, for which purpose so-called subsamples are preferably generated from the curve section KA.

[0617] In resampling methods, statistical properties of a sample statistic, such as the mean, variance, degree of dispersion, or the like, can be determined based on repeated drawing of subsamples from an initial sample.

[0618] The resampling method can be, for example, the bootstrap method, the jackknife method, cross-validation, or a permutation test or a randomization test. However, particularly preferably, in the present invention, the resampling method is the bootstrap method. The bootstrap method will be described in more detail below.

[0619] When using the bootstrap method, the subsample may also be referred to as a bootstrap sample. In particular, the term "subsample" used below in connection with the bootstrap method is also interchangeable with the term "bootstrap sample."

[0620] In the method, the initial sample is preferably formed by curve sections KA (possibly selected in step S6), in particular by one or more curves K and / or the entirety of the sensor 7. In particular, the initial sample comprises N curve sections KA, where N is therefore the number of curve sections KA in the initial sample.

[0621] The initial sample preferably comprises only the same curve K or curve section KA of the same sensor 7 .

[0622] The basic principle of the proposed bootstrap method is to create one or more subsamples with "sampling with replacement" from an initial sample, in this case the curve section KA.

[0623] The subsample is created by selecting M curve sections KA from the N curve sections KA of the initial sample.

[0624] The number M of curve sections KA of the sub-sample preferably corresponds to the number N of curve sections KA of the initial sample (M=N).

[0625] In particular, the selection of the M curve sections KA is random. The curve sections KA selected for the subsamples are preferably selected independently of each other. That is, the first of the M curve sections KA for generating the subsample is randomly selected from the N curve sections KA of the initial sample. Next, further curve sections KA are selected from the N curve sections KA of the initial sample. In particular, the further curve sections KA are selected from the same set of curve sections KA as the first curve section KA. Thereafter, further curve sections KA are selected in the same manner from the same set of curve sections KA until M curve sections KA have been selected.

[0626] In other words, a subsample may contain the same curve section KA multiple times, since a curve section KA that has already been selected once from the initial sample for generating a subsample is considered again when selecting a further curve section KA, which means that a curve section KA that has already been selected once for generating a subsample can be selected again for a subsequent extraction of a curve section KA from the initial sample.

[0627] From the point of view of statistics or probability theory, this corresponds to "sampling with replacement", where, for example, a curve section K A is "sampled" sequentially from a set of curve sections K A and then "put back" again before sampling the next curve section K A. Thus, the sampling of a curve section K A is always performed from the same set of curve sections K A. This means that the same curve section K A can be sampled multiple times during several samplings, and it is not possible to not sample a curve section K A at all.

[0628] Thus, in the present method, in the extreme case, it is possible in principle for one sub-sample to contain the same curve section KA M times, and it is also possible in principle for a sub-sample to never have the same curve section KA twice, so that the sub-sample corresponds exactly to the initial sample.

[0629] However, typically the sub-sample will include some curve sections KA of the initial sample multiple times, and some curve sections KA of the initial sample will not be included at all.

[0630] Preferably less than 1000, preferably less than 500, in particular less than 250, particularly preferably less than 100, very particularly preferably less than 75, and / or more than 10, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 50 subsamples are generated.

[0631] Typically, when using resampling or bootstrap methods, a large number of subsamples are generated, for example 1000 or more subsamples. In general, the accuracy and / or reliability of the sampling function can be improved by increasing the number of subsamples generated.

[0632] However, as the number of subsamples increases, so does the amount of calculations required to generate and evaluate the curve K or curve section KA, which has a negative impact on the one hand on the energy consumption of the system used to perform the method, in particular the inspection device 1, and on the other hand on the computing power and / or computing time required to perform the method. It is therefore advantageous to keep the number of subsamples generated as small as possible.

[0633] In the context of the present invention, it has been shown in a surprising manner that with the above-mentioned relatively small number of subsamples, sufficiently reliable and / or accurate results, in particular the curve characteristics M, can already be achieved or determined.

[0634] However, if the available computing power is very low, it may be possible and even preferable to generate even fewer subsamples, for example less than 30, and in particular as few as 15. Experiments have shown that meaningful results are already obtained with such a small number of subsamples.

[0635] The number of sub-samples created or to be created is preferably fixed, in particular for each analysis of a curve K or curve section KA, for example for curves K recorded in succession and / or measured with different sensors 7, the same number of sub-samples is generated.

[0636] In step S7, the curve mean value KM is preferably determined by the curve section KA of the initial specimen.

[0637] Preferably, curve mean values ​​KM of the curve sections KA are determined as described above under step S6, where each curve section KA of the initial specimen is included exactly once in the calculation of the curve mean value KM.

[0638] Preferably, the curve mean value KM is also determined from each subsample in the same way as for the initial sample. For this purpose, when calculating the curve mean value KM of the bootstrap sample, each of the M curve sections K of the subsample is taken into account exactly once. In this sense, the M curve sections K of the subsample represent different curve sections K, even if some of the M curve sections K should be identical due to the multiple selection of these curve sections K from the initial sample when generating the subsample.

[0639] In other words, the averaging based on a plurality of curve sections KA can be carried out taking into account in particular the sub-samples, in particular a curve mean value KM is determined for each of the sub-samples, preferably also for the initial sample.

[0640] As mentioned above, the initial specimen preferably comprises only curve sections KA that originate from the same curve K and / or that have been measured with the same sensors 7 and / or detectors 6. However, it is also possible for the initial specimen to comprise curve sections KA that have been measured with different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6, in particular successively and / or with a time shift. This may be the case in particular if the animal T moves or the legs 2 move during the examination or recording of one or more curves K and / or if in the course of doing so one or more sensors 7 are selected again, in particular a different subset of sensors 7.

[0641] Basically, it is advantageous to use resampling or bootstrapping methods, but this is not essential.

[0642] Step S8 In step S8, preferably, a curve characteristic M is determined. The determination of the curve characteristic M is based in particular on the curve mean value KM determined in step S7.

[0643] Preferably, the curve characteristics M are thus determined based on the curve sections KA and / or subsamples.

[0644] For this purpose, a number of curve features M, preferably of the same type, can be initially determined, of which one curve feature M is formed or selected at the end of step S8. This selected and / or formed curve feature M at the end of step S8 is called the curve feature M determined in step S8.

[0645] The determination of the curve characteristics M can be carried out separately for each curve K or for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6. In particular, for the determination of the curve characteristics M, only curve sections KA are taken into account which originate from the same curve K or from different curves K of the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6. However, other methods are also possible here.

[0646] Particularly preferably, a curve characteristic M is determined for the initial sample and for each sub-sample, in particular for the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 .

[0647] It is therefore particularly preferred, in particular in step S7, to determine the same curve features M for each previously determined curve mean value KM. From these same curve features M, which in principle can take on different values ​​for each curve mean value KM, the curve feature mean value is preferably calculated, in particular the arithmetic mean of the curve features M.

[0648] The curve mean value KM is preferably determined separately for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6, i.e. when calculating the curve mean value preferably only curve sections KA measured with the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6 are used, so that the calculation of the curve feature mean value is preferably carried out separately for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6. In this way, a curve feature mean value is preferably available for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6. Preferably, one of these curve feature mean values ​​is selected (at the end of step S8), thereby selecting in particular the sensor 7 and / or detector 6. This selected curve feature mean value is called the curve feature M determined in step S8.

[0649] In principle, however, it is also possible to use curve sections KA of the curve K measured by different ones of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 to calculate the curve mean value KM, where the curve sections KA measured by different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 can be obtained from curves K measured simultaneously or alternatively or additionally from curves K measured consecutively and / or with a time delay.

[0650] The curve feature M is preferably a feature of the curve K or the curve section KA. The curve feature M is preferably a feature related to pulse waveform delay PTT and / or blood pressure BP measurement, and is preferably a feature related to pulse waveform delay PTT and / or blood pressure BP measurement. Alternatively or additionally, the curve feature M can correspond to the course of the curve average value. In particular, the curve feature M is a feature that can be used to measure blood pressure BP.

[0651] Below, some characteristics of a curve K or curve section KA that can represent the curve characteristic M are described by way of example. However, further characteristics or features other than those described below can also represent the curve characteristic M.

[0652] Furthermore, the determination of the curve characteristic M will be explained below with the aid of the curve mean value KM. However, in principle, it is also possible to determine the curve characteristic M directly using the curve sections KA without determining the curve mean value KM or the curve mean value KM. In this case, the curve characteristic M is preferably determined individually for each curve section KA, and preferably thereafter the curve characteristic mean value is determined.

[0653] Particularly preferably, the curve characteristic M is or corresponds to the pulse transit time PTT.

[0654] Preferably, the pulse transit time PTT corresponds to the time or position PM1 of an extremum, in particular a maximum, of the curve mean value KM.

[0655] 12 shows an example of the curve mean value KM or its course. The curve mean value KM is preferably wavy. In particular, the curve mean value KM has two consecutive extreme values, in particular an (absolute) maximum and an (absolute) minimum, with the maximum and then the minimum being particularly preferred.

[0656] The time or position PM1 of the maximum value of the curve mean value KM preferably corresponds to the pulse wave transit time PTT. Therefore, the curve feature M is preferably the position PM1 of the maximum value of the curve mean value KM.

[0657] In particular, the time or position PM1 of the maximum value of the curve mean value KM corresponds to the pulse transit time PTT if the curve section start point corresponds to the heartbeat time TH. As explained above, if the curve K is sectioned based on the heartbeat curve KG at a time corresponding to the heartbeat time TH, the pulse transit time PTT can be read directly. Furthermore, corrections can be made based on the time difference between the start of the curve and the heartbeat, or subsequent intended blood pressure measurements can be made based on the relative pulse transit time PTT. Therefore, the pulse transit time PTT does not necessarily have to be the absolute value of the time difference between the heartbeat and the arrival of the pulse wave at the measurement location, but may simply correspond (directly) to it.

[0658] Instead of or in addition to measuring the pulse transit time PTT, the pulse wave velocity can be determined. Pulse wave velocity is the quotient of the propagation distance of a pulse wave and the pulse transit time PTT required to travel this distance. In particular, pulse wave velocity can be used instead of the pulse transit time PTT as a variable in the correlation function F to determine blood pressure BP from the pulse transit time PTT, and / or can be considered in the correlation function F in addition to the pulse transit time PTT.

[0659] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the time or position PM2 of the first and / or absolute minimum of the curve mean value KM.

[0660] Alternatively or additionally, the curve feature M is the time or position of the maximum negative slope of the curve mean value KM. In this case, the curve mean value KM is preferably first smoothed, and this smoothed curve mean value KM is used to determine the curve feature M or the position of the maximum negative slope. Preferably, a smoothing filter such as a von-Hann window is used to smooth the curve mean value KM. The position of the maximum negative slope is between the absolute maximum and the absolute minimum in the illustrative example according to FIG. 12.

[0661] Alternatively or additionally, the absolute value of the maximum negative gradient is used (preferably instead of the position of the maximum negative gradient). In this case, the curve mean value KM is preferably first smoothed, and this smoothed curve mean value KM is used to determine the curve feature M or the value or absolute value of the maximum negative gradient. Preferably, a smoothing filter such as a von-Hann window is used to smooth the curve mean value KM.

[0662] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the distance or time difference between the position PM1 of the absolute maximum and the position PM2 of the absolute minimum.

[0663] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the distance between the positions where the second derivative of the curve mean value KM takes on a (local) maximum in each case. This distance corresponds to the distance between the positions where the curve mean value KM has the strongest curvature.

[0664] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the instantaneous harmonic phase shift, which is preferably determined as follows: a Fourier transform, preferably discrete, is applied to the curve mean value KM. The phase of the first harmonic vibration and the phase of the second harmonic vibration are then calculated, in particular by calculating the real and imaginary parts of the arctangent of the Fourier transform of the curve mean value KM. The difference between the phase of the first harmonic vibration and the phase of the second harmonic vibration is called the instantaneous harmonic phase shift.

[0665] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is a section ratio. The section ratio is the ratio of the lengths of different sections of the curve mean value KM. For this purpose, first a first section and a second section of the curve mean value KM are determined. Preferably, the first section starts at the first zero of the first derivative of the curve mean value KM and ends at the second zero of the first derivative of the curve mean value KM. Preferably, the second section starts at the first zero of the second derivative of the curve mean value KM or at the first maximum of the first derivative of the curve mean value KM, respectively, and ends at the second zero of the first derivative of the curve mean value KM. Preferably, a quotient of the length of the first section and the length of the second section is formed.

[0666] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the curvature of the curve K or curve section KA. This is particularly shown in FIG.

[0667] The curvilinearity of the curve K is a measure of how much the curve K deviates from a straight line in the curve section KA, in particular between the position PM1 of the first maximum and the position PM2 of the first minimum.

[0668] To determine the curvature, the area of ​​the surface encompassed by the curve K between the location of the first maximum PM1 and the location of the first minimum PM2 is preferably determined, along with a line extending from the first maximum to the first minimum. The surface may consist of multiple disconnected sections, as shown in FIG. 15, here consisting of two sections: a single-hatched section above the line and a double-hatched section below the line. This enclosed surface is preferably normalized to the area of ​​a rectangle extending from the first maximum to the first minimum, or divided by the area of ​​the rectangle where the first maximum and first minimum of the curve K form two opposite corners, as specifically shown in FIG. 15. Preferably, the line from the first maximum to the first minimum forms a diagonal of the rectangle. The sides of the rectangle extend parallel to the x-axis and y-axis.

[0669] Curvilinearity is therefore in particular the quotient between a first maximum and a first minimum, of the surface or area enclosed by a straight line and a curve extending from the first maximum to the first minimum, and the area of ​​a rectangle whose sides are parallel to the X-axis and the Y-axis and whose diagonal is formed by the straight line from the first maximum to the first minimum.

[0670] To determine the curvature, the area or surface above the line (single hatch in Figure 15) is counted with a positive sign, and the area or surface below the line (double hatch in Figure 15) is counted with a negative sign. In this case, for example, if the enclosed surfaces above and below the line have the same area, the curvature will have a value of 0.

