Device and method for estimating the heart rate during motion
First Claim
1. A portable device for determining a heart rate of a person, said portable device comprising:
- a heart rate sensor for measuring the heart rate of the person over time to generate a heart rate signal;
an inertial sensor for measuring the motion of a body part of the person over time to generate a motion signal; and
a processing unit which is adapted to;
measure via analysis of the heart rate signal a signal quality of the heart rate signal,calculate the heart rate based on the heart rate signal if said signal quality is above a predefined threshold, andestimate the heart rate based on the motion signal if said signal quality is below said threshold, wherein the processing unit is adapted to estimate the heart rate by estimating a heart rate constant (HRconstant) and defining an exponential development of the heart rate over time, wherein the exponential development of the heart rate starts at a last reliably measured heart rate and finishes at the estimated HRconstant, the estimated HRconstant depending on a frequency of the motion signal, and the last reliably measured heart rate being the last measured heart rate with the heart rate sensor at a time before falling below said threshold, wherein the exponential development includes an exponential curve indicating the heart rate over time, which exponential curve has a time constant a, a being a constant related to the person'"'"'s fitness which decreases with increasing fitness.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a portable device (10) for determining a heart rate of a person (20), comprising a heart rate measurement unit, a motion measurement unit for measuring the motion of a body part (12), and a processing unit. The processing unit is adapted to measure a signal quality of the heart rate signal and accordingly switch between two calculation modes: If the signal quality is above a predefined threshold, the heart rate is calculated based on the heart rate signal. If the signal quality is so poor that a reliable calculation of the heart rate is technically not possible anymore based on the heart rate signal, the processing unit switches to its second calculation mode, in which the heart rate is estimated based on the motion signal by estimating a heart rate constant, which depends on the frequency of the motion signal, and defining an exponential development of the heart rate, starting at the last reliably measured heart rate and finishing at the estimated heart rate constant.
21 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A portable device for determining a heart rate of a person, said portable device comprising:
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a heart rate sensor for measuring the heart rate of the person over time to generate a heart rate signal; an inertial sensor for measuring the motion of a body part of the person over time to generate a motion signal; and a processing unit which is adapted to; measure via analysis of the heart rate signal a signal quality of the heart rate signal, calculate the heart rate based on the heart rate signal if said signal quality is above a predefined threshold, and estimate the heart rate based on the motion signal if said signal quality is below said threshold, wherein the processing unit is adapted to estimate the heart rate by estimating a heart rate constant (HRconstant) and defining an exponential development of the heart rate over time, wherein the exponential development of the heart rate starts at a last reliably measured heart rate and finishes at the estimated HRconstant, the estimated HRconstant depending on a frequency of the motion signal, and the last reliably measured heart rate being the last measured heart rate with the heart rate sensor at a time before falling below said threshold, wherein the exponential development includes an exponential curve indicating the heart rate over time, which exponential curve has a time constant a, a being a constant related to the person'"'"'s fitness which decreases with increasing fitness. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13)
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11. A method for determining a heart rate of a person, including the steps of:
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measuring the heart rate of the person over time to generate a heart rate signal; measuring the motion of a body part of the person over time to generate a motion signal; measuring via analysis of the heart rate signal a signal quality of the heart rate signal; calculating the heart rate based on the heart rate signal if said signal quality is above a predefined threshold; and estimating the heart rate based on the motion signal if said signal quality is below said threshold, wherein the estimating includes estimating a heart rate constant (HRconstant) and defining an exponential development of the heart rate over time, wherein the exponential development of the heart rate starts at a last reliably measured heart rate and finishes at the estimated HRconstant, the estimated HRconstant depending on a frequency of the motion signal, and the last reliably measured heart rate being the last measured heart rate at a time before falling below said threshold, wherein the exponential development includes an exponential curve indicating the heart rate over time, which exponential curve has a time constant a, a being a constant related to the person'"'"'s fitness which decreases with increasing fitness. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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12. A system for determining a heart rate of a person, said system comprising:
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a portable heart rate measurement device for measuring the heart rate of the person over time to generate a heart rate signal; a portable motion measurement device for measuring the motion of a body part of the person over time to generate a motion signal; and a processing device which comprises a communication interface for receiving said heart rate signal and said motion signal, and a processing unit which is adapted to; measure via analysis of the heart rate signal a signal quality of the heart rate signal, calculate the heart rate based on the heart rate signal if said signal quality is above a predefined threshold, and estimate the heart rate based on the motion signal if said signal quality is below said threshold, wherein the processing unit is adapted to estimate the heart rate based on the motion signal, wherein the processing unit is adapted to estimate the heart rate by estimating a heart rate constant (HRconstant) and defining an exponential development of the heart rate over time, wherein the exponential development of the heart rate starts at a last reliably measured heart rate and finishes at the estimated HRconstant, the estimated HRconstant depending on a frequency of the motion signal, and the last reliably measured heart rate being the last measured heart rate with the heart rate measurement device at a time before falling below said threshold, wherein the exponential development includes an exponential curve indicating the heart rate over time, which exponential curve has a time constant a, a being a constant related to the person'"'"'s fitness which decreases with increasing fitness. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification