Patent Application
20160007862
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a personal health device convenient for personal health data collecting and monitoring.
2. Description of the Related Art
The effective functioning of many organs requires a sufficient blood supply. Control of blood circulation parameters is important both in cases of cardiovascular circulatory disturbances, and in prophylaxis. Arterial narrowings (occlusions) in arms and legs that hinder or even block blood supply constitute one of the most perilous diseases of blood circulation disturbances and may cause serious organic changes.
Several methods of diagnostics of arterial occlusions are known, e.g. arterial oscillography, local registration of blood pressure and determination of the ankle/arm index.
Disadvantages of the known methods include the inconvenience of their use (constrictors, pressure cuffs with compression and decompression equipment, etc.), complicated procedures (several manipulations in a specific order), relatively long duration (typically about 30 minutes) and the difficulty of applying the methods outside of hospitals (e.g. in the field or under domestic conditions), because of the massive stationary equipment required.
The personal health device, computing device, method for collecting personal health data and computer readable storage medium are provided. An exemplary embodiment of a personal health device comprises a plurality of photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors, a plurality of electrodes and a processing circuit. The PPG sensors are configured for sensing a plurality of PPG signals. The electrodes are configured for sensing a plurality of skin voltages. The processing circuit is coupled to the plurality of PPG sensors and the plurality of electrodes and configured for estimating an ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) according to the plurality of PPG signals and the plurality of skin voltages.
An exemplary embodiment of a computing device comprises a processing circuit. The processing circuit comprises a processor configured for estimating an ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) according to a plurality of photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals and at least one electrocardiography (ECG) lead signal.
An exemplary embodiment of a method for collecting personal health data comprises: sensing a plurality of photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals of a user; sensing a plurality of skin voltages of the user; estimating an ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) according to the plurality of PPG signals and the plurality of skin voltages.
An exemplary embodiment of a computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which when executed by a device, cause the device to estimate an ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) according to a plurality of PPG signals and at least one ECG lead signal.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
The PPG sensors 110-1 and 110-2 are configured for sensing a plurality of PPG signals. The PPG sensors are used to estimate the perfusion of the blood, i.e. the volume change of the blood flow in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue of the skin. One application of the PPG sensors is used to estimate the degree of oxygenation in arterial blood. For example, red and infrared light is emitted towards a body part. The infrared light is more strongly absorbed by oxygenated blood than by non-oxygenated blood; red light is more strongly absorbed by non-oxygenated blood than by oxygenated blood. The change in the infrared absorption during systole is a measure of the amount of oxygenated blood. The level of red light absorption between systoles is a measure of the total amount of blood being illuminated and is used for calibration.
The electrodes 120-1 and 120-2 are configured for sensing a plurality of skin voltages. The ECG lead signal converter 130 is coupled to the plurality of electrodes 120-1 and 120-2 for receiving the plurality of skin voltages and generates at least one ECG lead signal according to the plurality of skin voltages.
The personal health device 100 may further comprise a multiplexer (MUX) 150 and analog-to-digital converters (ADC) 160 and 165. The MUX 150 is coupled to the PPG sensors 110-1 and 110-2 for multiplexing the PPG signals to the ADC 160. The ADC 160 is configured for performing analog-to-digital conversion of the PPG signals and provides the converted PPG signals to the processor 140. The processor 140 may be a general purpose processor or a digital signal processor (DSP) which receives a specific instruction set to execute certain tasks. However, it is feasible to use dedicate hardware or fixed function circuits to replace the processor 140. The ADC 165 is configured for performing analog-to-digital conversion of the ECG lead signal and provides the converted ECG lead signal to the processor 140. Note that, in some embodiments of the invention, the ADC 160 and ADC 165 may be combined as one ADC with an additional multiplexer utilized for multiplexing the PPG signals and the ECG lead signal to the combined ADC. In some other embodiments of the invention, the PPG sensor 110-1 and PPG sensor 110-2 may each be coupled to an ADC, respectively; and the MUX 150 may be removed. Therefore,
In practice, the ECG lead signal converter 130, the MUX 150, the ADC 160, the ADC 165 and the processor 140 may be implemented within an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). These blocks may be altogether referred to as a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured for estimating an ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) according to the plurality of PPG signals and the plurality of skin voltages. The ABI is the ratio of the blood pressure in the lower legs to the blood pressure in the arms. Compared to the blood pressure of the arm, lower blood pressure in the leg is an indication of blocked arteries (Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) or Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)). In general, the ABI is calculated by dividing the systolic blood pressure at the ankle by the systolic blood pressure in the arm. As the ABI decreases from 1, it suggests the PAD is getting more severe. As for the blood pressures of the arm and the leg, they may be derived according to the PPG signals and the ECG lead signal, which will be explained with more detail later.
