Signal transmission through a medium

• US 9,538,938 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Garcia Morchon, Oscar, Falck, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foreman, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US13/498,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20120184877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,295 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 600/301, 600/546, 600/547
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/103 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes A61B5/08 takes precedence; measuring aids for tailors A41H1/00; measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/441 Skin evaluation, e.g. for skin disorder diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4504 Bones A61B5/4547 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4869 Determining body composition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00

Abstract

System using on- or in-body communication technologies such as body-sound communication (BSC) or body-coupled communication (BCC) to obtain information on the body composition of a patient (e.g. water content/hydration level on bone density/joint status). The system, in a preferred embodiment, comprises a transmitter, receiver and processor connected to the receiver. The transmitter is arranged to transmit a signal through a medium (the body of the patient), the signal comprising a plurality of different frequency components and transmission technologies. The receiver is arranged to receive the signal following propagation through the said medium. The processor is arranged to generate, at a first time, one or more transfer functions from the received signal, each transfer function defining values for a predetermined signal parameter at different frequencies. The processor then generates, at a second time, one or more further transfer functions from the received signal and compares a transfer function with the further transfer function for the same signal parameter. An output is generated if the difference between the transfer function and the further transfer function exceeds a preset threshold.

Claims

1. A body wearable system for facilitating analysis related to a body of a user, the system comprising:

a first transducer configured to be placed at a first body location on the body of the user and to transmit a signal through at least a portion of the body of the user from the first body location;

a second transducer configured to be placed at a second body location on the body of the user, to receive the signal at the second body location via at least the portion of the body of the user, and to transmit the signal received at the second body location to one or more processors of the body wearable system;

a third transducer configured to be placed at a third body location on the body of the user between the first body location and the second body location, to receive the signal at the third body location, to generate a verification signal based the signal received at the third body location, and to transmit the verification signal to the one or more processors; and

the one or more processors configured to;

receive, from the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location;

receive the verification signal from the third transducer;

generate, at a first time, a first transfer function from the received signal, the first transfer function defining values at different frequencies for a predetermined signal parameters;

generate, at a second time, a further transfer function from the received signal;

compare the first transfer function with the further transfer function for the predetermined signal parameter and further adapt the comparison based on the received verification signal;

provide, via a display device, an output related to a preset threshold responsive to the adapted comparison indicating that a difference between the first transfer function and further transfer function exceeds the preset threshold.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors generate, at the first time, a first transfer function corresponding to a wave velocity of the received signal and generate, at the second time, a further transfer function corresponding to the wave velocity of the received signal, wherein the adopted comparison indicates a delay of the received signal, and wherein the delay is indicative of a water content of the body of the user.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined parameter is an amplitude of the received signal and wherein the adopted comparison indicates an attenuation at the different frequencies of the amplitude of the received signal.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined signal parameter is one or more of a group velocity, a phase velocity, or a dispersion of the received signal.

5. A system according to claim 1 wherein the first transducer and the second transducer are synchronized.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the first transducer is configured to generate the signal using multiple different transmission technologies, the multiple different transmission technologies comprising body-coupled communication (BCC) and body-sound communication (BSC).

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the second transducer comprises a microphone.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the body wearable system comprises a bracelet.

9. A method for facilitating analysis related to a body of a user, with a body wearable system comprising a first transducer configured to be placed at a first body location on the body of the user, a second transducer configured to be placed at a second body location on the body of the user, a third transducer configured to be placed at a third body location on the body of the user between the first body location and the second body location, and one or more processors, the method comprising:

transmitting, with the first transducer, a signal through at least a portion of the body of the user from the first body location;

receiving, with the second transducer, the signal at the second body location via at least the portion of the body of the user;

transmitting, with the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location to the one or more processors of the body wearable system;

receiving, with the third transducer, the signal at the third body location;

generating, with the third transducer, a verification signal based the signal received at the third body location;

transmitting, with the third transducer, the verification signal to the one or more processors;

receiving with the one or more processors, from the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location;

receiving, with the one or more processors, the verification signal from the third transducer;

generating, with the one or more processors at a first time, a first transfer function from the received signal, the first transfer function defining values at different frequencies for a predetermined signal parameter;

generating, with the one or more processors at a second time, a further transfer function from the received signal;

comparing, with the one or more processors, the first transfer function with the further transfer function for the predetermined signal parameter and further adapting the comparison based on the received verification signal;

providing, via a display device, an output related to a preset threshold responsive to the adapted comparison indicating that a difference between the first transfer function and the further transfer function exceeds the preset threshold.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the first transfer function corresponds to a wave velocity of the received signal and the further transfer function corresponds to the wave velocity of the received signal, wherein the adopted comparison indicates a delay of the received signal, and wherein the delay is indicative of a water content of the body of the user.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined parameter is an amplitude of the received signal and wherein the adopted comparison indicates an attenuation at the different frequencies of the amplitude of the received signal.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein transmitting the signal comprises generating, with the first transducer, the signal using multiple different transmission technologies, the multiple different transmission technologies comprising body-coupled communication (BCC) and body-sound communication (BSC).

13. A method according to claim 9, further comprising synchronizing the first transducer and the second transducer.

14. A method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined signal parameter is one or more of a group velocity, a phase velocity, or a dispersion of the received signal.

15. A method according to claim 9, wherein the body wearable system comprises a bracelet.