Ultra-low power one-shot hydration sensing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10299723-B2
Application number	US-201715614680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2017
Priority date	Jun 13, 2016
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A moisture-sensitive device is provided that includes a dissolvable conductive material. Exposure of the dissolvable conductive material to urine or some other fluid causes the dissolvable conductive material to dissolve, increasing an effective resistance of the dissolvable conductive material. This change in resistance can be detected to determine the presence of an aqueous fluid. In response to such detection, a transmitter can then provide a wireless transmission indicative of the presence of the fluid. This moisture-sensitive device can be provided in a diaper and transmissions produced by the device can be detected using a smart phone or other device and used to indicate to a user that the diaper has been soiled.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a transmitter;
a moisture sensor, wherein the moisture sensor comprises a dissolvable conductive material, wherein the dissolvable conductive material dissolves in an aqueous fluid, wherein the dissolvable conductive material comprises a plurality of conductive elements disposed within a medium that dissolves in the aqueous fluid such that, when the medium dissolves in the aqueous fluid, the plurality of conductive elements become mechanically disconnected from each other; and
a controller operably coupled to the transmitter and the moisture sensor, wherein the controller:
operates the moisture sensor to detect the presence of the aqueous fluid proximate the system; and
operates the transmitter to transmit a radio-frequency signal in response to detecting the presence of the aqueous fluid proximate the system.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the dissolvable conductive material comprises poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene).

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of conductive elements comprises conductive silver fibers and wherein the medium that dissolves in the aqueous fluid comprises polyvinyl alcohol.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the moisture sensor further comprises an over-layer disposed on the dissolvable conductive material, wherein the overlayer comprises a material that dissolves in the aqueous fluid.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the moisture sensor further comprises an over-layer disposed on the dissolvable conductive material, wherein the overlayer comprises a material that is permeable to the aqueous fluid.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is coupled to the moisture sensor such that the controller is maintained in a low-power mode when a resistance of the moisture sensor is less than a threshold resistance and wherein the resistance of the moisture sensor is related to an amount of the dissolvable conductive material that has dissolved.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the moisture sensor is incorporated into a diaper.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a battery, wherein the battery, transmitter, and controller are incorporated into the diaper, wherein the diaper comprises first and second conductive clasps that can be connected to each other and disconnected from each other, and wherein the controller is operably coupled to the battery via the first and second conductive clasps.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein operating the transmitter to transmit a radio-frequency signal comprises transmitting one or more radio frequency data packets based on a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.

10. A method comprising:
detecting an aqueous fluid using a moisture sensor, wherein the moisture sensor comprises a dissolvable conductive material, wherein the dissolvable conductive material dissolves in the aqueous fluid, wherein the dissolvable conductive material comprises a plurality of conductive elements disposed within a medium that dissolves in the aqueous fluid such that, when the medium dissolves in the aqueous fluid, the plurality of conductive elements become mechanically disconnected from each other; and
responsive to detecting the aqueous fluid, operating a transmitter to transmit a radio-frequency signal.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein detecting the aqueous fluid using the moisture sensor comprises detecting a resistance of the moisture sensor, wherein the resistance of the moisture is related to an amount of the dissolvable conductive material that has dissolved.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving, by a further device, the transmitted radio-frequency signal; and
responsive to receiving the transmitted radio-frequency signal, generating, by a user interface of the further device, at least one of a visual stimulus, an audio stimulus, or a haptic stimulus.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the moisture sensor is incorporated into a diaper.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the transmitter is incorporated into the diaper, wherein the diaper comprises first and second conductive clasps that can be connected to each other and disconnected from each other, and wherein the transmitter is operably coupled to a battery via the first and second conductive clasps.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising connecting the first and second conductive clasps to each other, wherein detecting an aqueous fluid using a moisture sensor is performed responsive to connecting the first and second conductive clasps to each other.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein operating the transmitter to transmit the radio-frequency signal comprises transmitting one or more radio frequency data packets based on a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of conductive elements comprises conductive silver fibers.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the medium that dissolves in the aqueous fluid comprises polyvinyl alcohol.

Assignees

• Verily Life Sciences Llc

Inventors

• Pepin Brian
• Wiser Robert

Classifications

• A61B5/0022

  Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet · CPC title

• A61B5/6808 Primary

  Diapers · CPC title

• A61B5/486

  Biofeedback (using electroencephalography [EEG] A61B5/375) · CPC title

• A61B2562/0271

  Thermal or temperature sensors · CPC title

• A61B5/0002

  Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network (endoradiosondes A61B5/07) · CPC title