METHODS AND DEVICES FOR MEASURING CORE BODY TEMPERATURE

• US 20100113894A1
• Filed: 02/15/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Padiy, Alexander V.
• Granted Patent: US 9,410,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0271 Thermal or temperature 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 5/015 By temperature mapping of body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4064 Evaluating the brain A61B5/031, A61B5/369, A61B5/14553 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6815 Ear
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6833 Adhesive patches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 Clamps or clips
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/026 arrangements for monitoring a plurality of temperatures, e.g. by multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/16 Special arrangements for conducting heat from the object to the sensitive element
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/20 Clinical contact thermometers for use with humans or animals
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/42 Circuits effecting compensation of thermal inertia; Circuits for predicting the stationary value of a temperature

Abstract

A core body temperature measurement device includes a plurality of electronic temperature sensors (12, 12f, 12b, 132) operatively coupled with or near a surface (STA, PAA, BTT) having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature, and a readout controller (10, 48, 68, 90, 124) including a maximum temperature reading selector (14). The readout controller is configured to acquire temperature readings using the plurality of temperature sensors and to output a core body temperature based on a highest usable temperature reading of the acquired temperature readings as determined by the maximum temperature reading selector. A core body temperature measurement method includes: acquiring a plurality of temperature readings at and near a surface (STA, PAA, BTT) having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature; generating a highest usable temperature reading from the acquired temperature readings; and outputting a core body temperature based on the highest usable temperature.

Claims

1. A core body temperature measurement device comprising:

a plurality of electronic temperature sensors operatively coupled with or near a surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature; and

a readout controller including a maximum temperature reading selector (14), the readout controller configured to acquire temperature readings using the plurality of temperature sensors and to output a core body temperature based on a highest usable temperature reading of the acquired temperature readings as determined by the maximum temperature reading selector.

2. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic temperature sensors are operatively coupled with or near to said surface selected from the group consisting of:

(i) skin overlaying a portion of a superficial temporal artery disposed anterior to an auricle, (ii) skin overlaying a portion of an artery ascending posterior to an auricle, a brain tunnel between the eyes; and

(iv) a sublingual pocket inside of a mouth.

3. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a head-mountable mechanical frame or pad configured to operatively couple the electronic temperature sensors with or near said surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature.

4. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the maximum temperature reading selector comprises:

an interpolator that spatially interpolates temperature readings of the plurality of electronic temperature sensors to generate an interpolation; and

a peak detector that detects the highest usable temperature reading of the acquired temperature readings as a peak of the interpolation.

5. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 4, wherein the interpolation is one of (i) a two-dimensional interpolated temperature surface and (ii) a one-dimensional interpolated temperature-versus-position curve.

6. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the maximum temperature reading selector selects the highest usable temperature reading as a highest temperature reading acquired by the plurality of electronic temperature sensors.

7. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an oral thermometer body containing the readout controller and defining a neck terminating in a generally spherical sensors head supporting the plurality of sensors.

8. A core body temperature measurement device comprising:

at least one electronic temperature sensor operatively coupled with or near a surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature; and

a readout controller configured to acquire an input temperature reading from the at least one electronic temperature sensor and to obtain a core body temperature therefrom, the readout controller including a temperature corrector that increases the input temperature reading to account for a temperature difference between the input temperature reading and the core body temperature.

9. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the temperature corrector comprises:

a heat flux sensor associated with the at least one electronic temperature sensor, the heat flux sensor acquiring a measurement used to determine a heat flux, the temperature drop being determined based on the heat flux.

10. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the at least one electronic temperature sensor includes two conductive bodies separated by an insulating material, and the temperature corrector comprises:

a capacitance meter configured to measure a mutual capacitance of the two conductive bodies separated by the insulating material, the temperature difference being derived from the mutual capacitance and one or more temperature readings acquired by the at least one electronic temperature sensor.

11. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 10, wherein the at least one electronic temperature sensor is operatively coupled with or near to a brain tunnel between the eyes.

12. The core body temperature measurement device as set forth in claim 8, wherein the at least one electronic temperature sensor includes two conductive bodies separated by an insulating material, and the core body temperature measurement device further comprises:

a blood oxygen sensor configured to acquire a blood oxygenation measurement, an optical source of the blood oxygen sensor additionally being used to generate variable heating from which the temperature corrector derives the increase of the input temperature reading.

13. A core body temperature measurement method comprising:

acquiring a plurality of temperature readings at and near a surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature;

generating a highest usable temperature reading from the acquired temperature readings; and

outputting a core body temperature based on the highest usable temperature.

14. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature is a brain tunnel between the eyes.

15. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the surface having a surface temperature approximating the core body temperature is a sublingual pocket inside of a mouth.

16. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the generating of the highest usable temperature reading comprises:

spatially interpolating the plurality of temperature readings to generate an interpolation; and

detecting the highest usable temperature reading of the acquired temperature readings as a peak of the interpolation.

17. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the generating of the highest usable temperature reading comprises:

selecting the highest usable temperature reading as a highest of the acquired plurality of temperature readings.

18. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 13, further comprising:

correcting an input temperature or input temperatures selected from the group consisting of (i) the acquired plurality of temperature readings and (ii) the generated highest usable temperature reading for a temperature drop between the body core and said surface to generate the core body temperature.

19. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the correcting comprises:

providing a temperature sensor including spaced-apart conductive bodies with one conductive body in thermal contact at or near said surface;

measuring a mutual capacitance of the spaced-apart conductive bodies; and

estimating a heat flux between the conductive bodies based on the mutual capacitance.

20. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the correcting comprises:

providing a temperature sensor including spaced-apart conductive bodies with one conductive body in thermal contact at or near said surface;

variably heating the temperature sensor;

acquiring temperatures and a temperature derivative for the conductive bodies at a plurality of different heating levels; and

deriving the core body temperature from the acquired temperatures and temperature derivatives at the plurality of different heating levels.

21. The core body temperature measurement method as set forth in claim 20, wherein the variably heating comprises:

operating an optical source of a blood oxygen sensor at different power levels to provide variable heating.