Systems and methods for detecting neurological conditions

Abstract

According to various embodiments, there is provided a device including a processor configured to control a robotic system to autonomously position a transducer at a plurality of locations adjacent a subject's skull and to autonomously locate a window on the subject's skull within which an artery can be located, from which artery a signal can be returned to the transducer, the signal having an energy level exceeding a predefined threshold.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tool for acquiring and optimizing a signal from a subject by a robotic device, comprising:
 a transducer configured to transmit acoustic energy;   a database including one or more seed points, each of the seed points corresponding to a different coordinate location on the subject; and   a processing circuit configured to:
 move the transducer to a first seed point of the seed points; and 
 scan at or around the first seed point by following a first predefined search path along the subject. 
   
     
     
         2 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 store a first point of interest at or along the first predefined search path; and   in response to storing the first point of interest, move the transducer to the first point of interest and scan at or around the first point of interest by following a second predefined search path.   
     
     
         3 . The tool of  claim 2 , wherein the first predefined search path is different from the second predefined search path. 
     
     
         4 . The tool of  claim 3 , wherein the second predefined search path defines finer movements of the transducer than the first predefined search path does. 
     
     
         5 . The tool of  claim 2 , wherein storing the first point of interest comprises:
 determining whether the first point of interest is greater than a first energy threshold; and   in response to determining that the first point of interest is greater than the first energy threshold, storing the first point of interest.   
     
     
         6 . The tool of  claim 5 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 store an improved point of interest at or along the second predefined search path; and   in response to storing the improved point of interest, move the transducer to the improved point of interest and scan at or around the improved point of interest by following a third predefined search path.   
     
     
         7 . The tool of  claim 6 , wherein the third predefined search path defines finer movements of the transducer than the second predefined search path does, and the second predefined search path defines finer movements of the transducer than the first predefined search path does. 
     
     
         8 . The tool of  claim 6 , wherein storing the improved point of interest comprises:
 determining whether the improved point of interest is greater than an increased energy threshold, the increased energy threshold higher than the first energy threshold; and   in response to determining that the improved point of interest is greater than the increased energy threshold, also storing the improved point of interest.   
     
     
         9 . The tool of  claim 2 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 move the transducer to a second seed point of the seed points, the second seed point corresponding to the different coordinate location on the subject than the first seed point; and   scan at or around the second seed point by following the first predefined search path along the subject.   
     
     
         10 . The tool of  claim 2 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to store a second point of interest at or along the first predefined search path, the second point of interest corresponding to the different coordinate location on the subject than the first point of interest. 
     
     
         11 . The tool of  claim 10 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to rank the first point of interest and the second point of interest based on their individual energy levels. 
     
     
         12 . The tool of  claim 11 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 select a coordinate location along the subject based on a higher-ranking point of interest corresponding to either the stored first point of interest or the stored second point of interest;   move the transducer to the higher-ranking point of interest; and   monitor the subject via the transducer at the higher-ranking point of interest.   
     
     
         13 . The tool of  claim 12 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 determine whether a monitoring energy level at the higher-ranking point of interest degrades below a stored energy level corresponding to the higher-ranking point of interest by a predetermined percentage; and   in response to the higher-ranking point of interest degrading below the stored energy level by the predetermined percentage, adjust a position of the transducer at the higher-ranking point of interest.   
     
     
         14 . The tool of  claim 2 , wherein storing the first point of interest comprises:
 detecting the first point of interest based on one or more morphological features of an ultrasound waveform captured by the transducer; and   in response to detecting the first point of interest, storing the first point of interest.   
     
     
         15 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more seed points corresponds to a coordinate location that has a relatively high probability of detection of a relatively high energy level as determined across a plurality of prior scanned subjects. 
     
     
         16 . The tool of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more seed points are sorted by at least one of race, gender, or age of the plurality of subjects. 
     
     
         17 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the transducer is configured to transmit ultrasound energy and the robotic device includes a Transcranial Doppler (TCD) device. 
     
     
         18 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more seed points corresponds to a coordinate location along an ultrasound acoustic window of the subject. 
     
     
         19 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the first predefined search path includes a spiral search path having a center point corresponding to the first seed point. 
     
     
         20 . The tool of  claim 1 , which stores coordinate points of interest that have energy thresholds above a predetermined value found during a predefined search path which can later move a robotic transducer back to one or more of the stored points of interest. 
     
     
         21 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the transducer is configured to move along an x-axis, a y-axis perpendicular to the x-axis, and a z-axis perpendicular to the x-axis and the y-axis, along the first predefined search path. 
     
     
         22 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the transducer is configured to pan and tilt along the first predefined search path. 
     
     
         23 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 store a first point of interest at or along the first predefined search path; and   in response to storing the first point of interest, perform a hill climb search using the transducer at and around the first point of interest.   
     
     
         24 . A method for acquiring and optimizing a signal from a subject by a robotic device, the method comprising:
 moving, by the robotic device, a transducer configured to transmit acoustic energy to a first seed point of one or more seed points, each of the one or more seed points corresponding to a different coordinate location at the subject; and   scanning, by the robotic device, at and around the first seed point by following a first predefined search path along the subject.   
     
     
         25 . A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-readable instructions such that, when executed, causes a processor to acquire and optimize a signal from a subject by a robotic device by:
 moving, by the robotic device, a transducer configured to transmit acoustic energy to a first seed point of one or more seed points, each of the one or more seed points corresponding to a different coordinate location at the subject; and   scanning, by the robotic device, at and around the first seed point by following a first predefined search path along the subject.