MONITORING DEHYDRATION USING RF DIELECTRIC RESONATOR OSCILLATOR
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring dehydration level associated with body fluids beneath a skin using a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) that can be affixed to the skin, the method comprising:
- applying an excitation signal to the DRO such that the DRO resonates at a particular resonance wherein the particular resonance of the DRO varies based on the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin;
analyzing characteristics of the excitation signal to determine a quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO; and
determining the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin based on the quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Technologies are generally described for monitoring dehydration levels of a subject using Radio Frequency (RF) dielectric resonant oscillators (DROs) that may be affixed to the skin of the subject. According to some example aspects, a sensor comprising a microstrip ring resonator may be affixed to the skin and used to determine the change in hydration of a person quantitatively and/or qualitatively. An RF emitter can be configured to emit a scanning signal to the sensor, where the scanning signal can be swept over a specified frequency range. The sensor is configured to resonate in response to the scanning signal, where characteristics of the sensor'"'"'s resonance (e.g., the specific frequency and “Q” factor of the resonance) is impacted by dielectric losses of the sensor to the skin due to hydration level of the subject.
34 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method for monitoring dehydration level associated with body fluids beneath a skin using a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) that can be affixed to the skin, the method comprising:
-
applying an excitation signal to the DRO such that the DRO resonates at a particular resonance wherein the particular resonance of the DRO varies based on the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin; analyzing characteristics of the excitation signal to determine a quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO; and determining the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin based on the quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A sensor that is configured to monitor a dehydration level of body fluids beneath a skin in response to a received excitation signal using a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) that can be affixed to the skin, the apparatus comprising:
-
a dielectric substrate; a microstrip ring resonator that is supported by the dielectric substrate; and two transmission lines that are supported by the dielectric substrate, wherein the two transmission lines are capacitively coupled to the microstrip ring resonator such that the microstrip ring resonator resonates at a particular resonance, wherein the particular resonance of the microstrip ring resonator varies based on the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin such that the dehydration level can be determined based on a quality factor of particular resonance of the microstrip ring resonator. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A system for monitoring dehydration level of body fluids beneath a skin using a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) that can be affixed to the skin, the system comprising:
-
a sensor including a microstrip DRO and two transmission lines capacitively coupled to the microstrip DRO, wherein a particular resonance of the DRO varies based on the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin; an excitation module coupled to the sensor, the excitation module adapted to provide an excitation signal to the microstrip DRO such that the DRO resonates at the particular resonance when excited by the excitation signal; and a measurement module coupled to the sensor adapted to; analyze characteristics of the excitation signal to determine a quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO; and determine the dehydration level of body fluids beneath the skin based on the quality factor associated with the particular resonance of the DRO. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification