SYSTEMS FOR ASSESSING AND OPTIMIZING MUSCULAR PERFORMANCE

• US 20120071743A1
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Somaxis Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Somaxis Incorporated
• Inventors: Grey, Alexander B., Todorov, Alex
• Granted Patent: US 9,295,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/10 Athletes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0223 of calibration, e.g. protocols for calibrating sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0238 Means for recording calibration data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0412 Low-profile patch shaped housings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• 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 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/222 combined with detection or measurement of physiological parameters, e.g. heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/224 Measuring muscular strength
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/296 for electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6801 specially adapted to be attached to or worn on the body surface
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6833 Adhesive patches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7235 : Details of waveform analysis A61B5/349 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7246 : using correlation, e.g. template matching or determination of similarity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/725 : using specific filters therefor, e.g. Kalman or adaptive filters A61B5/316 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 : Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 : Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 : relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 : relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 : for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 : for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

System for monitoring muscle data can include one or more fully flexible sensor patches having sensor modules configured to sense muscle data, data processing modules, transmitter modules configured to transmit the muscle data, and a microcontroller configured to control the modules on one patch side and an adhesive layer on the other patch side; a wearable mobile hub having one or more of a receiver, transmitter, and/or transceiver module configured to be operably coupled with the one or more sensor patches so as to receive muscle data therefrom and a muscle data processing unit configured to process the received muscle data, and one or more user feedback interfaces to provide processed muscle data to the one or more user feedback interfaces; and a base station configured for receiving, storing, and analyzing the muscle data for one subject received from the mobile hub in comparison with one or more other subjects.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring muscle data, the system comprising:

one or more fully flexible sensor patch pairs, each patch of the patch pair having one or more sensor modules configured to sense muscle data, one or more data processing modules, one or more transmitter modules configured to transmit the muscle data, and a microcontroller configured to control the modules on one patch side and a skin-contacting surface on the other side of the patch and having an adhesive layer on a border portion and a non-adhesive layer on portions of the skin-contacting surface that corresponds with the one or more sensor modules, wherein fully flexible includes bending in all three dimensions with respect to the sensor elements, the patches of the patch pair being configured to operate together to acquire data;

a wearable mobile hub having one or more of a receiver, transmitter, and/or transceiver module configured to be operably coupled with the one or more sensor patch pairs so as to receive muscle data therefrom and a muscle data processing unit configured to process the received muscle data, and one or more user feedback interfaces configured to provide processed muscle data to the one or more user feedback interfaces; and

a base station configured for receiving, storing, and analyzing the muscle data for one subject received from the mobile hub in comparison with one or more other subjects.

2. The system of claim 1, comprising:

each fully flexible sensor patch having one or more active sensing elements and a one or more reference sensing element operably coupled over one or more channels;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch having only a single active sensing element and/or a single reference sensing element configured to be operably coupled over one or more channels with the active sensing elements and/or reference sensing elements of other fully flexible sensor patches;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch operably coupled over one or more channels to at least one other fully flexible sensor patch;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch include one active sensor operably coupled to two other active sensors over two different channels;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch including one or more sets of two operably coupled active sensors over independent channels and including one or more references;

or

each patch pair is coupled together via a wire.

3. The system of claim 1, comprising a remote computing system having a database of electrophysiology data for a plurality of subjects, the data selected from electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), electrocorticography (ECoG), electromyography (EMG), electrooculography (EOG), electroretinography (ERG), electroantennography (EAG), and audiology data, and wherein the sensor elements are configured to measure one or more of the data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile hub is configured as a standalone computing device having data processing capabilities of a base station such that the mobile hub is capable of implementing base station function at unlimited distance from the base station.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the side of the patch having the adhesive layer includes a skin-contacting surface partitioned into one or more conductive regions and one or more non-conductive regions, the one or more conductive regions being operably coupled to the one or more sensor modules.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the wherein the conductive region is less adhesive than the non-conductive region.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the conductive region is non-adhesive.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the non-conductive region is located as a border around the conductive region.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor modules include a sEMG module and/or an ECG module.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more sensor patches include:

two or more peelable adhesive substrates containing the adhesive layer in a stack, each peelable adhesive substrate having a skin-contacting surface when a surface of the stack ; and

a protective pouch enclosing the sensor elements to a fully flexible sensor element substrate opposite of the peelable adhesive substrates.

