GROOMING SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS INCLUDING DETECTION OF HAIR-COVERED SKIN LESIONS DURING GROOMING AND INCLUDING TOPOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

• US 20150164407A1
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., McKnight, Gary L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,307,829 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 24/10 combined with additional devices
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 15/0004 with a controlling means
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 15/0036 with a lighting means, e.g. laser, bulb A46B15/0034 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 15/0055 Brushes combined with other articles normally separate from the brushing process, e.g. combs, razors, mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 2200/1093 Brush for use on animal A46B2200/1086 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/023 arranged like in hair brushes, e.g. hair treatment, dyeing, streaking
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0266 Optical strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0064 Body surface scanning
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0071 by measuring fluorescence emission
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0075 by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy A61B5/0071 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0531 Measuring skin impedance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1032 Determining colour for diagnostic purposes measuring colour in general G01J3/46
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1072 measuring distances on the body, e.g. measuring length, height or thickness A61B5/1076 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1077 Measuring of profiles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1079 using optical or photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/444 Evaluating skin marks, e.g. mole, nevi, tumour, scar
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 : Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 : using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 : using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7455 : characterised by tactile indication, e.g. vibration or electrical stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 : Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/085 : for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0858 : involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 : Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4455 : Features of the external shape of the probe, e.g. ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4472 : Wireless probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 : involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 : involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5223 : for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 : Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are described for acquiring, among other things, lesion information from a hair or fur-covered region of a biological subject.

Claims

1-243. -243. (canceled)

244. A hair and scalp care system, comprising:

a body structure including a plurality of spaced-apart projections configured to engage hair, one or more of the spaced-apart projections having a scalp contact region;

one or more ultrasound transducers acoustically coupled to the scalp contact region of the spaced-apart projections; and

an ultrasound-imaging module operably coupled to the one or more ultrasound transducers, the ultrasound-imaging module operable to transmit and receive ultrasound signals associated with a scalp lesion.

246. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is operably coupled to one or more ultrasound transducers forming part of one or more of the plurality of spaced-apart projections.

251. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is operable to acquire ultrasound information associated with the scalp lesion.

253. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is operably coupled to a plurality of electromechanical transducer elements, the plurality of electromechanical transducer elements configured to interrogate the scalp region with an ultrasonic stimulus.

254. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is configured to generate one or more of an ultrasound image, a color velocity Doppler mode image, or a power Doppler mode image of the scalp region.

255. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is configured to generate a three-dimensional ultrasound imaging of the scalp region during grooming.

257. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, wherein the ultrasound-imaging module is configured to compare ultrasound images with previously acquired ultrasound images in real time.

258. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

an inertial navigation module operably coupled to the body structure.

262. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

a scalp lesion dielectric module.

263. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

a scalp lesion morphology module.

264. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

a scalp lesion imaging module.

265. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

a scalp examination module operably coupled to the ultrasound-imaging module.

268. The hair and scalp care system of claim 265, wherein the scalp examination module includes one or more memory devices having user-specific lesion data stored thereon.

269. The hair and scalp care system of claim 244, further comprising:

an examined region module operably coupled to one or more marker-dispenser components.

274. The hair and scalp care system of claim 269, wherein the examined region module is configured to activate release of a marker to mark examined regions during grooming.

275. The hair and scalp care system of claim 269, wherein the one or more marker-dispenser components are operably coupled to one or more of the plurality of spaced-apart projections.

277. The hair and scalp care system of claim 269, wherein the examined region module is operable to detect a marker previously released by the marker-dispenser component.

245. (canceled)

247-250. -250. (canceled)

252. (canceled)

256. (canceled)

259-261. -261. (canceled)

266-267. -267. (canceled)

270-273. -273. (canceled)

276. (canceled)

278. A scalp examination device, comprising:

a body structure having a plurality of spaced-apart projections configured to engage hair;

circuitry for interrogating one or more scalp regions with an ultrasonic stimulus during grooming; and

circuitry for acquiring an ultrasonic response associated with interrogation of one or more scalp regions with the ultrasonic stimulus during grooming.

279. The scalp examination device of claim 278, further comprising:

circuitry for generating lesion classification information associated with the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs from the circuitry for acquiring an ultrasonic response.

280. The scalp examination device of claim 278, further comprising:

circuitry for generating scalp lesion ultrasound information associated with the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs from the circuitry for acquiring an ultrasonic response.

281. The scalp examination device of claim 278, further comprising:

circuitry for generating one or more of an ultrasound image, a color velocity Doppler mode image, or a power Doppler mode image of the one or more scalp regions.

282. The scalp examination device of claim 278, further comprising:

circuitry for generating a three-dimensional ultrasound imaging of the one or more scalp regions during grooming.

283. The scalp examination device of claim 278, further comprising:

circuitry for generating an ultrasound image of the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs from the circuitry for acquiring an ultrasonic response.

284. A method, comprising:

interrogating one or more hair-covered scalp regions with an ultrasonic stimulus during grooming;

detecting an ultrasonic response associated with interrogating the one or more scalp regions with the ultrasonic stimulus; and

generating scalp lesion information.

285. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating primary lesion information responsive to one or more inputs indicative of an ultrasonic response.

286. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating secondary lesion information responsive to one or more inputs indicative of an ultrasonic response.

288. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating lesion configuration information responsive to one or more inputs indicative of an ultrasonic response.

291. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating scalp lesion ultrasound information associated with the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs associated with the detected ultrasonic response.

292. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating one or more of an ultrasound image, a color velocity Doppler mode image, and a power Doppler mode image of the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs associated with the detected ultrasonic response.

293. The method of claim 284, wherein generating the scalp lesion information includes generating a three-dimensional ultrasound imaging of the one or more scalp regions responsive to one or more inputs associated with the detected ultrasonic response.

287. (canceled)

289-290. -290. (canceled)