ADHESIVE PATCH HAVING MULTIPLE ACOUSTIC SENSORS FOR MONITORING ACOUSTIC SIGNALS

• US 20150099998A1
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acarix A/S (Acarix AB)
• Original Assignee: Acarix A/S (Acarix AB)
• Inventors: Christensen, Claus Bo Voge, Rong, Weimin
• Granted Patent: US 9,566,041 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/586
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0204 Acoustic 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 5/6833 Adhesive patches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/006 Detecting skeletal, cartilage or muscle noise A61B7/003 and A61B7/008 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R

Abstract

An adhesive patch for monitoring acoustic signals from a human or animal body, comprising a skin contact surface, converting means for recording both body acoustic signals and environmental acoustic noise, reducing the body signals by the recorded noise, and providing a first electric output signal. The patch also comprising an adhesive element and a compression structure for attaching the converting means to the skin surface. The patch further comprises transmitting means for transmitting the output signal to a peripheral device.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. An adhesive patch for monitoring acoustic signals from a human or animal body, the adhesive patch comprising:

an adhesive part;

a converting part being connected together with the adhesive part; and

a controller unit that provides a controller output signal;

wherein the adhesive part comprises a skin-contacting adhesive surface and a non-adhesive outer surface that faces away from the skin contacting surface, and the adhesive part further has a through-going opening that provides communication from the outer surface of the adhesive part to the skin contacting surface;

wherein the converting part comprises a converting means comprising a first microphone configured to record acoustic signals from a body and provide acoustic body output signals representative thereof, and a second microphone configured to record environmental noise from a surrounding environment and provide noise output signals representative thereof; and

wherein the controller unit receives the body output signals and the noise output signals, processes them together to reduce a level of noise in the body output signals by the noise output signals, and provides the reduced-noise body output signals as the controller output signal;

whereby the underlying acoustic signal from the body becomes more accurate in the controller output signal.

22. The adhesive patch of claim 21 wherein the first microphone and the second microphone record signals synchronously;

and

wherein the controller unit compares the synchronous first microphone and second microphone signals and reduces a magnitude of the first microphone signal by a magnitude of the synchronous second microphone signal;

whereby there results a reduction of noise of the first microphone signal, which means that the underlying acoustic signal from the body becomes clearer in the controller output signal.

23. The adhesive patch of claim 21 wherein the first and second microphones are different from one another with the first microphone being better suited to record acoustic signals from the body and the second microphone being better suited to recording environment noise from the surrounding environment.

24. The adhesive patch of claim 23 wherein at least one of the microphones comprises one of a silicon microphone and a pressure sensitive contact microphone.

25. The adhesive patch of claim 21 wherein the first microphone is mounted in relation with the adhesive part so that when the adhesive part is mounted to a user, the first microphone is thereby depressed into a skin surface of the user to provide pressure between the microphone and a skin surface.

26. The adhesive patch of claim 25 further comprising a compression structure located in relation to the adhesive part and the converting part so as to increase surface tension of skin of the user into which the first microphone is depressed.

27. The adhesive patch of claim 26 wherein the compression structure is located at the skin contacting surface of the adhesive part and protrudes in a direction away from the adhesive part;

whereby when the adhesive part is mounted to a skin surface of a subject, the compression structure increases the surface tension on the skin surface such that the pressure exerted by the first microphone on the skin surface is managed.

28. The adhesive patch of claim 27 wherein the compression structure encircles the opening of the adhesive part and the first microphone is mounted therein.

29. The adhesive patch of claim 26 wherein the compression structure is formed as a tapered surface area providing an increase in thickness of the adhesive part where the adhesive part is thinner in the area in a radial direction away from the opening and increases in thickness the closer the area is to the opening.

30. The adhesive patch according to claim 26, wherein the compression structure is in the form of a circular protrusion on the skin contacting surface of the adhesive part.

31. The adhesive patch of claim 21 wherein the controller unit comprises electrical circuitry that processes the signals from the first and second microphones, and includes at least one element from the group of:

a filter component, an A/D converter, a microprocessor, a wireless transmission module, a flash memory chip, and a USB controller.

32. The adhesive patch of claim 21 wherein the adhesive part and the converting part are releasably connected together whereby the adhesive part may be removed from the converting part and discarded and the converter part may be connected together with a new adhesive part and used again.

33. The adhesive patch of claim 30, wherein at least one of the first and second microphones is one of a silicon microphone and a pressure sensitive contact microphone.

34. The adhesive patch according to claim 21, wherein the controller unit further comprises an on/off switch, which is used to trigger the adhesive patch into a functional state or out of a functional state to a passive state.

35. An adhesive patch for monitoring acoustic signals from a human or animal body comprising:

an adhesive part and a converting part being releasably connected to each other so that the adhesive part may be discarded after use and the converting part may be reused;

wherein the adhesive part is provided with an adhesive surface adapted for providing a skin contacting surface, and the adhesive part has a through-going opening that provides communication through the adhesive part to the skin contacting surface; and

the converting part comprises a converting means comprising;

a first microphone having a skin contacting surface, the first microphone configured to record body acoustic signals and convert them to body output signals;

a second microphone mounted to record environmental noise from an environment surrounding the adhesive patch and converting the recorded noise to a noise output signal; and

a controller unit that receives the body output signals, removes any environment noise from the body output signals by processing them with the noise output signal to form a controller output signal, and transmitting the controller output signal to a peripheral device;

wherein when the converting part is connected to the adhesive part, the converting means is arranged in the opening of the adhesive part such that the skin contacting surface of the first microphone and the skin contacting surface of the adhesive part come into contact with a skin surface as the adhesive patch is attached to a skin surface of a user, and

wherein the adhesive part is provided with a compression structure at the skin contacting surface of the adhesive part, wherein the compression structure is in the form of at least one protrusion that projects out from the skin contacting surface and is positioned around the first microphone.

36. The adhesive patch according to claim 35, wherein the first and second microphones record synchronously and the controller unit comprises an amplifier that receives and compares the body output signals with the synchronous noise output signals and reduces the magnitude of the body output signals by at least part of the magnitude of the compared synchronous noise microphone signals.

37. The adhesive patch of claim 36 wherein the controller unit further comprises an on/off switch, which is used to trigger the adhesive patch into a functional state or out of a functional state to a passive state.

38. The adhesive patch according to claim 35, wherein the controller unit comprises electrical circuitry for processing the signals from the first and second microphones, and includes at least one of the following elements:

a filter component, an A/D converter, a microprocessor, a wireless transmission module, a flash memory chip, and a USB controller.

39. A method for monitoring acoustic signals from a human or animal body, the method comprising:

positioning a skin contacting adhesive part at a site on the body of a subject, the adhesive part having a through-going opening;

recording acoustic signals from the body of a subject with a first microphone disposed in contact with the subject'"'"'s skin and located in a converting part that is positioned in the opening of the skin contacting adhesive part;

recording environmental noise from a surrounding environment with a second microphone also located at the converting part;

processing the recorded body acoustic signals together with the noise output signals to reduce a level of noise in the recorded body output signals by the noise output signals, and

outputting the reduced-noise body output signals;

whereby the reduced-noise body output signals are a more accurate representation of the acoustic body signals that were recorded.

40. The method for monitoring of claim 39 wherein the step of recording with the first and second microphones comprises recording synchronously with the first and second microphones, and the step of processing the signals together comprises synchronously processing the signals together to reduce a magnitude of the recorded body signals by at least part of a magnitude of the synchronous noise microphone signals.

41. The method for monitoring of claim 39 wherein the step of positioning a skin contacting adhesive part at a site on the body of a subject, the adhesive part having a through-going opening, further comprises compressing the skin of the subject with a compression structure located on the adhesive part and the step of recording acoustic signals with a first microphone comprises disposing the first microphone in contact with the subject'"'"'s skin at the compressed skin location.