Method and apparatus for determining a physiological parameter using a fingerprint sensor on a portable electronic device
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- capturing a plurality of images corresponding to an area beneath a surface of skin using a fingerprint sensor configured to capture a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on a touch surface on a portable electronic device;
comparing image characteristics corresponding to at least a first image of the plurality of images with image characteristics corresponding to at least a second image of the plurality of images; and
determining a physiological parameter based on comparing the image characteristics,wherein the method further comprises;
operating the fingerprint sensor in a fingerprint reader mode including capturing a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on the touch surface to authenticate a user of the portable electronic device;
operating the fingerprint sensor at a first number of frames per second to authenticate a user of the portable electronic device;
changing fingerprint sensor parameters to switch the fingerprint sensor from the fingerprint reader mode to a physiological parameter determination mode; and
increasing the first number of frames per second to a second number of frames per second to operate the fingerprint sensor as a physiological parameter monitor, andwherein the physiological parameter comprises a heart rate or oxygen consumption.
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Abstract
A method (300) and apparatus (200) that determines a physiological parameter using a fingerprint sensor on a portable electronic device is disclosed. The method can include capturing (320) a plurality of images corresponding to an area beneath a surface of skin using a fingerprint sensor configured to capture a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on a touch surface on a portable electronic device. The method can include comparing (330) image characteristics corresponding to at least a first image of the plurality of images with image characteristics corresponding to at least a second image of the plurality of images. The method can include determining (340) a physiological parameter based on comparing the image characteristics.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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capturing a plurality of images corresponding to an area beneath a surface of skin using a fingerprint sensor configured to capture a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on a touch surface on a portable electronic device; comparing image characteristics corresponding to at least a first image of the plurality of images with image characteristics corresponding to at least a second image of the plurality of images; and determining a physiological parameter based on comparing the image characteristics, wherein the method further comprises; operating the fingerprint sensor in a fingerprint reader mode including capturing a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on the touch surface to authenticate a user of the portable electronic device; operating the fingerprint sensor at a first number of frames per second to authenticate a user of the portable electronic device; changing fingerprint sensor parameters to switch the fingerprint sensor from the fingerprint reader mode to a physiological parameter determination mode; and increasing the first number of frames per second to a second number of frames per second to operate the fingerprint sensor as a physiological parameter monitor, and wherein the physiological parameter comprises a heart rate or oxygen consumption. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19)
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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a portable electronic device housing; a fingerprint sensor coupled to the portable electronic device housing, the fingerprint sensor configured to capture a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on a touch surface; and a controller coupled to the portable electronic device housing and coupled to the fingerprint sensor, the controller including; an image capture module configured to capture a plurality of images corresponding to an area beneath a surface of skin using the fingerprint sensor; an image comparison module configured to compare image characteristics corresponding to at least a first image of the plurality of images with image characteristics corresponding to at least a second image of the plurality of images; and a physiological parameter determination module configured to determine a physiological parameter based on comparing the image characteristics, wherein the controller is configured to operate the fingerprint sensor in a fingerprint reader mode including capturing a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on the touch surface to authenticate a user of the apparatus and configured to change fingerprint sensor parameters to switch the fingerprint sensor from the fingerprint reader mode to a physiological parameter determination mode, wherein the controller is configured to operate the fingerprint sensor at a first number of frames per second to authenticate a user of the apparatus, wherein the controller is configured to increase the number of frames per second to a second number of frames per second to operate the fingerprint sensor as a physiological parameter monitor, and wherein the physiological parameter comprises a heart rate or oxygen consumption. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method comprising:
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operating a fingerprint sensor in a fingerprint reader mode including capturing a live scan of a fingerprint pattern from a finger on a touch surface to authenticate a user of a portable electronic device; changing fingerprint sensor parameters to switch the fingerprint sensor from the fingerprint reader mode to a heart rate determination mode; capturing a plurality of images corresponding to an area beneath a surface of skin using the fingerprint sensor; comparing image characteristics corresponding to at least a first image of the plurality of images with image characteristics corresponding to at least a second image of the plurality of images; determining a heart rate based on comparing the image characteristics; and outputting data corresponding to the heart rate, wherein the method further comprises; operating the fingerprint sensor at a first number of frames per second to authenticate a user of the portable electronic device in the fingerprint reader mode; and increasing the number of frames per second to a second number of frames per second to operate the fingerprint sensor in the heart rate determination mode.
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Specification