Data gathering system

• US 9,014,779 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Lee S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cardinal, Erin M
• Application Number:
  US13/377,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20120116201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 600/372, 600/382, 600/393, 439/909
• US Class Current: 600/393
• 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 first electrode characterized as non-sticky, the first electrode disposed for capacitive or electrically conductive coupling with a surface having air thereabove;

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

electronic circuitry disposed physically between the first and second electrodes;

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

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

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

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

the electronic circuitry further comprising a differential amplifier having first and second inputs, each input connected to a respective one of the first and second electrodes;

the differential amplifier having an output;

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

a third shield surrounding the electronic circuitry, the third shield disposed physically between the first shield and the second shield, the third shield electrically insulated from the first shield, and the third shield electrically insulated from the second shield.

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

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

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

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

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the coupling of the second electrode with the air is free of any intervening conducting or insulating material.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that nothing lies between the second electrode and the air.

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

providing an apparatus comprising;

a first electrode, the first electrode characterized as non-sticky, the first electrode capacitively or electrically conductively coupled with a surface having air thereabove;

a second electrode, the second electrode characterized as non-sticky, the second electrode capacitively coupled with the air;

electronic circuitry physically between the first electrode and the second electrode;

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

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

a third shield surrounding the electronic circuitry, the third shield disposed physically between the first shield and the second shield, the third shield 3electrically insulated from the first shield, and the third shield electrically insulated from the second shield

by means of the electronic circuitry, driving the first shield to follow a signal present at the first electrode;

by means of the electronic circuitry, driving the second shield to follow a signal present at the second electrode;

by means of the electronic circuitry, 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.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein 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 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.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising filtering the derived difference to a band including 54 kilohertz, the communicating step further characterized in that the communicated data is indicative of the filtered derived difference.

14. The method of claim 8 further characterized in that the coupling of the second electrode with the air is free of any intervening conducting or insulating material.

15. The method of claim 14 further characterized in that nothing lies between the second electrode and the air.