[0671] However, alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to determine an absolute curvilinearity, which is a measure of the deviation of the curve K from a straight line. To determine the absolute curvilinearity, preferably the absolute values ​​of the areas of all surfaces enclosed between the curve K and a straight line extending from the first maximum to the first minimum are added together to determine the surface or area enclosed between the straight line and the curve K. In other words, these areas are preferably entered with the same sign. Preferably, therefore, when calculating the absolute curvilinearity, it is not taken into account whether the surface is above or below the straight line.

[0672] In particular, the determination of absolute curvature is preferred.

[0673] Alternatively or additionally, the curve characteristic M is the location or x-coordinate of the intersection of a horizontal line or straight line passing through the first maximum value with a slope of zero with a straight line or tangent passing through the point with the greatest slope between the first maximum value and the first minimum value, the tangent having the slope of the curve K or curve section KA at that point. This intersection is also referred to as a tangent intersection for short.

[0674] Therefore, in summary, the curve characteristic M is preferably one or a combination of some of the following values ​​of the curve mean value KM: Position PM1 of the first maximum value or pulse wave transit time (PTT) Position of the first minimum PM2 The distance between the position PM1 of the first maximum value and the position PM2 of the first minimum value Position of maximum negative slope The distance at which the second derivative reaches its maximum Maximum negative gradient value or absolute value Instantaneous harmonic phase shift Section ratio Curvature of curve K ·Tangential intersection

[0675] The curve feature M is preferably checked for plausibility. In particular, it is checked whether the curve feature M exceeds a specified or specifiable upper threshold and / or falls below a specified or specifiable lower threshold. This has been explained in more detail above using the example of the pulse transit time PTT, which can only exist within a certain interval due to anatomical conditions. Similarly, for curve features M outside the pulse transit time PTT, corresponding thresholds can be specified, below or above which values ​​are not plausible due to, for example, anatomical, biological, and / or physical laws.

[0676] The plausibility check of the curve characteristics M includes, in particular, checking the plausibility of the position PM1 of the first maximum and / or the determined pulse transit time PTT. If the position PM1 of the first maximum and / or the degree of dispersion of the pulse transit time PTT, in particular the interquartile range, reaches or exceeds a specified or specifiable upper threshold, the curve K or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 from which the curve K was recorded is preferably discarded or not selected. For example, the threshold may be 5 ms or correspond to a degree of dispersion of the pulse transit time PTT, in particular the interquartile range, of 5 ms. In this way, the curve K or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 from which a particularly inconsistent or non-uniform pulse transit time PTT can be determined based on the curve section KA can be discarded or not selected.

[0677] Preferably, only one of the various curve features M described above is determined, in particular for each curve mean value KM, and preferably used for measuring the blood pressure BP. However, it is also possible to determine several curve features M, in particular for each curve mean value KM, and preferably used for measuring the blood pressure BP.

[0678] Preferably, a curve feature mean value, in particular an arithmetic mean of the curve feature M, is determined from the curve features M of the initial sample and the sub-samples. The curve feature mean value is therefore in particular an average value, preferably an arithmetic mean value, of the curve feature M of the initial sample and the curve feature M of the sub-samples.

[0679] Particularly preferably, therefore, one of the curve features M described above is determined for the initial sample and for each of the sub-samples, after which the mean value of these curve features M is determined.

[0680] Preferably, the degree of dispersion, in particular the interquartile range, the standard deviation and / or the (empirical) variance, of the curve feature M is also determined. The degree of dispersion and / or the interquartile range, the standard deviation and / or the (empirical) variance are assigned to the curve feature mean value.

[0681] The degree of dispersion is in particular a measure of the dispersion of the values, in this case in particular of the curve characteristics M of the initial sample and the subsamples.

[0682] The interquartile range of a curve feature M is in particular the distance between the lower quartile (0.25 quartile) and the upper quartile (0.75 quartile). The interquartile range is therefore preferably the width of the interval in which the middle 50% of the determined curve feature M lies. However, in principle, other interquartile ranges can also be used.

[0683] As an alternative to the interquartile range, the measure of dispersion can also be the variance, in particular the empirical variance, and / or the standard deviation, however the use of the interquartile range has proven to be very robust and is therefore particularly advantageous.

[0684] Preferably, for each curve K or each sensor 7 and / or detector 6, the degree of dispersion assigned to this curve K or this sensor 7 and / or detector 6 is determined separately. In particular, therefore, in determining the degree of dispersion, only the curve features M assigned to the initial sample and to subsamples of the same curve K or the same sensor 7 and / or detector 6 are taken into account.

[0685] The curve characteristic M is preferably determined separately for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6. In particular, therefore, only the curve mean value KM of a single sensor 7 and / or detector 6 is used for determining the curve characteristic M.

[0686] As a result, for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6, the curve characteristic mean value assigned to this sensor 7 and / or detector 6 can therefore be determined separately.

[0687] In particular, the determined values ​​of the curve feature M and / or the curve feature mean value of different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 may differ.

[0688] Preferably, one of the curve characteristic average values ​​is then selected, in particular one of the sensors 7 and / or detectors 6 and / or one of the curves K.

[0689] The selection of the curve feature mean value and / or the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 is preferably made based on or taking into account the degree of dispersion determined (in step S8), in particular the interquartile range, the (empirical) dispersion and / or the standard deviation.

[0690] One possibility for selecting the curve feature mean value and / or the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 is to select the curve feature mean value with the lowest degree of dispersion, in particular the lowest interquartile range, the lowest (empirical) dispersion and / or the lowest standard deviation.

[0691] A further possibility that has proven particularly advantageous in the context of the present invention is to use the amplitude of the maximum of the curve mean values ​​KM of the initial samples and / or sub-samples in addition to the variance or interquartile range measurement to select the curve feature mean values.

[0692] In this case, it is preferable to proceed in particular for each sensor 7 and / or detector 6 individually as follows.

[0693] First, as described above, for each sub-sample and preferably for each initial sample, the curve feature M, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT, and possibly one or more further curve features M, are determined. Then, the curve feature M is checked for validity separately for each sub-sample and preferably for each initial sample, as described above. If the curve feature M is valid, or if all tested curve features M are valid, the respective sample is considered valid as a whole. Furthermore, the amplitude of the curve mean value KM for each sample is determined, in particular the value of the first maximum.

[0694] Furthermore, preferably, the interquartile range of the curve characteristics M, in particular the pulse wave transit times PTT, determined for the individual samples or sub-samples is determined ("IQR"). Furthermore, the mean or median of the amplitudes or values ​​of the first maxima of the curve mean values ​​KM of the individual samples or sub-samples is determined ("meanA"). Furthermore, the number of samples or sub-samples that are considered plausible as a whole is determined ("num_S_plausible").

[0695] From these values ​​IQR, meanA and num_S_plausible, in particular for each detector 6 and / or sensor 7 for which the curve has been evaluated, the value L=IQR / meanA num_S_plausible" is preferably determined, i.e. the quotient of the interquartile range IQR and the product of the amplitude mean or median meanA and the number of valid samples num_S_plausible.

[0696] In this way, the value L can be assigned to each sensor 7 and / or detector 6 separately.

[0697] Preferably, the curve feature average value to which the smallest value L corresponds is then selected. This selection preferably corresponds to the selection of the sensor 7, since the curve feature average value is preferably determined based on the curve K or curve section KA of a single sensor 7.

[0698] If the amplitude mean or median value meanA is below a specified or specifiable threshold, the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 with which the curve K was measured are preferably discarded and / or not selected. The threshold may have a value of 0.2, for example. As explained above, normalized curve sections are preferably used to determine the curve feature M and / or the curve mean value KM, so that the amplitude or value of the first maximum in each curve section K is 1. Thus, if the positions and / or courses or shapes of the first maxima match perfectly, the amplitude mean or median value meanA has the value 1, and the value becomes lower the more different the positions and / or courses or shapes of the first maxima are. Therefore, the amplitude mean or median value meanA is a measure of how well the positions and / or courses or shapes of the first maxima of the curve sections K are matched in a (reasonable) sample.

[0699] If the proportion of sub-samples for which the determination of the curve characteristic M results in the actual pulse transit time PTT is below a specified or specifiable threshold, the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 from which the curve K was measured are preferably discarded and / or not selected. The actual pulse transit time PTT is preferably a pulse transit time PTT that is above a lower threshold, e.g., 20 ms, and / or below an upper threshold, e.g., 175 ms, as explained above. The threshold for the proportion of sub-samples for which the determination of the curve characteristic M results in the actual pulse transit time PTT can have, for example, a value of 0.8. In particular, this means that the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 are discarded and / or not selected if the proportion of sub-samples for which the determination of the curve characteristic M results in the actual pulse transit time PTT is below 80%.

[0700] Preferably, the curve feature mean value selected taking into account the degree of dispersion and / or the amplitude of the maximum or local maximum of the curve mean values ​​KM of the initial sample and / or sub-samples is the curve feature M preferably determined in step S8.

[0701] As a result, the curve features M, in particular the curve feature average values, used to measure blood pressure BP are selected from a number of previously (preferably for different sensors 7) determined curve features M or curve feature average values ​​(in particular curve features M or curve feature average values ​​of the same type).

[0702] The selection can be made from curve features M or curve feature average values ​​each corresponding to one detector 6 and / or sensor 7. Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to select from curve features M or curve feature average values ​​determined in connection with the previous step S7 by using sub-samples.

[0703] Alternatively or additionally, a selection can be made from curve features M or curve feature average values ​​formed by combining curve sections KA of different sensors 7 and / or detectors 6. However, it is also possible to determine and use only one curve feature M or curve feature average value in the following.

[0704] The selection of the curve feature M or the curve feature average value in step S8 therefore constitutes, in particular, the selection of the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6. This is shown by way of example in FIG. 11. For clarity, only steps S3 and S8 are shown in FIG. 11, where the selection of the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 is or can be performed. However, this does not mean that steps S4 to S7 are necessarily omitted. As shown in FIG. 11, preferably, both the pre-selection of the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6 in step S3 and the selection of the curve K or the curve feature M or the curve feature average value in step S8 constitute the selection of the sensor 7 and / or the detector 6.

[0705] Therefore, the selection of sensor 7 is preferably carried out in several steps, in particular steps S3 and S8. Preferably, the (first) selection of sensor 7 (in particular step S3) is carried out before the optical examination, in particular photoplethysmography and / or recording of curve K by sensor device 4. More preferably (alternatively or additionally, in particular step S3), the (further) selection of sensor 7 is carried out after the optical examination, in particular photoplethysmography and / or recording of curve K by sensor device 4. If in step S6 all curve sections KA of curve K of sensor 7 are to be discarded, this preferably also is the selection of sensor 7, i.e. in this particular case only sensors 7 for which no curve sections KA have been completely discarded are selected.

[0706] Preferably, after the usefulness check of the curve sections K as described in step S6, if the number of remaining curve sections K of the curve K and / or the number of non-discarded curve sections K is equal to or less than a specified or specifiable threshold, the curve K and / or the sensor 7 and / or detector 6 from which the curve K was recorded are discarded and / or not selected. The threshold may be, for example, 30, so that curves K having 30 or fewer useful curve sections K are rejected and / or not selected. This step of rejecting and / or not selecting curves K with too few useful curve sections K does not necessarily have to be performed only in step S8, but can also be performed after step S6 and / or before step S7, or as a partial step of one of steps S6 and S7. Preferably, the averaging in step S7 is performed only on curves K having a sufficient number of useful curve sections K or curves K for which the number of useful curve sections K is equal to or greater than the aforementioned threshold.

[0707] In particular, if in step S8 it turns out that the determined curve features M or some or all of the determined curve features M are inaccurate or unreliable, for example because the determined value L is too small or the degree of dispersion assigned to the curve features M is too large, it is possible to return to any of steps S1, S2, S3 and / or S4.

[0708] In particular, returning to a previous step allows the animal T to move during the test, allowing the leg 2 to move during the test. Measurement errors and / or movement artifacts that occur in this way can be compensated for by discarding unusable curves K or curve sections KA, in particular in connection with multiple presence detections and / or selections of sensors 7 and / or multiple recordings of the heart rate curve KG and / or curve K. In particular, during or after movement of the animal T or leg 2, it is possible to continue or continue the test using one or more other sensors 7 or a different subset of sensors 7 than before the movement. The fact that the animal T can preferably move freely during the test makes the test very comfortable and stress-free for the animal T. This results in accurate and reliable tests, in particular blood pressure measurement tests.

[0709] Step S9 In step S9, preferably, in particular the systolic, diastolic and / or mean blood pressures BP are determined from the curve characteristics M determined in step S8. The blood pressures BP are determined using a correlation function F, preferably empirically determined.

[0710] The correlation function F therefore preferably represents the link between the curve feature M determined in particular in step S8 and the blood pressure BP and assigns the blood pressure BP to the curve feature M.

[0711] In particular, the correlation function F preferably does not explicitly take into account the arm or leg length between leg 2 and the heart of the animal T. In other words, preferably, the arm or leg length does not need to be explicitly determined.

[0712] Rather, in the context of the present invention, it has been surprisingly shown that the same correlation function F can be used for different animals T of the same species or breed, in particular different domestic cats, leading to meaningful results. Preferably, however, different correlation functions F are used for different animal species or breeds.

[0713] The correlation function F is preferably determined by a study in which blood pressures BP are determined by an established method for measuring blood pressures BP and is assigned to the curve characteristics M determined by the method according to the invention. The correlation function F is then determined by adapting the parameters of the correlation function F so that blood pressures BP determined by the method according to the invention at least substantially correspond to blood pressures BP determined by the established method.

[0714] The correlation function F is preferably a scalar field that depends on at least two variables.

[0715] Preferably, the curve characteristics M, in particular the pulse transit time PTT, constitute the variables of the correlation function F.

[0716] Preferably, in addition to the curve features M, in particular the pulse transit time PTT, the heart rate constitutes a variable of the correlation function F. The heart rate represents the number of heartbeats in a certain time interval and is preferably determined from the heart rate curve, in particular from the distance of the QRS complex or the R peak.

[0717] Therefore, the correlation function F can take the following functional form, for example: F(x,y)=a·x+b·y+c where x represents the curve characteristic M, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT and / or the position PM1 of the first maximum, y represents the heart rate, and a, b, c represent the parameters to be determined.

[0718] Furthermore, the correlation function F can depend on further variables. Particularly preferably, the distance between the position PM1 of the first maximum and the position PM2 of the first minimum of the curve section KA or the curve mean value KM constitutes a further variable of the correlation function F.

[0719] Therefore, the correlation function F can also take the functional form: F(x,y)=a·x+b·y+c·z+d where x denotes the curve feature M, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT and / or the position PM1 of the first maximum, y denotes the heart rate, z denotes the distance between the position PM1 of the first maximum and the position PM2 of the first minimum, and a, b, c, and d denote the parameters to be determined.

[0720] Furthermore, the correlation function F is preferably a non-linear function. The correlation function F can therefore depend non-linearly on the curve characteristics M and / or the heart rate, and in particular therefore on higher order terms in x, y and / or z (x 2 , x 3 , y 2 , y 3 , z 2 , z 3 , etc.).

[0721] Furthermore, the correlation function F can depend on further variables or on more than the three variables x, y, z.

[0722] In particular, in the measurement of the blood pressure BP or as a variable of the correlation function F, the curvature of the curve K can be taken into account instead of or in addition to the quantities already mentioned.

[0723] In particular, in a feline animal T, such as a cat, it has been shown that the curvature of the curve K changes with a change in blood pressure BP instead of or in addition to the pulse wave transit time PTT. In other words, in some cases, the blood pressure BP may be reflected in the curvature of the curve K even without a particular change in blood pressure BP that would result in a change in the pulse wave transit time PTT. Therefore, it may be important to consider the curvature of the curve K instead of or in addition to the pulse wave transit time PTT when determining the correlation function F or the blood pressure BP.

[0724] Various correlation functions F for blood pressure measurement from pulse transit time and / or heart rate are described in M. Sharma et al., Cuff-Less and Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring: A Methodological Review, Technologies 2017, 5(2), 21. The correlation function F of the present invention can have a functional form according to one of the mathematical models described in Chapters 3 and 4, in particular according to one of equations (6) to (10) or according to Table 3.

[0725] The correlation function F, and in particular its parameters, may alternatively or additionally take into account various other characteristics of the animal T, such as size, weight, sex, age, and / or color and / or pigment of leg 2 or the pads of leg 2.

[0726] In principle, the correlation function F can also depend on the anatomical particularities of the respective animal T. For example, the size of the animal T and / or a measure corresponding to the size of the animal T, such as body length, shoulder height, leg or arm length, or any other parameter corresponding to the distance between the heart and leg 2, can be taken into account in the correlation function F, in particular in the form of any of the parameters a, b, c, or d. A preferred parameter in this context can be the weight of the animal T, since this often allows a sufficiently accurate conclusion to be drawn about the distance between the heart and leg 2. In this respect, the correlation function F can have the weight of the animal T as a parameter, or the weight of the animal T can be taken into account by one of the parameters a, b, c, d.

[0727] Additionally, parameters corresponding to the body fat percentage, such as bioimpedance, can also be taken into account. The respective measurements can be performed using electrodes 15 and / or a scale 18 measuring the heart rate curve KG. In particular, the combination of bioimpedance and the weight of the animal T can be taken into account in the correlation function F by implicit or actual conclusions about the anatomical peculiarities of the animal T regarding the distance between the heart and the legs 2, allowing a more reliable determination of the blood pressure BP from the curve characteristics M.

[0728] Consideration of characteristics of the animal T, such as height, weight, body fat percentage or the like, is preferably done in the form of parameters (a, b, c, d) instead of variables (x, y, z) in the correlation function F. In other words, each characteristic does not enter the correlation function F directly as a variable, but preferably only as a parameter or indirectly.

[0729] Preferably, the characteristics of the animal T are taken into account in the form of discrete parameters. Discrete parameters in this sense are in particular parameters that can take on a certain number of different values, for example 2, 3 or 4 different values. This makes it possible to take the characteristics of the examined animal into account in the correlation function F without explicitly including this characteristic as a variable of the correlation function F.

[0730] In particular, animals T can be classified into different groups according to characteristics such as height, weight, body fat percentage or the like, where this characteristic is taken into account in a correlation function F using a discrete parameter, with each different value of the parameter corresponding to one of the different groups.

[0731] The classification of the animal T and the associated selection between possible discrete parameter values ​​may be performed automatically. Alternatively or additionally, the classification of the animal T may be performed by manual input or the like, in particular by input at the testing device 1 and / or before the test or measurement is performed.

[0732] Particularly preferably, one of the parameters of the correlation function F, in particular the parameter a linked to the curve characteristic M, takes into account the size and / or weight of the animal T, in particular a cat. Preferably, this is done in the form of a binary parameter. A binary parameter is, in particular, a parameter that can take on only two different values. In other words, preferably, two different values ​​a1 and a2 are provided for the parameter a, such that for large and / or heavy animals T the value a1 is used as the parameter a in the correlation function F, and for small and / or light animals T the value a2 is used as the parameter a in the correlation function F. The subdivision into large and / or heavy animals T and small and / or light animals T is preferably carried out by a limit value, above which the animal T is classified as a large and / or heavy animal, and below which the animal T is classified as a small and / or light animal. Here, the limit value is preferably a value corresponding to the size and / or weight of the animal T, such as, for example, the length of the arms and / or legs, the height of the shoulders, the total length of the animal T, the weight of the animal T or the like.

[0733] Preferably, systolic and / or diastolic blood pressures BP are determined. Preferably, different correlation functions F are used for systolic and diastolic blood pressures BP, the different correlation functions F preferably having the same functional form or depending on the same variables and / or only differing in the values ​​of the parameters (a, b, c, d).

[0734] It is expressly indicated that the method and / or testing device according to the invention can also be used in particular for diastolic blood pressure measurements, which has been shown in studies during the development of the invention.

[0735] The blood pressure BP determined from the curve characteristic M by the correlation function F can be output or transmitted to, for example, an external device 23, for example a mobile terminal, a smartphone, a server or a database or the like. Alternatively or additionally, the determined blood pressure BP can be displayed by means of the examination apparatus 1, in particular the display device 19.

[0736] overview In FIG. 13 the proposed method or steps of the proposed method are again summarized graphically.

[0737] Preferably, a heart rate curve KG is recorded, in particular an electrocardiogram and / or the heart rate curve KG is recorded using the electrodes 15 of the examination device 1.

[0738] Preferably, a check of the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG is carried out before any further measurements and / or evaluations. In particular, it is checked here whether heart beats can be reliably identified in the heart rate curve KG and / or whether the heart rate curve KG contains useful information. The check of the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG is preferably carried out on the basis of heart rate curves KG that are several seconds long and / or that have or represent several heart beats, for example 5 to 10 heart beats.

[0739] If the cardiogram KG is not useful or does not meet / conform to the criteria of the usefulness check, it is advisable to record a new cardiogram KG, which is represented by the arrow P1 in FIG.

[0740] Furthermore, a curve K containing information about the arterial blood flow BF is preferably recorded, in particular by means of the sensor device 4. The curve K is preferably recorded simultaneously with the heart rate curve KG.

[0741] Preferably, the usefulness of the curve K is checked. If the curve K is not useful, a new curve K is preferably recorded. This is represented by the arrow P2 in Fig. 13. Alternatively or additionally, a new heart rate curve KG can be recorded, or the measurement of the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K can be started again. This is represented in particular by the arrow P3.

[0742] The curve K is then preferably evaluated taking into account information, in particular, from the heart rate curve KG. For this purpose, the curve K is preferably divided into curve sections KA at times TH, which are determined on the basis of the heart rate curve KG and which correspond in particular to a position from its QRS complex, preferably the R peak.

[0743] Preferably, the blood pressure BP is determined from the heart rate curve KG and / or the curve K. This is preferably done by determining at least one curve feature M from the curve K and determining the blood pressure BP from the curve feature M, preferably by means of an empirical correlation function F.

[0744] The correlation function F may be preset and may in particular be stored in a storage medium 26 of the inspection device 1 or in an external device 23 .

[0745] The blood pressure BP can be output in particular by the display device 19 and / or the external device 23 .

[0746] Further aspects of the invention which can be realised independently or in combination with the above-mentioned aspects and features are in particular the following:

[0747] 1. A method for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure BP, of an animal T, in particular an animal T having a leg 2, particularly preferably a feline animal T, in which a curve K, in particular a photoplethysmogram, containing information about the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T is recorded, The method according to claim 1, wherein the curve K is divided into a plurality of curve sections KA, each curve section KA corresponding to a heartbeat.

[0748] 2. The method according to aspect 1, characterized in that for the evaluation, averaging is performed based on a plurality of curve sections KA and / or a curve mean value KM is determined from a plurality of curve sections KA.

[0749] 3. The method according to aspect 1 or 2, characterized in that a subset of the curve sections KA is selected for evaluation, in particular one or more curve sections KA being discarded.

[0750] 4. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, characterized in that a resampling method, in particular a bootstrap method, is used for the evaluation, and subsamples, in particular bootstrap samples, are generated from the curve section K A .

[0751] 5. The method according to aspect 4, characterized in that the sub-sample has a curve section KA of less than 200, preferably less than 100, in particular less than 60, and / or more than 15, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 45.

[0752] 6. The method according to aspect 4 or 5, characterized in that less than 1000, preferably less than 500, in particular less than 250, particularly preferably less than 100, very particularly preferably less than 75, and / or more than 10, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 50 bootstrap samples are generated.

[0753] 7. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein one or more curve features M, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT and / or values ​​corresponding or correlating thereto, are determined from the curve sections KA and / or sub-samples.

[0754] 8. The method according to aspect 7, characterized in that for each sub-sample a curve characteristic M, in particular a pulse wave transit time PTT, is determined and / or a mean value and / or a curve characteristic mean value is calculated from the curve characteristic M, in particular a pulse wave transit time PTT, in particular for each sub-sample and preferably for the initial sample.

[0755] 9. Method according to aspect 7 or 8, characterized in that the degree of dispersion of the curve feature M and / or the curve feature mean value, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT, in particular the interquartile range, is determined.

[0756] 10. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, characterized in that a plurality of curves K are recorded simultaneously and / or successively, the degree of dispersion is determined for each of the curves K, and based on the degree of dispersion, one of the curves K is selected for further evaluation, in particular for measuring blood pressure BP.

[0757] 11. The method according to any one of aspects 7 to 10, characterized in that the blood pressure BP is measured by a correlation function F, preferably empirically determined from the curve characteristics M, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT.

[0758] 12. The procedure according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, characterized in that the heart rate curve KG is recorded simultaneously with the curve K.

[0759] 13. The method according to aspect 12, wherein the curve K is divided into curve sections KA by information from the heart rate curve KG.

[0760] 14. The method according to aspect 12 or 13, characterized in that the time TH of the heartbeat is determined using the QRS complex of the heartbeat curve KG, in particular the position of the R peak of the QRS complex, and preferably the curve K is cut into curve sections KA at the time TH determined using the QRS complex.

[0761] 15. The method according to any one of aspects 12 to 14, characterized in that the usefulness of the heart rate curve KG is automatically checked, and if the heart rate curve KG is not useful, the heart rate curve KG and the curve K are discarded, and a new heart rate curve KG and a new curve K are recorded.

[0762] 16. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15, wherein the curve K or its curve section KA is automatically checked for usefulness, and if the curve K is not useful, the curve K is discarded and a new curve K is recorded.

[0763] 17. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 16, wherein a plurality of curves K are recorded, and curve sections KA from different ones of the recorded plurality of curves K are used for evaluation.

[0764] 18. A method for medical examination, in particular for measuring the blood pressure BP, of an animal T, in particular an animal T having a leg 2, particularly preferably a feline animal T, preferably designed according to one of the above-mentioned embodiments, in which the arterial blood flow BF of the animal T is examined optically, in particular by photoplethysmography, using a sensor device 4, the sensor means 4 comprising one or more emitters 5 of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation R and a plurality of detectors 6 of the same type for detecting the radiation emitted by the emitters 5, such that the emitters 5 and the detectors 6 form a plurality of sensors 7 of the same type, A sensor 7 or a subset of sensors 7 is selected; A method characterized by:

[0765] 19. The method according to aspect 18, wherein the sensors 7 each have a sensor area 11, the sensor areas 11 of the sensors 7 are each located at a different position and together form a sensing area, a different sub-area of ​​the sensing area is sensed by each sensor 7, and a specific sub-area of ​​the sensing area is selected for the medical test.

[0766] 20. A method according to aspect 18 or 19, characterized in that a presence determination is made, in particular checking whether the animal T or leg 2 is located on the inspection device 1 and / or above the sensor device 4 used to carry out the method so that an optical inspection can be carried out by the inspection device 1 and / or sensor device 4.

[0767] 21. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 20, characterized in that a position determination is performed, in particular checking and / or determining which sensor 7 of the sensor device 4 the leg 2, in particular the paw pad, is located over and / or which sensor 7 the optical inspection can be performed on.

[0768] 22. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 21, characterized in that it is checked whether the leg 2 is located in the sensor area 11 of the sensor 7, and for this check the signal S measured by the sensor 7 is analyzed, in particular whether the absolute signal strength exceeds or falls below a threshold value.

[0769] 23. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 22, wherein the selection of the sensor 7 or the subset of sensors 7 is performed before performing the optical inspection using the sensor device 4 and / or before the curve K is recorded with the sensor device 4.

[0770] 24. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 23, characterized in that the selection of the sensor 7 or the subset of sensors 7 is performed after performing an optical inspection using the sensor device and / or after recording the curve K with the sensor device 4, in particular by selecting a subset of the curves K recorded with different sensors 7.

