Fast responsive personalized thermometer
First Claim
1. A thermometer for determining an internal temperature of a subject comprising:
- a probe;
a first sensor forming a part of the probe and configured to obtain temperature readings from an external surface of the subject; and
a processing unit configured to receive a plurality of timed apart temperature readings, Ts, from the first sensor;
to calculate a value of the heat flux (Q) flowing from the subject to the first sensor;
to determine a peak value of Q and a corresponding value of Ts; and
to utilize the peak value of Q and the corresponding value of Ts to determine the internal temperature of the subject.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermometer includes a processing unit configured to receive a plurality of timed apart temperature readings from first and second sensors and a processor calculates heat flux value, Q, and obtains values of the heat flux vs. temperature (Q vs. Ts.) as the temperature approaches a steady state. The processor empirically predicts the steady state temperature of the sensor Ts, using the peak value of the values of Q vs. Ts.
The processor may also empirically calculate a bias value as a function of the peak value of Q vs. Ts. The bias value represents the difference between the temperature reading (Ts) at steady state and core temperature of the subject and is added to the steady state temperature to arrive at core. The thermometer probe may include one or more additional sensors for obtaining physiological readings from the subject other than temperature and the processing unit is configured to use empirical formulas to calculate the bias value using the physiological readings which may include blood perfusion, pulse rate and the bio-impedance of the subject.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A thermometer for determining an internal temperature of a subject comprising:
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a probe; a first sensor forming a part of the probe and configured to obtain temperature readings from an external surface of the subject; and a processing unit configured to receive a plurality of timed apart temperature readings, Ts, from the first sensor; to calculate a value of the heat flux (Q) flowing from the subject to the first sensor; to determine a peak value of Q and a corresponding value of Ts; and to utilize the peak value of Q and the corresponding value of Ts to determine the internal temperature of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A thermometer comprising:
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a probe; a temperature sensor forming a part of said probe and configured to obtain temperature readings from a subject at a measuring site; and a processing unit configured to obtain said temperature readings from the subject and from said temperature readings to determine a steady state temperature of the temperature sensor at the measuring site; to obtain physiological readings from a non-temperature sensor and to empirically calculate a bias value as a function of said physiological readings, said bias value representing a difference between the said determined steady state temperature of the sensor and the core temperature of the subject; to use the bias value and the said determined steady state temperature to arrive at the core temperature; and wherein said non-temperature sensor is configured to measure a bio-impedance or a blood perfusion of the subject and said bias value is calculated as a function of the measured bio-impedance or blood perfusion. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification