OBTAINING PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS USING EAR-LOCATED SENSORS
First Claim
1. A system for obtaining one or more physiological measurements, comprising:
- a first earphone configured to sealingly engage a first ear of a user to form a first sealed ear cavity within a first ear canal, the first earphone including a first sensor configured to detect a first physiological parameter associated with the first ear canal in response to a first input introduced to the first sealed ear cavity and to generate a signal representative of the detected first physiological parameter, wherein the first sensor comprises a microphone configured to detect changes in an acoustic profile of sound from the first input introduced from the earphone into the first sealed ear cavity; and
a processor in communication with the first sensor assembly, the processor configured to provide the first input to the earphone, and to receive the signal representative of the first physiological parameter from the first earphone, and to determine a first physiological measurement based on the first physiological parameter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for obtaining one or more physiological measurements associated with a user using ear-located sensors is disclosed herein. One or more of different types of sensors are configured to engage a user'"'"'s ear. In some cases, the sensors will be included in one or both of a pair of earphones to capture physiological parameters. A portable device is configured to be in communication with the earphones to receive physiological parameters from the sensor(s) therein, and potentially to provide control signals to the sensors or other components in the earphones. The portable device determines physiological measurements corresponding to the received physiological parameters. The portable device is also configured to provide a user interface to interact with the user regarding the physiological measurements.
117 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for obtaining one or more physiological measurements, comprising:
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a first earphone configured to sealingly engage a first ear of a user to form a first sealed ear cavity within a first ear canal, the first earphone including a first sensor configured to detect a first physiological parameter associated with the first ear canal in response to a first input introduced to the first sealed ear cavity and to generate a signal representative of the detected first physiological parameter, wherein the first sensor comprises a microphone configured to detect changes in an acoustic profile of sound from the first input introduced from the earphone into the first sealed ear cavity; and a processor in communication with the first sensor assembly, the processor configured to provide the first input to the earphone, and to receive the signal representative of the first physiological parameter from the first earphone, and to determine a first physiological measurement based on the first physiological parameter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for obtaining one or more physiological measurements, the method comprising:
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receiving, from a first earphone, a signal representative of a first physiological parameter associated with a first ear canal of a user, the first physiological parameter measured by a first sensor comprising a microphone included in the first earphone for detecting changes in an acoustic profile of sound from a first input introduced from the first earphone into the first ear canal, wherein the first earphone is configured to seal the first ear canal to form a first ear cavity within the first ear canal, and further wherein the signal generated in response to the first input introduced to the first ear canal; and generating a first physiological measurement based at least in part on the measured first physiological parameter using a physiological measurement module associated with the first earphone. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for obtaining one or more physiological measurements, comprising:
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a portable device including at least one processor and a display; a pair of earphones coupled to the portable device, a first earphone including a first sensor, the first earphone configured to seal a first ear canal of a user to form a first sealed ear cavity within the first ear canal and the first sensor configured to detect a first physiological parameter associated with the first ear canal in response to an input introduced to the first ear cavity, wherein the first sensor comprises a microphone configured to detect changes in an acoustic profile of sound of the input introduced from the earphone into the first sealed ear cavity; a second earphone including a second sensor, the second earphone configured to seal a second ear canal of the user to form a second sealed ear cavity within the second ear canal and the second sensor configured to detect a second physiological parameter associated with the second ear canal in response to the input introduced to the second ear cavity; and wherein the portable device is configured to determine a physiological measurement corresponding to at least one of the first and the second physiological parameters, and to display the determined physiological measurement on the display. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification