Wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch

Abstract

A wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch employing an ultrasound imager and a heart compression monitor. When the ultrasound imager is affixed to a thorax of a patient during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the ultrasound imager is operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, and the heat compression monitor is operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. The heart structure may be a right ventricle or a left ventricle, and the compression profile may be derived from a perimeter, a volume, a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level and / or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

Description

[0001] WEARABLE TRANSTHORACIC ECHOCARDIOGRAM PATCH

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The present disclosure particularly relates to increasing the quality of CPR and facilitating a more accurate detection of spontaneous pulse than the traditional manual palpation approach.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving intervention that is provided when a patient is in cardiac arrest, i.e., with no or ineffective mechanical activity of the heart. Providing high quality chest compressions is a critical aspect of CPR. The aim of the chest compressions is primarily to compress the left ventricle of the heart so that blood is forced through in the systemic circulatory circuit. The main aim is to provide blood supply to the brain to avoid neurological damage and or death. This provides the CPR team with time to triage the cause of cardiac arrest and take corresponding interventions. A challenge with providing compressions is that there is no feedback on the physiological efficacy of the same. CPR responders may get fatigued and start to deliver low quality CPR, e.g., insufficient depth, rate, or recoil.

[0006] For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a CPR monitor 30 positioned on the sternum of a patient 10 as a CPR responder 20 applies chest compressions in a conventional manner using two hands with one placed over the other. Specifically, hands of CPR responder 20 are placed on the CPR monitor 30 and chest compressions are administered by the CPR responder 20 to a heart of patient 10 as prescribed by conventional CPR protocols. As known in the art of the present disclosure, the CPR monitor 30 monitors a quality of the CPR being administered by a CPR responder 20 to a heart of patient 10, such as, for example, whether the CPR is effective or ineffective in terms of a depth and a rate of compression, chest release and recoil, and placement of the responder’s hands on the chest of patient 10. A cable 31 is attached to a basic cardiac life support device in the form of an automated external defibrillator (AED) 40 to couple the monitoring of the CPR quality to defibrillator 40 and to issue audible CPR instructions through a loudspeaker of defibrillator 40. For example, FIG. 1 further illustrates AED 40 attached to patient 10 by electrodes 41a and 41b. AED 40, as known in the art of the present disclosure, is operated to deliver defibrillating shock(s) to patient 10 during the CPR as needed. More specifically, when patient 10 is experiencing an arrhythmia (e.g., ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT)) that is not accompanied by spontaneous circulation, AED 40 is operable to deliver a high- voltage impulse to a heart of patient 10 in order to restore normal rhythm and contractile function in patient 10. In operation, AED 40 automatically analyzes an electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm of the heart of patient 10 to determine if defibrillation is necessary. Full automated defibrillation by AED 40 as known in the art of the present disclosure when defibrillation is necessary involves AED 40 instructing CPR responder 20 to terminate the CPR subsequently followed by AED 40 delivering a defibrillation shock to patient 10. Semi-automated defibrillation by AED 40 as known in the art of the present disclosure when defibrillation is necessary involves AED 40 instructing lay responder 20 to terminate the CPR and further instructing CPR responder 20 to press a shock button of AED 40 to deliver the defibrillation shock to patient 10.

[0007] Note CPR responder 20 may get fatigued and start to deliver low quality CPR, e.g., insufficient depth, rate, or recoil.

[0008] Even with the use of a state of the art version of CPR monitor 30 (e.g., the QCPR 30 having a pad 31 and a display 32 as shown in FIG. 2), CPR responder 20 is provided with information about the mechanics of CPR, e.g., frequency, depth, and recoil of the compressions on the chest, but not the physiological effectiveness of the CPR on particular heart structures.

[0009] Alternative to manual CPR as shown in FIG. 1, mechanical CPR involves use a mechanical CPR device that guarantee the above-mentioned mechanical properties of chest compressions, but the actual CPR quality may still be low, as there is no control on the real effectiveness. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a CPR mechanical device 40 as known in the art of the present disclosure employing a retaining structure 41, a control system 42 and a compression mechanism 43. In operation, upon a torso 11 of a patient being properly positioned within the retaining structure 41, control system 42 is activated to control an operation of compression mechanism 43 in performing chest compressions on torso 11 of the patient in view of optimizing the mechanics of the CPR, e.g., frequency, depth, and recoil of the compressions, but not the physiological effectiveness of the CPR on particular heart structures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present disclosure is directed to ultrasound imaging of heart structure(s) (e.g., right ventricle and / or left ventricle) during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation to derive a compression profile of the heart structure(s) for purposes of understanding the physiological effect of the CPR on the heart structure(s).

[0011] The present disclosure may be embodied as (1) a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch, (2) a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device and (3) a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system.

[0012] Various exemplary embodiments of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of the present disclosure encompass an ultrasound imager and a heart compression monitor. When the ultrasound level is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the ultrasound imager may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and the heart compression monitor may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0013] The heart structure may be a right ventricle or a left ventricle, and the compression profile may be derived from a perimeter, a volume, a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level and / or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

[0014] The heart compression monitor may be further operated to generate (1) an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images including ultrasound images of non-compressions of the heart, particularly when the heart is moving but not pumping blood or the heart is not moving despite having electrical activity (pulseless electrical activity), (2) a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure (e.g., a bar graph), (3) an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, and / or (4) a compression control indicator informative of the compression profile of the heart structure as an input control variable for a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Various exemplary embodiments of a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device of the present disclosure encompass a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch and a cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch encompasses an ultrasound imager and a heart compression monitor. When the ultrasound imager is affixed to a thorax of the patient during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the ultrasound imager may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and the heart compression monitor may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0015] The heart structure may be a right ventricle or a left ventricle, and the compression profile may be derived from a perimeter, a volume, a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level and / or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

[0016] The heart compression monitor may be further operated to generate (1) an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, (2) a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, and (3) an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure,

[0017] The cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter is useable for performing manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, and may be operated to display the image indicator and / or the visual indicator, and / or to activate the audio indicator.

[0018] Various exemplary embodiments of a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system of the present disclosure encompass a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch and a cardiopulmonary resuscitation mechanical device. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch encompasses an ultrasound imager and a heart compression monitor. When the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the ultrasound imager may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and the heart compression monitor may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0019] The heart structure may be a right ventricle or a left ventricle, and the compression profile may be derived from a perimeter, a volume, a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level and / or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

[0020] When in communication with the heart monitor, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation mechanical device may be operated to perform a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient based in part on the compression profile of the heart structure. The foregoing exemplary embodiments and other embodiments of the present disclosure as well as various structures and advantages of the present disclosure will become further apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of various embodiments of the present disclosure read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present disclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the present disclosure being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

[0021] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The present disclosure will present in detail the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a cardiopulmonary resuscitation being administered by a responder to a heart of the patient as known in the art of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter as known in the art of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation mechanical device as known in the art of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary embodiments of cardiopulmonary resuscitation monitoring modules in accordance with the present disclosure and as known in the art of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound transducer array in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound imager in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart representative of an exemplary embodiment of a transthoracic echocardiogram monitoring method in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0030] FIGS. 8 A and 8B illustrate a first exemplary embodiment of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0031] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a second exemplary embodiment of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0032] FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a third exemplary embodiment of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0033] FIGS. 11 A and 1 IB illustrate a fourth exemplary embodiment of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[0034] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a transthoracic echocardiogram controller in accordance with the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0035] The present disclosure is directed to ultrasound imaging of heart structure(s) (e.g., right ventricle and / or left ventricle) during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient to derive a compression profile of the heart structure(s) for purposes of understanding the physiological effect of the CPR on the heart structure(s). To this end, the present disclosure describes and teaches principle for making and using a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch to derive the compression profile of the heart structures during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, manual or mechanical.

[0036] For purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, the terms “cardiopulmonary resuscitation”, “manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation”, “mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation”, “cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter”, and “mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation device” as used in the present disclosure broadly encompass the definitions of these terms as known in the art of the present disclosure.

[0037] To facilitate an understanding of the present disclosure, the following description of FIG. 4-7 teaches in accordance with the present disclosure for making and using various embodiments of the present disclosure. From the following description of FIGS. 4-7, those having ordinary skill in the art of the present disclosure will appreciate how to apply the present disclosure to make and use additional embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 4, the present disclosure encompasses a principle CPR monitoring employing an ultrasound imager 50 and a heart compression monitor 60.

[0039] For purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, the term “ultrasound imager” broadly encompasses all devices incorporating ultrasound elements, as known in the art of the present disclosure and hereinafter conceived, for generating imaging data representative of an ultrasound image of one or more structures of a heart (e.g., a right ventricle and / or a left ventricle).

[0040] In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an ultrasound imager may include a single transducer element including, but not limited to, an ultrasound imager may include an array of transducer elements, such as, for example, a PZT transducer or a CMUT transducer as known in the art of the present disclosure. In a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an ultrasound imager may include an array of transducer elements having overlapping field of views, such as, for example, an array of transducers elements 80a-80c having an overlapping field of views 81a-81c as shown in FIG. 5. Further, the array of transducer elements may have any arrangement within a flexible substrate, such as, for example, arrangements 90a-90c of transducers element arrays (black boxes) as shown in FIG. 6.

[0041] Referring back to FIG. 4, for purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, the term “heart compression monitor” broadly encompasses all devices, as known in the art of the present disclosure and hereinafter conceived, for deriving a compression profile of heart structure(s) from ultrasound imaging data of the heart structure(s) during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient, such as, for example, heart compression monitor 60 deriving a heart compression profile 71 from ultrasound image data 70 during a CPR of a patient.

[0042] In practice, a heart compression monitor of the present disclosure may be embodied as of an application specific main board or an application specific integrated circuit for deriving a compression profile of heart structure(s) from ultrasound imaging data of the heart structure(s) during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient as exemplary described in the present disclosure.

[0043] Also in practice, a heart compression monitor of the present disclosure may be an application module embodied electronic circuit (e.g., electronic components and / or hardware) and / or an executable program (e.g., executable software stored on non-transitory computer readable medium(s) and / or firmware) for executing a specific application for deriving a compression profile of heart structure(s) from ultrasound imaging data of the heart structure(s) during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient as exemplary described in the present disclosure.

[0044] Still referring to FIG. 4, the present disclosure provides a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of the present disclosure employing ultrasound imager 50 and a heart compression monitor 60 whereby at least the ultrasound imager 50 is affixable to a thorax of the patient. Non-limiting examples of an affixing of the ultrasound imager 50 to a thorax of the patient include, but are not limited to, an adhering, a strapping, an attaching and a mounting of the patch of the ultrasound imager 50 to the thorax of the patient.

[0045] When the ultrasound imager 50 is affixed to a thorax of the patient, particularly during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and heart compression monitor 60 may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by ultrasound imager 50 during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Heart compression monitor 60 may be further operated generate (1) an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, (2) a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, (3) an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, and / or (4) a compression control indicator informative of the compression profile of the heart structure as an input control variable for a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0046] In one exemplary embodiment, when the ultrasound imager 50 is affixed to a thorax of the patient, particularly during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 and a heart compression monitor 60 implement a flowchart 100 of FIG. 7 representative of a transthoracic echocardiogram monitoring method of the present disclosure.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 7, a stage SI 02 of flowchart 100 encompasses ultrasound imager 50 being operated as known in the art of the present disclosure to generate an ith set of ultrasound imaging data of a heart structure (e.g., a right ventricle or a left ventricle). In one embodiment of stage SI 01, the ultrasound imaging data is B-mode as known in the art of the present disclosure to allow for structural imaging of the heart best suitable for the present disclosure.

[0048] A stage SI 04 of flowchart 100 encompasses ultrasound imager 50 or heart compression monitor 60 identifying and segmenting, as known in the art of the present disclosure, the heart structure as represented in the ultrasound imaging data.

[0049] A stage SI 06 of flowchart 100 encompasses heart compression monitor 60 quantifying compression parameter(s) of the segmented heart structure. For purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, the term “compression parameter” broadly encompasses any parameter, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, that is indicative of a compressive effect CPR has on the heart structure. Examples of a compression parameter include, but are not limited to, a perimeter, a volume, a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level and / or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure. More particularly, monitors 61-64 may be utilized to facilitate a quantifying of the pulse rate, the blood flow rate, the blood pressure level and / or the electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure of the segmented heart structure.

[0050] A stage SI 08 of flowchart 100 encompasses heart compression monitor 60 generating / update a compression profile of the heart structure.

[0051] In one exemplary embodiment of stage SI 08, when the compression parameter is the perimeter of the segmented heart structure, the compression profile is a waveform or a table of a perimeter of the segmented heart structure derived from each ith set of ultrasound imaging data whereby a range of compression of the heart structure per each CPR compression may be ascertained.

[0052] In a second exemplary embodiment of stage SI 08, when the compression parameter is the volume of the segmented heart structure, the compression profile is a waveform or a table of a volume of the segmented heart structure derived from each ith set of ultrasound imaging data whereby a range of compression of the heart structure per each CPR compression may be ascertained.

[0053] In a third exemplary embodiment of stage SI 08, when the compression parameter is a pulse rate, a blood flow rate, a blood pressure level or an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure, the compression profile is a waveform or a table of a blood status or an electric status of the segmented heart structure derived from each ith set of ultrasound imaging data whereby a range of compression of the heart structure per each CPR compression may be ascertained.

[0054] A stage SI 10 of flowchart 100 encompasses heart compression monitor 60 generating heart compression indicator(s) from the compression profile. In one exemplary embodiment of stage SI 10, heart compression monitor 60 generates an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images.

[0055] In a second exemplary embodiment of stage SI 10, heart compression monitor 60 generates a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure.

[0056] In a third exemplary embodiment of stage SI 10, heart compression monitor 60 generates an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure.

[0057] In a fourth exemplary embodiment of stage SI 10, heart compression monitor 60 generates a compression control indicator informative of the compression profile of the heart structure as an input control variable for a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0058] Stages S102-S110 are repeated during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0059] To facilitate an understanding of the present disclosure, the following description of FIG. 8-10 teaches various embodiments of wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch in accordance with the present disclosure. From the following description of FIGS. 8-10, those having ordinary skill in the art of the present disclosure will appreciate how to apply the present disclosure to make and use additional embodiments of a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of the present disclosure.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 8 A, a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch 120a of the present disclosure employs an adhesive layer 123, a flexible solid gel pad 122 having ultrasound imager 50 embedded therein, and an electronics layer 121 a having a controller 130 incorporating heart compressing monitor 60.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 8B, when the adhesive layer 123 is adhered to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and heart compression monitor 60 may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Heart compression monitor 60 may be further operated to (1) generate and communicate, to meter 30a, an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, (2) generate and communicate, to meter 30a, a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, (3) generate and communicate, to meter 30a, an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure, and / or (4) generate and communicate, to device 40, a compression control indicator informative of the compression profile of the heart structure as an input control variable for a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 9A, a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch 120b of the present disclosure employs an adhesive layer 123, a flexible solid gel pad 122 having ultrasound imager 50 embedded therein, electronics layer 121 a having a controller 130 incorporating heart compressing monitor 60 and a display 124.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 9B, when the adhesive layer 123 is adhered to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and heart compression monitor 60 may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Heart compression monitor 60 may be further operated to (1) display 125a an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, (2) display 125b a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure and / or (3) activate an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 10 A, a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch 120c of the present disclosure employs an adhesive layer 123, a flexible solid gel pad 122 having ultrasound imager 50 embedded therein and electronics layer 121 a having a controller 130 incorporating heart compressing monitor 60 and an unattached display 124. As shown in FIG. 10B, when the adhesive layer 123 is adhered to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and heart compression monitor 60 may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Heart compression monitor 60 may be further operated to (1) display 125a an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, and / or (2) activate an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 10 A, a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch 120d of the present disclosure employs an adhesive layer 123, a flexible solid gel pad 122 having ultrasound imager 50 embedded therein and an unattached integration of electronics layer 121 a having a controller 130 incorporating heart compressing monitor 60 and display 124.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 10B, when the adhesive layer 123 is adhered to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, ultrasound imager 50 may be operated to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient, and heart compression monitor 60 may be operated to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient. Heart compression monitor 60 may be further operated to (1) display 125a an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images, and / or (2) activate an audio indicator of the compression profile informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure.

[0067] To facilitate a further understanding of the present disclosure, the following description of FIG. 12 teaches an exemplary embodiment of a controller in accordance with the present disclosure. From the description of FIG. 12, those having ordinary skill in the art of the present disclosure will appreciate how to apply the present disclosure to make and use additional embodiments of a controller in accordance with the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 12, shown is an exemplary embodiment 130a of BCLS controller 130 that includes one or more processor(s) 131, memory 132, a user interface 133, a network interface 134, and a storage 135 interconnected via one or more system bus(es) 136.

[0068] Each processor 131 can be any hardware device, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, capable of executing instructions stored in memory 132 or storage or otherwise processing data. In a non-limiting example, the processor(s) 131 can include a microprocessor, field programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other similar devices.

[0069] The memory 132 can include various memories, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, including, but not limited to, LI, L2, or L3 cache or system memory. In a non-limiting example, the memory 132 can include static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), or other similar memory devices.

[0070] The user interface 133 can include one or more devices, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, for enabling communication with a user such as an administrator. In a non-limiting example, the user interface can include a command line interface or graphical user interface that can be presented to a remote terminal via the network interface 134.

[0071] The network interface 134 can include one or more devices, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, for enabling communication other components of a medical device. In a non-limiting example, the network interface 134 can include a network interface card (NIC) configured to communicate according to the Ethernet protocol. Additionally, the network interface 134 may implement a TCP / IP stack for communication according to the TCP / IP protocols. Various alternative or additional hardware or configurations for the network interface 134 will be apparent.

[0072] The storage 135 can include one or more machine-readable storage media, as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, including, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, or similar storage media. In various non-limiting embodiments, the storage 135 can store instructions for execution by the processor(s) 131 or data upon with the processor(s) 131 may operate. For example, the storage 135 may store a base operating system for controlling various basic operations of the hardware.

[0073] The storage 135 can also store an application modules in the form of executable software / firmware for implementing the various functions of the method of FIG. 7 as previously described in the present disclosure.

[0074] In one exemplary embodiment as shown, storage 135 stores application modules 137 including an ultrasound imaging module 138 to implement stage SI 02 of flowchart 100 of FIG. 7 and a heart compression manager 139 to implement stages S104-S110 of FIG. 7.

[0075] From the description of FIGS. 1-12 herein, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the numerous benefits of the present disclosure including, but not limited to, (1) enabling a responder during manual CPR to visualize the heart and assess efficacy of chest compressions in real time during CPR events, (2) enabling a closed-loop mechanical system adjust compressions in real time to ensure high-quality CPR, based on the feedback provided by ultrasound imaging of the heart, and (3) for general resuscitation, enable detection of spontaneous pulse with higher accuracy than the traditional manual palpation approach.

[0076] Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4, additional CPR monitoring may be incorporated in the present disclosure.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 4, a blood flow monitoring as known in the art of the present disclosure may be implemented by a Doppler sensor 51 and a blood flow monitor 61, a CPR quality as known in the art of the present disclosure may be implemented by compression sensors 52 and a CPR quality monitor 62, a physiology monitoring of the patient as known in the art of the present disclosure may be implemented by physiology sensors 53 and patient physiology monitor 63, and an ECG waveform as known in the art of the present disclosure may be implanted by a ECG waveform generator 54 and an ECG monitor 64.

[0078] The present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. Further, as one having ordinary skill in the art shall appreciate in view of the teachings provided herein, features, elements, components, etc. disclosed and described in the present disclosure / specification and / or depicted in the appended Figures and / or recited in the Claims can be implemented in various combinations of hardware and software, and provide functions which may be combined in a single element or multiple elements. For example, the functions of the various features, elements, components, etc. shown / illustrated / depicted in the Figures and / or recited in the Claims can be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions can be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which can be shared and / or multiplexed. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and can implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (“DSP”) hardware, memory (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”) for storing software, random access memory (“RAM”), non-volatile storage, etc.) and virtually any means and / or machine (including hardware, software, firmware, combinations thereof, etc.) which is capable of (and / or configurable) to perform and / or control a process.

[0079] Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (e.g., any elements developed that can perform the same or substantially similar functionality, regardless of structure). Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings provided herein that any block diagrams presented herein can represent conceptual views of illustrative system components and / or circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, one having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate in view of the teachings provided herein that any flow charts, flow diagrams and the like can represent various processes which can be substantially represented in computer readable storage media and so executed by a computer, processor or other device with processing capabilities, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown. Having described preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not limiting, it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons having ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings provided herein, including the appended Figures and claims. It is therefore to be understood that changes can be made in / to the preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure which are within the scope of the present disclosure and exemplary embodiments disclosed, described and taught herein.

