APPARATUS, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR DETECTING A PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT FROM A PHYSIOLOGICAL SOUND SIGNAL

• US 20100125218A1
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: SAMPIMON, Gerrit, HAARTSEN, Jacobus Cornelis
• Granted Patent: US 8,622,919 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/528
• 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 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6815 Ear
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6817 Ear canal

Abstract

An apparatus is disclosed, comprising a speaker suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear and enabled to be supplied with an audio signal for rendering; a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire a sound signal from sounds present in the ear of the user; and a signal processor, wherein the signal processor is arranged to subtract the audio signal from the sound signal to provide a physiological sound signal, and the signal processor is further arranged to detect a physiological measurement from the physiological sound signal. A method and a computer program are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising

a speaker suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear and enabled to be supplied with an audio signal for rendering;

a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire a sound signal from sounds present in the ear of the user; and

a signal processor, wherein the signal processor is arranged to subtract the audio signal from the sound signal to provide a physiological sound signal, and the signal processor is further arranged to detect a physiological measurement from the physiological sound signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filter arranged to filter the sound signal, the audio signal to be subtracted or the physiological sound signal.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an application arranged to control features of the application based on the physiological measurement.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the application is arranged to make music selection based on the physiological measurement, wherein the selected music is comprised in the supplied audio signal.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a breathing pattern.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the signal processor is arranged to determine a breathing rate from the breathing pattern

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the music is selected based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is a monotonic function of the breathing rate.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the music is selected based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is a function of the breathing rate wherein the music'"'"'s beat rate is increased until a predetermined breathing rate is reached.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the signal processor is arranged to determine a heartbeat rate from the heartbeat.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the music is selected based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is a monotonic function of the heartbeat rate.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the music is selected based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is a function of the heartbeat rate wherein the music'"'"'s beat rate is increased until a predetermined heartbeat rate is reached.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the signal processor is arranged to extract the heartbeat by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to provide a heartbeat signal.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

15. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a second speaker suitable to be provided at the user'"'"'s other ear, wherein an audio signal provided to the second speaker comprises a sub-signal such that the sound signal comprises a signal component emanating from sound provided at the user'"'"'s other ear and which sound is modulatedly attenuated by pulsating blood of veins of the user when the sound propagates through the head of the user, and such that the heartbeat is extractable from the signal component.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the signal processor is arranged to extract the heartbeat by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to provide the signal component signal.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

18. The apparatus according to claim 5, comprising a heart rate estimator arranged to estimate heart rate from the breathing pattern.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat, the signal processor is arranged to determine a heartbeat rate from the heartbeat, and the apparatus is further arranged to provide a comparison between the estimated heart rate and the determined heart rate.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat and a breathing pattern.

21. A method comprising

supplying an audio signal to a speaker suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear for rendering the audio signal in the user'"'"'s ear;

acquiring a sound signal by a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire the sound signal from sounds present in the ear of the user;

subtracting the audio signal from the sound signal to provide a physiological sound signal; and

detecting a physiological measurement from the physiological sound signal.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising filtering the sound signal, the audio signal to be subtracted or the physiological sound signal.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a breathing pattern, and the method further comprising controlling features of an application based on the breathing pattern.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the controlling of features of the application comprises selecting music based on the breathing pattern, wherein the selected music is provided to be comprised in the supplied audio signal.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising determining a breathing rate from the breathing pattern.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the music is selected based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is a monotonic function of the breathing rate.

27. The method according to claim 23, further comprising

selecting music based on the breathing pattern, wherein the selected music is provided to be comprised in the supplied audio signal;

and

determining a breathing rate from the breathing pattern,

wherein the selection of music is based on the music'"'"'s beat rate such that the music'"'"'s beat rate is increased until a predetermined breathing rate is reached.

28. The method according to claim 23, further comprising estimating a heart rate from the breathing pattern.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat, the method further comprising determining a heartbeat rate from the heartbeat;

and comparing the estimated heart rate and the determined heart rate, wherein the result of the comparison is used for controlling the features of the application.

30. The method according to claim 21, further comprising extracting a heartbeat by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to provide a heartbeat signal.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

32. The method according to claim 21, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat, and the method further comprises

providing an audio signal which comprises a sub-signal to a second speaker suitable to be applied at the user'"'"'s other ear, such that the sound signal comprises a signal component emanating from sound provided at the user'"'"'s other ear and which sound is modulatedly attenuated by pulsating blood of veins of the user when the sound propagates through the head of the user;

and

detecting the heartbeat from the signal component.

33. The method according to claim 32, further comprising low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to provide the signal component signal.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

35. The method according to claim 21, wherein the physiological measurement comprises a heartbeat and a breathing pattern.

36. A computer readable medium comprising program code comprising instructions which when executed by a processor is arranged to cause the processor to perform

supplying an audio signal to a speaker suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear for rendering the audio signal in the user'"'"'s ear;

acquiring a sound signal by a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire the sound signal from sounds present in the ear of the user;

subtracting the audio signal from the sound signal to provide a physiological sound signal; and

detecting a physiological measurement from the physiological sound signal.

37. The computer readable medium according to claim 36, wherein the instructions are further arranged to cause the processor to select music based on the physiological measurement, wherein the selected music is provided to be comprised in the supplied audio signal.