MONITORING RESPIRATION WITH A THERMAL IMAGING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring respiration using a thermal imaging system, the method comprising:
- capturing thermal images of a subject of interest intended to be monitored for respiration using a thermal image camera set to a temperature of a facial region of said subject, each thermal image comprising a plurality of pixels each corresponding to a surface temperature of said facial region across a thermal wavelength band;
analyzing said thermal images to determine a facial feature associated with respiration;
tracking said facial feature over time to identify a pattern of respiration;
determining a respiration rate from said respiration pattern;
performing any of;
comparing said determined respiration rate to a pre-defined respiration rate, and comparing said determined respiration pattern to a pre-defined respiration pattern; and
initiating an alarm in response to either of said comparisons falling outside a level of acceptability.
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Abstract
What is disclosed is a system and method for monitoring respiration of a subject or subject of interest using a thermal imaging system with single or multiple spectral bands set to a temperature range of a facial region of that person. Temperatures of extremities of the head and face are used to locate facial features in the captured thermal images, i.e., nose and mouth, which are associated with respiration. The RGB signals obtained from the camera are plotted to obtain a respiration pattern. From the respiration pattern, a rate of respiration is obtained. The system includes display and communication interfaces wherein alerts can be activated if the respiration rate falls outside a level of acceptability. The teachings hereof find their uses in an array of devices such as, for example, devices which monitor the respiration of an infant to signal the onset of a respiratory problem or failure.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring respiration using a thermal imaging system, the method comprising:
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capturing thermal images of a subject of interest intended to be monitored for respiration using a thermal image camera set to a temperature of a facial region of said subject, each thermal image comprising a plurality of pixels each corresponding to a surface temperature of said facial region across a thermal wavelength band; analyzing said thermal images to determine a facial feature associated with respiration; tracking said facial feature over time to identify a pattern of respiration; determining a respiration rate from said respiration pattern; performing any of;
comparing said determined respiration rate to a pre-defined respiration rate, and comparing said determined respiration pattern to a pre-defined respiration pattern; andinitiating an alarm in response to either of said comparisons falling outside a level of acceptability. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for monitoring respiration using a thermal imaging system, the system comprising:
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a thermal image camera set to a temperature of a facial region of a subject of interest intended to be monitored for respiration, said thermal camera capturing thermal images of said subject of interest, each thermal image comprising a plurality of pixels each corresponding to a surface temperature of said facial region across a thermal wavelength band; a memory and a storage medium; and a processor in communication with and said thermal image camera, said storage medium and said memory, said processor executing machine readable instructions for performing the method of; analyzing said captured thermal images to determine a location of a facial feature of said subject of interest associated with respiration; tracking said facial feature over time to identify a pattern of respiration; determining a respiration rate from said respiration pattern; performing any of;
comparing said determined respiration rate to a pre-defined respiration rate, and comparing said determined respiration pattern to a pre-defined respiration pattern; andinitiating an alarm in response to either of said comparisons falling outside a level of acceptability. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer implemented method for monitoring respiration using a thermal imaging system, the method comprising:
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capturing thermal images of a subject of interest intended to be monitored for respiration using a thermal image camera set to a temperature of a facial region of said subject, each thermal image comprising a plurality of pixels each corresponding to a surface temperature of said facial region across a thermal wavelength band; analyzing said thermal images to determine a facial feature associated with respiration; tracking said facial feature over time to identify a pattern of respiration; determining a respiration rate from said respiration pattern; performing any of;
comparing said determined respiration rate to a pre-defined respiration rate, and comparing said determined respiration pattern to a pre-defined respiration pattern; andinitiating an alarm in response to either of said comparisons falling outside a level of acceptability. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification