Low power pulse oximeter
First Claim
1. A method of managing power consumption in a pulse oximeter, the method comprising:
- operating a pulse oximeter at a first approximate power consumption during a first signal condition representative of a condition of a signal received from a sensor capable of detecting energy attenuated by tissue of a measurement site of a patient;
determining a second signal condition of the signal; and
operating the pulse oximeter at a second approximate power consumption different than the first approximate power consumption based on the second signal condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pulse oximeter adaptively samples an input signal from a sensor in order to reduce power consumption in the absence of overriding conditions. Various sampling mechanisms may be used individually or in combination, including reducing the duty cycle of a drive current to a sensor emitter, intermittently powering-down a front-end interface to a sensor detector, or increasing the time shift between processed data blocks. Both internal parameters and output parameters may be monitored to trigger or override a reduced power consumption state. In this manner, a pulse oximeter can lower power consumption without sacrificing performance during, for example, high noise conditions or oxygen desaturations.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of managing power consumption in a pulse oximeter, the method comprising:
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operating a pulse oximeter at a first approximate power consumption during a first signal condition representative of a condition of a signal received from a sensor capable of detecting energy attenuated by tissue of a measurement site of a patient;
determining a second signal condition of the signal; and
operating the pulse oximeter at a second approximate power consumption different than the first approximate power consumption based on the second signal condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A pulse oximeter capable of varying its power consumption, comprising:
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an emitter driver which outputs a drive signal capable of driving at least one emitter of a sensor that detects energy attenuated by tissue of a measurement site of a patient; and
a controller which selects between at least a first duty cycle of the drive signal corresponding to a first power consumption and a second duty cycle of the drive signal corresponding to a second power consumption different than the first power consumption. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification