Patent Application
20210145349
The present disclosure relates to medical equipment technical field, and more particularly to head-mounted medical equipment.
Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person's daily functioning. Recently, more and more people suffer a dementia. However, after the patient has been found himself suffer a dementia it can be too late to receive a treatment.
What is needed, therefore, is fast detection equipment which can detect the risk of dementia at an early stage.
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features. The description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “outside” refers to a region that is beyond the outermost confines of a physical object. The term “inside” indicates that at least a portion of a region is partially contained within a boundary formed by the object. The term “substantially” is defined to essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape or another word that substantially modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like.
Referring to
The first shell 120 is configured to support the surface acoustic sensing unit 122, the first thermal sensing unit 124, and the first fusion unit 126. The first shell 120 can be designed to a helmet-like shape, such as a hemispherical shape, so that the user can wear it on the head in the detecting process.
Defending an enclosed space surrounded by each surface as the inside of the first shell 120, and defending the space outside the enclosed space as the outside of the first shell 120. The surface acoustic sensing unit 122, the first thermal sensing unit 124, and the first fusion unit 126 can be located in the inside of the first shell 120, or located in the outside of the first shell 120, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
In one embodiment, the surface acoustic sensing unit 122 is located in the inside of the first shell 120, more specifically, on the inner surface near the users' head. And the first thermal sensing unit 124 is located in the outside of the first shell 120, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
The surface acoustic sensing unit 122 is configured to obtain blood velocity, and then predict whether there is a vascular occlusion. In one embodiment, the surface acoustic sensing unit 122 includes a plurality of flexible surface acoustic wave sensors (SAW sensor). The SAW sensor can be made of a zinc oxide piezoelectric film on a polyimide substrate.
The first thermal sensing unit 124 is configured to obtain temperature distribution of the brain and generate a first thermal image according to the temperature distribution. In addition, the temperature distribution can also be used to predict whether there is inflammation in the brain.
The first fusion unit 126 marks the blood velocity at a corresponding position in the first thermal image to generate a thermal image with blood velocity information. The first fusion unit 126 can be a microprocessor.
Referring to
The second shell 130 is configured to support the magnetic sensing unit 132, the second thermal sensing unit 134, and the second fusion unit 136. The second shell 130 can be designed to a helmet-like shape, such as a hemispherical shape, so that the user can wear it on the head in the detecting process.
Defending an enclosed space surrounded by each surface as the inside of the second shell 130, and defending the space outside the enclosed space as the outside of the second shell 130. The magnetic sensing unit 132, the second thermal sensing unit 134, and the second fusion unit 136 can be located in the inside of the second shell 130, or located in the outside of the second shell 130, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
In one embodiment, the magnetic sensing unit 132 is located in the inside of the second shell 130, more specifically, on the inner surface near the users' head. And the second thermal sensing unit 134 is located in the outside of the second shell 130, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
The magnetic sensing unit 132 is configured to obtain magnetic flux, and then predict neurological changes in the brain. In one embodiment, the magnetic sensing unit 132 includes a high-sensitivity magnetic flux sensor based on
Nitrogen-vacancy Diamond to measure brain magnetic signals below nT. The Nitrogen-vacancy Diamond sensor can effectively reduce the intensity of the uniform magnetic field applied to the outside (less than 1 Tesla), and forms a miniaturized monitoring system.
The second thermal sensing unit 134 is configured to obtain temperature distribution of the brain and generate a first thermal image according to the temperature distribution. In addition, the temperature distribution can also be used to predict whether there is inflammation in the brain.
The second fusion unit 136 marks the magnetic flux at a corresponding position in the second thermal image to generate a thermal image with magnetic flux information. The second fusion unit 136 can be a microprocessor.
Referring to
The third shell 140 is configured to support the ultrasound sensing unit 142, the third thermal sensing unit 144, and the third fusion unit 146. The third shell 140 can be designed to a helmet-like shape, such as a hemispherical shape, so that the user can wear it on the head in the detecting process.
Defending an enclosed space surrounded by each surface as the inside of the third shell 140, and defending the space outside the enclosed space as the outside of the third shell 140. The ultrasound sensing unit 142, the third thermal sensing unit 144, and the third fusion unit 146 can be located in the inside of the third shell 140, or located in the outside of the third shell 140, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
In one embodiment, the ultrasound sensing unit 142 is located in the inside of the third shell 140, more specifically, on the inner surface near the users' head. And the third thermal sensing unit 144 is located in the outside of the third shell 140, more specifically, on the outer surface near the users' head.
The ultrasound sensing unit 142 is configured to obtain ultrasound echoes. In one embodiment, the ultrasound sensing unit 142 includes an ultrasonic signal transmitting module and an ultrasonic signal receiving module. The received ultrasound echoes can be further transformed into an image via Fourier transform.
The third thermal sensing unit 144 is configured to obtain temperature distribution of the brain and generate a first thermal image according to the temperature distribution. In addition, the temperature distribution can also be used to predict whether there is inflammation in the brain.
The third fusion unit 146 marks the ultrasound echoes at a corresponding position in the third thermal image to generate a thermal image with ultrasound information. The third fusion unit 146 can be a microprocessor.
Referring to
The control and processing system 16 is also configured to control the operation of the above units.
In one embodiment, the acoustic system 12 transmits the thermal image with blood velocity information to the control and processing system 16 by wire or wirelessly. Similarly, the magnetic system 13 transmits the thermal image with magnetic flux information to the control and processing system 16 by wire or wirelessly, and the ultrasound system 14 transmits the thermal image with ultrasound information to the control and processing system 16 by wire or wirelessly.
The fourth fusion unit 164 analyzes and integrates the thermal image with blood velocity information, the thermal image with magnetic flux information, and the thermal image with ultrasound information to obtain the spectrum fusion information.
In one embodiment, the fourth fusion unit 164 fuses blood velocity (denoted as v), magnetic flux (denoted as m), and ultrasound echoes (denoted as s) to form the spectrum fusion information. The spectrum fusion information includes both acoustic, magnetic, and ultrasound information. The spectrum fusion information at a certain position can be expressed as A (x, y, z, v, m, s), where x, y, z are the position coordinates, v is the blood velocity obtained by the acoustic system 12, m is the magnetic flux obtained by the magnetic system 13, and s is the ultrasound echoes obtained by the ultrasound system 14.
The judgment unit 166 is configured to receive the spectrum fusion information sent by the fourth fusion unit 164 and determine whether the user has the risk of dementia. The judgment unit 166 can be connected to the third fusion unit 146.
Specifically, the judgment unit 166 compares the spectrum fusion information (A1, A2, A3, . . . ) with a big data database. A1, A2, A3, . . . are spectrum fusion information collected from a user at different times. ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . are changes between A1, A2, A3, . . . and the big data database, respectively. The judgment unit 166 predicts the probability of disease occurrence based on ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . and outputs a risk alert to the user.
In one embodiment, the H1 is defined as a first changes threshold, H2 is defined as a second changes threshold, and H1<H2. When the changes of the spectrum fusion information (ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . ) is less than the first changes threshold H1, the judgment is “no changes”. When the changes of the spectrum fusion information (ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . ) is greater than or equal to the first changes threshold H1 and less than or equal to the second changes threshold H2, the judgment is “slight changes”. When the changes of the spectrum fusion information (ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . ) is greater than the second changes threshold H2, the judgment is “obvious changes.” The first changes threshold H1 and the second changes threshold H2 can be set according to the actual situation. The changes of the spectrum fusion information (ΔA1, ΔA2, ΔA3, . . . ) can be obtained by using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), and/or Deep Neural Network (DNN).
The control and processing system 16 can include user interface so that the user can operate the head-mounted spectrum sensing device 10. The control and processing system 16 can also be connected to the mobile electronic device of the user, such as mobile phone, by wires or wireless. Thus, the user can operate the head-mounted spectrum sensing device 10 by downloading an APP. In operation of the head-mounted spectrum sensing device 10, the acoustic system 12, the magnetic system 13, and the ultrasound system 14 are worn on the head of the user.
The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, including in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including, the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims.
Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps of methods described may be removed, others may be added, and the sequence of steps may be altered. The description and the claims drawn to a method may include some indication in reference to certain steps. However, the indication used is only to be viewed for identification purposes and not as a suggestion as to an order for the steps.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108141605 | Nov 2019 | TW | national |
