the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . a detailed description of the present invention follows with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like elements are indicated by like reference numerals . fig1 is the block diagram of a first embodiment of the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention , wherein a control means 10 controls the gas compressor 20 and set of solenoid valves 24 . the compressor can be of rotary vane type , piston type , diaphragm or blower type . however , the preferred embodiment would be a scroll type compressor as described in the chinese patent cn1030814a , which essentially consists of two scroll basins with very narrow gaps between them ; with one scroll basin adapted to rotate at a very high speed ( 3 , 000 rpm ) while the other scroll basin remains stationary . the clenching of the scroll basins compresses the air radially inwardly toward the center and the compressed air comes out of the center shaft . the scroll type of compressor is more efficient in operation , more quiet and smaller in size than other types of compressors and , therefore , is suitable for the external counterpulsation apparatus described hereof . during operation , the compressor 20 operates to produce pressurized gas which is sent into the positive pressure reservoir 22 via the cooling means 21 . a pressure limiting valve 23 is provided on the reservoir 22 , which keeps the internal pressure of the reservoir 22 constant . the opening and closing of the set of solenoid valves 24 is controlled by the inflation and deflation driving signals generated by the control means in accordance with the heart impedance blood flow graph of the human body . the set of solenoid valves 24 includes a number of two - position , three - way solenoid valves corresponding to the number of balloons 25 . when a valve is in the first of the two positions , it inflates its balloon . when it is in the second of the two positions , it deflates its balloon , under control of the control means . fig2 illustrates a second embodiment of the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention . in this embodiment , a control signal is first generated by the control means 10 , then the compressor 20 operates to compress gas into the positive pressure reservoir 22 after being cooled by the cooling means 21 . a pressure limiting valve 23 is provided on the positive pressure reservoir to keep its internal pressure constant . a negative pressure reservoir 26 connected to the inlet of the compressor 20 produces negative pressure . the control means 10 controls the opening and closing of the set of solenoid valves 24 by issuing inflating and deflating driving signals in accordance with the results of detection . again , when the set of solenoid valves 24 are in the first position , they inflate the balloons 25 . when they are in the second position , they deflate the balloons 25 . the gas discharged from the balloons is discharged into the negative pressure reservoir 26 via the set of solenoid valves 24 , and then returns to the compressor 20 . as there may be leakage during the circulation of gas , which may affect the amount of gas output from the compressor , a pressure limiting valve 27 is provided to adjust the negative pressure in the negative pressure reservoir . when the negative pressure exceeds a certain value , the pressure limiting valve 27 is opened to inject a certain amount of gas into the reservoir 26 . fig3 illustrates a third embodiment of the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention ; wherein the control means 10 generates control signals and the compressor 20 operates to produce two portions of pressurized gas , one portion of pressurized gas is sent to the positive pressure reservoir 29 , while another is sent into the positive pressure reservoir 22 via the cooling means 21 and the throttle valve 28 . the pressure limiting valve 23 is operative to adjust the pressure inside the reservoir 22 . the reference numeral 30 indicates a two - position , five - way solenoid valve or two two - position , three - way solenoid valves , 31 indicates a mono - directional throttle valve , 35 indicates a cylindrical gas distribution means or cylinder , 37 is a partition and 36 indicates a piston . when an inflation driving signal is issued by the control means , the solenoid valve 30 opens to the first of the two positions , and the gas flow is introduced into the portion i of the cylinder from the reservoir 29 via the solenoid valve 30 and the throttle governor 31 to push the piston from a first end towards a second end of the cylinder . a space portion iii is formed by the piston and the cylinder and is always in communication with the reservoir 22 , and vents for the balloons 25 are situated in sequence in the cylinder , the balloons being sequentially inflated as the piston moves towards the second end of the cylinder . when a deflation signal is issued by the control means , the solenoid valve 30 is moved to its second position , and the gas in the reservoir 29 enters the portion ii of the cylinder via the solenoid valve 30 to push the piston back to the