MULTI-ANTENNA WIRELESS SENSOR SYSTEM

• US 20090058637A1
• Filed: 06/16/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National Yang-Ming University
• Original Assignee: National Yang-Ming University
• Inventors: Lee, Guo-She, Yang, Cheryl C. H., Kuo, Terry B.J.
• Application Number:
  US12/139,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20090058637A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.120
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0204 of power management
• 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 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7232 involving compression of the physiological signal, e.g. to extend the signal recording period
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-antenna wireless sensor system that allows a subject to measure and transmit physiological signals, comprising a wireless sensor, a wireless base station, a network device, and a data processing unit. The wireless sensor senses and collects the physiological signals of the subject and contains a portable electronic device with a wireless data transmission interface.

Claims

1. A multi-antenna wireless sensor system, comprising:

(a) a portable wireless sensor comprising;

(i) a physiological signal collecting device for outputting a physiological signal corresponding to a physiological state of a subject;

(ii) a control module for processing the physiological signal and converting it into an electrical signal;

(iii) a wireless transmission module, being a wireless data transmission interface for converting the electrical signal into a wireless signal and transmitting said wireless signal; and

(iv) a power supply unit, being a portable power source and supplying power needed by the wireless sensor;

(b) a wireless base station for transmitting the wireless signals from the wireless transmission module and communicating with the wireless transmission module, and comprising a plurality of wireless transceivers;

(c) a network device; and

(d) a data processing unit;

wherein the wireless transmission module has the same wireless transmission protocol as the wireless base station;

through the arrangement of said wireless transceiver, the wireless sensor is able to remotely or movably maintain data communication with the data processing unit;

the signals output by the wireless sensor being sent via the wireless base station and the network device to the data processing unit where post-processing of the feedback data is carried out.

2. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit calculates position of wireless sensor based on the transmission sequential difference between the wireless transceivers of the wireless base station and coordinate of each wireless transceiver.

3. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit includes rechargeable secondary battery.

4. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 3, wherein the secondary battery in the power supply unit is a lithium battery, a nickel-metal-hydride battery, or a lead-acid battery.

5. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit contains a portable power generating device.

6. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the portable power generating device in the power supply unit is a fuel cell or a solar cell.

7. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission module receives data sent by the wireless base station, and simultaneously, converts the data into the electrical signal and transmits it to the wireless sensor.

8. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission module further comprises an antenna device and a modulator-demodulator, wherein the antenna device emits signals output by the wireless sensor to the wireless base station and receives wireless signals emitted by the wireless base station;

and the modulator-demodulator modulates the electrical signal output by the control module into carrier wave of specific frequency and send it to the wireless base station via the antenna device.

9. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 8, wherein the modulator-demodulator demodulates the signals received by the antenna device into a digital signal and transmits it to the control module of wireless sensor for corresponding computing or operation.

10. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological signal-collecting device detects neural signals, electrocardiogram signals, electromyogram signals or vocal signals.

11. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 10, wherein the physiological signal-collecting device is an electrocardiogram-signal-collecting device for detecting electrocardiogram signals, and the physiological signal-collecting device comprises an amplifier module, which further consists of an input filter, a differential amplifier, and an output filter.

12. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 11, wherein the input filter removes noise to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and the differential amplifier subjects the signal input by electrodes to common-mode noise attenuation and amplifies the electrocardiogram signal differential by a proper factor, and the output filter eliminates the Nyquist frequency of differential amplified signal.

13. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the control module consists of an analog-digital converter and a microprocessor, the analog-digital converter converts the analog signal output by the amplifier module into a digital signal with proper voltage resolution and sampling frequency, the microprocessor compresses the digital signal output by the analog-digital converter to generate a digital electrocardiogram signal.

14. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the network device further comprises a network server for carrying out network addressing and packet exchange with the wireless sensor through electrical connection of network device and wireless transmission of wireless base station, and further allows the data processing unit to remotely monitor or control the wireless sensor.

15. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit further comprises a monitor having display and operation functions to enable the user to monitor or control the operations of wireless sensor.

16. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless sensor further comprises a positioning device, which is an electric device compatible with a global positioning system and contains a positioning-satellite-signal-receiving means and a means that converts satellite signal into position signal to respectively receive the signal transmitted by a positioning satellite and convert the satellite signals received into a position signal, and then transmit the position signal to the microprocessor of control module, wherein the microprocessor controls the transmission of said position signal to wireless base station through the wireless transmission module, and finally transmits the signal to the data processing unit through the network device to make the data processing unit obtain the location of the wireless sensor.

17. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 16, wherein the positioning-satellite-signal-receiving means is a satellite signal receiver, and the means that converts satellite signal to position signal is an electrical loop where the satellite signal received by the positioning device is converted into a position signal by the control module and sent to the data processing unit via the wireless transmission module and the network device.

18. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 16, wherein the positioning-satellite-signal-receiving means is a satellite signal receiver, while the means that converts satellite signals into position signal is achieved by the microprocessor of control module.

19. The multi-antenna wireless sensor system according to claim 18, wherein the electrical loop configuration of the means that converts satellite signals to position signal is integrated in the control module.