Sensor device for sensing body fluid density and/or membrane resistance

• US 9,888,883 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2012
• Issued: 02/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MecSense AS
• Original Assignee: MecSense AS
• Inventors: Ellingsen, Olav, Ellingsen, Bjarte Sorebo
• Primary Examiner(s): JANG, CHRISTIAN YONGKYUN
• Application Number:
  US13/979,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20130338456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,224 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0051 by applying vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/442 Evaluating skin mechanical properties, e.g. elasticity, hardness, texture, wrinkle assessment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/443 Evaluating skin constituents, e.g. elastin, melanin, water
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6816 Ear lobe
• 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 5/7278 Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 9/24 by observing the transmission of wave or particle radiation through the material
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 9/26 by measuring pressure differences

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sensor device for measuring tensile variation against a membrane separating a liquid such as the skin on humans and animals and any other membrane separating a liquid on one of its sides.

Claims

1. A non-invasive sensor for measuring the density of a body fluid in contact with human skin comprising a single pulse generator, a temperature sensor and a transducer configured to register the speed of the pulse as a function of the body fluid and the elasticity of the skin when applying a constant force F, wherein said transducer is connected to a microprocessor in which a signal from the transducer is compensated by the recorded temperature to a preset mean temperature and transformed into values for the relative density of said body fluid and membrane elasticity, wherein the speed of the pulse is dependent on the composition of the body fluid and the elasticity of the skin, and the relative density is dependent on the composition of the body fluid.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the pulse generating device generates a pulse in a form of a mechanical pulse, a vibrating force, or a compressed air/liquid pulse.

3. The sensor of claim 2, wherein the pulse generating device generates a mechanical pulse.

4. The sensor of claim 3, wherein the mechanical pulse is generated by a pneumatic or hydraulic impulse.

5. The sensor of claim 3, wherein the mechanical pulse is generated by an electromagnet or a magneto-strictive material and wherein the detection of the pulse is recorded by a detection coil or by a variable capacitor, light diode, accelerometer, microphone or any other sensitive pick up devices capable of monitoring the impact of the mechanical pulse.

6. The sensor of claim 5, wherein the mechanical pulse is a single pulse, a pulse train or in the form of vibration.

7. A sensor in accordance with claim 1, wherein a rate of the change of glucose values is computed and wherein the rate is shown on a display either in digits and/or graphs with associated warnings and recommendations to the user.