Method and system for non-invasive determination of glycogen stores
View Patent ↗Provided is a non-transitory machine readable medium on which is stored a computer program for non-invasive determination of glycogen stores including, the computer program including instructions which when executed by a computer system perform the steps of: receiving an ultrasound scan of a target muscle; and evaluating at least a portion of the ultrasound scan to determine glycogen store within the target muscle.
1. A portable system for about real time non-invasive determination of glycogen store value comprising:
a processing unit;
a memory storage device coupled to the processing unit;
an ultrasound device having a movable transducer, the transducer operable in a high frequency range, the ultrasound device coupled to the processing unit;
the processing unit being operative to:
receive identification of a target muscle of a subject;
adjust the ultrasound device for a depth of scan appropriate for the selected target muscle;
scan the selected target muscle by processing ultrasound reflection received by the transducer to provide at least a partial cross sectional scan of the selected target muscle;
select an area of the scan; and
evaluate the selected area to determine glycogen store value within the target muscle in about real time.
2. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the depth of scan is adjusted by selecting a type of target muscle.
3. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the selected area is automatically determined based upon a center of a scanned image of a target muscle.
4. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the selected area is user adjustable and or definable.
5. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the glycogen evaluator is further structured and arranged to evaluate the hypoechoic appearance of the selected area.
6. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein at least one element of the selected area is compared to a predefined reference of glycogen store values.
7. The portable system of claim 6 , wherein the predefined reference is pre-established for a specific subject being tested.
8. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
define a plurality of areas within the scan of the selected target muscle, each area having at least one attribute;
quantify each attribute as a value; and
average the values to determine a glycogen store.
9. The portable system of claim 8 , wherein a grid is imposed upon at least a portion of the scan to define the plurality of areas.
10. The portable system of claim 8 , wherein pre-existing elements of the scan define the plurality of areas.
11. The portable system of claim 10 , wherein the pre-existing elements are one or more image pixels.
12. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a self contained and self powered unit suitable for portable operation.
13. The portable system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a tablet style computing system.
14. A non-transitory machine readable medium on which is stored a computer program for about real time non-invasive determination of glycogen store value comprising, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed by a computer system perform the steps of:
receiving an ultrasound scan of a target muscle; and
evaluating at least a portion of the ultrasound scan to determine glycogen store value within the target muscle in about real time.
15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the computer system has an ultrasound device having a movable transducer, the transducer operable in a high frequency range, the computer program further permitting;
selecting a target muscle tissue of a subject;
adjusting the ultrasound device for a depth of scan appropriate for the selected target muscle;
imaging the selected target muscle by processing ultrasound reflection received by the transducer to provide an ultrasound scan of the selected target muscle.
16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14 , wherein evaluating at least a portion of the ultrasound scan includes selecting an area of the ultrasound scan.
17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the selected area is automatically determined based upon a center of the scan of a target muscle.
18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the selected area is user adjustable and or definable.
19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14 , wherein evaluating at least a portion of the ultrasound scan comprises:
defining a plurality of areas within the ultrasound scan, each area having at least one attribute;
for at least a subset of defined areas, quantifying each attribute as a value; and
averaging the values to determine a glycogen store.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein a grid is imposed upon at least a portion of the ultrasound scan to define the plurality of areas.
21. The method of claim 19 , wherein pre-existing elements of the ultrasound scan define the plurality of areas.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the pre-existing elements are one or more scan pixels.
23. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
comparing each attribute value to a threshold value;
discarding the value when below the threshold.
24. The method of claim 19 , wherein connective tissue in the target muscle is discounted.
25. A non-transitory machine readable medium on which is stored a computer program comprising instructions to adapt a computer system having a processor and an ultrasound device with a movable transducer to permit about real time non-invasive determination of glycogen store value, the computer program comprising:
an input routine operatively associated with an input device for permitting a user to enter a target muscle;
a depth of scan routine for adjusting the ultrasound device for a depth of scan appropriate for the target muscle;
an imaging routine for imaging the selected target muscle by processing ultrasound reflection receive by the transducer to provide at least a partial cross sectional scan of the selected target muscle;
a define portion routine for selecting at least a portion of the scan; and
an evaluating routine for evaluating the selected portion to determine glycogen store value within the target muscle in about real time.
26. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the imaging routine is structured and arranged to operate with a third party ultrasound imaging software provided to the computer system.
27. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the selected portion is automatically determined based upon a center of the scan of a target muscle.
28. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the selected portion is user adjustable and or definable.
29. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the depth of scan is between about 1 centimeter and about 7 centimeters.
30. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the evaluation routine is structured and arranged to:
define a plurality of areas within the scan of the selected target muscle, each area having at least one attribute;
quantify each attribute as a value; and
average the values to determine a glycogen store.
31. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 30 , wherein a grid is imposed upon at least a portion of the ultrasound scan to define the plurality of areas.
32. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 30 , wherein pre-existing elements of the ultrasound scan define the plurality of areas.
33. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 32 , wherein the pre-existing elements are one or more scan pixels.
34. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 30 , wherein the evaluating routine is further structured and arranged to compare each attribute value to a threshold value and discard the value when below the threshold.