SENSOR FOR DETECTING THE PASSING OF A PULSE WAVE FROM A SUBJECT'S ARTERIAL SYSTEM

• US 20090306524A1
• Filed: 07/11/2007
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Igney, Claudia Hannelore, Thijs, Jeroen Adrianus Joannes, Pinter, Robert, Muhlsteff, Jens
• Application Number:
  US12/375,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20090306524A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/485
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0295 using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0535 Impedance plethysmography for measuring blood flow A61B5/0295

Abstract

In order to provide an easy-to-use technique for measuring blood pressure and/or other vital signs of a subject, a sensor for detecting the passing of a pulse wave from a subject'"'"'s arterial system is suggested, the sensor being adapted to be located at a sensing position on the exterior of the subject'"'"'s body, characterized in that the sensor comprises a number of electrical coils for generating an inductive coupling to the subject'"'"'s body in a way that the properties of said inductive coupling change if a pulse wave passes a screened volume underneath the sensing position, and a circuit connected to the number of electrical coils, said circuit being adapted to detect said property changes of the inductive coupling.

Claims

1. A sensor for detecting the passing of a pulse wave from a subject'"'"'s arterial system, the sensor being adapted to be located at a sensing position on the exterior of the subject'"'"'s body, characterized in that the sensor comprises

a number of electrical coils for generating an inductive coupling to the subject'"'"'s body in a way that the properties of said inductive coupling change if a pulse wave passes a screened volume underneath the sensing position, and

a circuit connected to the number of electrical coils, said circuit being adapted to detect said property changes of the inductive coupling.

2. The sensor as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the sensor comprises a single electrical coil, the electrical properties of which being changed, if a pulse wave passes the sensing position.

3. The sensor as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the sensor comprises two separate electrical coils, said coils forming a coil arrangement in which the first coil serves as field coil and the second coil serves as receiving coil, the electrical properties of which being changed, if a pulse wave passes the sensing position.

4. A non-invasive measuring system, being adapted to be attached to the exterior of the subject'"'"'s body, characterized in that it comprises one sensor as claimed in claim 1, the system being adapted to provide information about the heart rate of the subject.

5. A non-invasive measuring system, being adapted to be attached to the exterior of the subject'"'"'s body, comprising two sensors as claimed in claim 1, the sensing positions of said sensors being spaced apart, the system being adapted to provide information about the blood pressure of the subject.

6. Method for detecting the passing of a pulse wave from a subject'"'"'s arterial system, the method comprising the steps of:

generating an inductive coupling between a number of electrical coils and the subject'"'"'s body in a way that the properties of said inductive coupling change if a pulse passes a screened volume underneath the sensing position, and

detecting said property changes of the inductive coupling.

7. Method for determining the heart rate of a subject, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the passing of at least two successive pulse waves using the method as claimed in claim 6,

measuring the time interval between said pulse waves, and

determining the heart rate.

8. Method for determining the blood pressure of a subject, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the passing of a pulse wave at two spaced apart sensing locations using the method as claimed in claim 6,

measuring the pulse transit time between said sensing locations, and

determining the blood pressure.

9. A computer program for detecting the passing of a pulse wave from a subject'"'"'s arterial system, during which an inductive coupling between a number of electrical coils and the subject'"'"'s body in generated in a way that the properties of said inductive coupling change if a pulse passes a screened volume underneath the sensing position, the program comprising computer instructions to detect said property changes of the inductive coupling, when the computer program is executed in a computer.