Method and apparatus for determining an in vivo position of an esophageal catheter

摘要

In a method and an apparatus for determining the position of an esophageal catheter that is inserted into the esophagus of a patient, the catheter having a number of electrodes, muscular activity of the diaphragm is stimulated by applying a stimulus signal that produces a myoelectrical signal in the diaphragm having a well-defined peak at a specific point in time. The myoelectrical signal is detected by respective pairs of electrodes of said catheter, and the electrode pair or pairs that detected the signal having the highest amplitude at the specific point in time is identified. If this electrode pair or these electrode pairs that detected the signal with highest amplitude are not located approximately at the middle of the catheter, an indication is emitted that the position of the catheter should be adjusted.

主权项

1. A method for determining a position of an esophageal catheter inserted into the esophagus of a patient, the catheter comprising a plurality of electrodes, comprising the steps of:
artificially stimulating muscular activity of the patient in whom the catheter is inserted, by applying a stimulus signal to the patient, and thereby producing a myoelectrical signal in the patient, said myoelectrical signal having a peak that occurs at a specific point in time due to said stimulus signal; detecting the myoelectrical signal with respective pairs of said electrodes of said catheter; registering each myoelectrical signal detected by each of the respective pairs of the electrodes of the esophageal catheter; automatically determining at least one electrode pair among said electrode pairs of said esophageal electrodes that detected a myoelectrical signal having the highest amplitude at said specific point in time; automatically determining if said at least one electrode pair that recorded the myoelectrical signal with the highest amplitude is located approximately at a middle of said catheter; and if said at least one electrode pair that detected the myoelectrical signal having the highest amplitude at said specific point in time is not located approximately at the middle of the catheter, automatically generating a humanly perceptible indicator that a position, in the esophagus, of the catheter should be adjusted.