Discriminant function analysis method and apparatus for disease diagnosis and screening

Claim 1

An apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis at a potential disease site on a human or animal subject by measuring the electrical potentials which are a function of the electromagnetic fields which originate from within the subject and are present on the skin surface of the subject in an area of said potential disease site, comprising a plurality of electrode means adapted for contact with the skin surface of the subject at spaced locations in the area of the potential disease site to detect only the potentials of said electromagnetic fields which originate from within the subject and are present in the area of said potential disease site during a test period and to provide test potentials as a function of each of said potentials detected, and processing means connected to receive said test potentials provided by said electrode means, said processing means operating during said test period to select at least one of said electrode means as a reference electrode and another of said electrode means as a test electrode and to cause said test electrode to operate with said reference electrode to detect the potential of the electromagnetic field present therebetween and to provide a test potential as a function thereof.

Claim 2

An apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis at a potential disease site on a human or animal subject by measuring the electrical potentials which are a function of the electromagnetic fields which originate from within the subject and are present on the skin surface of the subject in an area of said potential disease site, comprising a plurality of electrode means adapted for contact with the skin surface of the subject at spaced locations in the area of the potential disease site to detect only the potentials of said electromagnetic fields which originate from within the subject and are present in the area of said potential disease site during a test period and to provide test potentials as a function of each of said potentials detected, and processing means connected to receive said test potentials provided by said electrode means, said processing means operating during said test period to select at least one of said electrode means as a reference electrode and another of said electrode means as a test electrode and to cause said test electrode to operate with said reference electrode to detect the potential of the electromagnetic field present therebetween and to provide a test potential as a function thereof.

Claim 14

An apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis at a potential disease site on a human or animal subject by measuring the electrical potentials which are a function of the electromagnetic field present on the skin surface of the subject in an area of said potential disease site comprising a plurality of electrode means adapted for contact with the skin surface of the subject at spaced locations in the area of the potential disease site to detect the potentials of electromagnetic fields present in the area of said potential disease site during a test period and to provide test potentials as a function of each of said potentials detected; processing means connected to receive said test potentials from said electrode means, said processing means operating during said test period to select at least one of said electrode means as a reference electrode and another of said electrode means as a test electrode and to cause said test electrode to operate with said reference electrode to detect the potential of the electromagnetic field present therebetween and to provide a test potential as a function thereof, wherein said processing means further operates to select from said electrode means a plurality of different test electrode-reference electrode combinations during the test period and to receive test potentials from each of said combinations; and wherein said processing means includes sequencer switching means connected to said electrode means and operative to select said test electrode means and operative to select said test electrode-reference electrode combinations and to receive the test potential from said selected test electrode-reference electrode combinations; analog-to-digital converter means connected to separately receive each said test potential from said sequencer switching means for providing a separate digital test signal indicative of each said test potential obtained during said test period; and central processor means connected to separately receive each said separate digital test signal, said processor means operating to compare said digital test signals obtained during said test period to identify potential relationships therebetween indicative of the presence of a disease condition; and wherein said central processor means further comprises digital test signal comparing means for comparing said digital test signals to obtain a maximum voltage differential by obtaining from the digital test signals for said measurement period maximum and minimum digital signals and subsequently obtaining a differential value signal indicative of the difference between said maximum and minimum digital signals, differential value signal comparing means for comparing said differential value signal to a first reference value, and providing an output signal indicative of the presence of a disease condition in accordance with a relationship between said first reference value and said differential value signal, and minimum digital signal comparing means that operates when the relationship between said first reference value and said differential value signal is not indicative of the presence of a disease condition for comparing said minimum digital signal to a second reference value, and providing an output signal indicative of the presence of said disease condition in accordance with a second relationship between said second reference value and said minimum digital signal.

Claim 15

An apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis at a potential disease site on a human or animal subject by measuring the electrical potentials which are a function of the electromagnetic field present on the skin surface of the subject in an area of said potential disease site comprising a plurality of electrode means adapted for contact with the skin surface of the subject at spaced locations in the area of the potential disease site to detect the potentials of electromagnetic fields present in the area of said potential disease site during a test period and to provide test potentials as a function of each of said potentials detected; processing means connected to receive said test potentials from said electrode means, said processing means operating during said test period to select at least one of said electrode means as a reference electrode and another of said electrode means as a test electrode and to cause said test electrode to operate with said reference electrode to detect the potential of the electromagnetic field present therebetween and to provide a test potential as a function thereof, wherein said processing means further operates to select from said electrode means a plurality of different test electrode-reference electrode combinations during the test period and to receive test potentials from each of said combinations; and wherein said processing means includes sequencer switching means connected to said electrode means and operative to select said test electrode means and operative to select said test electrode-reference electrode combinations and to receive the test potential from said selected test electrode-reference electrode combinations; analog-to-digital converter means connected to separately receive each said test potential from said sequencer switching means for providing a separate digital test signal indicative of each said test potential obtained during said test period; and central processor means connected to separately receive each said separate digital test signal, said processor means operating to compare said digital test signals obtained during said test period to identify potential relationships therebetween indicative of the presence of a disease condition; and wherein said central processor means further comprises digital test signal comparing means for comparing said digital test signals to obtain a maximum voltage differential by obtaining from the digital test signals for said measurement period maximum and minimum digital signals and subsequently obtaining a differential value signal indicative of the difference between said maximum and minimum digital signals, differential value signal comparing means for comparing said differential value signal to a first reference value, and providing an output signal indicative of the presence of a disease condition in accordance with a relationship between said first reference value and said differential value signal, and minimum digital signal comparing means that operates when the relationship between said first reference value and said differential value signal is not indicative of the presence of a disease condition for comparing said minimum digital signal to a second reference value, and providing an output signal indicative of the presence of said disease condition in accordance with a second relationship between said second reference value and said minimum digital signal.

Claim 16

The apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis of clam 13, wherein said central processor means further comprises output signal means for providing an output signal indicative of the presence of said disease condition if said differential value signal is of a greater value than said first reference value and if said minimum digital signal is of a lesser value than said second reference value.

Claim 17

The apparatus for disease screening or diagnosis of clam 13, wherein said central processor means further comprises output signal means for providing an output signal indicative of the presence of said disease condition if said differential value signal is of a greater value than said first reference value and if said minimum digital signal is of a lesser value than said second reference value.

Claim 18

A method for determining the presence or absence of a disease condition at a test site on a human or animal subject as a function of the potential of an electromagnetic field which originates from and is present in the subject sensed by a plurality of spaced electrodes in contact with the skin surface of the subject in the area of the test site, which includes: sequentially selecting during a test period pairs of electrodes from said plurality of spaced electrodes and detecting only the respective electrical potential of the electromagnetic filed which originates from and is present in the subject between each of said selected pairs of electrodes, comparing the respective electrical potentials so obtained to identify a high and a low level potential, obtaining a differential value indicative of the difference between said high and low level potentials, comparing said differential value to a predetermined reference value to determine a relationship therebetween, and obtaining an indication of the presence or absence of a disease condition from said relationship of the differential value to the reference value.

Claim 19

A method for determining the presence or absence of a disease condition at a test site on a human or animal subject as a function of the potential of an electromagnetic field which originates from and is present in the subject sensed by a plurality of spaced electrodes in contact with the skin surface of the subject in the area of the test site, which includes: sequentially selecting during a test period pairs of electrodes from said plurality of spaced electrodes and detecting only the respective electrical potential of the electromagnetic filed which originates from and is present in the subject between each of said selected pairs of electrodes, comparing the respective electrical potentials so obtained to identify a high and a low level potential, obtaining a differential value indicative of the difference between said high and low level potentials, comparing said differential value to a predetermined reference value to determine a relationship therebetween, and obtaining an indication of the presence or absence of a disease condition from said relationship of the differential value to the reference value.

Claim 22

A method for determining the presence or absence of a disease condition at a test site on a human or animal subject as a function of the potential of the electromagnetic field present in the subject sensed by a plurality of spaced electrodes in contact with the skin surface of the subject in the area of the test site which includes: sequentially selecting during a test period different pairs of electrodes from said plurality of spaced electrodes and detecting the respective electrical potential of the electromagnetic field in the subject between each selected pair of electrodes to obtain electrical potentials from a plurality of different electrode pairs, comparing the individual respective electrical potentials so obtained to identify a high and a low level potential, obtaining a differential value indicative of the difference between said high and low level potentials, comparing said differential value to a predetermined reference value to determine a relationship therebetween, taking a plurality of electrical potential measurements from each said selected electrode pair during the test period, obtaining an average measurement value from the potential measurements taken by each selected electrode pair during the test period, comparing said average measurement values to identify therefrom said high and low level potentials, and obtaining an indication of the presence or absence of a disease condition based upon whether said differential value exceeds or is less than said predetermine reference value, if the absence of a disease indication is indicated, comparing said low level potential to a second predetermine reference value to determine a second relationship therebetween, and obtaining a second indication of the presence or absence of said disease condition from the second relationship of said low level potential to said second reference value.

Claim 23

A method for determining the presence or absence of a disease condition at a test site on a human or animal subject as a function of the potential of the electromagnetic field present in the subject sensed by a plurality of spaced electrodes in contact with the skin surface of the subject in the area of the test site which includes: sequentially selecting during a test period different pairs of electrodes from said plurality of spaced electrodes and detecting the respective electrical potential of the electromagnetic field in the subject between each selected pair of electrodes to obtain electrical potentials from a plurality of different electrode pairs, comparing the individual respective electrical potentials so obtained to identify a high and a low level potential, obtaining a differential value indicative of the difference between said high and low level potentials, comparing said differential value to a predetermined reference value to determine a relationship therebetween, taking a plurality of electrical potential measurements from each said selected electrode pair during the test period, obtaining an average measurement value from the potential measurements taken by each selected electrode pair during the test period, comparing said average measurement values to identify therefrom said high and low level potentials, and obtaining an indication of the presence or absence of a disease condition based upon whether said differential value exceeds or is less than said predetermine reference value, if the absence of a disease indication is indicated, comparing said low level potential to a second predetermine reference value to determine a second relationship therebetween, and obtaining a second indication of the presence or absence of said disease condition from the second relationship of said low level potential to said second reference value.