WORLD INFELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
`International Bureau
`
`
`
`INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`
`(51) International Patent Classification 7 =
`A61B
`
`(11) International Publication Number:
`
`W0 00I44274
`
`(43) International Publication Date:
`
`3 August 2000 (0108.00)
`
`(21) International Application Number:
`
`PCI‘tUS00i'024l8
`
`(22) International Filing Date:
`
`28 January 2000 (2801.00)
`
`(30) Priority Data:
`60} I 17,966
`
`29 January 1999 (2901.99)
`
`US
`
`POUGATCI-IEV. Vadim I.
`(Tl)(72) Applicants and Inventors:
`[RUFUS]; 12422 Peacock Hill Ave. NW. Gig Harbor,
`WA 98332 (US). BOGOMOLOV. Evgueni N. [RUIUS];
`12422 Peacock Hill Ave. NW, Gig Harbor. WA 93332
`(US). IAROSLAVSTEV, Igor V. [RLUUS]; 12422 Peacock
`Hill Ave. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 (US). Zl-IIRNOV,
`Eugene N. [RUIUS]; 12422 Peacock Hill Ave. NW. Gig
`Harbor, WA 98332 (US). GRIBKOV, Eugene N. [RUtUS];
`12422 Peacok Hill Ave. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332
`(US).
`
`JOHNSON, Larry. 13.: Suite I30, 175 N. Redwood
`(74) Agent:
`Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903 (US).
`
`(81) Designated States: AE, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ. BA, BB, BG,
`BR. BY, CA, CH, CN. CU. CZ. DE, DK. EE. ES. FI, GB,
`GD. GE, GH. GM, HR, HU, 11), IL, IN, IS, JP. KE, KG,
`KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU. LV, MD, MG, MK.
`MN, MW. MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD. SE, SG.
`SI, SK. SL, TJ. TM. TR. TI‘, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU,
`ZA. ZW. ARIPO patent (GH, GM, KE, LS. MW, SD. SL,
`SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian patent (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ,
`MD, RU, TJ. TM}, European patent {AT. BE, CH. CY, DE.
`DK, ES, FI. FR, GB, GR, IE. IT, LU. MC, NL. PT, SE),
`OAPI patent (BF, BJ. CF. CG, CI, CM, GA. GN, GW, ML,
`MR. NE. SN, TD, TG).
`
`Published
`Without international search report and to be republished
`upon receipt of that report.
`
`(54) Title: PERSONAL PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITOR
`
`(57) Abstract
`
`A personal physiological monitor for evaluating autonomic nervous system functioning, said monitor including PPG, andfor GSR,
`andtor temperature sensors for acquiring raw physiological signals; a data processor for computing interbeat intervals from the raw PPG
`signal and re-sampling interbeat interval sequences with a linear interpolation procedure; transmission means for transmitting both raw
`signals and the interbeat intervals to a computer through a communication port; a visual display; and built—in flash memory.
`
`Apple Inc.
`APL1066
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,923,941
`
`0001
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`Apple Inc.
`APL1066
`U.S. Patent No. 8,923,941
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`0001
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`FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFORMATION ONLY
`
`Codes used to identify States party to the PCT on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international applications under the PCT.
`
`Albania
`Armenia
`Austria
`Australia
`Azerbaijan
`Bosnia and Herzegovina
`Barbados
`Belgium
`Bmknia Faso
`Bulgaria
`Benin
`Brazil
`Belarus
`Cllnaida
`Central African Republic
`Congo
`Switzerland
`Cote d'Ivoire
`CQITIOTOOR
`China
`Cuba
`Czech Republic
`Gemrany
`Denmark
`Estonia
`
`ES
`FI
`FR
`GA
`GE
`GE
`GH
`GN
`GR
`IIU
`IE
`IL
`IS
`IT
`JP
`KE
`KG
`KP
`
`KR
`KZ
`LC
`
`LK
`LR
`
`Spain
`Finland
`France
`Gabon
`United Kingdom
`Georgia
`Ghana
`Guinea
`Greece
`Hungary
`Ireland
`Israel
`Iceland
`Italy
`Japan
`Kenya
`Kyrgyzstan
`Democratic People‘s
`Republic of Korea
`Republic of Korea
`Kazaltatan
`Saint Lucia
`Liechtenstein
`Sri Lanka
`Liberia
`
`LS
`LT
`LU
`LV
`MC
`MD
`MG
`MK
`
`ML
`MN
`MR
`MW
`MX
`NB
`NL
`N0
`N2.
`PL
`PT
`RO
`RI]
`SD
`SE
`SG
`
`Lesotho
`Lithuania
`Luxeanbuurg
`Latvia
`Monaco
`Republic of Moldova
`Madagascar
`The former Yugoslav
`Republic of Macedonia
`Mali
`Mongolia
`Mauritania
`Malawi
`Mexico
`Niger
`Netherlands
`Norway
`New Zcalartd
`Poland
`Ponugal
`Romania
`Russian Federation
`Sudan
`Sweden
`Singapore
`
`SI
`SK
`SN
`32.
`TD
`TG
`TJ
`TM
`TR
`TI‘
`IJA
`UG
`US
`UZ
`VN
`YU
`2-W
`
`Slovenia
`Slovakia
`Senegal
`Swaziland
`Chad
`Togo
`Tajikistan
`‘rurkmenistarl
`Turkey
`Trinidad and Tobago
`Ukraine
`Uganda
`United States of America
`Uzbekistan
`Viet Nam
`Yugoslavia
`Zimbabwe
`
`
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`PERSONAL PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITOR
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`DESCRIPTION
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`TECHNICAL FIELD
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`This invention is related to the subject of the
`
`monitoring and assessment of the specific physiological
`conditions reflecting the functions of the autonomic
`
`— heart rate variability, blood
`nervous system (ANS)
`volume pulse, galvanic skin reactions (GSR) and peripheral
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`skin temperature (TMP).
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`BACKGROUND ART
`
`It is known that the overall functioning of a living
`
`organism is controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
`The ANS has two antagonistic branches —
`the sympathetic
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`and parasympathetic nervous systems. Every organ is
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`activated by one branch and inhibited by the other.
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`Generally when the organism is in a calm state
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`(relaxation, sleep, etc.) several organs,
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`including the
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`heart,
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`lungs and blood vessels, are under the dominance of
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`parasympathetic control. When the organism is activated by
`physical activity, psycho—emotional arousal or stress,
`the
`organs are under dominant control of the sympathetic
`nervous system. A healthy organism is capable of adjusting
`
`to any outer influence by means of a quick and adequate
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`sympathetic response. Once that factor disappears the
`
`parasympathetic activity increases balancing the
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`organism's overall autonomic regulation.
`
`It is important to have a means of measuring these
`
`specific physiological parameters used for the evaluation
`of the level of balance between the branches of autonomic
`
`nervous system and their reactions. With such means,
`
`specific provocative test factors are evaluated as well as
`
`the condition of both branches. Such a tool can help a
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`human being learn how to cope with stress,
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`thereby
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`achieving an autonomic balance as well as measuring
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`certain physiological effects of the autonomic nervous
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`systems regulations.
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`One of the most informative methods for the
`
`evaluation of the status of ANS sympathetic and
`
`parasympathetic branches is heart rate variability
`analysis. It is known that the time intervals between each
`two consecutive heartbeats vary and are under control of
`
`the autonomic nervous system. When the parasympathetic
`system is dominant
`the heart interbeat intervals (IBI) are
`oscillating with higher frequencies (0.15 — 0.4 Hz). When
`sympathetic arousal occurs,
`lower frequency oscillations
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`take place.
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`There are two other physiological modalities that
`
`reflect the condition of autonomic regulation: skin
`
`conductance (galvanic skin response: GSR) and peripheral
`
`skin temperature. Skin conductance reflects changes in
`sweat gland activity driven by involuntary arousal of the
`sympathetic nervous system. These changes are rapid and
`varied as a reaction of the organism to outer events and
`
`slower changes reflecting variations of overall tonus of
`
`the sympathetic system. The skin temperature reflects a
`degree of vasoconstriction or dilation of the peripheral
`blood vessels, which also reflects a long-term process of
`
`the interaction of both branches of autonomic nervous
`
`systems. There is some disagreement regarding the efficacy
`of these latter two modalities for evaluating ANS balance,
`
`so they are noted here for reference purposes only.
`Another physiological measure — blood volume pulse
`
`reflects the level of peripheral blood vessels
`
`constriction / dilation. Blood volume pulse is affected by
`
`the same autonomic function activity.
