Personal health data collection

• US 10,342,493 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2012
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Leman Micro Devices LLC
• Original Assignee: Leman Micro Devices SA
• Inventors: Elliott, Christopher, Jones, Mark-Eric, Bennett, Mark, Nagoga, Mikhail
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Tse W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehl, Patrick M
• Application Number:
  US14/127,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20150051500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,569 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0252 using ambient temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02225 using the oscillometric method
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02233 Occluders specially adapted therefor tourniquets A61B17/132
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02241 of small dimensions, e.g. adapted to fingers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0261 using optical means, e.g. infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/02 Stethoscopes acoustic details thereof G10K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/045 Detection of Korotkoff sounds A61B5/0225 takes precedence; measuring blood pressure A61B5/021
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4427 Device being portable or laptop-like
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 : involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/20 : Clinical contact thermometers for use with humans or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 : including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

The present invention provides a personal hand-held monitor comprising a signal acquisition device for acquiring signals which can be used to derive a measurement of a parameter related to the health of the user, the signal acquisition device being integrated with a personal hand-held computing device. The present invention also provides a signal acquisition device adapted to be integrated with a personal hand-held computing device to produce a personal hand-held monitor as defined above.

Claims

1. A personal hand-held monitor comprising:

a processor,

a signal acquisition device configured to acquire signals which can be used by the processor to derive a blood pressure measurement of a user, the signal acquisition device being integrated with a personal hand-held computing device, wherein the signal acquisition device comprises a blood flow occlusion device having a notch, the notch configured to be pressed against one side only of a body part or to have one side only of the body part pressed against it such that applied pressures are applied by the blood flow occlusion device to the body part or by the body part to the blood flow occlusion device in an order that does not generally increase, generally decrease, or generally increase then generally decrease,

a pressure sensor measurement device configured to measure the applied pressures that are applied by the blood flow occlusion device to the body part or by the body part to the blood flow occlusion device,

a blood flow detecting device configured to detect flow of blood through the body part, wherein the processor is configured to determine a measurement of blood pressure from the applied pressures and the detected flow of blood when the applied pressures are applied in the order that does not generally increase, generally decrease, or generally increase then generally decrease.

2. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow detecting device employs an oscillometric method.

3. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow detecting device is an optical sensor.

4. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, which is adapted to provide audible or visual instructions to the user to adjust the force with which the blood flow occlusion device is pressed on the body part or with which the body part is pressed onto the blood flow occlusion device in response to signals from the personal hand-held monitor so as to ensure that measurements are made at a sufficient range of applied forces to allow the estimation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

5. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow occlusion device comprises a pad filled with a fluid and the pressure sensor for measuring the pressure determines the pressure in the fluid.

6. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the processor of the personal hand-held monitor is adapted to estimate systolic and diastolic blood pressure by relating blood flow rate to the applied pressures.

7. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow occlusion device is configured to, in use, at least partially occlude the blood flow.

8. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein an entirety of the blood flow occlusion device is adapted to be pressed against one side only of the body part or to have one side only of the body part pressed against it.

9. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to fit the flow at the range of the applied pressures to a mathematical equation to determine the measurement of blood pressure.

10. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to correlate the detected flow of blood with the applied pressures to fit the detected flow to a theoretical relationship between flow rate and pressure.

11. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the personal hand-held monitor is configured such that the user manually varies force applied by the blood flow occlusion device to the body part or by the body part to the blood flow occlusion device.

12. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow occlusion device is configured such that the applied pressure is applied by a person pressing the blood flow occlusion device against the body part or pressing the body part against the blood flow occlusion device.

13. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 12, wherein the personal hand-held monitor is configured to determine the measurement of the blood pressure as a person presses the blood flow occlusion device against the body part or presses the body part against the blood flow occlusion device.

14. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the personal hand-held monitor is configured to determine the measurement of the blood pressure without applied pressure being applied to another side of the body part, opposite the one side.

15. The personal hand-held monitor of claim 1, wherein the blood flow detecting device is configured to detect flow of blood through the body part, wherein the processor is configured to detect the flow at a range of the applied pressures that are measured in a random order and to process the applied pressures with the detected flow data to determine a measurement of blood pressure.