Methods and apparatus for providing an indicator of autonomic nervous system function

摘要

Methods and apparatus for providing a single, accurate indicator of a patient's autonomic nervous system function are described. The indicator is a combination of results of a plurality of different autonomic nervous system tests performed on the patient and referenced to a cross-sectional population. In one embodiment, the results of the different autonomic nervous system tests are referenced to a limited age group of the cross-sectional population. A method according to the invention includes generating a mathematical expression for each of the autonomic nervous system tests as a function of physiological data of the cross-sectional population, inserting measured physiological data of the patient into the mathematical expressions to compute output values for each of the tests, and combining the output values to provide the autonomic function indicator.