Apparatus for detecting human physiological and contextual information

• US 20040039254A1
• Filed: 08/22/2002
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JB IP Acquisitions LLC
• Original Assignee: BodyMedia Incorporated (AliphCom Corp.)
• Inventors: Stivoric, John M., Kasabach, Christopher D., Teller, Eric, Boehmke, Scott K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,020,508 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0252 using ambient temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0295 adapted for recording user messages or annotations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0082 adapted for particular medical purposes
• 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 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/022 by applying pressure to close blood vessels, e.g. against the skin; Ophthalmodynamometers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0533 Measuring galvanic skin response
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1102 Ballistocardiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 : for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14542 : for measuring blood gases A61B5/14551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1468 : using chemical or electrochemical methods, e.g. by polarographic means A61B5/1486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 : Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 : Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 : Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 : Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 : Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/411 : Detecting or monitoring allergy or intolerance reactions to an allergenic agent or substance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4519 : Muscles A61B5/389, A61B5/224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 : Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 : Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6802 : Sensor mounted on worn items
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 : Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 : Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 : Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 : Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7207 : of noise induced by motion artifacts
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 : Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• 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 5/7282 : Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 : using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7445 : Display arrangements, e.g. multiple display units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7455 : characterised by tactile indication, e.g. vibration or electrical stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 : User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 : Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 : Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting human physiological or contextual information includes a flexible section(s), a housing removably attached thereto, one or more sensors and a processor. The apparatus may include one of several structures for removably attaching the housing to the flexible section(s) and may have adjustable operating parameters. An alternate apparatus measures heat flux and includes a housing, a known resistivity base member, a processing unit and two temperature measuring devices attached to the base member, one in thermal communication with the body through a thermal energy communicator and the other in thermal communication with the ambient environment. A further alternate apparatus includes a housing having an adhesive material on a surface thereof for removably attaching the housing to the body. A further alternate apparatus includes a housing having an inner surface having a concave shape in a first direction and convex shape in a second direction substantially perpendicular thereto. An apparatus for detecting heart related parameters of the wearer includes an acoustic-based non-ECG heart parameter sensor and one or more filtering sensors for generating a signal related to the non-heart related motion of the body, the second signal being used to subtract an acoustic component generated from non-heart related motion of the body from the non-ECG heart parameter sensor'"'"'s signal to generate a third signal used to generate the heart related parameters of the wearer.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting at least one of human physiological and contextual information from the body of a wearer, comprising:

a flexible section adapted to engage at least a portion of said body;

a housing removably attached to said flexible section;

one or more sensors supported by said housing, said one or more sensors selected from the group consisting of physiological sensors and contextual sensors; and

a processing unit supported by said housing in electronic communication with said one or more sensors.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising one or more additional flexible sections removably that may be selectively removably attached to said housing.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, said flexible section and at least one of said additional flexible sections being adapted to engage different body portions of said wearer.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, said apparatus having adjustable operating parameters, further comprising means for adjusting said operating parameters depending on the particular one of said flexible section and said one or more additional flexible sections to which said housing is removably attached.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, said means for adjusting said operating parameters comprising a plurality of switches supported by said housing and a switch activator supported by said flexible section and each of said additional flexible sections, said switches being coupled to said processing unit, said operating parameters being adjusted in dependence on the particular one of said switches that is activated.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, each of said switch activators being supported by a respective one of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections in a position such that a different one of said switches is activated depending on the particular one of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections to which said housing is removably attached.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, said switches comprising magnetic switches and said switch activators each comprising a magnet.

8. An apparatus according to claim 5, said switches comprising mechanical switches.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, each of said switch activators comprising a protruding element.

10. An apparatus according to claim 5, said switches comprising optical switches, said switch activators comprising one of means for obscuring light, means for reflecting light and means for filtering light.

11. An apparatus according to claim 5, said switches comprising electrical switches and said switch activators each comprising a conductor.

12. An apparatus according to claim 4, said means for adjusting said operating parameters comprising a plurality of switches supported by said housing and one or more switch activators supported by each of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections, said operating parameters being adjusted in dependence on the particular one or more of said switches that are activated.

13. An apparatus according to claim 4, said means for adjusting said operating parameters comprising a switch supported by said housing and at least one switch activator supported by each of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections, said switch being activatable according to a plurality of states depending upon a property of the particular switch activator activating said switch, said operating parameters being adjusted in dependence on said activation state of said switch.

14. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a groove provided in said housing and a tongue provided on said flexible section and each of said additional flexible sections, said groove being adapted to receive each of said tongues.

15. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a tongue provided on said housing and a groove provided in said flexible section and each of said additional flexible sections, said grooves being adapted to receive said tongue.

16. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a groove provided in said housing and a tongue provided on said flexible section, said groove being adapted to receive said tongue.

17. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tongue provided on said housing and a groove provided in said flexible section, said groove being adapted to receive said tongue.

18. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an adhesive material for removably attaching said housing to said flexible section and said additional flexible sections.

19. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive material for removably attaching said housing to said flexible section.

20. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a magnet supported by each of said housing, said flexible section and said additional flexible sections.

21. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a magnet supported by each of said housing and said flexible section.

22. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an elastic band and a groove provided in said housing, said elastic band adapted to fit around a portion of one of said flexible section and said additional flexible section and into said groove when said one of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections is placed over said housing.

23. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic band and a groove provided in said housing, said elastic band adapted to fit around a portion of said flexible section and into said groove when said flexible section is placed over said housing.

24. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a wireless transceiver for receiving information from and transmitting information to a computing device.

25. An apparatus according to claim 24, said computing device being adapted to display information to a user of said apparatus and to enable said user to input information.

26. An apparatus according to claim 25, said computing device and said processing unit being adapted to engage in shared computing.

27. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver for receiving information from and transmitting information to a computing device.

28. An apparatus according to claim 27, said computing device being adapted to display information to a user of said apparatus and to enable said user to input information.

29. An apparatus according to claim 28, said computing device and said processing unit being adapted to engage in shared computing.

30. An apparatus according to claim 2, said housing further comprising a display.

31. An apparatus according to claim 1, said housing further comprising a display.

32. An apparatus according to claim 1, said flexible section comprising a garment.

33. An apparatus according to claim 2, at least one of said flexible section and said additional flexible sections comprising a garment.

34. An apparatus according to claim 1, said one or more sensors comprising a sensor for sensing one or more heart related parameters.

35. An apparatus according to claim 34, said one or more heart related parameters including at least one of heart rate, beat-to-beat variability, ECG, pulse oximetry, heart-related sounds, and parameters relating to the mechanical action of the heart.

36. An apparatus according to claim 35, said portion of said body comprising the left chest.

37. An apparatus according to claim 32, said one or more sensors comprising a sensor for sensing one or more heart related parameters.

38. An apparatus according to claim 37, said one or more heart related parameters including at least one of heart rate, beat-to-beat variability, ECG, pulse oximetry, heart-related sounds, and parameters relating to the mechanical action of the heart.

39. An apparatus according to claim 38, said portion of said body comprising the left chest.

40. An apparatus according to claim 33, said one or more sensors comprising a sensor for sensing one or more heart related parameters.

41. An apparatus according to claim 40, said one or more heart related parameters including at least one of heart rate, beat-to-beat variability, ECG, pulse oximetry, heart-related sounds and parameters relating to the mechanical action of the heart.

42. An apparatus according to claim 41, at least one of said additional flexible sections being adapted to engage a portion of said body comprising the left chest.

100. An apparatus according to claim 1, said one or more sensors comprising at least one of a sensor for measuring GSR including at least two electrical contacts, a skin temperature sensor, an ambient temperature sensor, an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, an ambient sound sensor, an EMG sensor, an ECG sensor, and a skin impedance sensor.

101. An apparatus according to claim 1, said one or more sensors comprising a sensor for measuring GSR including at least two electrical contacts, said electrical contacts having a textured surface.

102. An apparatus according to claim 101, said textured surface comprising a plurality of raised bumps.

103. An apparatus according to claim 101, said electrical contacts having an oblong, curved shape.

104. An apparatus according to claim 101, said sensor for measuring GSR further comprising a current loop for applying a current between said electrical contacts and measuring a voltage across said electrical contacts.

105. An apparatus according to claim 1, said one or more sensors comprising a sensing component adapted to be in contact with the skin of a wearer of said apparatus, said sensing component comprising a plurality of microneedles.

106. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a proximity sensor for sensing whether said apparatus is being worn.

107. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a proximity sensor for automatically powering said apparatus on and off.

108. An apparatus according to claim 1, said processor being coupled to a feedback device for providing feedback information to a wearer of said device.

116. A method according to claim 113, said first acoustic signal further including a third acoustic component generated from ambient noise, said method further comprising generating a fourth signal related to said ambient noise, said step of generating said third signal further comprising using said fourth signal to subtract at least a portion of said third acoustic component from said first signal.

43. An apparatus for detecting at least one of human physiological and contextual information from the body of a wearer in an ambient environment, comprising:

a housing;

a base member having a preselected resistivity mounted within said housing;

a first temperature measuring device attached to a first side of said base member;

a thermal energy communicator mounted adjacent to said first temperature measuring device for placing said first temperature measuring device in thermal communication with a portion of said body;

a second temperature measuring device attached to a second side of said base member, said second temperature measuring device in thermal communication with said ambient environment; and

a processing unit provided in said housing, said first and second temperature measuring devices being in electronic communication with said processing unit;

wherein said apparatus is adapted to measure heat flux between said body and said ambient environment.

44. An apparatus according to claim 43, said first temperature measuring device comprising a first thermistor and said second temperature measuring device comprising a second thermistor.

45. An apparatus according to claim 44, said first thermistor measuring a first voltage, said second thermistor measuring a second voltage, said first voltage and said second voltage being used to generate a temperature difference (T2−

T1), said heat flux being calculated according to the following formula;

heat flux=K(T2−

T1),

wherein K is said preselected resistivity.

46. An apparatus according to claim 43, said first temperature measuring device measuring a first parameter, said second temperature measuring device measuring a second parameter, said first parameter and said second parameter being used to generate a temperature difference (T2−

T1), said heat flux being calculated according to the following formula;

heat flux=K(T2−

T1),

wherein K is said preselected resistivity.

47. An apparatus according to claim 43, said thermal energy communicator comprising a heat conduit having a first surface in thermal communication with said body portion when said apparatus is being worn and a second surface in thermal communication with said first temperature measuring device.

48. An apparatus according to claim 47, said thermal energy communicator further comprising a skin-side thermally conductive interface component in thermal communication with said body portion when said apparatus is being worn and said first surface of said heat conduit.

49. An apparatus according to claim 48, said thermal energy communicator further comprising a first skin-side thermally conductive interface material located between said first thermally conductive interface component and said first surface of said heat conduit, and a second skin-side thermally conductive interface material located between said second surface of said heat conduit and said first temperature measuring device.

50. An apparatus according to claim 49, said first and second skin-side thermally conductive interface materials selected from the group consisting of thermally conductive gap fillers, thermally conductive phase change interface materials, thermally conductive tapes, thermally conductive cure-in-place compounds and epoxies, and thermal greases.

51. An apparatus according to claim 43, further comprising an ambient-side thermally conductive interface component in thermal communication with said ambient environment and said second temperature measuring device.

52. An apparatus according to claim 51, further comprising an ambient-side thermally conductive interface material located between said ambient-side thermally conductive interface component and said second temperature measuring device.

53. An apparatus according to claim 52, said ambient-side thermally conductive interface material selected from the group consisting of thermally conductive gap fillers, thermally conductive phase change interface materials, thermally conductive tapes, thermally conductive cure-in-place compounds and epoxies, and thermal greases.

54. An apparatus according to claim 43, said thermal energy communicator comprising a thermally conductive interface material thermal communication with said body portion when said apparatus is worn and said first temperature measuring device.

55. An apparatus according to claim 54, said thermally conductive interface material selected from the group consisting of thermally conductive gap fillers, thermally conductive phase change interface materials, thermally conductive tapes, thermally conductive cure-in-place compounds and epoxies, and thermal greases.

56. An apparatus according to claim 49, said skin-side thermally conductive interface component, said first skin-side thermally conductive interface material, said heat conduit, said second skin-side thermally conductive interface material, said first temperature measuring device, said base member, and said second temperature measuring device attached to one another along a direction substantially normal to said first and second side of said base member.

57. An apparatus according to claim 56, said base member comprising a printed circuit board.

58. An apparatus according to claim 57, said processing unit being attached to said printed circuit board.

59. An apparatus according to claim 48, said skin-side thermally conductive interface component comprising a stainless steel plate.

60. An apparatus according to claim 51, said ambient-side thermally conductive interface component comprising a stainless steel plate.

61. An apparatus according to claim 43, further comprising a flexible section attached to said housing, said flexible section adapted to engage at least a portion of said body of said wearer.

62. An apparatus according to claim 51, further comprising a flexible section for holding said housing in engagement with said body of said wearer, said flexible section exposing said ambient-side thermally conductive interface component to said ambient environment.

63. An apparatus according to claim 43, further comprising a flexible section adapted to engage at least a portion of said body of said wearer, said flexible section being removably attached to said housing.

64. An apparatus according to claim 43, further comprising a plurality of flexible sections each adapted to engage at least a portion of said body of said wearer, and means for removably attaching said housing to any one of said flexible sections.

65. An apparatus according to claim 64, said apparatus having adjustable operating parameters, further comprising means for adjusting said operating parameters depending on the particular one of said flexible sections to which said housing is removably attached.

66. An apparatus for detecting at least one of human physiological and contextual information from the body of a wearer in an ambient environment, comprising:

a housing;

a printed circuit board supported by said housing, said printed circuit board having a preselected resistivity;

a first thermistor attached to a first side of said printed circuit board and a second thermistor attached to a second side of said printed circuit board;

a processing unit supported by said housing, said first thermistor and said second thermistor in electrical communication with said processing unit;

a heat conduit, said heat conduit having a first surface and a second surface;

a first thermally conductive interface component, said first thermally conductive interface component being in thermal communication with said body of said wearer when said apparatus is being worn;

a second thermally conductive interface component in thermal communication with said ambient environment when said apparatus is being worn; and

a first thermally conductive interface material located between said first thermally conductive interface component and said first surface of said heat conduit, a second thermally conductive interface material located between said second surface of said heat conduit and said first thermistor, and a third thermally conductive interface material located between said second thermistor and said second thermally conductive interface component;

wherein said apparatus is adapted to measure heat flux between said body and said ambient environment.

67. An apparatus according to claim 66, said first thermally conductive interface component, said first thermally conductive interface material, said heat conduit, said second thermally conductive interface material, said first thermistor, said printed circuit board, said second thermistor, said third thermally conductive interface material and said second thermally conductive interface component attached to one another along a direction substantially normal to said first and second sides of said printed circuit board.

68. An apparatus according to claim 66, further comprising a flexible section for holding said housing in engagement with said body of said wearer, said flexible section exposing said second thermally conductive interface component to said ambient environment.

69. An apparatus for detecting, monitoring and reporting at least one of human physiological and contextual information from the body of a wearer, comprising:

a housing having an adhesive material on at least a portion of an external surface thereof, said adhesive material enabling said housing to be removably attached to a portion of said body;

at least two sensors supported by said housing selected from the group consisting of physiological sensors and contextual sensors, said physiological sensors adapted to facilitate the generation of data indicative of one or more physiological parameters of said wearer, said contextual sensors adapted to facilitate the generation of data indicative of one or more contextual parameters of said wearer;

a processing unit in electrical communication with said sensors, said processing unit being adapted to generate at least one of;

(i) derived data from at least one of at least a portion of said data indicative of physiological parameters and at least a portion of said data indicative of contextual parameters, and (ii) analytical status data from at least a portion of at least one of said data indicative of physiological parameters, said data indicative of contextual parameters, said derived data and said analytical status data;

an electronic memory in electrical communication with said processing unit for retrievably storing at least one of said data indicative of physiological parameters, data indicative of contextual parameters, derived data and analytical status data; and

means for transmitting to said wearer at least one of said data indicative of physiological parameters, data indicative of contextual parameters, derived data and analytical status data.

70. An apparatus according to claim 69, said housing being made of a rigid material.

71. An apparatus according to claim 69, said housing being made of a flexible material.

72. An apparatus according to claim 71, said flexible material comprising a flexible plastic film.

73. An apparatus according to claim 69, said means for transmitting comprising an electrochemical display.

74. An apparatus according to claim 69, said portion of said body comprising the left chest, said data indicative of one or more physiological parameters of said wearer comprising heart related parameters.

75. An apparatus according to claim 74, said housing being made of a flexible material.

76. An apparatus according to claim 75, said flexible material comprising a flexible plastic film.

77. An apparatus according to claim 76, said means for transmitting comprising an electrochemical display.

78. An apparatus according to claim 69, further comprising a wireless transceiver for receiving information from and transmitting information to a computing device.

79. An apparatus according to claim 78, said processing unit and said computing device adapted to engage in shared computing.

80. An apparatus according to claim 69, said means for transmitting comprising a computing device coupled to said processing unit.

81. An apparatus according to claim 80, said computing device being coupled to said processing unit by a physical connection.

82. An apparatus according to claim 80, said computing device being coupled to said processing unit by a wireless connection.

83. An apparatus according to claim 69, further comprising means for manually entering information into said apparatus.

84. An apparatus according to claim 70, said analytical status data being generated from at least a portion of said manually entered information.

85. An apparatus according to claim 69, said means for transmitting comprising a computing device coupled to said processing unit, said processing unit being adapted to cause said computing device to trigger an event upon detection of one or more physiological conditions of said individual.

86. An apparatus according to claim 69, said processing unit being adapted to cause a computing device to trigger an event upon detection of one or more physiological conditions of said individual.

87. An apparatus according to claim 83, said apparatus monitoring the degree to which said individual has followed a predetermined routine, said analytical status data comprising feedback to said individual relating to the degree to which said individual has followed said predetermined routine, said feedback being generated from at least a portion of at least one of said data indicative of one or more physiological parameters of said individual, said derived data and said manually entered data.

88. An apparatus according to claim 87, wherein said routine comprises a plurality of categories and said feedback is generated and provided with respect to each of said categories.

89. An apparatus for detecting at least one of human physiological and contextual information from the body of a wearer, comprising:

a housing, said housing having an inner surface for mounting adjacent said body and an outer surface opposite said inner surface;

said inner surface having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, said inner surface being generally concave in a first direction and having an axis of concavity coincident with said longitudinal axis, said inner surface being generally convex in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction and having an axis of convexity coincident with said transverse axis.

90. An apparatus according to claim 89, said inner surface having first and second lateral ends located at opposite ends of said axis of concavity, said housing having a first radiused portion adjacent to and including said first lateral end and a second radiused portion adjacent to and including said second lateral end.

91. An apparatus according to claim 90, said inner surface having third and fourth lateral ends located at opposite ends of said axis of convexity, said housing having a third radiused portion adjacent to and including said third lateral end and a fourth radiused portion adjacent to and including said fourth lateral end.

92. An apparatus according to claim 90, at least one of said one or more sensors being located adjacent to at least one of said first and second lateral ends.

93. An apparatus according to claim 89, said outer surface having a convex shape between a first lateral side and a second lateral side of said outer surface.

94. An apparatus according to claim 93, said housing having a width dimension as measured between a first lateral side and a second lateral side of said housing, at least a portion of said first lateral side and said second lateral side each having a taper such that said width dimension gradually decreases in a third direction from said inner surface to said outer surface.

95. An apparatus according to claim 90, said outer surface having a convex shape between a first lateral side and a second lateral side of said outer surface.

96. An apparatus according to claim 95, said housing having a width dimension as measured between a first lateral side and a second lateral side of said housing, at least a portion of said first lateral side and said second lateral side each having a taper such that said width dimension gradually decreases in a third direction from said inner surface to said outer surface.

97. An apparatus according to claim 95, said housing having a third radiused portion adjacent to and including said first lateral side of said outer surface and a fourth radiused portion adjacent to and including said second lateral side of said outer surface.

98. An apparatus according to claim 96, said housing having a third radiused portion adjacent to and including said first lateral side of said outer surface and a fourth radiused portion adjacent to and including said second lateral side of said outer surface.

99. An apparatus according to claim 89, further comprising a flexible section attached to said housing for engaging said body of said wearer, said flexible section having a generally convex outer surface.

109. An apparatus for detecting from the body of a wearer parameters relating to the heart of the wearer, comprising:

an acoustic-based non-ECG heart parameter sensor that generates a first signal including a first acoustic component generated from the motion of said heart and a second acoustic component generated from non-heart related motion of said body of said wearer; and

one or more filtering sensors for generating a second signal related to said non-heart related motion of said body, said second signal being used to subtract at least a portion of said second acoustic component from said first signal to generate a third signal, said third signal being used to generate said heart related parameters.

110. An apparatus according to claim 109, said acoustic-based non-ECG heart parameter sensor including a sound transducer coupled to a pad containing an acoustic transmission material.

111. An apparatus according to claim 109, said filtering sensor comprising an accelerometer, non-heart related motion of said body comprising footfalls.

112. An apparatus according to claim 109, said first signal further including a third acoustic component generated from ambient noise, said apparatus further comprising an ambient noise sensor that generates a fourth signal related to said ambient noise, said fourth signal being used to subtract at least a portion of said third acoustic component from said first signal to generate said third signal.

113. A method for detecting from the body of a wearer parameters relating to the heart of the wearer, comprising:

generating a first acoustic signal including a first acoustic component generated from the motion of said heart and a second acoustic component generated from non-heart related motion of said body of said wearer;

generating a second signal related to said non-heart related motion of said body;

generating a third signal by using said second signal to subtract at least a portion said second acoustic component from said first signal; and

generating said heart related parameters from said third signal.

114. A method according to claim 113, said non-heart related motion of said body comprising footfalls, said step of generating said second signal comprising generating information relating to said footfalls.

115. A method according to claim 114, wherein said information relating to said footfalls is generated using an accelerometer.