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`There is a standard mathematical procedure for short-
`
`term HRV evaluation, suggested by the Task Force of the
`
`European Society of Cardiology and the North American
`
`Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (1996). It
`provides both time and frequency domain analysis of the
`IBI
`time series. There are three important parameters of
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`frequency domain analysis of HRV that reflect the levels
`of sympathetic and parasympathetic activities and their
`balance. The high frequency range (0.15 Hz— 0.4 Hz) of the
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`IBI power spectrum (HF) reflects parasympathetic influence
`on heart rate. The low frequency range (0.04 Hz -0.15 Hz)
`of the IBI power spectrum (LF) has a considerable input of
`the both branches of the autonomic nervous system.
`To perform the HRV analysis an electrocardiograph
`(ECG) signal is usually measured. The IBI are derived from
`the ECG as the intervals between consecutive R-peaks. This
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`method is very accurate and reliable but has a serious
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`disadvantage — it requires the use of complex ECG
`equipment with the inconvenience of multiple site
`
`electrode placement. An alternative is to use a
`photoplethysmograph (PPG) measurement, which is a portable
`and convenient optical sensor that can be applied in many
`places to pick up peripheral blood flow changes (e.g.
`fingers, ear lobe, etc.). The PPG emits an infrared (IR)
`light on the skin. The emitted light is partially consumed
`by the blood flow. The degree of light consumption /
`reflection is proportional to the changes in blood flow.
`
`The PPG signal has periodic peaks that represent flow
`pulsation in blood vessels. It can be used to derive the
`IBI by measuring the time between two PPG peaks. Blood
`
`volume pulse information can be derived as well.
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`DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
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`The personal physiological monitoring method of the
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`present invention includes several possible hardware
`
`configurations of the physiological monitoring apparatus.
`Generally a physiological monitor continuously carries out
`any of the following functions depending on the particular
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`hardware configuration:
`
`1. Acquires raw signals any of the following
`
`physiological modalities: PPG. GSR or temperature;
`
`2. Computes interbeat intervals from the raw PPG
`
`signal;
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`3. Re-samples interbeat interval sequence with a
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`linear interpolation procedure;
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`4. Transmits both raw signals and the interbeat
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`intervals to a computer through a communication port;
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`5. Displays data on an LCD display in the case of a
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`standalone device configuration; and
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`6. Stores data in built-in flash memory with the
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`possibility to download data to a computer.
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`The present invention may be embodied in either a
`
`standalone physiological monitoring device or in a
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`computer-based unit.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`10
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`Figs. 1a depicts the standalone unit embodiment of
`
`the personal monitoring apparatus of the present
`
`invention;
`
`Fig. 1b shows the LCD module and wireless IR or RF
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`module of the standalone embodiment transmitting a signal
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`to a remote computer;
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`Fig. 2a shows a finger sensor unit as held by a user;
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`Fig. 2b shows detail of the finger sensor pad that
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`may be secured to the finger of a user;
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`Fig. 3a illustrates the use of a physiological
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`monitoring system having sensors integrated into a typical
`
`computer mouse;
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`Fig. 3b shows details of the mouse of the embodiment
`
`of Fig. 3a;
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`Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing the
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`structural and functional elements of the invention;
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`Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of the 3—channel
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`physiological monitor;
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`Fig. 6 illustrates how PPG sensor electronic
`
`circuitry of the present invention operates; and
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`Fig. 7 illustrates the procedure of IBI computation
`
`carried out by the micro—control1er.
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`BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
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`Figs.
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`la and lb depict a first preferred embodiment
`
`10 of the personal physiological monitoring apparatus of
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`the present invention, particularly illustrating the
`
`standalone unit concept. It can be implemented in the form
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`of a glove combined with a flexible wristband. The soft
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`glove 11 supports embedded sensors in any combination of
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`PPG 12, GSR 14 and temperature 16, all of which are well
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`known in the art. Collectively,
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`these elements comprise
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`the sensor unit.
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`The sensors are wired to a main
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`processing unit 18 embedded in a flexible wristband 20,
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`which also supports an LCD module 22. The main processing
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`unit includes a battery unit 24, which powers the main
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`processing unit and which is also connected to the sensors
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`via sensor circuits 1? to provide power to the sensors
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`sufficient to conduct their respective measurements. It
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`may also include a flash memory module 28 to collect
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`physiological data and a wireless infrared (IR) or radio
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`frequency (RF) module 30 capable of transmitting a signal
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`32 for downloading of the data to a remote computer 34.
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`When the above—described glove is worn by a user, all
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`built-in sensors come in contact with the user's skin.
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`When the device is turned on, it begins to continuously
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`scan all available sensors and display the resulting data
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`on an LCD display module. If there is a flash memory
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`module installed,
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`this data is collected in a compact
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`format providing up to 24-hour data storage. At any time
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`the user may command that all collected data be wirelessly
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`downloaded to the remote computer.
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`In fact,
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`this design
`
`could allow for a continuous real—time data transmission
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`to the remote computer instead of saving in a flash memory
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`with respective download.
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`Figs. 2a. 2b. 3a, and 3b depict a computer—based unit
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`concept. There are two different implementations of the
`
`device: Fig. 2a shows a finger sensor unit 40 in use; Fig.
`
`2b shows detail of the finger sensor pad 42 that may be
`
`placed on a finger and secured. for example, with a strip
`
`of hook and loop fastening material
`
`(not shown).
`
`In a finger sensor pad design, Fig. 2a,
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`there are up
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`to three sensors located on top of the pad: PPG optical
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`sensor window 44,
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`two GSR electrodes 46 and a temperature
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`sensor 48. All physiological signals are sent to the data
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`processing unit 50 that processes the signals and
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`transmits digital information to the computer 52 via
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`serial interface 54.
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`Fig. 3a illustrates the use of a mouse-based
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`physiological monitoring system 60 having sensors
`integrated into a typical computer mouse; and Fig. 3b
`
`shows details of the mouse of this embodiment.
`
`In a mouse-
`
`integrated sensor design concept, Figs. 3a and 3h.
`
`there
`
`are up to three sensors integrated into the body of the
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`computer mouse. To provide better contact between sensors
`
`and the skin, a PPG sensor 62 and/or a temperature sensor
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`64 can be placed on the lateral side of the mouse 66 where
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`a thumb is normally situated when mouse is in a grip. Two
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`GSR electrodes (metal plates or conductive rubber patches)
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`68 can be placed either on the left and right mouse
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`buttons where two fingers are typically situated or can be
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`placed on the top of the mouse body to maintain contact
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`with the palm surface when mouse is in a grip. All
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`physiological signals are sent to the data processing unit
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`70 that processes the signals and transmits digital
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`information to the computer 72 via the serial interface
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`74.
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`Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing the
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`structural and functional elements of the invention. The
`
`device measures any combination of the physiological
`
`signals of PPG 80, GSR B2 and temperature 84 by means of
`
`the respective sensors that are combined in one device.
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`The device has a built-in microprocessor 86 that controls
`
`all of the functions and processing of the PPG signal to
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`derive the IBIs. In the case of the computer—based design
`
`(finger pad or mouse—integrated device) all physiological
`
`data is transmitted to the computer via serial interface
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`(RS232 port, USB port, wireless infrared (IR) or radio
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`(RF) port) 88. In case of standalone design physiological
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`data is displayed on built-in LCD display 90 and can be
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`stored in the flash memory module 92. Data collected in
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`the flash memory 92 can be downloaded to the computer via
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`the serial port 88. Depending on the particular design
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`concept the device can be powered from the power supply 94
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`built into device (standalone or wireless models) or from
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`the computer via USB port. It can also be powered via
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`RS232 port if the model does not include the GSR sensor.
`The specific software could collect physiological data via
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`the specific device driver 96 to perform certain tasks
`
`like physiological monitoring, evaluation or training.
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`Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of the 3-channel
`
`physiological monitor 100. This particular design
`
`describes a mouse-integrated version of the monitor as an
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`example. A standalone device is equivalent to this
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`embodiment, excluding the mouse-specific components
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`of X-
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`coordinate control circuitry, Y-coordinate control
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`circuitry, and push buttons control circuitry. The photo
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`sensor 102 consists of two 880nm IR emitters 104 and one
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`880nm IR detector 106. Such a combination provides better
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`movement artifact reduction. The micro-controller 108
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`carries out all the signal process functions of the
`
`device. An input signal goes to the internal sample and
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`hold circuit 110 of the micro—controller passing an input
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`amplifier 112 and an analog one—pole high-pass filter 114.
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`This allows for input signal conditioning. The sample and
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`hold circuit 110 is connected to the cascade of an output
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`amplifier with built—in band—pass filter 116 and a one-
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`pole low-pass filter 118. The output of this cascade is
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`connected to the input multiplexer of the 12-bit analog-
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`to-digital converter 120. The signals from GSR electrodes
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`and temperature sensor (thermoresistor) go to the input
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`multiplexer of A—to-D converter 120 passing a low-pass
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`filter 122. The current source 124 provides both GSR and
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`TMP sensor circuits with the necessary power to conduct
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`the measurements. The power supply 126 is preferably one
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`of two types:
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`(A)
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`two AAA batteries with switching voltage
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`regulator or (B) one 9-V battery with a linear voltage
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`regulator. However,
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`the apparatus may be modified to run
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`from any of a number of other suitable power sources.
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`The
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`micro—controller 108 carries out sensor functioning,
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`interbeat interval computing as well as standard mouse
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`functioning along with X—coordinate 128, Y—coordinate 130
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`and push button 132 control circuitry. It also provides a
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`serial interface communication with a serial port 134 of a
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`cdmputer 136.
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`Fig. 6 demonstrates how the PPG sensor electronic
`
`circuitry operates. The operation of GSR and TMP is not
`
`reflected here because of its extreme simplicity. The
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`micro-controller generates square 200uS-long (Tp)
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`impulses
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`140 with 3.3V amplitude and 2mS periods (Te) pulse 142,
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`sent to the IR emitter. The use of switch power mode
`
`provides better power consumption and eliminates an
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`excessive sensitivity to the external lights. An output
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`signal of the IR detector is a function of the intensity
`
`of the signal reflected by the skin surface. The output
`
`signal of the IR detector is sent to the input of the
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`analog switch of the micro—controller through the input
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`amplifier (current—to-voltage converter with a gain) and
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`the high-pass filter to eliminate a signal offset 144. The
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`micro-controller controls an internal analog switch in a
`
`"Sample and Hold“ mode 146, switching the capacitor Ch
`
`between an output of the input amplifier and an input of
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`the output amplifier, so Ch holds constant voltage
`
`depending on the input signal 148. The output amplifier is
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`an AC amplifier with a built-in band~pass filter and gain
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`of 70 appr. It provides an output signal in the voltage
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`range of the A-to-D converter 150. The micro-controller
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`carries out the PPG signal processing and sends data to
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`the PC.
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`Fig. 7 illustrates the procedure of IBI computation
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`carried out by the micro-controller. The raw PPG signal
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`160 varies in the range of 0 ... 1000 units. It is
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`filtered by a low-pass digital filter (2.5 Hz cut-off).
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`The LP filter gives a filtered signal 162 that looks
`
`almost like a sine wave. Then the signal is filtered by a
`
`high—pass digital filter (0.5 Hz cut-off). The HP filter
`
`gives a signal 164 that is oscillating at around zero.
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`Then IBI (interbeat intervals) are computed as the time
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`intervals between the moments when the signal is crossing
`
`a zero line. So the IBI sequence 166 gets every new value
`
`at the moment of next crossing of the zero line. The
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`sequence of the interbeat intervals also called
`
`periodogram has an irregular nature,
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`in other words,
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`the
`
`time intervals between its elements are not constant. This
`
`is because of the moments when next PPG peak occurs are
`
`not predictable. The micro-controller then does a re-
`
`sampling procedure to convert a periodogram into a
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`stabilized sequence of IBI values by means of linear
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`interpolation 168. This allows for the processing of
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`signals to do spectral analysis of IBis to evaluate the
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`various physiological parameters.
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`While this invention has been described in connection
`
`with preferred embodiments thereof, it is obvious that
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`modifications and changes therein may be made by those
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`skilled in the art to which it pertains without departing
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`from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly,
`
`the scope of this invention is to be limited only by the
`
`appended claims and equivalents.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`
`
`0011
`
`0011
`
`

`
`
`
`W0 00344274
`
`PCTfUS00f024l 8
`
`10
`
`PERSONAL PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITOR
`
`CLAIMS
`
`What is claimed as invention is:
`
`1.
`
`A personal physiological monitoring apparatus
`
`5
`
`for monitoring autonomic nervous system balance,
`
`comprising:
`
`a sensor unit:
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`power means;
`a plurality of sensors operatively located in said
`sensor unit so as to be in contact with the skin of the
`
`user when in use, said sensors selected from the group
`consisting of photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensors, galvanic
`skin response (GSR) sensors, and peripheral skin
`
`temperature (TMP) sensors, said sensors for the
`acquisition and transmission of raw physiological data;
`sensor circuits connecting said sensors to said power
`
`means;
`
`a data processing unit electrically connected to
`
`power means and to said plurality of sensors. said data
`processing unit receiving the raw physiological data
`transmitted by said sensors and including means for
`
`evaluating the raw data for autonomic nervous system
`
`balance and for providing display output; and
`
`display means for displaying the display output from
`
`said data processing unit.
`2.
`The apparatus of claim 1 further including
`memory means for collecting the raw physiological data for
`
`downloading the data to a remote computer.
`
`3.
`
`The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said memory
`
`means comprises a flash memory module.
`
`4.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 further including
`
`transmission means for transmitting raw physiological data
`
`to a remote computer having means for evaluating said data
`
`to assess ANS functioning and balance.
`
`35
`
`5.
`
`The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said
`
`transmission means comprises a wireless infrared module.
`
`6.
`
`The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said
`
`transmission means comprises a wireless radio frequency
`
`
`
`0012
`
`0012
`
`

`
`
`
`W0 Ill].-M4274
`
`module.
`
`PCTz'USO{]!02-H8
`
`11
`
`7.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
`
`transmission means provides continuous real—time data
`
`transmission to a remote computer.
`
`8.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display
`
`means comprises a video display monitor.
`
`9.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display
`
`means comprises a flexible wristband having an LCD
`
`display.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`10.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sensors
`
`include at least one PPG sensor for transmission of a raw
`
`PPG signal to said data processing unit.
`
`11.
`
`The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said data
`
`processing unit includes means for computing interbeat
`
`intervals from the raw PPG signal and resampling the
`
`interbeat interval sequence with a linear interpolation
`
`procedure.
`
`12.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sensor
`
`unit comprises a glove having embedded sensors that bring
`
`20
`
`sensors into contact with the wearer's skin when in use..
`
`25
`
`30
`
`13.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sensor
`
`unit comprises a finger sensor pad and further includes
`
`means for securing said finger sensor pad to the finger of
`
`a user, and further including a data interface connecting
`
`said finger sensor pad to a computer.
`
`14.
`
`The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sensor
`
`unit comprises a computer mouse, and further includes a
`
`data interface connecting said mouse to a computer.
`
`15.
`
`A method of monitoring autonomic nervous system
`
`functioning, comprising the steps of:
`
`providing a personal physiological monitoring
`
`apparatus for monitoring autonomic nervous system balance,
`
`said apparatus comprising a sensor unit, power means, a
`
`plurality of sensors operatively located in said sensor
`
`35
`
`unit so as to be in contact with the skin of the user when
`
`in use, said sensors selected from the group consisting of
`
`photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensors, galvanic skin response
`
`(GSR) sensors, and peripheral skin temperature (TMP)
`
`
`
`0013
`
`0013
`
`

`
`
`
`W0 00!442'74
`
`PCTfUSl]l]!024l8
`
`12
`
`sensors, said sensors for the acquisition and transmission
`
`of raw physiological data. sensor circuits connecting said
`
`sensors to said power means, a data processing unit
`
`electrically connected to power means and to said
`
`5
`
`plurality of sensors, said data processing unit receiving
`the raw physiological data transmitted by said sensors and
`including means for evaluating the raw data for autonomic
`
`nervous system balance and for providing display output,
`
`and display means for displaying the display output from
`
`10
`
`said data processing unit; and
`
`securing said sensor unit to the skin of the subject
`to be monitored.
`
`16.
`
`The method of claim 15 wherein said sensor unit
`
`comprises at least one PPG sensor.
`
`15
`
`17.
`
`The method of claim 16 wherein said data
`
`processing unit includes means for computing interbeat
`
`intervals from the raw PPG signal and resampling the
`
`interbeat interval sequence with a linear interpolation
`
`procedure.
`
`20
`
`18.
`
`The method of claim 17 wherein said personal
`
`physiological monitor includes transmission means for
`
`transmitting both raw signals and said interbeat intervals
`
`to a computer.
`
`19.
`
`The method of claim 18 wherein said personal
`
`25
`
`physiological monitor includes a built in flash memory for
`
`storing physiological data and means for downloading said
`
`data to a computer at a later time.
`
`20.
`
`The method of claim 15 wherein said sensor unit
`
`of said personal physiological monitor comprises a glove
`
`30
`
`having embedded sensors that bring said sensors into
`
`contact with the skin of the user when worn in use, and
`
`further includes a flexible wristband having an LCD
`
`display operatively connected to said data processing
`unit.
`
`35
`
`0014
`
`0014
`
`

`
`
`
`wo |]0;44274
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