Noninvasive physiological analysis using excitation-sensor modules and related devices and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9808204-B2
Application number	US-201213566269-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2012
Priority date	Oct 25, 2007
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for qualifying and quantifying excitation-dependent physiological information extracted from wearable sensors in the midst of interference from unwanted sources are provided. An organism is interrogated with at least one excitation energy, energy response signals from two or more distinct physiological regions are sensed, and these signals are processed to generate an extracted signal. The extracted signal is compared with a physiological model to qualify and/or quantify a physiological property. Additionally, important physiological information can be qualified and quantified by comparing the excitation wavelength-dependent response, measured via wearable sensors, with a physiological model.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A method of assessing blood pressure in an organism, the method comprising:
directing light at one or more regions of the organism via at least two optical emitters, wherein at least one optical emitter generates light at a first wavelength, wherein at least one other optical emitter generates light at a second wavelength shorter than the first wavelength, and wherein the second wavelength is in the range of blue-UV;
detecting, via an optical detector, light at the first and second wavelengths scattered from the organism and generating, via the optical detector, a first electrical signal associated with the first wavelength and a second electrical signal associated with the second wavelength; and
processing, via at least one processor, the first and second electrical signals, wherein the processing comprises:
filtering each of the first and second electrical signals with respect to skin motion noise to generate a first extracted signal associated with the first wavelength and a second extracted signal associated with the second wavelength that is distinct from the first extracted signal, wherein the first extracted signal comprises information about blood flow through a blood vessel of the organism, and wherein the second extracted signal comprises information about size of the blood vessel; and
comparing the first extracted signal and the second extracted signal, responsive to generation of each by the filtering with respect to the skin motion noise, in context of a physiological model to assess the blood pressure of the organism, wherein the comparing comprises:
calculating the blood pressure of the organism based on an area of the blood vessel and based on a volumetric flow rate of blood therein, wherein the area is based on the size of the blood vessel and a change in the size thereof indicated by the second extracted signal, and wherein the volumetric flow rate is indicated by the first extracted signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two optical emitters and the optical detector are integrated into a wearable device worn by the organism.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the wearable device comprises an earpiece module.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the wearable device comprises a telemetric device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two optical emitters are selected from the group consisting of laser diodes (LDs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two optical emitters, the optical detector, and the at least one processor are integrated into a wearable device worn by the organism.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein filtering each of the first and second electrical signals with respect to skin motion noise comprises:
subtracting a skin-related optical scatter signal from the first electrical signal to generate the first extracted signal containing the information about the blood flow; and
subtracting the skin-related optical scatter signal from the second electrical signal to generate the second extracted signal containing the information about the size of the blood vessel.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the skin-related optical scatter signal is detected at a region of the organism that is proximate to the optical detector.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein filtering each of the first and second electrical signals with respect to skin motion noise comprises:
differentially amplifying a skin-related optical scatter signal relative to the first and second electrical signals.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the light generated by the at least two optical emitters is pulsed and synchronized in time.

Assignees

• Leboeuf Steven Francis
• Tucker Jesse Berkley
• Aumer Michael Edward
• Valencell Inc

Inventors

• Leboeuf Steven Francis
• Tucker Jesse Berkley
• Aumer Michael Edward

Classifications

• A61B2562/046

  in a matrix array · CPC title

• A61B5/0295

  using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography · CPC title

• A61B5/6815

  Ear · CPC title

• A61B5/6838

  Clamps or clips · CPC title

• A61B5/021

  Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels · CPC title