US 12,076,182 B1
Chest patch for measuring displacement of ventricular walls of subject's heart
Venugopal Gopinathan, Boston, MA (US); and Tony J. Akl, Bedford, MA (US)
Assigned to Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed by Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed on Nov. 23, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/102,162.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/940,241, filed on Nov. 25, 2019.
Int. Cl. A61B 8/08 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/0883 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4236 (2013.01); A61B 8/5207 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
placing a patch on a torso of a subject comprising an array of ultrasound sensors configured to emit ultrasound beams toward a heart of the subject;
directing a first ultrasound beam from a first ultrasound sensor of the array of ultrasound sensors toward a select section of the heart comprising a first ventricular wall and a second ventricular wall, with the first ventricular wall being proximate to the array of sensors and spaced apart from the second ventricular wall, the first ultrasound sensor directing the first ultrasound beam to the first ventricular wall unobstructed by at least one rib of the subject;
receiving, at the first ultrasound sensor, a first reflection of the first ultrasound beam from the first ventricular wall;
receiving, at the first ultrasound sensor, a second reflection of the first ultrasound beam from the second ventricular wall;
generating first data signals based on the first reflection and second data signals based on the second reflection; and
processing the first data signals and the second data signals to track a distance between the first ventricular wall and the second ventricular wall over a time period, wherein changes in the distance between the first ventricular wall and the second ventricular wall correlate to a condition of the heart.