Heart activity monitoring during physical exercise

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11534075-B2
Application number	US-201314767225-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2013
Priority date	Feb 14, 2013
Publication date	Dec 27, 2022
Grant date	Dec 27, 2022

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program monitor a user's heart activity during a physical exercise. A heart activity measurement signal representing the user's heart activity is acquired and a phase component of the heart activity measurement signal is monitored. On the basis of the monitoring of the phase component, one or more actions are carried out.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
acquiring a heart activity measurement signal of a user during a physical exercise performed by the user, wherein the heart activity measurement signal comprises QRS complex waveforms and characterizes electric activity of the user's heart and is measured by at least one electrode pair in contact with the user's skin;
monitoring a phase component of the heart activity measurement signal by computing an argument of wavelet-transformed in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the heart activity measurement signal;
computing at least one of a deviation, variance and variability of the phase of the QRS complex waveforms within a determined window;
detecting that at least one of the deviation, variance and variability exceeds a predetermined threshold; and
outputting, in response to said detecting, an instruction for the user to adjust at least one electrode of the at least one electrode pair.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising determining a physiological parameter of the user from the phases of the QRS complex waveforms of the heart activity measurement signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
determining a periodicity of the phase component of the heart activity measurement signal within the determined window; and
determining a respiratory rate of the user from the periodicity of the phase component of the heart activity measurement signal within the determined window.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
determining interference signal components in the acquired heart activity measurement signal on the basis of the phases of the QRS complex waveforms of the heart activity measurement signal; and
eliminating the determined interference signal components from further analysis of the heart activity measurement signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
determining the phases of the QRS complex waveforms of the heart activity measurement signal;
determining a timing of phase samples of the heart activity measurement signal that deviate from the phases of the QRS complex waveforms more than a predefined threshold; and
eliminating signal components having said determined timing from further analysis of the heart activity measurement signal.

6. A method for processing a heart activity measurement signal in an exercise monitoring apparatus, the method comprising:
acquiring the heart activity measurement signal of a user during a physical exercise performed by the user, wherein the heart activity measurement signal comprises QRS complex waveforms and characterizes electric activity of the user's heart and is measured by at least one electrode pair in contact with the user's skin;
monitoring a phase component of the heart activity measurement signal by computing an argument of wavelet-transformed in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the heart activity measurement signal;
computing at least one of a deviation, variance and variability of the phase of the QRS complex waveforms within a determined window;
detecting that at least one of the deviation, variance and variability exceeds a predetermined threshold; and
outputting, in response to said detecting, an instruction for the user to adjust at least one electrode of the at least one electrode pair.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said action comprises determining a physiological parameter of the user from the phases of the QRS complex waveforms of the heart activity measurement signal.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said determining the physiological parameter comprises:
determining a periodicity of the phase component of the heart activity measurement signal within the determined window; and
determining a respiratory rate of the user from the periodicity of the phase component of the heart activity measurement signal within the determined window.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein said action comprises:
determining interference signal components in the acquired heart activity measurement signal on the basis of the phase of the QRS complex waveform of the heart activity measurement signal; and
eliminating the determined interference signal components from further analysis of the heart activity measurement signal.

10. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when executed, perform operations comprising:
acquiring a heart activity measurement signal of a user during a physical exercise performed by the user, wherein the heart activity measurement signal comprises QRS complex waveforms and characterizes electric activity of the user's heart and is measured by at least one electrode pair in contact with the user's skin;
monitoring a phase component of the heart activity measurement signal by computing an argument of wavelet-transformed in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the heart activity measurement signal;
computing at least one of a deviation, variance and variability of the phase of the QRS complex waveforms within a determined window;
detecting that at least one of the deviation, variance and variability exceeds a predetermined threshold; and
outputting, in response to said detecting, an instruction for the user to adjust at least one electrode of the at least one electrode pair.

11. A method for processing a heart activity measurement signal, the method comprising:
acquiring a first heart activity measurement signal of a user during a physical exercise performed by the user, wherein the first heart activity measurement signal comprises a first QRS complex waveform and characterizes electric activity of the user's heart and is measured by a first measurement configuration using at least one electrode pair in contact with the user's skin;
acquiring at least a second heart activity measurement signal of the user during the physical exercise, wherein the second heart activity measurement signal comprises a second QRS complex waveform and is measured by a second measurement configuration using at least one electrode pair not used for measuring the first heart activity measurement signal;
monitoring a phase component of the first heart activity measurement signal by computing an argument of wavelet-transformed in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the first heart activity measurement signal;
monitoring a phase component of the second heart activity measurement signal by computing an argument of wavelet-transformed in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the second heart activity measurement signal;
determining which one of the first and second QRS complex waveforms is within a predetermined range; and
selecting one of the first and second measurement configurations for use based on which one of the first and second measurement c

Assignees

• Polar Electro Oy

Inventors

• Pekonen Elias
• Kemppainen Juhani

Classifications

• A61B5/7203

  for noise prevention, reduction or removal · CPC title

• A61B5/6823

  Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip · CPC title

• A61B5/352

  Detecting R peaks, e.g. for synchronising diagnostic apparatus; Estimating R-R interval · CPC title

• A61B5/0245 Primary

  by using sensing means generating electric signals, {i.e. ECG signals} · CPC title

• A61B5/726

  using Wavelet transforms · CPC title