first end of the cylinder . at that time , the gas in portion i is discharged via the solenoid valve 30 , and the gas in the balloons is discharged to the negative pressure reservoir 26 . in order to speed deflation , a solenoid valve 34 is also opened at the same time and the gas discharged from the balloons is discharged to both negative pressure reservoirs 26 and 33 . negative pressure reservoir 33 is kept at a negative pressure by the input portion of compressor 32 . discharged gas is also sent to the reservoir 22 by the output portion of compressor 32 . during the deflation phase , if the pressurized balloon is simply exhausted into the atmosphere , exhaustion of the balloon may not be completed , with the residual gas pressing on the tissue mass surrounded by the balloon cuffs , reducing the much needed vascular space in the body to receive the volume of blood ejected by the heart . this reduces the ability of counterpulsation to unload systolic blood pressure and reduces cardiac workload . the addition of negative pressure reservoirs 26 , 33 serves to effectively and rapidly evacuate the pressurized gas in the balloons at the onset of systole , thereby ensuring complete absence of pressure on the lower extremities , enabling the vasculature which has been previously compressed and emptied during the diastolic period to act as suction to help the heart to eject blood out and unload the systolic blood pressure . in addition , and equally important , the addition of the negative pressure reservoirs 26 , 33 ensures the smooth operation of the solenoid valves and prevents the leakage of large volumes of pressurized gas exhausting into the atmosphere . this closed gas system reduces the escape of noises generated by the opening and closing of solenoid valves and movement of air . furthermore , during normal operation of external counterpulsation , there is always some leakage of compressed air from the balloon during the inflation period . in order to compensate for the leakage of air to ensure there is adequate air for the intake of the compressor 20 to produce air pressure in the range of 5 to 15 psi , a leakage compensation means such as the use of a vacuum limiting valve , a vacuum pump or compressor or some combination thereof is provided . an example of the compensation means is a vacuum limiting valve 27 connected to the negative pressure reservoir 26 , set at approximately negative 100 mm hg . when the negative pressure reservoir is less that 100 mm hg , the vacuum limiting valve is open and air is sucked into the reservoir to provide more air for the intake of the compressor 20 . prior art in external counterpulsation make use of bulky , noisy and power consuming solenoid valves are normally closed to reduce the generation of heat in keeping them open . however , this situation would induce danger to the patient in case of power failure if compressed gas is trapped in the balloons . this invention provides a gas cylindrical distribution system 35 as shown in fig3 , using a syringe system in pushing a piston in one direction to provide sequential inflation of the balloons , with the balloons 25 ( not shown ) furthest from the heart being inflated first . the balloon openings are placed on both sides of the cylinder , connecting to the left and right limbs as well as buttock . the number of balloons can be 2 to 8 or more on each side . this is achieved by connecting the balloons furthest from the heart to the portion of the cylinder closest to the piston , as the piston 36 moves from left to right as shown in fig3 . this gas distribution system uses compressed air to move a piston back and forth along a cylindrical means , producing a quiet operation without the need of too much power as compared to the use of bulky , noisy and power consuming solenoid inflation and deflation valves , thereby eliminating one of the most noisy parts of the prior art external counterpulsation apparatus , and reducing substantially the consumption of electric power . more importantly , the solenoid valve 30 is a normally open valve of portion ii of the cylinder 35 , thereby connecting portion ii to the positive pressure reservoir 29 in case of power failure , moving the piston to the left of fig3 , exposing all the balloons to the negative pressure reservoir , thereby deflating all balloons and reducing the possibility of inducing trauma to the patient . fig4 a and 4b are detailed block diagrams of the control means in the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention . using impedance cardiography as the control means in detecting blood flow in the great arteries , the precise closure of the aortic valves is coordinated with the pulse wave generated by external counterpulsation pressure in the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention , wherein the reference numeral 1 indicates electrodes . the locations and types of electrodes used are for illustrative purpose and should not be considered as constraint to such design and configuration . the detecting electrode 1 consists of five point electrodes placed in the positions shown in fig4 a , that is , electrode a positioned at the root