Cantilevered bioacoustic sensor and method using same

• US 20070113649A1
• Filed: 11/23/2005
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Bharti, Vivek, Carim, Hatim, DeRoos, Fred
• Granted Patent: US 8,024,974 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/431
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0223 of calibration, e.g. protocols for calibrating sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0204 Acoustic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4818 Sleep apnoea
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/001 Detecting cranial noise, e.g. caused by aneurism
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/46 Special adaptations for use as contact microphones, e.g. on musical instrument, on stethoscope throat mountings H04R1/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/025 using a piezoelectric polymer
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones

Abstract

A sensor for sensing bioacoustic energy includes a housing comprising an interfacing portion configured to establish coupling with a body part during use of the sensor. An anchoring arrangement is defined on the housing. A transducer member has an anchoring end and at least one free end. The anchoring end of the transducer is coupled to the housing such that the transducer member is arranged to be preferentially sensitive to bioacoustic energy transferred to the transducer via the interfacing portion relative to other portions of the housing.

Claims

1. A sensor for sensing bioacoustic energy, comprising:

a housing comprising an interfacing portion, the interfacing portion of the housing configured to establish coupling with a body part during use of the sensor;

a transducer member comprising at least one free end and an anchoring arrangement, the transducer member fixedly coupled to the housing at a single anchoring location via the anchoring arrangement such that the transducer member is arranged to be preferentially sensitive to bioacoustic energy transferred to the transducer via the interfacing portion of the housing relative to other portions of the housing; and

at least one conductor coupled to the transducer member.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the anchoring arrangement comprises a compliant or a rigid coupling arrangement configured to couple the transducer member to the housing.

3. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the anchoring arrangement comprises a pedestal having a first end and a second end, the first end of the pedestal coupled to the interfacing portion of the housing and the second end of the pedestal coupled to the transducer member.

4. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the anchoring arrangement defines a unitary structure of the housing.

5. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the housing is configured for hand-held coupling to the body part during use.

6. The sensor of claim 1, comprising a fixing arrangement coupled to the housing and configured to establish affixation between the housing and the body part during use, the fixing arrangement comprising one or both of an adhesive and elastic bands.

7. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member comprises only one free end.

8. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member comprises two or more free ends.

9. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one conductor comprises at least one optical conductor.

10. The sensor of claim 9, wherein the at least one optical conductor is coupled to converter circuitry, the converter circuitry situated remote from the sensor and configured to convert a received optical signal to an output electrical signal.

11. The sensor of claim 10, wherein the converter circuitry is coupled to one or more electrical-to-audio converters.

12. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a base and a cover, the base comprising the interfacing portion and the cover coupled to the base via a compliant joint arrangement.

13. The sensor of claim 12, wherein the cover comprises acoustically absorptive material.

14. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the interfacing portion of the housing is substantially stiff.

15. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the interfacing portion of the housing comprises a polymeric material, metal or alloy, a composite material, a ceramic material or crystalline material.

16. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member comprises first and second opposing major surfaces, and the first and second major surfaces of the transducer member are substantially parallel to the interfacing portion of the housing.

17. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member is configured to sense sounds produced by matter of biological origin.

18. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member is configured for auscultation.

19. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an arrangement configured to modify a frequency response of the transducer member.

20. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a mass element disposed proximate to the free end of the transducer member.

21. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a mass element comprising magnetizable material disposed proximate to the free end of the transducer member; and

a magnet arrangement configured to magnetically interact with the magnetizable material of the mass element, the magnet arrangement configured to facilitate adjustment of the interaction between the magnet and the magnetizable material of the mass element.

22. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member is configured to modulate or generate an electrical signal in response to deformation of the transducer member.

23. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member comprises a polymeric piezoelectric film.

24. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transducer member comprises piezoresistive material, one or more strain gauges, or one or more capacitive elements.

25. A sensor unit comprising a plurality of the transducer members according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of transducer members is configured to have a frequency response differing from that of at least one other transducer member of the plurality of transducer members.

26. A sensor unit of claim 25, wherein each of the plurality of transducer members has a stiffness, weight, shape, and thickness, at least one of the stiffness, weight, shape, and thickness of each of the plurality of transducer members differing from that of at least one other transducer member of the plurality of transducer members.

27. A sensor unit of claim 25, wherein each of the plurality of transducer members is supported from the housing by a common anchoring arrangement or by separate anchoring arrangements.

28. A sensor unit of claim 25, further comprising gain control circuitry, wherein a gain response of each of the plurality of transducer members is selectably adjustable via the gain control circuitry.

29. A sensor unit of claim 1, further comprising:

an auxiliary transducer member disposed within the housing other than at the interfacing portion of the housing; and

noise cancellation circuitry coupled to the transducer member and the auxiliary transducer.

30. A stethoscope comprising the sensor according to claim 1.

31. A helmet comprising one or more sensors according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more of the plurality of the transducer members.

32. The sensor of claim 1, comprising communications circuitry configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the sensor and a device external of the housing.

33. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising signal conditioning circuitry coupled to the transducer member and disposed at, near, or integrally or in a unitary relationship with respect to the transducer member.

34. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising signal processing circuitry coupled to the transducer member.

35. The sensor of claim 34, wherein the signal processing circuitry comprises digital and analog signal processing hardware and software circuitry coupled to the transducer member.

36. A sensor for sensing bioacoustic energy, comprising:

a housing comprising an interfacing portion, the interfacing portion of the housing configured to establish coupling with a body part during use of the sensor;

means for transducing bioacoustic energy transferred via the interfacing portion of the housing to a signal; and

means for anchoring the transducing means at a single anchoring location of the housing such that the transducer means is arranged to be preferentially sensitive to bioacoustic energy transferred through the interfacing portion of the housing relative to other portions of the housing.

37. The sensor of claim 36, comprising means for communicating the signal to a location external of the housing.

38. The sensor of claim 36, comprising means for performing signal processing or conditioning on the signal.

39. A sensor for sensing bioacoustic energy, comprising:

a housing comprising an interfacing portion, the interfacing portion of the housing configured to establish coupling with a body part during use of the sensor;

a transducer member comprising an anchoring arrangement, the transducer member fixedly coupled to the housing via the anchoring arrangement such that the transducer member is arranged to be preferentially sensitive to bioacoustic energy transferred to the transducer via the interfacing portion of the housing relative to other portions of the housing; and

one or more conductors coupled to the transducer member.

40. The sensor of claim 39, wherein the anchoring arrangement is configured to fixedly couple the transducer member to the housing at two or more spaced-apart anchoring locations of the transducer member.

41. A method of sensing bioacoustic energy, comprising:

establishing coupling between an interfacing portion of a sensor housing and a body part from which bioacoustic energy emanates;

exciting a transducer, disposed in the sensor housing and operable in a cantilever mode, in response to the bioacoustic energy; and

modulating or generating a signal by the transducer in response to excitation of the transducer.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein establishing coupling comprises establishing hand-held coupling between the interfacing portion of the sensor housing and the body part.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein establishing coupling comprises establishing adhesive coupling between the interfacing portion of the sensor housing and the body part.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein the signal is an electrical signal, the method further comprising converting the electrical signal to an optical signal and transmitting the optical signal remotely of the sensor housing.

45. The method of claim 41, comprising modifying a frequency response of the transducer member.

46. The method of claim 41, comprising performing noise cancellation using the transducer member and at least one auxiliary transducer member.

47. The method of claim 41, comprising establishing communication between a device disposed within the sensor housing and a device external of the sensor housing.

48. The method of claim 41, comprising performing signal processing or conditioning on the signal modulated or generated by the transducer.