[0080] Moreover, it is contemplated that corresponding and / or related systems incorporating and / or implementing the device or such as may be used / implemented in a device in accordance with the present disclosure are also contemplated and considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, corresponding and / or related method for manufacturing and / or using a device and / or system in accordance with the present disclosure are also contemplated and considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

Claims:

1. A wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch, comprising: an ultrasound imager operable to be affixed to a thorax of a patient during a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the ultrasound imager is configured to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of a heart structure of the patient when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and a heart compression monitor operable to be in communication with the ultrasound imager when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the heart compression monitor is configured to derive a compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager (50) during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, and wherein the heart compression monitor is further configured to at least one of: generate an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images during a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; generate a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; generate an audio indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and generate a compression control indicator informative of the compression profile of the heart structure during a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

2. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of claim 1, wherein the heart structure is one of a left ventricle or a right ventricle.

3. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound imager includes an array of transducer elements having overlapping fields of views.

4. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of claim 1 , wherein the heart compression monitor deriving the compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient includes the heart compression monitor being further configured to: segment the heart structure from each ultrasound image of the set of ultrasound images; quantify at least one compression parameter from each segmented heart structure; and derive the compression profile of the heart structure from the at least one compression parameter.

5. The wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch of claim 1, wherein the at least one compression parameter includes at least one of: a perimeter of the segmented heart structure; a volume of the segmented heart structure; a pulse rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood flow rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood pressure level of the segmented heart structure; and an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

6. A manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device, comprising: a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch for providing a compression profile of a heart structure of a patient during a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch including: an ultrasound imager operable to be affixed to a thorax of the patient during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the ultrasound imager is configured to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of the heart structure of the patient when ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; anda heart compression monitor operable to be in communication with the ultrasound imager when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the heart compression monitor is configured to derive the compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and a cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter integrated with the wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch , wherein the cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter is operable for performing a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and wherein the cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression meter is configured to at least one of: generate an image indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure within a temporal display of a least a subset of the ultrasound images during a manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; generate a visual indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and generate an audio indicator of the compression profile of the heart structure informative of an acceptable or an unacceptable compression range of the heart structure during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient.

7. The manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device of claim 6, wherein the heart structure is one of a left ventricle or a right ventricle.

8. The manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device of claim 6, wherein the ultrasound imager includes an array of transducer elements having overlapping fields of views.

9. The manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device of claim 6, wherein the heart compression monitor deriving the compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient includes the heart compression monitor being further configured to: segment the heart structure from each ultrasound image of the set of ultrasound images; quantify at least one compression parameter from each segmented heart structure; and derive the compression profile of the heart structure from the compression parameters.

10. The manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation device of claim 9, wherein the at least one compression parameter includes at least one of: a perimeter of the segmented heart structure; a volume of the segmented heart structure; a pulse rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood flow rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood pressure level of the segmented heart structure; and an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

11. A mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system, comprising: a wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch for providing a compression profile of a heart structure during a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, the wearable transthoracic echocardiogram patch including: an ultrasound imager operable to be affixed to a thorax of the patient during the mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the ultrasound imager is configured to generate a series of ultrasound images of a compression of the heart structure of the patient when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and a heart compression monitor operable to be in communication with the ultrasound imager when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient during the mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient, wherein the heart compression monitor is configured to derive the compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasoundimages generated by the ultrasound imager during the mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient; and a cardiopulmonary resuscitation mechanical device operable to be in communication with the heart compression monitor when the ultrasound imager is affixed to the thorax of the patient, wherein the cardiopulmonary resuscitation mechanical device is configured to perform the mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient based in part on the compression profile of the heart structure.

12. The mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system of 11, wherein the heart structure is one of a left ventricle or a right ventricle.

13. The mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system of 11, wherein the ultrasound imager includes an array of transducer elements having overlapping fields of views.

14. The mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system of 11, wherein the heart compression monitor deriving the compression profile of the heart structure from the series of ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound imager during the mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the patient includes the heart compression monitor being further configured to: segment the heart structure from each ultrasound image of the set of ultrasound images; quantify at least one compression parameter from each segmented heart structure; and derive the compression profile of the heart structure from the compression parameters.

15. The mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation system of 14, wherein the at least one compression parameter includes at least one of: a perimeter of the segmented heart structure; a volume of the segmented heart structure; a pulse rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood flow rate of the segmented heart structure; a blood pressure level of the segmented heart structure; and an electrical activity level of the segmented heart structure.

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