Wearable pulse pressure wave sensing device
First Claim
1. A wearable pulse pressure wave sensing device, comprising:
- a mounting structure configured to be attachable to a user'"'"'s skin on an area proximate to an underlying artery;
an array of pressure sensors disposed on said mounting structure, each pressure sensor of the array being configured to measure a pulse pressure wave traveling through the underlying artery;
one or more image-based arterial location sensors disposed on the mounting structure and configured to identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the underlying artery, each of the one or more image-based arterial location sensors being calibrated so that pixels in images captured by the image-based arterial location sensor are mapped to locations relative to each pressure sensor of the array of pressure sensors;
one or more processors; and
one or more storage devices holding instructions executable by the one or more processors to;
capture, via the one or more image-based arterial location sensors, one or more images of the user'"'"'s skin,analyze the one or more captured images to visually identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the underlying artery,select a single pressure sensor from the array of pressure sensors that is mapped to the identified location in the one or more captured images, andmeasure, via the single selected pressure sensor, the pulse pressure wave.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Wearable pulse pressure wave sensing devices are presented that generally provide a non-intrusive way to measure a pulse pressure wave travelling through an artery using a wearable device. In one implementation, the device includes an array of pressure sensors disposed on a mounting structure which is attachable to a user on an area proximate to an underlying artery. Each of the pressure sensors is capable of being mechanically coupled to the skin of the user proximate to the underlying artery. In addition, there are one or more arterial location sensors disposed on the mounting structure which identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the artery. A pulse pressure wave is then measured using the pressure sensor of the array closest to the identified location.
45 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A wearable pulse pressure wave sensing device, comprising:
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a mounting structure configured to be attachable to a user'"'"'s skin on an area proximate to an underlying artery; an array of pressure sensors disposed on said mounting structure, each pressure sensor of the array being configured to measure a pulse pressure wave traveling through the underlying artery; one or more image-based arterial location sensors disposed on the mounting structure and configured to identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the underlying artery, each of the one or more image-based arterial location sensors being calibrated so that pixels in images captured by the image-based arterial location sensor are mapped to locations relative to each pressure sensor of the array of pressure sensors; one or more processors; and one or more storage devices holding instructions executable by the one or more processors to; capture, via the one or more image-based arterial location sensors, one or more images of the user'"'"'s skin, analyze the one or more captured images to visually identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the underlying artery, select a single pressure sensor from the array of pressure sensors that is mapped to the identified location in the one or more captured images, and measure, via the single selected pressure sensor, the pulse pressure wave. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer-implemented process for measuring a pulse pressure wave travelling through an artery of a user, comprising the actions of:
using a computing device to perform the following process actions; capturing one or more images of the user'"'"'s skin using one or more image-based arterial location sensors, wherein each image-based arterial location sensor is calibrated so that pixels in the one or more images captured by the one or more image-based arterial location sensors are mapped to locations relative to each of a plurality of pressure sensors of an array of pressure sensors; analyzing the one or more captured images to visually identify a location on the skin of the user in an area proximate to the underlying artery which exhibits the greatest displacement of the user'"'"'s skin when a pulse pressure wave passes through the underlying artery in said area; determining which single pressure sensor of the array of pressure sensors is mapped to the identified location on the user'"'"'s skin; selecting the single pressure sensor determined to be mapped to the identified location; and measuring another pulse pressure wave travelling through the underlying artery using the selected single pressure sensor. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A system for analyzing a pressure wave travelling through an artery of a user, comprising:
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a band which is either adhered to an area proximate to an underlying artery of the user'"'"'s body, or wrapped around and tightened against said area; an array of pressure sensors disposed on said band, each pressure sensor of the array being configured to measure a pulse pressure wave traveling through the underlying artery; one or more image-based arterial location sensors disposed on said band and configured to identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin likely overlying the underlying artery; an array of pressure sensors disposed on said band, each of the one or more image-based arterial location sensors being calibrated so that pixels in images captured by the image-based arterial location sensor are mapped to locations relative to each pressure sensor of the array of pressure sensors; and a computing device which executes program modules of a computer program, the computing device being directed by the program modules of the computer program to; capture, via the one or more image-based arterial location sensors, one or more images of the user'"'"'s skin, analyze the one or more captured images to visually identify a location on the user'"'"'s skin in the area proximate to the underlying artery which exhibits the greatest displacement of the user'"'"'s skin when a pulse pressure wave passes through the underlying artery using the received signals output from the one or more arterial location sensors, determine which single pressure sensor of the array of pressure sensors is mapped to the identified location on the user'"'"'s skin in the one or more captured images, select the single pressure sensor determined to be mapped to the identified location, receive a signal output from just the selected single pressure sensor when a pulse pressure wave is traveling through the underlying artery, and analyze the received signal to measure the pulse pressure wave. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification