System and methods for the synchronization of a non-real time operating system PC to a remote real-time data collecting microcontroller

• US 10,254,785 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2015
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerora, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cerora, Inc.
• Inventors: Simon, Adam J., Kath, Gary S., Devilbiss, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harrington, Cheri L
• Application Number:
  US15/323,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20170177023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,379 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0017 transmitting optical signals transmission by light H04B10/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0533 Measuring galvanic skin response
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1176 Recognition of faces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/125 objective methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/162 Testing reaction times
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/167 Personality evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/168 Evaluating attention deficit, hyperactivity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/291 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/339 Displays specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/375 using biofeedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/377 using evoked responses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4803 Speech analysis specially adapted for diagnostic purposes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4884 inducing physiological or psychological stress, e.g. applications for stress testing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/14 : Time supervision arrangements, e.g. real time clock
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 1/00 : Apparatus or methods whereby a given sequence of signs, e.g. an intelligible text, is transformed into an unintelligible sequence of signs by transposing the signs or groups of signs or by replacing them by others according to a predetermined system cryptographic typewriters G09C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 : for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

A system synchronizes a PC exhibiting latency of operations to a biosensor enabled microcontroller with real-time clock by providing an encoding scheme that captures the subject'"'"'s absolute reaction time transmits the subject'"'"'s reaction time from the PC exhibiting latency to the microcontroller with real-time clock. The system includes a transmitter that transmits a stimulus signal from the PC exhibiting latency, an input device indicating the subject'"'"'s response to the stimulus signal, an encoding circuit adapted to encode a difference in time between the stimulus signal and the subject'"'"'s response to the stimulus signal, an emitter adapted to transmit the encoded difference signal representing the subject'"'"'s reaction time, and a complementary receiver adapted to detect the encoded difference signal. The receiver includes a decoding circuit that decodes the encoded difference signal to determine the subject'"'"'s reaction time, and the receiver provides the subject'"'"'s reaction time to the microcontroller with real-time clock for synchronization with received biosensor data such as EEG data.

Claims

1. A system for synchronizing a PC exhibiting latency of operations and a biosensor enabled microcontroller with real-time clock, comprising:

a transmitter that transmits a stimulus signal from the PC exhibiting latency;

an input device indicating the subject'"'"'s response to the stimulus signal;

an encoding circuit adapted to encode a difference in time between the stimulus signal and the subject'"'"'s response to the stimulus signal;

an emitter adapted to transmit the encoded difference signal representing the subject'"'"'s reaction time; and

a complementary receiver adapted to detect the encoded difference signal and including a decoding circuit that decodes the encoded difference signal to determine the subject'"'"'s reaction time, said receiver providing the subject'"'"'s reaction time to the microcontroller with real-time clock for synchronization with received biosensor data.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein the emitter comprises a visible LED, an ultrasonic transducer, an infrared (IR) LED, an audible speaker, audible transducer, a Bluetooth transmitter/transceiver, a Wi-Fi transmitter/transceiver, a ZigBee transmitter/transceiver or AM or FM transmitter/transceiver.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein the receiver comprises a visible photodiode, visible phototransistor, an ultrasonic receiver/microphone, an infrared (IR) photodiode, an infrared phototransistor, an audible microphone, a Bluetooth receiver/transceiver, a Wifi receiver/transceiver, a ZigBee receiver/transceiver, an AM receiver/transceiver, or an FM receiver/transceiver.

4. A system as in claim 1, wherein the input device is a mouse and the encoding circuit is responsive to the stimulus signal from the transmitter and an input signal from the mouse in response to the stimulus signal.

5. A system as in claim 4, wherein the encoding circuit encodes the difference signal as an on/off keyed wireless signal and provides the encoded difference signal to the emitter for wireless transmission to the complementary receiver.

6. A system as in claim 5, wherein the encoding circuit encodes a left mouse click as one keyed pulse and a right mouse click as two keyed pulses.

7. A system as in claim 1, wherein the complementary receiver is located at an EEG headset of the subject, said EEG headset including said decoding circuit and said microcontroller for synchronizing the subject'"'"'s reaction time to EEG data collected by said EEG headset.

8. A system as in claim 7, wherein the emitter comprises an audible speaker and the receiver comprises an earbud of the subject, said earbud providing received sound signals to said decoding circuit.

9. A system as in claim 7, wherein the EEG headset includes a finger tap input as said input device.

10. A system as in claim 1, wherein the input device is a stylus and the PC exhibiting latency is a tablet PC.