Intrusion-free physiological condition monitoring

• US H1,039 H
• Filed: 11/14/1988
• Issued: 04/07/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1988
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lloyd D. Tripp Jr, Richard E. Ellison, William B. Albery
• Original Assignee: Lloyd D. Tripp Jr, Richard E. Ellison, William B. Albery
• Inventors: Tripp, Jr., Lloyd D., Albery, William B., Ellison, Richard E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carone, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US31/721,46
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 12820123, 12820124, 12820129, 12820211, 12820423, 12820429, 12820621, 12820628, 128633, 128634, 128637, 244196, 244197, 340495
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6819 Nose
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/02 Masks gas-masks for animals A62B18/06; masks for welders A61F9/06

Abstract

A physiological well-being monitoring system especially suited for use by the pilot or other aircrew members of a high-performance aircraft such as a tactical aircraft is disclosed. The monitoring arrangement includes non-invasive sensing of arterial blood supply in the cranial adjacent portions of the pilot'"'"'s body through the use of pulsating vascular bed optical signal transmission. The signal transmission is accomplished by way of sensors included in a pilot invisible and non-obstructing modification of, for example, the oxygen mask portion of the pilot life-support apparatus. Use of the physiological monitoring signals to generate alarm or assume control of the aircraft is also disclosed along with representative data associated with the sensed pilot physiological well-being indicators.

Claims

1. Aviation life support apparatus comprising the combination of:

a facial communications and oxygen delivery mask member receivable over the nose and lower facial region of an aircrew member;

optical sensing means received in said mask member and in optical communication with a nasal septum region pulsating vascular bed of said aircrew member for sensing G-force loading influenced quantitative blood flow indicators in said vascular bed and adjacent cerebral regions of said aircrew member.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pulsating vascular bed includes a nasal septal anterior ethmoid artery region of said aircrew member.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said optical sensing means includes solid state electrical to optical and optical to electrical signal transducers coupled via optical signal passing through said pulsating vascular bed.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said electrical to optical signal transducers include a plurality of light emitting diode transducer elements each generating an optical signal of different optical wavelength.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said different optical wavelengths are selected in response to the optical energy absorption characteristics of hemoglobin.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said facial mask member includes means closely conformed to facial features of said aircrew member for quickly disposing said mask in the same relative facial position during each use thereof;

whereby consistent and comprehensible electrical signals are generated by said optical sensing means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said facial mask member is custom mold fitted to the facial features of each individual aircrew member.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said mask member includes acoustic communications transducer means and wherein electrical signals attending said electrical to optical and said optical to electrical signal transducers and said acoustic transducer means are communicated from said aircrew member to the surrounding environment via a common tether.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said electrical to optical signal transducers include separate transducer elements generating optical energy at the wavelengths of six hundred sixty and nine hundred twenty nanometers.

10. Physiological condition monitoring apparatus for a exposed aircrew member comprising the combination of:

a mask member disposed in covering relationship over at least the nosebridge facial region of said aircrew member;

a source of optical energy radiation mounted on said mask member in a first nosebridge facing position thereon;

optical-to-electrical energy transducer means mounted on said member in an opposed second nosebridge facing position thereon, for generating electrical signals representing optical energy signals received from said source of optical energy radiation via blood encolored tissue in the nosebridge region of said G-force exposed aircrew member; and

oximeter means for converting said transducer means electrical signals into physiological condition related electrical signals for said G-force exposed aircrew member.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said source of optical energy radiation and said optical-to-electrical transducer means are received on opposed lateral surfaces of said mask and thereby reside adjacent opposed lateral nose surfaces of said aircrew member while said mask is received in said nosebridge covering relationship.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said source of optical energy radiation has optical energy output in the red to infrared spectral region.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said optical-to-electrical energy transducer means includes a plurality of optical-to-electrical transducer elements and said elements are each selectively responsive to energy in a different red to infrared optical spectrum portion.

14. The method of monitoring blood oxygen content in an oxygen mask assisted person comprising the steps of:

illuminating nasal septum facial regions of said person with oxygen mask nose region sourced optical energy of predetermined red to infrared spectral band energy content;

collecting, with oxygen mask nose region located optical-to-electrical signal transducer means, a sample of the optical energy transmitted through blood encolored said nasal septum region tissue of said person; and

converting the transducing means electrical signals into physiological condition related electrical signals using a red, and infrared, spectral region dual spectral band oximeter conversion.

15. Oxygen mask apparatus comprising the combination of:

a facial feature conformed enclosure member receivable adjacent nose and mouth structure openings of an oxygen-assisted person, said enclosure member including first and second surface portions extending one along each side of said nose structure of said assisted person;

means for communicating a flow of life-supporting oxygen inclusive gases to and from the space within said enclosure member and thereby to and from said assisted person;

a source of optical illumination mounted on said first surface portion of said enclosure member and directed toward an adjacent lateral nose surface of said assisted person; and

optical signals reception means mounted on said enclosure member second surface portion and responsive to the optical illumination signals originating in said source of optical illumination and passed through nose region blood encolored tissue of said person.