Systems, devices, and methods for measuring blood pressure of a user

• US 10,702,171 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2015
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Narasimhan, Ravi, Zeng, Zijing, Kimoto, Richard C., Klaassen, Erno, Sullivan, Thomas J., Young, Derek Park-Shing, Whitehurst, Todd K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kremer, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foley, Avery M
• Application Number:
  US15/507,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20170360306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,764 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0223 of calibration, e.g. protocols for calibrating sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/028 Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0053 by applying pressure, e.g. compression, indentation, palpation, grasping, gauging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02108 from analysis of pulse wave characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/022 by applying pressure to close blood vessels, e.g. against the skin; Ophthalmodynamometers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to blood pressure monitoring. In some embodiments, methods and devices of measuring a mean arterial pressure are provided and/or monitoring blood pressure changes. A wrist-worn device may include a plurality of sensors backed by a plurality of actuators. Subsets of the plurality of sensors may be selectively actuateable against a wrist of a user using one or more of the plurality of actuators. A preferred sensor and location may be identified based on pressure signals received from each of the sensors. In some embodiments, devices may use a fluid bladder coupled with piezoelectric film sensors. A fluid bladder pressure sensor may be used to calibrate the piezoelectric film signal to provide a static and dynamic pressure reading. In yet another embodiment, a mean arterial pressure may be calculated by processing a swept pressure signal obtained as a sensor is swept through different heights.

Claims

1. A method of measuring a blood pressure of a user having a wrist, skin defining an outer surface of the wrist, the method comprising:

maintaining engagement between the skin of the wrist and a skin interface of a wrist-worn device using a band having a length extending about the wrist, the wrist-worn device comprising actuators and a sensor system, the skin interface including an array of surface regions distributed along the length of the band, the sensor system comprising sensors, each of the sensors being associated with one of the surface regions, wherein each of the actuators is operatively coupled with only one of the sensors;

selectively urging a first region of the array at a first location of the band against the wrist with a first actuator and receiving a first associated signal from a first sensor of the sensors, the first sensor being associated with the first region;

selectively urging a second region of the array at a second location of the band against the wrist with a second actuator and receiving a second associated signal from a second sensor of the sensors, the second sensor being associated with the second region, wherein the first location is spaced apart from the second location along the length of the band;

selecting one of the first sensor and the second sensor by comparing the first associated signal with the second associated signal;

identifying a preferred actuator of the first actuator and the second actuator, wherein the preferred actuator is identified to be the first actuator when the selected one of the first sensor and the second sensor is the first sensor, and wherein the preferred actuator is identified to be the second actuator when the selected one of the first sensor and the second sensor is the second sensor;

measuring the blood pressure of the user via applanation by using the preferred actuator and the selected one of the first sensor and the second sensor; and

outputting the blood pressure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively urging the first region of the array against the wrist of the user is performed concurrently with receiving the first associated signal so that the first associated signal is a first swept pressure signal comprising pressure waveforms measured while an applied pressure by the first actuator is varied;

and wherein selectively urging the second region against the wrist of the user is performed concurrently with receiving the second associated signal so that the second associated signal is a second swept pressure signal comprising pressure waveforms measured while an applied pressure of the second actuator is varied.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein comparing the first associated signal with the second associated signal comprises identifying a first maximum pressure pulse in the first swept pressure signal and a second maximum pressure pulse in the second swept pressure signal and wherein the selected one of the first sensor and the second sensor is associated with the signal with a larger maximum pressure pulse amplitude.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising withdrawing the first region from the wrist of the user prior to receiving the second signal from the sensor system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first sensor comprises a first pressure sensor;

the second sensor comprises a second pressure sensor; and

selectively urging the first region of the array and selectively urging the second region of the array against the wrist is performed by urging the first pressure sensor against the wrist with the first actuator and by urging the second pressure sensor against the wrist with the second actuator, respectively.

6. A device for determining a blood pressure of a user having a wrist, skin defining an outer surface of the wrist and an artery;

the device comprising;

an elongate band with a length configured to extend around the wrist of the user so as to support a skin interface surface of the device in engagement with the skin of the wrist;

pressure actuators coupling the elongate band to the skin interface surface, the pressure actuators configured to apply a variable pressure between the skin interface surface and the skin of the wrist at an array of regions distributed along the skin interface surface, the pressure actuators comprising a first pressure actuator and a second pressure actuator;

pressure sensors distributed over a sensor surface extending along the skin interface surface, the pressure sensors comprising a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor, the first pressure sensor being configured to sense a pressure of a first region of the array of regions, the second pressure sensor being configured to sense a pressure of a second region of the array of regions, wherein each of the pressure sensors is operatively coupled with only one of the pressure actuators;

a signal processing system coupled with the pressure sensors and the pressure actuators such that, in use, the first pressure actuator and the second pressure actuator selectively and sequentially urge the first region and the second region, respectively, against the wrist;

wherein the first pressure sensor generates a first pressure signal while the first region is urged against the wrist by the first pressure actuator and the second pressure sensor generates a second pressure signal while the second region is urged against the wrist by the second pressure actuator, the first region being disposed at a first location of the band, the second region being disposed at a second location of the band, the first location being spaced apart from the second location along the length of the band, the signal processing system being configured to;

select one of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor by comparing the first pressure signal with the second pressure signal;

identify a preferred pressure actuator of the first pressure actuator and the second pressure actuator, wherein the preferred pressure actuator is identified to be the first pressure actuator when the selected one of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor is the first sensor, and wherein the preferred pressure actuator is identified to be the second pressure actuator when the selected one of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor is the second pressure sensor; and

measure the blood pressure of the user via applanation by using the preferred pressure actuator and the selected one of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor; and

output the measured blood pressure.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the first pressure actuator and the second pressure actuator are each actuated individually so as to urge only one of the first region and the second region against the wrist at a time.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of the first pressure actuator and the second pressure actuator comprises a linear solenoid piston.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of:

the first pressure actuator comprises a first fluid bladder configured to be selectively filled with a fluid to drive the first pressure sensor a desired amount against the wrist and to be selectively deflated to reduce an amount of pressure applied by the first pressure sensor against the wrist; and

the second pressure actuator comprises a second fluid bladder configured to be selectively filled with a fluid to drive the second pressure sensor a desired amount against the wrist and to be selectively deflated to reduce an amount of pressure applied by the second pressure sensor against the wrist.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first fluid bladder or the second fluid bladder is selectively filled by a phase change of a filling fluid from a liquid to a gas.

11. The device of claim 9, further comprising a bladder pressure sensor configured to identify a pressure within at least one of the first fluid bladder or the second fluid bladder.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein at least one of the pressure sensors comprises a piezoelectric film pressure sensor.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the blood pressure of the user is calculated from piezoelectric film pressure measurements by calibrating the piezoelectric film pressure measurements with the pressure identified within the at least one of the first fluid bladder or the second fluid bladder.

14. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of the pressure sensors comprises a piezoresistive pressure sensor.

15. The device of claim 6, wherein the pressure sensors are arranged in an array having a first dimension of at least 12 and a second dimension of at least 1.

16. The device of claim 6, wherein the pressure sensors are arranged in an array having a first dimension of at least 3 and a second dimension of at least 4.

17. The device of claim 6, wherein the device is configured to calculate the blood pressure of the user without user interaction or periodic calibration.