Bio-photosensor

• US 4,974,591 A
• Filed: 10/28/1988
• Issued: 12/04/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanda, Masahiko, Awazu, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lacyk, J. P.
• Application Number:
  US07/264,105
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 128/632-633, 128/664-667, 128/644, 128/687-690, 356/38-41
• US Class Current: 600/344
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02427 Details of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6826 Finger
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 Clamps or clips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6843 Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure

Abstract

A bio-photosensor used to examine the function of various organs of a human body or the like. It has a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) formed with an electric circuit, a light emitter and a light receptor mounted on the FPC and connected to an electric cable through the electric circuit, and a fixing tape adapted to be put on the FPC applied to a finger or the like to fix it in position. In order to support the emitter and the receptor, a strip of flexible film is used. It can be fitted on the finger comfortably. Pairs of sensors are provided around the light receptor to check if the receptor is put in an exactly opposite position to the emitter when the bio-photosensor is put on the finger. The FPC is provided with a mark at such a position that the emitter and the receptor will be opposed to each other when the bio-photosensor is applied to the finger with the mark in contact with the finger tip.

Claims

1. A bio-photosensor comprising:

a flexible printed circuit board formed with an electric circuit, said flexible printed circuit board to be wrapped around a part of a body of an examinee;

a light emitter and a light receptor mounted on said flexible printed circuit board with some distance therebetween so that said light emitter and said light receptor will be opposed to each other at both sides of said part of the examinee when said flexible printed circuit board is wrapped therearound, said light emitter and said light receptor being electrically connected through said electric circuit to an electric cable connected to one end of said flexible printed circuit board; and

a position displacement detector means including at least a pair of sensors in a vicinity of said light receptor to check whether or not said light receptor is exactly opposed to said light emitter.

2. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fixing tape to be put on said flexible printed circuit board after said flexible printed circuit board has been applied to a finger so as to extend longitudinally thereof and turned back at a tip of a fingernail, said fixing tape to fix said flexible printed circuit board in position on the finger, said flexible printed circuit board being provided with a first mark at a position that said light emitter and said light receptor will be exactly opposed to each other at both sides of the finger when said bio-photosensor is applied to the finger with said first mark adapted to be in contact with the tip of the fingernail.

3. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fixing tape is provided with second marks on a opposite side of said flexible printed circuit board at portions right behind said light emitter and said light receptor, so that said light emitter and said light receptor will be exactly opposed to each other at both sides of the finger when the bio-photosensor is applied to the finger so that said second marks will be opposed to each other at both sides of the finger.

4. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fixing tape comprises a substrate, an adhesive layer formed on one side of said substrate and a release paper provided on said adhesive layer of protection at least one of said release paper and said substrate being provided on a surface with mounting position indicator means for said light emitter, said light receptor and a part of the body of an examinee.

5. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mounting position indicator means for a part of the body of an examinee comprise cutouts formed at corresponding positions at both sides of said substrate and said release paper and a pattern printed at least on said release paper, and said mounting position indicator means for said light emitter and said light receptor are in a form of characters printed at least on said release paper.

6. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 4, wherein said release paper is formed with a perforated line or a cutline which defines an area for mounting said light emitter and said light receptor and said release paper is integrally formed with two tabs, one tab being continuous with said area and the other not.

7. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said light emitter includes a plurality of light emitting diodes each connected to respective electrodes provided on said flexible printed circuit board and to emit beams having different wavelengths from one another, one of said beams having a wavelength as to be absorbed by a specific pigment which is removed exclusively by a hepatic parenchyma when injected into blood, and another beam having wavelengths which are not to be absorbed by said pigment.

8. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a table means provided at one end of said flexible printed circuit board, one end of a cable bonded to said tab means, and a heat-shrinkable tube to be put on an overlapped portion and shrunk to tighten said overlapped portion.

9. A bio-photosensor comprising:

a flexible printed circuit board formed with an electric circuit, said flexible printed circuit board to be wrapped around a part of a body of an examinee;

a light emitter and a light receptor mounted on said flexible printed circuit board with some distance therebetween so that said light emitter and said light receptor will be opposed so that said light emitter and said light receptor will be opposed to eac other at both sides of said part of the examinee when said flexible printed circuit board is wrapped therearound, said light emitter and said light receptor being electrically connected through said electric circuit to an electric cable connected to one end of said flexible printed circuit board, said light emitter and said light receptor are covered with a transparent material and a remaining portion other than said light emiitter and said little receptor is covered with a flexible resin; and

a position displacement etector means including at least a pair of sensors in a vicinity of said light receptor to check whether or not said light receptor is exactly opposed to said light emitter.

10. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a fixing tape to be put on said flexible printed circuit board after said flexible printed circuit board has been applied to a finger so as to extend longitudinally thereof and turned back at a tip of a fingernail, said fixing tape to fix said flexible printed circuit board in position on the finger, said flexible printed circuit board being provided with a first mark at a position that said light emitter and said light receptor will be exactly opposed to each other at both sides of the finger when said bio-photosensor is applied to the finger with said first mark adapted to be in contact with the tip of the fingernail.

11. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 10, wherein said fixing tape is provided with second marks on an opposite side of said flexible printed circuit board at portions right behind said light emitter and said light receptor, so that said light emitter and said light receptor will be exactly opposed to each other at both sides of the finger when the bio-photosensor is applied to the finger so that said second marks will be opposed to each other at both sides of the finger.

12. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 10, wherein said fixing tape comprises a substrate, an adhesive layer formed on one side of said substrate and a release paper provided on said adhesive layer for protection, at least one of said release paper and said substrate being provided on a surface with mounting position indicator means for said light emitter, said light receptor and a part of the body of an examinee.

13. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 12, wherein said mounting position indicator means for a part of the body of an examinee comprise cutouts formed at corresponding positions at both sides of said substrate and said release paper and a pattern printed at least on said release paper, and said mounting position indicator means for said light emitter and said light receptor are in a form of characters printed at least on said release paper.

14. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 12, wherein said release paper is formed with a perforated line or a cutline which defines an area for mounting said light emitter and said light receptor and said release paper is integrally formed with two tabs, one tab being continuous with said area and the other tab not being continuous.

15. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 9, wherein said light emitter includes a plurality of light emitting diodes each connected to respective electrodes provided on said flexible printed circuit board and to emit beams having different wavelengths from one another, one of said beams having a wavelength as to be absorbed by a specific pigment which is removed exclusively by a hepatic parenchyma when injected into blood, and another beam having wavelengths which are not to be absorbed by said pigment.

16. A bio-photosensor as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a tab means provided at one end of said flexible printed circuit board, one end of a cable bonded to said tab means, and a heat-shrinkable tube to be put on an overlapped portion and shrunk to tighten said overlapped portion.