[0771] 25. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 24, characterized in that curves K, in particular photoplethysmograms, containing information about the arterial blood flow BF are recorded by a sensor 7, at least one of the curves K is selected for evaluation, and preferably the quality of the recorded curves K is determined by statistical analysis, and the curve K having the highest quality is selected for evaluation.

[0772] 26. A method according to any one of the preceding aspects, characterized in that the curve K selected for evaluation is divided into curve sections KA, and a subset of the curve sections KA of the selected curve K is used for evaluation.

[0773] 27. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 26, characterized in that a plurality of curves K are recorded in succession, the curves K are divided into curve sections KA, and the curve sections KA of the curves K recorded in succession by the same sensor 7 are used for evaluation.

[0774] 28. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 27, characterized in that multiple curves K are recorded simultaneously, the curves K are divided into curve sections KA, and the curve sections KA of the curves K recorded simultaneously by different sensors 7 are used for evaluation.

[0775] 29. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 28, wherein the curve characteristic M and / or the curve characteristic mean value, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT, or a value corresponding thereto or correlated thereto, is determined by the curve K.

[0776] 30. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 29, wherein a plurality of different curve features M and / or curve feature average values ​​are determined according to the curve K, and preferably the different curve features M and / or curve feature average values ​​are or represent different features of the same curve K.

[0777] 31. The method according to aspect 29 or 30, characterized in that the blood pressure BP is measured from the curve feature M and / or the curve feature average value, in particular the pulse wave transit time PTT, preferably by means of an empirically determined correlation function F.

[0778] 32. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 31, characterized in that the curve K is divided into curve sections KA, each corresponding to a heartbeat, and an average value is calculated from a plurality of curve sections KA, preferably a heartbeat curve KG is recorded simultaneously with the curve K, and the curve K is divided into curve sections KA using information from the heartbeat curve KG.

[0779] 33. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 32, wherein diastolic blood pressure measurement BP is determined.

[0780] 34. An examination device 1 for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure BP, of an animal T, in particular an animal T having legs 2, particularly preferably an animal T of the feline subfamily, comprising: a sensor device 4 for optical examination of the arterial blood flow BF of an animal T, in particular for performing photoplethysmography, Inspection device 1, wherein the sensor means 4 comprises one or more emitters 5 of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation R and a plurality of detectors 6 of the same type for detecting the radiation R emitted by the emitters 5, such that the emitters 5 and the detectors 6 form a plurality of sensors 7 of the same type, Inspection device 1, characterized in that it comprises a control device 25 designed to select a sensor 7 or a subset of sensors 7.

[0781] 35. The inspection device of embodiment 34, wherein each of the sensors 7 has a plurality of emitters 5.

[0782] 36. The inspection device according to aspect 34 or 35, wherein each emitter 5 is part of a plurality of sensors 7.

[0783] 37. An inspection device described in any one of aspects 34 to 36, characterized in that each sensor 7 has a sensor area 11, the sensor areas 11 of the sensors 7 are each located in a different position and together form a sensing area, each sensor area 11 forms a different sub-area of ​​the sensing area, and the different sub-areas of the sensing area can be selected by a controller or control device 25.

[0784] 38. An examination device described in any one of aspects 34 to 37, wherein the examination device 1 and / or the control device 25 are designed to perform the method described in any one of aspects 1 to 33, and the examination device 1 and / or the control device 25 are designed to measure diastolic blood pressure.

[0785] 39. An examination device 1 for performing medical examinations, in particular photoplethysmography, comprising: Preferably, the inspection device 1 is designed according to any one of aspects 35 to 38, at least one emitter 5 for emitting electromagnetic radiation R and at least one detector 6 for detecting the radiation R emitted by the emitter 5, An inspection device, characterized in that the inspection device 1 comprises means adapted to carry out the steps of the method according to any one of the aspects 1 to 33.

[0786] 40. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the inspection device 1 to perform the steps of the method according to any one of aspects 34 to 39.

[0787] 41. A computer-readable storage medium 26 having stored thereon the computer program described in aspect 40, or having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause an inspection device 1 described in one of aspects 34 to 39 to perform steps of the method described in any one of aspects 1 to 33. [Explanation of symbols]

[0788] 1. Inspection equipment 2 legs 3. Placement surface 4 Sensor Devices 5 Emitter 6 Detector 7 Sensors 8. Restriction Devices 9 Radiation Area 9A radiation angle 10 Detection Area 10A detection angle 11 Sensor Area 12 Sensing area 13 Barriers 13A Transmission area (barrier) 13B Shielding Section 13C Aperture Section 13D Barrier Element 14 Cover 15 electrodes 15 First electrode 15B Second electrode 15C Third electrode 16 Transparent area (electrode) 17 Circuit Board 18 scale 18A Force Sensor 19 Display Devices 20 Input Devices 21 Power supply 22 Interface Devices 23 External Devices 24 Positioning aid 25 Control device 26 Storage medium 27 Pretreatment equipment 28 Common mode suppression device 29 A / D converter 29A Check Device 30 Pretreatment device 31 Amplifier 32 Filter Devices A artery B width (inspection device) BB width (barrier) BF blood flow BP blood pressure D Distance (emitter-detector) DB distance (barrier-emitter / detector) DE distance (electrode) DM Distance (Extreme) F correlation function G boundary HB Height (barrier) K-curve KA curve section KG heart rate curve KM curve average value L length M-curve characteristics P processor P1~P7 phases PM1 Positioning maximum value PM2 positioning minimum value PTT Pulse Transit Time (Pulse Wave Transit Time) R Radiation R1~R4 Row S signal S1~S9 steps T animal TH Heartbeat occurrence time X distance

Claims

1. 1. A method for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure (BP), of an animal (T), in particular of an animal (T) having a leg (2), particularly preferably of the feline subfamily (T), comprising: A curve (K), in particular a photoplethysmogram, containing information about the arterial blood flow of said animal (T) is recorded, The method is characterized in that the curve (K) is divided into a plurality of curve sections (KA), each curve section (KA) corresponding to a heart beat.

2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that for the evaluation an averaging based on said plurality of curve sections (KA) is performed.

3. 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a subset of the curve sections (KA) is selected for evaluation.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the length of the curve section (KA) is determined based on the average heart rate.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a resampling method, in particular a bootstrap method, is used for the evaluation, and subsamples, in particular bootstrap samples, are generated from the curve sections (KA).

6. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the sub-sample has less than 200, preferably less than 100, in particular less than 60, and / or more than 15, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 45 curve sections (KA).

7. 7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that less than 1000, preferably less than 500, in particular less than 250, particularly preferably less than 100, very particularly preferably less than 75 and / or more than 10, preferably more than 30, particularly preferably about 50 subsamples are generated.

8. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that curve features (M) are determined from the curve sections (KA) and / or sub-samples, preferably the curve features (M) are determined for each sub-sample and / or an average value is determined from a plurality of the curve features (M).

9. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the degree of dispersion of the curve characteristics (M), in particular the interquartile range and / or the standard deviation, is determined, preferably a plurality of curves (K), in particular simultaneously, are recorded and one of the curves (K) is selected for further evaluation based on the degree of dispersion.

10. 10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the blood pressure (BP) is measured by a correlation function (F) preferably empirically determined on the basis of the curve characteristics (M).

11. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein a heart rate curve (KG) is recorded simultaneously with the curve (K), and preferably, with the aid of information from the heart rate curve (KG), the curve (K) is divided into curve sections (KA).

12. 12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the QRS complexes of the heart rate curve (KG), in particular the R peaks of the QRS complexes, are used to determine the times (TH) of the heartbeat, and preferably the curve (K) is cut into curve sections (KA) at times (TH) determined using the QRS complexes.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein a Pan-Tompkins plot and / or an adaptive threshold of the cardiogram (KG) is used to determine the R-peak or its position, and preferably the position of the R-peak determined by the Pan-Tompkins plot is subsequently corrected.

14. 14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising automatically checking the usefulness of the heart rate curve (KG), and if the heart rate curve (KG) is not useful, discarding the heart rate curve (KG) and the curve (K) and recording a new heart rate curve (KG) and a new curve (K).

15. 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the usefulness of the curve (K) is checked automatically and / or repeatedly, and if the curve (K) is not useful, the curve (K) or individual curve sections (KA) are discarded and a new curve (K) is recorded.

16. 16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that a plurality of curves (K) are recorded and curve sections (KA) from different ones of the recorded plurality of curves (K) are used for the evaluation.

17. A method for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure (BP), of an animal (T), in particular of an animal (T) having a leg (2), particularly preferably of the feline subfamily (T), preferably said method being designed according to one of claims 1 to 16, The arterial blood flow (BF) of said animal (T) is optically examined using a sensor device (4), in particular photoplethysmography, The sensor device (4) comprises one or more emitters (5) of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation (R) and a plurality of detectors (6) of the same type for detecting the radiation (R) emitted by the emitters (5), the one or more emitters (5) and the detectors (6) forming a plurality of sensors (7) of the same type.

1. A method comprising: A method characterized in that a sensor (7) or a subset of sensors (7) is selected.

18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensors (7) each have a sensor area (11), the sensor areas (11) of the sensors (7) are each at a different position and together form a sensing area (12), a different sub-area of ​​the sensing area (12) is sensed by each of the sensors (7), and a specific sub-area of ​​the sensing area (12) is selected for the medical test.

19. 19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that it is checked whether the leg (2) is located in the sensor area (11) of the sensor (7), and for this check, the signal (S) measured by the sensor (7) is analyzed, in particular whether the absolute signal strength exceeds or falls below a threshold value.

20. 20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that it is determined in what position the legs (2) of the animal (T) are positioned relative to the sensor device (4) and / or sensor (7), preferably a sensor (7) being selected that is covered by the front legs (2).

21. 21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that the position of the leg (2) is determined by a search run or scan performed with the sensors (7), preferably during which different emitters (5) and / or sensors (7) are activated in turn.

22. 22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the determined position of the leg (2) is stored and it is automatically, continuously and / or periodically checked whether the position of the front leg (2) has changed during the recording of at least one curve (K) containing information about the arterial blood flow (BF) using the selected sensor or sensors (7).

23. 23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that when it is determined that the position of the leg (2) has changed, a new or repeated position determination and / or selection of the sensor (7) is performed.

24. 24. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that the plurality of curves (K) containing information on arterial blood flow (BF) are recorded by the sensor (7) and at least one of the curves (K) is selected for evaluation, preferably the quality of the recorded curves (K) is determined by statistical analysis and the curve (K) with the highest quality is selected for evaluation.

25. 25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that the curve (K) selected for evaluation is divided into curve sections (KA) and a subset of the curve sections (KA) of the selected curve (K) is used for evaluation.

26. 26. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of curves (K) are successively recorded, the curves (K) are divided into curve sections (KA), and the curve sections (KA) of the curves (K) successively recorded with the same sensor (7) are used for the evaluation.

27. 27. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of curves (K) are simultaneously recorded, the curves (K) are divided into curve sections (KA), and curve sections (KA) of the curves (K) simultaneously recorded by different sensors (7) are used for the evaluation.

28. 28. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, wherein curve characteristics (M), in particular the pulse wave transit time (PTT), are determined by the curve (K), and the blood pressure (BP) is determined from the curve characteristics (M), in particular the pulse wave transit time (PTT), by a correlation function (F), preferably empirically determined.

29. 29. The method according to claim 1, wherein the curve (K) is divided into curve sections (KA), each of which corresponds to a heartbeat, and a curve mean value (KM) is calculated from a plurality of curve sections (KA), preferably a heartbeat curve (KG) is recorded simultaneously with the curve (K), and the curve (K) is divided into curve sections (KA) using information from the heartbeat curve (KG).

30. 30. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 29, wherein the diastolic blood pressure (BP) is determined.

31. An examination device (1) for medical examination, in particular for measuring blood pressure (BP), of an animal (T), in particular an animal (T) having a leg (2), particularly preferably a feline animal (T), comprising: a sensor device (4) for optical examination of the arterial blood flow (BF) of said animal (T), in particular for performing photoplethysmography, Inspection device (1), wherein the sensor means (4) comprises one or more emitters (5) of the same type for emitting electromagnetic radiation (R) and a plurality of detectors (6) of the same type for detecting the radiation (R) emitted by the one or more emitters (5), such that the one or more emitters (5) and the detectors (6) form a plurality of sensors (7) of the same type, Inspection device (1), characterized in that the inspection device (1) comprises a control device (25) designed to select the sensors (7) or a subset of the sensors (7).

32. 32. An inspection device according to claim 31, characterized in that each of the sensors (7) comprises a plurality of emitters (5) and / or each of the emitters (5) is part of a plurality of sensors (7).

33. 33. An inspection device as claimed in claim 31 or 32, characterized in that each sensor (7) has a sensor area (11), the sensor areas (11) of the sensors (7) are each at different positions and together form a sensing area, each sensor area (11) forming a different partial area of ​​the sensing area (12), whereby different partial areas of the sensing area (12) can be selected by a control device (25).

34. Inspection device according to one of claims 31 to 33, characterized in that the inspection device (1) and / or the controller or control device (25) are designed to carry out the method according to one of claims 1 to 21 and / or the inspection device (1) comprises means adapted to carry out the steps of the method according to one of claims 1 to 30.

35. 1. An examination device (1) for performing a medical examination, in particular photoplethysmography, comprising at least one emitter (5) for emitting electromagnetic radiation (R) and at least one detector (6) for detecting the radiation (R) emitted by the emitter (5), preferably the examination device (1) being designed according to any one of claims 1 to 34, and the examination device (1) having means adapted to carry out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 30.

36. 36. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed, cause an inspection device (1) according to any one of claims 31 to 35 to carry out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 30.

37. A computer-readable storage medium (26) having stored thereon a computer program according to claim 36 or having stored thereon instructions which, when executed, cause an inspection device (1) according to any one of claims 31 to 35 to carry out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 30.

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