Non-invasive sample-interrogation device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10830720-B2
Application number	US-201715797074-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2017
Priority date	Aug 31, 2016
Publication date	Nov 10, 2020
Grant date	Nov 10, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an interrogation device that is operable to apply one or more source signals to one or more coils surrounding a volume, where a material is disposed within the volume. Each of the one or more source signals may excite one of the one or more coils, and the behavior of each the one or more coils responsive to the exciting may be monitored. One or more parameters may be determined based on the behavior of each the one or more coils, and the one or more parameters may be utilized to generate a signature for the material within the volume. The signature may be compared to one or more signatures of known materials to identify the material within the volume.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for determining one or more characteristics of a material, the method comprising:
detecting, by a reader device coupled to a resonator, an output signal generated by the resonator in response to an input signal received at the resonator, wherein the resonator is disposed within soil; and
estimating, by a processor, an amount of a liquid within the soil based on parameter data extracted from the output signal, the parameter data corresponding to parameters comprising at least one scattering parameter and a resonant frequency.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one scattering parameter corresponds to a reflection coefficient, the method further comprising:
generating, by the reader device, the input signal;
generating, by the processor, phase measurements at multiple frequencies and amplitude measurements at the multiple frequencies, the phase measurements and the amplitude measurements based on the reflection coefficient; and
determining, by the processor, a complex permittivity based on the phase measurements and based on the amplitude measurements, the complex permittivity associated with the soil and associated with the liquid, wherein a real component of the complex permittivity corresponds to a conductivity of the soil and an imaginary component of the complex permittivity corresponds to the amount of the liquid.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resonator comprises a plurality of metallic strips patterned onto a substrate, wherein a first set of the plurality of metallic strips are capacitive, and wherein a second set of the plurality of the metallic strips are inductive, the method further comprising transmitting, by the reader device, information representative of at least one of the output signal and the parameters associated with the output signal to a remote device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the reader device is communicatively coupled to the remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link, wherein the liquid comprises water, wherein the substrate is shaped to be disposed within the soil, and wherein the substrate is cylindrical.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the processor is integrated with the remote device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processor is integrated with the reader device, and wherein the method includes transmitting, by the reader device, the estimated amount of the liquid within the soil to a remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resonator is coupled to an activation device, and wherein the method includes:
receiving, by the activation device, a wireless signal from the reader device; and
generating, by the activation device, the input signal in response to receiving the wireless signal, wherein the activation device is integrated into a drone.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resonator is coupled to an antenna, and wherein the method includes transmitting, by the reader device, the input signal.

9. A system comprising:
a resonator;
a reader device configured to detect an output signal generated by the resonator in response to an input signal; and
a processor configured to estimate an amount of a liquid within soil in which the resonator is disposed, wherein an estimate of the amount of the liquid is based on parameter data extracted from the output signal, the parameter data corresponding to parameters comprising at least one scattering parameter and a resonant frequency.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the reader device is coupled to the resonator, wherein the reader device is configured to generate the input signal, and further comprising a control circuit, wherein the control circuit includes an impedance matching circuit configured to identify the resonant frequency.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the reader device is configured to transmit information representative of at least one of the output signal and the parameters associated with the output signal to a remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link, and wherein the processor is integrated within the remote device.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one scattering parameter corresponds to a reflection coefficient, and wherein the control circuit further includes a phase shifter configured to shift a phase of the reflection coefficient to identify the resonant frequency.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is integrated with the reader device, and wherein the reader device is configured to transmit the estimated amount of the liquid within the material to a remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link.

14. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
an activation device coupled to the resonator, wherein the activation device is configured to:
receive a wireless signal from the reader device; and
generate the input signal in response to receiving the wireless signal.

15. The system of claim 9 , further comprising an antenna coupled to the resonator, wherein the reader device is configured to transmit the input signal, and wherein the resonator is configured to generate the output signal based on reception of the input signal at the antenna.

16. A system comprising:
a plurality of resonators;
a reader device configured to detect output signals generated by each of the plurality of resonators in response to one or more input signals, wherein the plurality of resonators are disposed within soil; and
a processor configured to estimate an amount of a liquid within the soil based on parameter data extracted from the output signal, the parameter data corresponding to parameters comprising at least one scattering parameter and a resonant frequency.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the reader device is coupled to each of the plurality of resonators, and wherein the reader device is configured to generate the one or more input signals, and wherein the at least one scattering parameter corresponds to a reflection coefficient.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the reader device is configured to transmit information representative of at least one of the output signal and the one or more parameters associated with the output signal to a remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link, and wherein the processor is integrated with the remote device.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is integrated with the reader device, and wherein the reader device is configured to transmit the estimated amount of the liquid within the soil to a remote device via at least one of a wired communication link and a wireless communication link.

20. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a plurality of signal processing devices configured to condition the one or more input signals for reception by the plurality of resonators.

Assignees

• Univ Texas

Inventors

• Chiao Jung-Chih

Classifications

• A61B5/024 Primary

  Measuring pulse rate or heart rate · CPC title

• A61B5/0028

  Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body · CPC title

• A61B5/145

  Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration or pH-value {; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid or cerebral tissue} (non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06) · CPC title

• B07C5/344

  according to electric or electromagnetic properties {(sorting according to size measured electrically or electronically B07C5/08; material testing by magnetic means G01N24/00, G01N27/00, by electrical means G01N27/00; electrical measuring devices in general G01R; coin testing G07D5/00)} · CPC title

• A61B5/05

  Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves (measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24) · CPC title