A method for simultaneous palpation by a plurality of individuals in which the physical displacement of a sensor may be amplified and simultaneously reproduced at a plurality of remote locations. The physical displacement signal from a transducer in pressural engagement with the patient's skin is amplified and utilized to drive a palpation platform which is tactually engaged by the physician to aid in the diagnosis. Additional palpation platforms may be slaved to the physician' s unit and the slave units utilized for instruction purposes. The palpation platform may include a speaker cone substantially filled with a solid material and covered by a material approximating human skin. The method may take the form of a physician's diagnostic aid, or as a medical teaching aid. Use, including self-instruction, of the equipment for speech therapy is also disclosed.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 862,653 entitled "Palpation Method and Apparatus," filed Oct. 1, 1969, now abandoned and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
A method, apparatus and a lifelike model of a human female breast form a breast cancer detection training system. The model closely simulates the feeding of the different tissues of the human breast and except for a tumor-free comparison model, contains at least one simulated tumor. When used in conjunction with the electronic training apparatus, the model also contains a pressure sensing means. The apparatus and method compare signals initiated by the trainee with stored signals representative of the number of simulated tumors in the model, their location, and the pressure required to feel them and provide feedback information to the trainee so as to improve the trainee's examination technique.
An individual suffering from bronchial asthma can be trained to relax his or her bronchial muscles in order to facilitate breathing. In such training a microphone is located adjacent to the trachea of the individual and is utilized to provide a signal. This signal may be directly amplified and converted to an audible sound through the use of a speaker, but it is preferably utilized to provide a variable frequency signal corresponding to the amplitude of the signal from the microphone, and this latter signal is supplied to the speaker to provide a variable tone. This tonal variation effectively indicates to an individual the manner in which the individual is breathing. Such an individual can learn to control his or her breathing in such a manner as to regulate the frequency of the tone produced by the speaker so that the sound produced corresponds to the bronchial muscles being relaxed.
An interactive breast model (100) is disclosed for training lay persons and health care providers to perform effective breast examinations and to locate and identify masses in a breast. The model of the invention comprises a silicone breast model (102) equipped with a data acquisition unit (106) having a plurality of sensors (1002) for detecting displacement in the surface (202) of the breast model during an examination and data acquisition modules (1004) for receiving the sensor output data. The data acquisition unit (106) sends the sensor output to a personal computer (108) for analysis and display to the user (1018). Software (1006) executing on the personal computer performs fuzzy logic algorithms to correlate the sensor output data to usable information regarding the time duration of the examination, finger placement of the user, and the level of displacement throughout the examination. This performance data (1030) is displayed to the user.
A medical system according to the present invention comprises a medical apparatus including an operation unit manipulated by a surgeon and a treatment section formed away from the operation unit for treating a subject, a detector or a pressure sensor for detecting a state of contact between the subject and the treatment section, and a reproduction mechanism for amplifying a small contact pressure according to the output of the detector and thus reproduce the state of contact so that the surgeon can perceive the state of contact.
Apparatus for recording tactile sensations comprises a sensing or "receptor" glove used to effect a tactile exploration of an object whose "feel" is to be recorded. The glove typically includes a mosaic of pressure and temperature sensors in an "artificial skin", which is applied to the object during the tactile exploration, and is connected to further sensors for sensing the motivity parameters of the movable parts, e.g. fingers and wrist, during the exploration. The pressure and temperature sensors are preferably formed by localized diffusions of electrically conductive material into a sheet of a flexible insulating material. The electrical signals produced by the sensors are recorded, and are then used, with or without further processing, to operate apparatus for reproducing tactile sensations. This latter apparatus can comprise a motor glove for reproducing the motivity parameters, and/or a flexible membrane containing a mosaic of piston members and electrical heating elements for reproducing pressure and temperature sensations respectively.
