Non-contact patient temperature measurement
First Claim
1. A method for measuring an animate body temperature at an external dermal surface thereof over an air interface, comprising:
- interconnecting a sensor device to the external dermal surface of the animate body, said sensor having a thermally conductive contact surface for thermally contacting said external dermal surface;
emitting an interrogation signal from a hand held probe having a portable power source;
receiving a portion of said interrogation signal at said sensor device, wherein said interrogation signal is received via an air interface;
utilizing energy derived from said interrogation signal to measure a temperature of the animate body at the external dermal surface thereof in thermal contact with said thermally conductive contact surface of said sensor, and to generate a temperature signal indicative of said measured temperature for receipt by said hand-held probe via said air interface; and
providing a user output indicating said temperature at said hand held probe.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system are provided for allowing non-contact temperature measurement of an animate body. More particularly, a transponder sensor device attached to an animate body is utilized to non-intrusively measure a temperature of the animate body in response to an interrogation signal transmitted over an air interface from a portable probe. In one embodiment, the sensor device is a passive device that is operative to collect energy from an interrogation signal emitted from the probe. In this regard, the sensor device does not require an internal power source. The collected energy is utilized to measure the temperature of the animate body and transmit a response signal containing temperature information back to the probe over the air interface.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method for measuring an animate body temperature at an external dermal surface thereof over an air interface, comprising:
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interconnecting a sensor device to the external dermal surface of the animate body, said sensor having a thermally conductive contact surface for thermally contacting said external dermal surface; emitting an interrogation signal from a hand held probe having a portable power source; receiving a portion of said interrogation signal at said sensor device, wherein said interrogation signal is received via an air interface; utilizing energy derived from said interrogation signal to measure a temperature of the animate body at the external dermal surface thereof in thermal contact with said thermally conductive contact surface of said sensor, and to generate a temperature signal indicative of said measured temperature for receipt by said hand-held probe via said air interface; and providing a user output indicating said temperature at said hand held probe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for measuring an animate body temperature at an external dermal surface thereof over an air interface, comprising:
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a portable hand-held probe for transmitting and receiving signals via an air interface, said probe including; a first antenna; a power source; and a user output; and a sensor, interconnectable to an external dermal surface of an animate body, for receiving a signal from said probe, measuring a temperature of said body at said external dermal surface, and transmitting a response signal indicative of said temperature to said probe via said air interface, said sensor including; a second antenna for receiving and sending signals; a conversion circuit for converting a received signal to a drive signal; a temperature measurement device operative to utilize said drive signal to measure said temperature and generate an output indicative of said temperature; an oscillator operative to vary a load applied to said second antenna according to said output in order to generate said response signal; and a thermally conductive contact surface for providing thermal contact with the external dermal surface of the animate body. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system for measuring an animate body temperature at an external dermal surface thereof over an air interface, comprising:
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a portable hand-held probe for generating an interrogation signal and receiving response signals via an air interface; a transponder temperature sensor, comprising; a thermally conductive contact surface adapted to thermally contact an external dermal surface of an animate body; circuitry for receiving said interrogation signal from said probe, measuring a temperature at said thermally conductive contact surface in thermal contact with the external dermal surface of the animate body, and generating a temperature response signal indicative of said temperature; and insulation covering at least a portion of non-contact surfaces of said transponder. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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Specification