Skin elasticity measurement
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- attaching an object to a surface of a skin using an adhesive;
magnetically coupling a slider of a linear potentiometer attached to an inner wall of a chamber positioned adjacent to the skin, or a connecting shaft coupled to the slider, to the object attached to the surface of the skin, in which different positions of the slider correspond to different voltage outputs of the potentiometer;
varying an air pressure in the chamber, including abruptly increasing the air pressure from a preset low-pressure level to an atmospheric pressure, the chamber having an opening that exposes the skin to the variations in the air pressure in the chamber;
making a plurality of measurements of a level of the surface of the skin over a period of time as the surface of the skin rises or falls in response to the variations in the air pressure in the chamber, includingidentifying a highest point of the skin surface, anddetermining how the highest point of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; and
using a data processor to process information about how the highest point of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber to determine the elasticity of the skin;
wherein measuring the level of the surface of the skin comprises using the potentiometer to measure a height of the object attached to the surface of the skin.
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Abstract
A method of measuring a characteristic of a skin, including varying an air pressure in a chamber positioned adjacent to a skin, in which the chamber has an opening that exposes the skin to changes in the air pressure in the chamber. A plurality of measurements of surface profiles of the skin are made over a period of time as the surface profile of the skin varies in response to changes in the air pressure.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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attaching an object to a surface of a skin using an adhesive; magnetically coupling a slider of a linear potentiometer attached to an inner wall of a chamber positioned adjacent to the skin, or a connecting shaft coupled to the slider, to the object attached to the surface of the skin, in which different positions of the slider correspond to different voltage outputs of the potentiometer; varying an air pressure in the chamber, including abruptly increasing the air pressure from a preset low-pressure level to an atmospheric pressure, the chamber having an opening that exposes the skin to the variations in the air pressure in the chamber; making a plurality of measurements of a level of the surface of the skin over a period of time as the surface of the skin rises or falls in response to the variations in the air pressure in the chamber, including identifying a highest point of the skin surface, and determining how the highest point of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; and using a data processor to process information about how the highest point of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber to determine the elasticity of the skin; wherein measuring the level of the surface of the skin comprises using the potentiometer to measure a height of the object attached to the surface of the skin. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method comprising:
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placing a chamber over a skin, wherein the chamber comprises an opening that exposes the skin to changes in air pressure within the chamber; changing the air pressure within the chamber, including abruptly increasing the air pressure from a preset low pressure level to an atmospheric pressure, such that a level of the surface of the skin rises or falls within the chamber over a period of time in response to the changes in the air pressure within the chamber; making a plurality of measurements of the level of the surface of the skin as the level of the surface of the skin rises or falls within the chamber over the period of time in response to the changes in the air pressure within the chamber, including; identifying a highest point of the skin surface, and determining how the highest point of the skin surface changes over the period of time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; and using a data processor to process information about how the highest point of the skin changes over the period of time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; wherein making the plurality of measurements comprises using a pair of Hall sensors positioned inside the chamber to measure a magnetic field generated by a magnet attached to the surface of the skin, wherein a first one of the pair of Hall sensors is closer to a first side of the chamber relative to a second side opposite the first side, a second one of the pair of Hall sensors is closer to the second side of the chamber relative to the first side, and the pair of Hall sensors are oriented orthogonal relative to each other to reduce an effect of tilting of the magnet on the plurality of measurements of the level of the surface of the skin. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus for measuring a characteristic of a skin, the apparatus comprising:
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a chamber to be positioned adjacent to a skin, the chamber defining an opening that exposes the skin to changes in an air pressure in the chamber; a pump to vary the air pressure in the chamber; a linear potentiometer attached to an inner wall of the chamber and configured to measure a height of an object attached to a surface of the skin exposed to the chamber over a period of time as the surface of the skin in the chamber rises or falls in response to changes in the air pressure in the chamber, in which a slider of the potentiometer, or a connecting shaft coupled to the slider, is configured to be magnetically coupled to the object attached to the surface of the skin, and different positions of the slider correspond to different voltage outputs of the potentiometer; and a data processor configured to analyze the measurements and determine how the height of the object changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for measuring a characteristic of a skin, the apparatus comprising:
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a chamber to be positioned adjacent to a skin, the chamber defining an opening that exposes the skin to changes in an air pressure in the chamber; a pump to vary the air pressure in the chamber; a pair of Hall sensors to measure a magnetic field generated by a magnet attached to a surface of the skin over a period of time as the surface of the skin in the chamber rises or falls in response to changes in the air pressure in the chamber, in which the pair of Hall sensors are positioned inside the chamber, a first one of the pair of Hall sensors being closer to a first side of the chamber relative to a second side opposite of the first side, a second one of the pair of Hall sensors being closer to the second side of the chamber relative to the first side, and the pair of Hall sensors are oriented orthogonal relative to each other to reduce an effect of tilting of the magnet on measurements of the level of the surface of the skin; and a data processor configured to analyze the measurements of the level of the surface of the skin and determine how a level of the surface of the skin changes over the period of time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber to determine an elasticity of the skin. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method comprising:
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placing a chamber over a skin, wherein the chamber has an opening that exposes the skin to changes in an air pressure in the chamber, wherein a linear potentiometer is attached to an inner wall of the chamber, wherein the potentiometer comprises a slider and different positions of the slider correspond to different voltage output signals of the potentiometer, wherein a magnet is attached to an end of the slider, or to a connecting shaft coupled to the slider, and the magnet is magnetically coupled to an object attached to the skin; changing the air pressure in the chamber over time to cause the skin to deform in response to the changes in the air pressure such that the deformations cause the slider to move to the different positions to thereby produce the different voltage output signals of the potentiometer; using the different voltage output signals to measure the deformations of the skin, wherein the measuring of the deformations comprises identifying a highest point of a surface of the skin and determining how the highest point of the surface of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; and determining an elasticity of the skin based on the measurements of the deformations. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method comprising:
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moving a chamber from an initial position above a skin in a direction toward the skin, wherein the chamber comprises an opening facing the skin, wherein a linear potentiometer is attached to an inner wall of the chamber, wherein the potentiometer comprises a slider and different positions of the slider correspond to different voltage output signals of the potentiometer, wherein a magnet is attached to an end of the slider or a connecting shaft coupled to the slider; positioning the chamber to align the magnet to an object attached to the skin; pressing the chamber against the skin to form an air-tight coupling between the skin and a rim surrounding the opening of the chamber, and automatically coupling the slider to the skin by magnetic coupling between the magnet and the object attached to the skin in the process of moving the chamber toward the skin and pressing the chamber against the skin without requiring further manipulation of the potentiometer by a user; and changing the air pressure in the chamber over time to cause the skin to deform in response to the changes in the air pressure such that the deformations cause the slider to move to the different positions to thereby produce the different voltage output signals of the potentiometer; using the different voltage output signals to measure the deformations of the skin, wherein the measuring comprises identifying a highest point of a surface of the skin and determining how the highest point of the surface of the skin changes over time in response to the changes in the air pressure in the chamber; and determining an elasticity of the skin based on the measurements of the deformations. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification