DATA GATHERING SYSTEM

• US 20150182170A1
• Filed: 03/11/2015
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Proteus Digital Health, Inc. (Otsuka Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Zdeblick, Mark, Hutchison, James, Arne, Lawrence
• Granted Patent: US 10,376,218 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0247 for compensation or correction of the measured physiological value
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0209 Special features of electrodes classified in A61B5/24, A61B5/25, A61B5/283, A61B5/291, A61B5/296, A61B5/053
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/04 Arrangements of multiple sensors of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/182 Electrical shielding, e.g. using a Faraday cage
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/061 Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body A61B1/00158 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/07 Endoradiosondes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7217 of noise originating from a therapeutic or surgical apparatus, e.g. from a pacemaker
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7225 Details of analog processing, e.g. isolation amplifier, gain or sensitivity adjustment, filtering, baseline or drift compensation A61B5/30, A61B5/316 take precedence; transformers for specific applications H01F38/00; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/725 using specific filters therefor, e.g. Kalman or adaptive filters A61B5/316 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/60 using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0418 with electronic history memory
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0481 working on a schedule basis
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/20 Pills, tablets, discs, rods A61K9/0004, A61K9/0007, A61K9/0056, A61K9/0065 take precedence; for reconstitution of a drink A61K9/0095
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 : relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/00 : Transmission systems characterised by the medium used for transmission, not provided for in groups H04B3/00 - H04B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 : Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body

Abstract

A device for gathering data has first and second electrodes. The first electrode is coupled to a surface of interest, and the second electrode is coupled to “everything else” or “the air”. The first electrode is shielded from the second, and from most sources of parasitic capacitance, by a shield that is driven by an active driver that drives the shield to track, and ideally to match, the instantaneous potential of the electrode. The second electrode is likewise shielded in a similar way from most sources of parasitic capacitance. These shields likewise help to limit the extent to which RFI from the device electronics couples with either of the electrodes. In this way the sensing device achieves a markedly better signal-to-noise ratio at frequency bands of interest.

Claims

1. Apparatus for gathering data, the apparatus comprising:

a first electrode, the electrode characterized as non-sticky, the electrode disposed for capacitive or electrically conductive coupling with a surface;

a second electrode, the electrode characterized as non-sticky, the electrode disposed for capacitive or electrically conductive coupling with a region opposed to the surface;

electronic circuitry disposed between the first and second electrodes;

the first electrode shielded by a shield located between the first electrode and the electronic circuitry;

the second electrode shielded by a shield located between the second electrode and the electronic circuitry;

the electronic circuitry comprising a first driver and a first amplifier receiving as an input a signal present at the first electrode, the first driver having an output coupled with the shield of the first electrode;

the electronic circuitry comprising a second driver and a second amplifier receiving as an input a signal present at the second electrode, the second driver having an output coupled with the shield of the second electrode;

the electronic circuitry further comprising a differential amplifier having first and second inputs, the first and second inputs connected to outputs of the first and second amplifiers, respectively;

the differential amplifier having an output;

the electronic circuitry further comprising means for communicating data indicative of the output of the differential amplifier to equipment external to the apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are substantially planar and are parallel with each other, the electronic circuitry lying between the first and second electrodes and parallel thereto.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating data indicative of the output of the differential amplifier to equipment external to the apparatus comprises a connector providing a serial data path.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating data indicative of the output of the differential amplifier to equipment external to the apparatus comprises a Bluetooth link.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the output of the differential amplifier is bandpass filtered to a band including 54 kilohertz.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized as unpowered from outside of the apparatus.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a shield surrounding the electronic circuitry.

8. A method for use in detecting signals, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a first electrode, the electrode characterized as non-sticky, the electrode capacitively or electrically conductively with a surface;

providing a second electrode, the electrode characterized as non-sticky, the electrode capacitively coupled with a region opposed to the surface;

providing an electroninc circuitry between the first electrode and the second electrode;

providing a first shield between the first electrode and the electronic circuitry;

providing a second shield between the second electrode and the electronic circuitry;

driving the first shield to follow a signal present at the first electrode;

driving the second shield to follow a signal present at the second electrode;

deriving a difference between the signal present at the first electrode and the signal present at the second electrode; and

communicating data indicative of the difference to equipment external to the apparatus,

wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a first driver and a first amplifier receiving as an input a signal present at the first electrode, the first driver having an output coupled with the shield of the first electrode,

the electronic circuitry comprises a second driver and a second amplifier receiving as an input a signal present at the second electrode, the second driver having an output coupled with the shield of the second electrode,

the electronic circuitry further comprises a differential amplifier having first and second inputs, the first and second inputs connected to outputs of the first and second amplifiers, respectively, and

the differential amplifier has an output indicating the difference.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the communicating data indicative of the difference to equipment external to the apparatus comprises passing serial data through a connector providing a serial data path.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the communicating data indicative of the difference to equipment external to the apparatus comprises passing data through a Bluetooth link.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the surface is skin.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the skin is at a wrist.