PHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED PROCESSING METHODS

• US 20070270671A1
• Filed: 04/09/2007
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Adidas AG
• Original Assignee: VivoMetrics, Inc.
• Inventors: Gal, Yoav
• Application Number:
  US11/733,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20070270671A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/045 with a separable interface unit, e.g. for communication
• 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 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7214 using signal cancellation, e.g. based on input of two identical physiological sensors spaced apart, or based on two signals derived from the same sensor, for different optical wavelengths

Abstract

The invention provides improved devices for processing data from one or more physiological sensors based on parallel processing. The provided devices are small, low power, and readily configurable for use in most physiological monitoring applications. In a preferred embodiment, the provided devices are used for ambulatory monitoring of a subject'"'"'s cardio-respiratory systems, and in particular, process data from one or more respiratory inductive plethysmographic sensors.

Claims

1. A device for processing signals from a plurality of physiological sensors comprising:

a plurality of functional digital, processing units that are configurable to perform steps including

receiving signals from the sensors;

processing the received signals to determine physiological information; and

multiplexing the determined physiological information in one or more output signals,

wherein, for the signals for two or more sensors, the steps of receiving and processing are performed by one or more processing units that operate concurrently and in parallel.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein, for one or more sensor signals, two or more of the associated processing units are operate in series as a processing pipeline.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein separate physiological information is derived from two or more sensor signals in a substantially simultaneous manner.

4. The device of claim 1 further comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

5. The device of claim 4 wherein functional digital, processing units are configured by loading firmware prior to the sensor signal processing.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising analog front end (AFE) circuitry for analog preprocessing of signals from analog sensors.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein some or all of the circuitry for processing a particular sensor signal is powered down if a signal is not being received from the particular sensor.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein some or all of the circuitry for processing a particular sensor signal is powered down for some or all of the time interval between signal samples received from the particular sensor.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the functional digital, processing units are further configurable to process a signal from at least one of an accelerometer sensor, an ECG sensor, a heart rate sensor, a body temperature sensor, an electroencephalographic sensor, and a sound sensor.

10. The device of claim 1 further comprising one or more sensors sensitive to status of the device;

and wherein the output signal further comprises device status information determined from the device sensors.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the concurrent processing further comprises determining status of signals from one or more sensors;

and wherein the output signal further comprises the determined sensor-signal status information.

12. A method for processing signals from a plurality of physiological sensors comprising:

receiving concurrently signals from two or more of the sensors;

receiving signals from the sensors;

processing the received signals to determine physiological information; and

multiplexing the determined physiological information in one or more output signals,

wherein the receiving and processing proceed concurrently and in parallel for the signals from two or more of the sensors.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein, for one or more sensor signals, concurrent processing comprises two or more steps arranged in series and occurring simultaneously as a processing pipeline.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein processing of at least one sensor signal does not substantially delay processing of other sensor signals.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising receiving signals sensitive to status of the device;

and wherein the output signal further comprises device status information.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein sensor comprise one or more of an inductive plethysmographic (IP) sensor, a respiratory IP (RIP) sensor, an accelerometer sensor, an ECG sensor, a heart rate sensor, a body temperature sensor, an electroencephalographic sensor, and a sound sensor.

17. The method of claim 12 further comprising adjusting the processing of one or more sensor signals according to calibration information, the calibration information being determined during a previous calibration period prior the processing.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising determining the calibration information for two or more sensors during the same calibration period.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the output signal comprises one of more calibrated sensor signals.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the calibration information for one or more IP sensors comprises a signal output range, and wherein the IP sensor signals are centered within the output range.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the calibration information for one or more accelerometer sensors comprises a vertical reference value.

22. The method of claim 12 further comprising receiving signals from two or more IP sensors sensitive to the subject'"'"'s respiration (RIP), wherein respiratory information concerning the subject is determined in part by combining the RIP signals.

23. A system for physiological monitoring of a subject comprising:

a plurality of physiological sensors including one or more inductive plethysmographic (IP) sensor; and

a device for processing signals from the plurality of sensors comprising a plurality of functional digital, processing units that are configurable to perform steps including

receiving signals from the IP sensor and at one or more other sensor;

processing the received signals to determine physiological information concerning the subject; and

multiplexing the determined physiological information in one or more output signals,

wherein, for the signals for the IP sensor and one or more other sensors, the steps of receiving and processing are performed by one or more processing units that operate concurrently and in parallel.

24. The system of claim 23 further comprising one or more sensors selected from an accelerometer sensor, an ECG sensor, a heart rate sensor, a body temperature sensor, an electroencephalographic sensor, and a sound sensor;

and

wherein the functional digital, processing units are configurable to process signals from the one or more sensors.

25. The system of claim 23 further comprising a plurality of IP sensors sensitive to the subject'"'"'s respiration (RIP sensor);

and

wherein the concurrent processing further comprises combining signals from at least two RIP sensors to determine respiratory information concerning the subject.

26. The system of claim 23 further comprising a housing.

27. The system of claim 23 further comprising a battery for powering the device.

28. The system of claim 23 further comprising a wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating the physiological information remotely from the system.

29. The system of claim 23 further comprising a data recording unit for recording at recording the physiological information locally at the system.

30. The system of claim 23 wherein the subject comprises a mammal.