US4757823A — Method and apparatus for measuring uterine blood …

Claim 1

Independent Claim 224 words

An ultrasonic apparatus for the non-invasive intravaginal measurement of uterine blood flow which comprises: a cervical cup shaped and sized to closely fit a cervix of a human female upon insertion into a vagina and to be tightly and stably held thereon in an atraumatic manner upon such insertion, means on said cup defining a housing alongside said cup to be located laterally of the cervix and positionable beneath one of the uterine arteries in close proximity thereto when said cup is in place on said cervix, cradle-forming means mounted within said housing means for limited angular movement relative to said housing means about at least a first axis of pivotal movement lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of blood flow within said uterine artery when said cup is in place on said cervix, transducer means for transmitting ultrasonic signals mounted upon said cradle-forming means for movement therewith between a first operative position in which the signals transmitted thereby intersect the blood flowing through the uterine artery thereabove at substantially right angles thereto and a second operative position in which said signals intersect said blood flow at an acute angle, and means for shifting the cradle-forming means between its first and second operative positions in a manner such that the position of said cervical cup on the cervix remains essentially undisturbed.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 224 words

An ultrasonic apparatus for the non-invasive intravaginal measurement of uterine blood flow which comprises: a cervical cup shaped and sized to closely fit a cervix of a human female upon insertion into a vagina and to be tightly and stably held thereon in an atraumatic manner upon such insertion, means on said cup defining a housing alongside said cup to be located laterally of the cervix and positionable beneath one of the uterine arteries in close proximity thereto when said cup is in place on said cervix, cradle-forming means mounted within said housing means for limited angular movement relative to said housing means about at least a first axis of pivotal movement lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of blood flow within said uterine artery when said cup is in place on said cervix, transducer means for transmitting ultrasonic signals mounted upon said cradle-forming means for movement therewith between a first operative position in which the signals transmitted thereby intersect the blood flowing through the uterine artery thereabove at substantially right angles thereto and a second operative position in which said signals intersect said blood flow at an acute angle, and means for shifting the cradle-forming means between its first and second operative positions in a manner such that the position of said cervical cup on the cervix remains essentially undisturbed.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 110 words

The apparatus set forth in claim 1 in which: the means for shifting the cradle-forming means comprises a first pair of short wire cables entering the cradle-forming means from opposite directions substantially at right angles to the first axis of pivotal movement, said short wire cables each having one end dead-ended on the cradle-forming means adjacent to the end thereof opposite the end in which they entered and the other ends thereof terminating near the point where said cables enter the vagina, said first pair of short wire cables being effective when one or the other thereof is pulled upon to rotate the cradle-forming means about its first pivotal axis.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 233 words

The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which: the cradle-forming means includes a first cradle element carrying the transducer means and a second cradle element, said first cradle element being mounted in said second cradle element for limited pivotal movement about said first axis of pivotal movement, and said second cradle element being mounted within the housing means for limited pivotal movement about a second axis of pivotal movement intersecting said first axis of pivotal movement at right angles thereto, said first pair of short wire cables being operatively connected to the first cradle element, and means for sweeping the ultrasonic signals transmitted by said transducer means across the uterine artery thereabove about an axis generally paralleling the direction of blood flow through the uterine artery comprising a second pair of short wire cables entering the second cradle element from directions at substantially right angles to said second axis of pivotal movement, said second pair of short wire cables each having one end dead-ended on said second cradle element adjacent to the end thereof opposite the end at which they entered and the other ends thereof terminating near the point where said second pair of short wire cables enter the vagina, said second pair of short wire cables being effective when one or the other is pulled upon to rotate said second cradle element about said second axis of pivotal movement.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 38 words

The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which: the first and second cradle elements are so interconnected to one another and to the housing means as to form a gimbal-type universal mounting for the transducer means.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 35 words

The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which: the first cradle element comprises an arcuate yoke, and in which the second cradle element is spherically-shaped and cradled for pivotal movement within said yoke.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 26 words