of the left ear or mastoid , electrode d positioned at the xiphoid process , electrode b positioned at the lift edge of the left sternum below the clavicle and electrode c positioned at the lift edge of the left sternum between the fourth and fifth ribs . electrodes a and d are both impedance current electrodes , high frequency constant current being applied to the body from these two electrodes . electrodes b and c are both detector electrodes for measurement of the blood flow impedance signals which may be derived from blood flow in the great arteries in the thoracic space . a reference electrode e is positioned in the left anterior of the 10th rib . the signal obtained between electrodes c and e will be used as the reference signal for measuring movement of the body , especially motion artifact produced during the application of external counterpulsation pressure . the location of the reference electrode e is not important but should be further away from the thoracic space . before the start of external counterpulsation treatment , high frequency constant current is applied to electrodes a and d , and blood flow impedance signals related to the blood flow in the great arteries in the thoracic space will be picked up by detector electrodes b and c ; these blood flow impedance signals also contain a dip in the wave form indicating the closure of the aortic valves . because of the location of the reference electrodes pair c and e , the blood flow impedance signals detected between these electrodes will be much weaker than the signals detected by electrodes b and c . upon initiation of external counterpulsation , there will be two additional signals detected by both pairs of detected electrodes b , c and reference electrodes c and e . they are the retrograde blood flow impedance signals produced by the counterpulsation pressure , and the motion artifact produced by the same . the signals from motion artifact will present themselves to both pairs of electrodes in approximately equal amplitudes , while the signals from counterpulsation will be larger in the reference electrodes than in the detector electrodes because of the location of the reference electrodes in closer proximity to the counterpulsation hemodynamic effects . consequently , subtraction of reference impedance signals from the detector impedance signals will provide a fairly clean blood flow impedance signal containing the time of aortic valves closure as well as the retrograde flow from counterpulsation . this kind of signal processing is known as self - adaptive filtering processing . by adjusting the onset of the inflation of the balloons , the retrograde blood flow signals can be advanced or retreated to coincide with the aortic valves closure , thereby providing optimal counterpulsation timing . in addition , the adjustment of the optimal timing can also be performed by computer . a high frequency constant current source 2 consists of : a transistor oscillator , amplitude limiting amplifier , band - pass filter and voltage - current converter to obtain a stable high frequency and stable amplitude current which is applied to the body by electrode a to measure the impedance . an amplifier - filter circuit 3 for the electro - cardiographic signal consists of : a low - pass differential amplifier and band - pass filter - amplifier , which amplifies and filters the electrocardiographic signals of the body obtained from electrodes b and c . a heart impedance signal amplifier - filter circuit 4 and a reference impedance signal amplifier - filter circuit 5 for adaptive processing consist of a band - pass filter - amplifier , a detector , a low - pass filter , and a differential circuit . the signal amplifier - filter circuits amplify and filter the heart impedance blood flow signals obtained from the electrodes b and c , and the adaptive processed impedance reference signals obtained from the electrodes c and e . a computer system consists of a personal micro - computer 7 and an a / d converter 6 . the a / d converter converts the electrocardiographic signals , heart impedance blood flow signals , and impedance reference signals into digital signals and inputs them into the computer . the computer displays the waveform , detects the qrs wave of the electrocardiogram , indicates the upper and lower limits of the pulse rate , performs adaptive processing of the impedance blood flow signals and the impedance reference signals , measures the characteristic points of the waveform such as the aortic valve closure and end diastolic and systolic amplitudes , and controls the inflation and deflation time of the external counterpulsation apparatus through a drive circuit 8 . fig4 b is also a detailed block diagram of the control means in the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention , wherein a blood - pressure and blood oxygen monitoring means 9 are further added to the basic system shown in fig4 a . fig4 c is a schematic block diagram of the blood - pressure and blood oxygen monitoring means 9 indicated in fig4 b . fig4 d is a schematic diagram showing the relationships between the pressure variation of the cuff , finger pulse wave , and the opening and closing of the aortic valve . referring to fig4 c , 22 indicates the reservoir of the counterpulsation apparatus , which inflates a cuff 13 via a pipe , throttle valve 14 , and a passage in a solenoid valve 15 . the solenoid valve is two - position , three - way valve controlled by the computer 7 . the other passage of the solenoid valve is a discharging passage for the cuff , the discharge speed being controlled by the throttle valve 14 . at the beginning of blood pressure measurement , the inflation passage of the solenoid valve 15 is opened , the pressurized gas in the reservoir 22 inflates the cuff 13 via the throttle valve 14 to a predetermined pressure value at which the arteries are blocked . when they are blocked , a finger pulse transducer 16 is unable to detect a pulse wave . the inflating passage of the solenoid valve 15 is closed and the deflating passage is opened , the gas in the cuff discharges slowly via the solenoid valve 15 and the throttle valve 14 and the pressure inside the cuff drops slowly as shown by curve “ a ” in fig4 d . when the pressure in the cuff is equal to or slightly lower than the maximum arterial pressure , as shown by curve “ b ” in fig4 d ( systolic pressure before counterpulsation , and diastolic counterpulsation pressure during counterpulsation ), the blocked blood vessels are pushed open instantaneously . at that time , the finger pulse transducer 16 will detect a rapidly varying pulse wave as shown by curve “ c ” in fig4 d . this indicates the arrival of the maximum pressure of the artery . the pressure detected by a pressure transducer 12 at that time is the maximum arterial pressure . referring to fig4 c , 11 indicates an amplifying processing circuit for the pressure signal , and 17 indicates an amplifying processing circuit for the pulse signal . the amplified pressure and pulse signals are collected and processed by the computer 7 for performing corresponding counterpulsation control and calculation of oxygen saturation of blood . it is a physical law that when air is compressed , heart will be generated . in external counterpulsation , approximately 25 cubic feet of air is compressed to 5 to 15 psi pressure , generating a gas with a temperature reaching as high as 90 - 100 ° c ., depending on the environment and efficiency of the compression means . when compressed gas with such a high temperature is sent to the balloons which are in close contact with the skin of the patient , it will produce abrasion or burn to the skin , or at the least , an uncomfortable feeling to the patient . therefore , it is essential in this invention to provide means to cool the compressed air . in general , any means of cooling can be utilized in this invention , including exposure to the atmosphere of a long piece or coil of metal pipe connecting the compression means to the positive pressure reservoir , use of a fan to force air to blow through a coil of metal pipe carrying the heated gas , water - cooling such as that used in the radiator of an automobile , running water cooling , or air conditioner . fig5 a and 5b are partial schematic diagrams of the gas source portion in the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention , illustrating the gas pipes connected to a semiconductor cooling device and an air conditioner cooling evaporator , respectively . 21 and 21 ′ indicate a semiconductor cooling device and an air conditioner cooling evaporator , respectively , 39 indicates a transmitting pipe , 38 indicates fins and 40 indicates heat isolation materials . prior art external counterpulsation apparatus utilized materials such as vinyl , leather , cloth or canvas to make the balloon cuffs . these cuffs are wrapped tightly around the lower limbs with balloons put in between the cuffs and the body . when compressed gas is inflated into the balloons , the cuff will also expand and extend outward due to the elasticity and extensibility of its material , causing significant energy loss since a large portion of the compressed air serves to deform the cuff . more importantly , when compressed air is used to expand and extend the cuffs outwardly , the pressure inside the balloons will not be built up quickly , reducing the rate of compression of the tissue mass and the underlying vasculature , causing a slower external counterpulsation pulse wave - moving up the aorta . this reduces the effectiveness of counterpulsation in increasing the perfusion pressure to the coronary arteries and , therefore , the development of collateral circulations ( i . e ., a set of new vessels formed in the myocardium ( heart ) bypassing the blockages in the coronary arteries ). therefore , the present invention provides the use of rigid or semi - rigid materials with little or no extensibility and elasticity so that the introduction of compressed air into the balloons will not cause the deformation or expansion of the cuffs , thereby requiring less pressurized air and reducing energy loss . furthermore , the use of rigid or semi - rigid materials in making the cuffs will result in rapid filling of the balloons , quicker compression of the surrounded tissue mass and , therefore , a steeper external counterpulsation leading pulse wave traveling retrogradedly up the aorta to the heart . fig6 is a schematic diagram of the balloon device 41 in the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention . a balloon cuff body 44 surrounding the balloon 25 ( not shown ) is made of materials of certain toughness and hardness such as plastic ( e . g ., polyacrylate ), aluminum , or other metallic plates , rather than of leather , cloth and canvas , thereby substantially reducing the inflatability and extendibility of the balloon cuff body . tubular balloon cuff bodies can be fabricated to fit the upper limbs , lower limbs , and other balloon cuff bodies can be fabricated to fit the buttocks , such that the balloon cuff body tightly surrounds the body without gaps , and is prevented from slipping . different sizes of balloon cuff bodies should be provided to meet the requirements of different body shapes . the balloon cuff body 44 can be pre - fabricated or pre - formed or formed out of thermally changeable materials in whatever form is necessary . there are materials of plastic form which become flexible and can be molded into different shape when heated to a temperature of 50 to 60 ° c ., and will become rigid and non - distensible when the temperature is lower , generally to room temperature , 20 to 30 ° c . such materials are available commercially in the united states , such as the orthoplast used in orthopaedics . generally , any space that exists between the cuff and the surrounded body except that occupied by the balloon is known as dead space . it is essential to reduce this dead space as much as possible so that the least amount of energy in the form of compressed air is required to inflate the balloons to the required pressure in the quickest way . this will reduce the size and energy consumption of the compressor , reduce noise level , and therefore reduce the total size of the external counterpulsation apparatus . to achieve the object of closely fitting the body and reducing the dead space , proper paddings 43 can be provided between the balloons and the balloon cuffs . the paddings may be bags of unformed materials ( such as water , powder , fine sand , etc .) or triangular pads made of formed materials ( e . g ., rubber ), the former could form a pressure bearing surface which fits the contour of the pressure bearing portion of the body when it bears pressure ; while the latter could meet the needs of patients of various bodily forms by simply moving the paddings upward or downward to avoid the need to provide balloon cuffs of various sizes . to prevent the skin of a patient from being chaffed , a result of vibrations produced during counterpulsation , the edges of the balloon cuff body should be smoothed . this could be done by slightly turning the edges outwardly , and also could be done by wrapping the edges with soft materials ( e . g . cloth , sponge , etc .). the balloon cuff body could be made from a single piece of material , but for convenient operation , it is preferable that it be fabricated in separated pieces which are coupled together with hinges 42 to enable freely opening and closing . a balloon cuff body of proper size is selected or fitting paddings are inserted into the balloon cuff to fit the bodily form of the patient to make the balloon cuff closely encircle the corresponding portion of the patient . fixing belts 45 are then tightened , and counterpulsation can begin . fig7 is a flow chart of the control method of the external counterpulsation apparatus according to the present invention , which comprises the steps of : a ). obtaining an impedance cardiograph and electrocardiographic signals having a clear and stable wave form in the counterpulsation state by the use of detector electrodes 1 , high frequency constant current source 2 , and electrocardiographic and impedance signal amplifier - filter means 3 , 4 and 5 , which are collected and displayed by the computer system 7 ( 101 ); b ). the computer system detecting the qrs wave of the electrocardiograph signal ( 102 ), performing adaptive processing of the impedance blood flow signal ( 103 ), obtaining the starting point of the counterpulsation blood flow wave by detecting the impedance cardiograph after self adaptive filtering processing ( 104 ), and calculating the data for controlling the inflation and deflation time of the counterpulsation apparatus from the interval of the r wave of the electrocardiographic signal and the starting point of the counterpulsing blood flow wave ( 105 ); c ). obtaining an objective index reflecting the curative effect of counterpulsation by detecting the peak amplitude of the waveform and duration of the heart systolic wave and counterpulsing wave in the impedance cardiograph ( 106 ); and d ). controlling the inflation and deflation of the external counterpulsation apparatus by the computer ( 107 ). for the safety of the patient during counterpulsation , the control method of the present invention further comprises the following steps : e ). detecting the blood pressure state of the patient with a blood pressure detector means during counterpulsation ( 108 ); and f ). detecting the oxygen saturation of the blood of the patient with a blood oxygen detector during counterpulsation ( 109 ). if they detected blood pressure value exceeds a predetermined value , or the blood oxygen saturation goes below a predetermined value , then the computer will direct the apparatus to stop counterpulsation . in general , the only serious complications from external counterpulsation treatment are pulmonary edema and cerebral hemorrhage . pulmonary edema may arise because of left ventricular ( left heart ) failure , and usually can be detected with a rapid drop in the oxygen saturation of the arterial blood , from a normal value of 95 - 98 % to a value lower than 85 - 90 %. the monitor of oxygen saturation is an extremely sensitive parameter for the detection of pulmonary congestion due to left heart failure . the oxygen saturation can be monitored with a pulse oximeter available commercially and commonly used in any operating room . the use of pulse oximetry as a noninvasive method to detect the complications of pulmonary congestion ( edema ) as well as left heart failure is a novel concept provided in the present invention . furthermore , cerebral hemorrhage usually result from high arterial blood pressure ( hypertension ). since an effective external counterpulsation can raise the peak diastolic pressure to 40 to 60 mm hg above systolic blood pressure , it is important not only to measure the resting blood pressure of the patient before initiation of external counterpulsation ( so that hypertension patients can be treated medically to reduce their blood pressure before counterpulsation treatment ), but it is also important to monitor the peak arterial blood pressure during treatment to ensure the peak blood pressure will not rise more than 40 to 50 mm hg above resting systolic pressure . the present invention provides a novel means to monitor the peak blood pressure effectively . historically , it has been extremely difficult to measure blood pressure using any of the presently available measuring methods during external counterpulsation because of motion artifact as well as the noisy environment . the present invention provides a means to accurately determine the peak blood pressure , thereby producing a critical parameter in eliminating such dangerous complications as cerebral hemorrhage . a closed loop control procedure is performed by the computer and is as follows : at the beginning of the counterpulsation , the computer automatically sets the balloon inflation time to be at the end of the t wave of the electrocardiograph . due to the delay before the arrival of the counterpulsing wave at the aorta , the closing point of the aortic valve and the starting point of the counterpulsation wave can be detected from the heart impedance blood flow graph by the computer . the computer adjusts the inflation time of the counterpulsation apparatus according to the time difference between these two points to move the starting point of the counterpulsing wave gradually towards the closing point of the aorta . while gradually matching these two points , the computer also calculates the aorta closing time with the bazett formula ( t qt = k { square root }{ square root over ( t rr )}) because of the effect of counterpulsation on the automatic detecting of the closing point of the aorta . the time qt calculated with the bazett formula is taken as the closing time of the aortic valve after the q wave of the electrocardiograph has been detected . this makes the starting point of the counterpulsing wave fall into a range centered at the closing time of the aortic valve . in the procedure of gradually matching the two points , the detection of the starting point of the counterpulsing wave may be affected by blood expulsion from the heart and the variation of blood flow inside the chest . if so , the computer determines the time delay between the arrival of the counterpulsing wave at the central region of the aorta and its formation by a the pressurization of the lower limbs of the patient , by determining the time difference between the detected starting point of the counterpulsing wave and the inflation time . the computer adjusts the counterpulsation inflation time , such that the starting point of the counterpulsation formed after the time delay falls into a range centered at the closing time of the aortic valve . the computer keeps it in this range during counterpulsation , thereby performing loop control . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and , thus , variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention .
the present invention provides a method for applying external counterpulsation to a patient , including detecting a blood - flow impedance signal , self - adaptive filter processing the detected blood - flow impedance signal , and adjusting inflation of an inflatable member based on the self - adaptive filter processing in order to optimize counterpulsation timing . a computer processes the signals and controls a fluid distribution device to distribute compressed fluid to a plurality of inflatable members based on said processed signals .