US 12,440,140 B2
Inductive damping brain sensor
Yu-Chong Tai, Pasadena, CA (US); and Shane S. Shahrestani, Yorba Linda, CA (US)
Assigned to California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US)
Filed by California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US)
Filed on May 30, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/679,283.
Application 18/446,327 is a division of application No. 17/179,018, filed on Feb. 18, 2021, granted, now 11,890,097, issued on Feb. 6, 2024.
Application 18/679,283 is a continuation of application No. 18/446,327, filed on Aug. 8, 2023, granted, now 12,029,566.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/978,437, filed on Feb. 19, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0315628 A1, Sep. 26, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61B 5/245 (2021.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/06 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/245 (2021.01) [A61B 5/067 (2013.01); A61B 5/4839 (2013.01); A61B 5/6803 (2013.01); A61B 5/684 (2013.01); A61B 5/7246 (2013.01); A61B 2562/0223 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An inductive sensor apparatus for brain diagnostics comprising:
a sensor coil connected with a resistive, inductive, and capacitive (RLC) circuit and frequency counter to form a sensor unit;
a memory storing control values derived from prior sensor coil measurements of one or more normal brains in vivo, each control value associated with a corresponding cranial location;
a computer processor operatively connected with a machine-readable non-transitory medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing the computer processor to perform operations comprising:
generating measured values based on output from the frequency counter when the sensor unit is at a cranial location;
determining the cranial location at which the measured values are associated;
retrieving, from the memory, control values associated with the cranial location;
comparing the measured values to the control values to generate deltas;
comparing the deltas to a positive threshold and a negative threshold associated with each cranial location to ascertain an exceedance, the exceedance having a sign and a magnitude; and
outputting an indication based on the sign of the exceedance, and
an indicator or display connected with the computer processor for the indication.
 
14. A method of diagnosing an issue in a subject's brain, the method comprising:
reading measured values from a frequency counter on a resistive, inductive, and capacitive (RLC) circuit connected with a sensor coil of sensor unit, the sensor unit held to a subject's head;
determining a cranial location at which the measured values are read;
retrieving, from a memory, control values associated with the cranial location;
comparing the measured values with the control values to generate deltas;
comparing each delta to a positive threshold and a negative threshold in order to ascertain an exceedance, the exceedance having a sign and a magnitude; and
indicating, to a user, a type of issue based on the sign of the exceedance.