Patent ID: 6206837
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A portable system for breath-by-breath measurement of metabolic parameters of an individual, having telemetric data transmission and storage for later analysis, said portable system comprising:a bidirectional turbine flowmeter comprising a turbine, an optoelectronic reader, and an aerodynamic cover,a portable unit,wherein said portable unit is transported by the individual during a test, is fixed to an anatomic harness, and is provided with an internal pump that samples continuously a fraction of expired breath through a sampling line connected near the mouth of the individual, bringing gas into an analyzer (O.sub.2 and CO.sub.2) to provide a measurement of oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, while electrical signals coming from said turbine flowmeter are elaborated to provide a measurement of the volumes of air ventilated by the individual;a detector circuit which receives magnetic pulses transmitted by a heart monitor belt to provide a heart rate; andwherein all acquired signals are elaborated by a microprocessor incorporated in the portable unit, transmitted to a receiver unit, and stored in an internal non-volatile memory for transference after the test to a personal computer for result analysis purposes;wherein said flowmeter is manufactured so that the ventilated air passing through the turbine, the turbine having two elycoidal conveyors, causes the turbine to rotate, proportional for its intensity to the flow and for its spin to the direction of the breath (inspiration/expiration);wherein a blade, free to rotate on an axis parallel to the flow and perpendicular to the conveyors, assumes a rotations whose spin and intensity are measurable through interruptions of rays transmitted by three infrared diode emitters, and received by as many receiving phototransistors;wherein the pulsed signals coming from the optoelectronic reader are acquired by the portable unit and elaborated; andwherein the aerodynamic cover, axed to the front side of the flowmeter, is intended to avoid that, when the individual is moving during the test, the measurement of the ventilation is affected by the air entering the floweter;a face mask, connected to the flowmeter, manufactured with antiallergenic material, and having two inspiratory valves for reducing inspiratory resistance and for helping to eliminate sweat from the face of the individual, is fixed to the individual by means of an anatomic head cap;a battery unit that supplies the portable unit, fixed to the rear side of the harness so that weights are balanced;a heart monitor belt, having two electrodes to detect the electrical signals generated by the heart on the skin of the individual, and an electronic circuit that amplifies the signals and transforms the signals into magnetic pulses corresponding to each beat, wherein these pulses can be detected by the portable unit wireless; anda receiver unit that receives the results of the measurements transmitted by the portable unit via telemetric communication, wherein this data, although transmitted, is stored in the non-volatile memory of the portable unit and can be transferred to the personal computer once the test is completed.