Ultrawideband Thoracic Radar for Real-Time Lung Fluid Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for identifying lung fluid content are unreliable and often too late in the disease progression of heart failure, leading to increased morbidity and hospitalizations, and existing systems are not suitable for rapid, real-time assessment.
Innovation Solution
A mobile bodily imaging system using ultrawideband radar and neural networks to generate images of lung tissue interfaces, allowing for real-time, accurate determination of lung fluid content and thoracic fluid levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current methods (weight gain and dyspnea monitoring) are used to identify worsening heart failure, then the identification process is simple and low-cost, but the reliability is poor and the timing is too late in disease progression
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical/physical measurement systems (weight scales, subjective dyspnea assessment) with an electromagnetic field-based ultrawideband radar system. This substitution enables direct detection of lung fluid content through electromagnetic wave reflection and scattering properties, providing reliable real-time monitoring without requiring complex surgical or invasive procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in electromagnetic wave parameters (reflection coefficient, scattering pattern, propagation speed) as lung fluid content varies. By monitoring these parameter changes in the ultrawideband signal, the system can reliably detect and quantify lung fluid accumulation, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
2Speed
If traditional monitoring methods are used, then the system is simple to operate, but the speed of detection is too slow and cannot provide real-time assessment
Solution Approach 1:
The ultrawideband radar system performs periodic transmission of electromagnetic pulses at high repetition rates, enabling continuous real-time monitoring of lung fluid content. This periodic action allows the system to achieve both high speed (multiple measurements per second) and high precision (through signal averaging and processing of periodic returns).
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous operation by constantly transmitting ultrawideband pulses and receiving reflections, providing uninterrupted real-time assessment of lung fluid content. This continuity ensures both rapid detection capability and sustained measurement precision throughout the monitoring period.
3Measurement precision
If existing identification methods are used, then no additional time is required beyond standard care, but the accuracy and sensitivity are insufficient for early detection
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of lung fluid content changes before clinical symptoms manifest. By continuously monitoring electromagnetic reflection patterns, the system can identify early fluid accumulation that precedes weight gain or dyspnea, enabling early intervention without adding significant time to the clinical workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The replacement of traditional delayed assessment methods with real-time electromagnetic sensing eliminates the time lag between fluid accumulation and detection. The ultrawideband system provides immediate measurement of lung fluid content, achieving high accuracy without the time loss associated with waiting for clinical symptoms to develop.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid, reliable assessment of lung fluid content and thoracic fluid levels, providing early identification of heart failure and other disorders, with high sensitivity and low false alarm rates, and enabling continuous monitoring of cardiac and lung motion.
Implementation Method 1
an ultrawideband pulse generator that generates one or more ultrawideband pulse and transmits the ultrawideband pulse into a chest of the patient; an ultrawideband RF sensor positioned on the patient's chest adjacent to the patient's skin to receive reflected backscatter waves from the patient's chest
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile bodily imaging system for determination of a lung fluid content is provided, comprising: a stepped-frequency radar generator that generates one or more tone and transmits the one or more tone into a chest of the patient; a sparse deconvolution inversion algorithm to detect reflection points indicating tissue interfaces within the patient and create a sparsity-based image; an initial model generated using Markov Chain Monte Carlo or Deep Neural Network estimates; and a final model generated using a neural renderer, wherein the neural renderer is provided with confirmed data that permits the neural renderer to predict the form of the reflection points, wherein the neural renderer creates an image that is compared to the sparsity based image, and wherein the neural renderer creates refined images in a number of iterations and/or based upon a predetermined threshold of a difference between the refined neural renderer image and the sparsity-based image.