11. The system of claim 10, comprising a first fully flexible sensor patch having first and second active sensing elements and a first reference sensing element;

and

a second fully flexible sensor patch having second and third active sensing elements and a second reference sensing element.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an audible user feedback device operably coupled with the mobile hub, which audible user feedback device includes an adhesive surface and is adapted to be worn behind an ear.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile hub is configured to be worn in a shoe or is part of the shoe.

14. The system of claim 9, the sensor patch comprising:

sEMG and/or ECG modules in operably coupled with one or more of a high pass filter, low-pass filter, band-pass filter, one or more notch filters, a RMS calculation (Root Mean Square) unit, and/or a data smoothing unit;

an amplifier in operably coupled with the microcontroller;

a wireless transmitter operably coupled with the microcontroller; and

the microcontroller having an EMG mode and an ECG mode.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising an accelerometer module, a GPS module, a temperature module, an impedance module, a GSR module, and/or an EEG module.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a heel pressure sensor device having a pressure sensor module and a transmitter module.

17. The sensor system of claim 1, each sensor patch including a module enclosure, a porous absorbing substrate and a porous wicking substrate.

18. A system for monitoring muscle data, the system comprising:

one or more fully flexible sensor patch pairs, each patch of the patch pairs having one or more sensor modules configured to sense muscle data, one or more data processing modules, or more transmitter modules configured to transmit the muscle data, and a microcontroller configured to control the modules on one patch side and an adhesive layer on the other patch side, wherein the side of the patch having the adhesive layer includes a skin-contacting surface partitioned into one or more conductive regions and one or more non-conductive regions, the one or more conductive regions being operably coupled to the one or more sensor modules, wherein one conductive region is non-adhesive, wherein;

each fully flexible includes bending in all three dimensions with respect to the sensor elements, wherein each fully flexible sensor patch having one or more active sensing elements and a one or more reference sensing element operably coupled over one or more channels;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch having only a single active sensing element and/or a single reference sensing element configured to be operably coupled over one or more channels with the active sensing elements and/or reference sensing elements of other fully flexible sensor patches;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch operably coupled over one or more channels to at least one other fully flexible sensor patch;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch include one active sensor operably coupled to two other active sensors over two different channels;

or

each fully flexible sensor patch including one or more sets of two operably coupled active sensors over independent channels and including one or more references;

a wearable mobile hub having one or more of a receiver, transmitter, and/or transceiver module configured to be operably coupled with the one or more sensor patches so as to receive muscle data therefrom and a muscle data processing unit configured to process the received muscle data, and one or more user feedback interfaces configured to provide processed muscle data to the one or more user feedback interfaces;

a base station configured for receiving, storing, and analyzing the muscle data for one subject received from the mobile hub in comparison with one or more other subjects ; and

a remote computing system having a database of electrophysiology data for a plurality of subjects, the data selected from electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), electrocorticography (ECoG), electromyography (EMG), electrooculography (EOG), electroretinography (ERG), electroantennography (EAG), and audiology data, and wherein the sensor elements are configured to measure one or more of the data.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more sensor patches include:

two or more peelable adhesive substrates containing the adhesive layer in a stack, each peelable adhesive substrate having a skin-contacting surface when a surface of the stack ; and

a protective pouch enclosing the sensor elements to a fully flexible sensor element substrate opposite of the peelable adhesive substrates.

20. A method muscle performance assessment, the method comprising:

providing the system of claim 19;

applying one or more fully flexible sensor patches to skin of a subject so as to be operably coupled with one or more muscle;

operably coupling the one or more sensor patches to the mobile hub;

recording muscle data with the one or more patches;

transmitting the muscle data from the one or more patches to the mobile hub;

analyzing the muscle data with the mobile hub;

providing the analyzed muscle data to the subject;

providing the analyzed muscle data to the base station;

obtaining muscle data from one or more other subjects;

comparing the muscle data of the subject with muscle data from the one or more other subjects; and

providing the compared data to the subject.

21. The method of claim 20, comprising:

removing the senor patch from the skin;

peeling an adhesive layer from the patch so as to expose a fresh skin-adhering surface; and

applying the fresh skin-adhering surface to the skin of the subject.