The apparatus a set forth in claim 1 in which: the cradle-forming means is substantially cylindrical and its axis is substantially coincident with said first axis.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 54 words

The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which: the second position of the cradle-forming means is such that the velocity measurement signal intersects the uterine artery when said cervical cup is in place at an acute angle relative to the direction of blood flow through the uterine artery of less than 20°.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 252 words

A method for measuring the volume of uterine blood flow which comprises the steps of: providing a cervical cup which is sized and shaped to closely fit a cervix of a human female upon insertion into her vagina and to be tightly held thereon in an atraumatic manner upon such insertion, non-invasively positioning said cervical cup onto the cervix in an atraumatic manner, providing a housing means on said cervical cup, locating the housing means on said cup to be spaced laterally of the cervix when said cervical cup is in position on said cervix, providing a trasnducer mean capable of transmitting ultrasonic signals within the vagina of a mammalian female, movably mounting said transducer means in said housing means laterally alongside the cervix beneath and in close proximity to a uterine artery, measuring the diameter of the uterine artery by directing a depth measurement signal thereacross at an angle substantially at right angles to the direction of blood flow therethrough, determining the cross sectional area of said uterine artery based upon said diametrical measurement, moving said transducer means relative to said cervical cup which is mounted in said housing so as to redirect the transducer means along the uterine artery at an acute angle opposing the direction of blood flow without substantially disturbing the position of said cervical cup on said cervix, determining the mean velocity of the blood flowing through the uterine artery, and determining the volume of blood flow based upon the aforesaid velocity measurement and cross-sectional area determination.

Claim 10

Independent Claim 252 words

A method for measuring the volume of uterine blood flow which comprises the steps of: providing a cervical cup which is sized and shaped to closely fit a cervix of a human female upon insertion into her vagina and to be tightly held thereon in an atraumatic manner upon such insertion, non-invasively positioning said cervical cup onto the cervix in an atraumatic manner, providing a housing means on said cervical cup, locating the housing means on said cup to be spaced laterally of the cervix when said cervical cup is in position on said cervix, providing a trasnducer mean capable of transmitting ultrasonic signals within the vagina of a mammalian female, movably mounting said transducer means in said housing means laterally alongside the cervix beneath and in close proximity to a uterine artery, measuring the diameter of the uterine artery by directing a depth measurement signal thereacross at an angle substantially at right angles to the direction of blood flow therethrough, determining the cross sectional area of said uterine artery based upon said diametrical measurement, moving said transducer means relative to said cervical cup which is mounted in said housing so as to redirect the transducer means along the uterine artery at an acute angle opposing the direction of blood flow without substantially disturbing the position of said cervical cup on said cervix, determining the mean velocity of the blood flowing through the uterine artery, and determining the volume of blood flow based upon the aforesaid velocity measurement and cross-sectional area determination.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 49 words

The method as set forth in claim 8 in which: the step of determining the mean velocity of blood flowing in the uterine artery includes directing ultrasonic signals toward the uterine artery at an angle of less than 20° to the direction of blood flow in that uterine artery.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method as set forth in claim 8 in which the step of directing the ultrasonic signals includes transmitting such ultrasonic signals at a frequency of between approximately 5 and 7.5 megahertz.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method as set forth in claim 8 in which the step of mounting said transducer means includes locating that transducer means between approximately 1 and 2 cm beneath the uterine artery.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 50 words

The method as set forth in claim 8 further including rotating the transducer means in place alongside the cervix about an axis lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of blood flow through the uterine artery and taking the mean velocity measurement from a location outside the vagina.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 37 words

The method as set forth in claim 12 further including rotating the transducer means in place alongside the cervix about an axis lying in a plane substantially paralleling the direction of blood flow through the uterine artery.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1991-07-19	1992-01-18	1992-07-19	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1995-07-19	1996-01-18	1996-07-19	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1999-07-19	2000-01-18	2000-07-19	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Method and apparatus for measuring uterine blood flow

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