Patent Document ID: 4373534
Application ID: 06254133
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. In a non-invasive system for measuring respiration volume of the type including: means for providing a signal responsive to a rib cage dimension indicative of rib cage contribution to respiration volume; means for providing a signal responsive to an abdominal dimension indicative of abdominal contribution to respiration volume; means for multiplying said rib cage and abdominal signals by predetermined weighting factors reflecting the relative contributions of said rib cage and abdomen to respiration volume; and means for summing said weighted signals for providing a signal proportional to respiration volume; the improvement comprising means for determining said weighting factors comprising: alternate means for measuring respiration volume and providing a signal indicative thereof; means for simultaneously recording said unweighted rib cage and abdominal signals and said signal from said alternate measuring means for a first plurality of breaths based on a first relative contribution between said rib cage and abdomen and for a second plurality of breaths based on a second relative contribution between said rib cage and abdomen; processing means for (1) dividing said rib cage signal by said signal from said alternate measuring means for each breath for definig a first coordinate for each breath, (2) dividing said abdominal signal by said signal from said alternate measuring means for each breath for defining a second coordinate for each breath, and (3) determining the x and y intercepts of a line approximation extending through the plurality of points defined by said first and second coordinates, the reciprocals of said intercepts substantially equaling said weighting factors.