Hence, according to an embodiment of the invention, the personal health device 100 may comprise a plurality of PPG sensors, a plurality of electrodes and a processing circuit. The plurality of PPG sensors are configured for sensing a plurality of PPG signals. The plurality of electrodes are configured for sensing a plurality of skin voltages. The processing circuit is coupled to the plurality of PPG sensors and the plurality of electrodes; and the processing circuit is configured for estimating an ABI according to the plurality of PPG signals and the plurality of skin voltages. Specifically, the processing circuit may comprise an electrocardiography (EGC) lead signal converter, a blood pressure calculator and an ABI generator. The ECG lead signal converter is configured for providing at least one ECG lead signal according to the plurality of skin voltages. The blood pressure calculator is configured for estimating a plurality of blood pressures according to the plurality of PPG signals and the at least one ECG lead signal. The ABI generator is configured for calculating the ABI according to the plurality of blood pressures.
To be reminded, the blood pressure calculator and the ABI generator may be replaced by a processor, which executes instructions for estimating a plurality of blood pressures according to the plurality of PPG signals and the at least one ECG lead signal; and calculating the ABI according to the plurality of blood pressures. The instructions executed by the processor may be provided in the form of an application program. When a user wants to know the ABI, the application program may be downloaded from a computer readable storage medium such as an internet disk drive, a cloud storage or an optical disk to the processor. When the application program is run on the processor, the processor executes the instructions to estimate the ABI according to the plurality of PPG signals and the at least one ECG lead signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of PPG signals may comprise a first PPG signal and a second PPG signal, the at least one ECG lead signal may comprise a first ECG lead signal, the plurality of blood pressures may comprise a first blood pressure and a second blood pressure. The first blood pressure may be estimated according to the first PPG signal and the first ECG lead signal, and the second blood pressure may be estimated according to the second PPG signal and the first ECG lead signal. The ABI is estimated according to the first blood pressure and the second blood pressure.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plurality of PPG signals and the plurality of skin voltages are preferably sensed substantially simultaneously. However, the invention should not be limited thereto.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the personal health device 100 may further comprise a wireless communication module 170, a display device 180 and a storage unit 190. The wireless communication module 170 is configured for transmitting information regarding the plurality of PPG signals, the at least one ECG lead signal, the plurality of blood pressures, or the ABI to an electronic device. The electronic device may be a mobile phone, a computer, a cloud server, or others. The display device 180 is configured for providing a user interface to the user using the personal health device 100 and displaying estimated ABI. The storage unit 190 is configured for storing a plurality of ABI records estimated at different times. The processor 140 may monitor changes of the plurality of ABI records of each user for detecting the beginning or degeneration of the PVD or PAD. In the embodiments of the invention, the personal health device 100 may be powered by battery power or utility power, and the power supply device is not shown in
Referring to
According to an embodiment of the invention, one of the plurality of PPG signals and one of the plurality of skin voltages are sensed by placing the first sensor housing body on the upper limb of the user, and another of the plurality of PPG signals and another of the plurality of skin voltages are sensed by placing the second sensor housing body on a lower limb of the user. For instance, the sensor housing body 320-1 is placed on the right arm of the user and the sensor housing body 320-2 is placed on the left leg of the user.
Note that in some embodiments of the invention, the PPG sensors and the electrodes may also be disposed in different sensor housing bodies. For example, the personal health device 300 may comprise more than two sensor housing bodies. One of the PPG sensors may be housed in a first sensor housing body, and another of the PPG sensors may be housed in a second sensor housing body. One of the electrodes may be housed in a third sensor housing body, and another of the plurality of electrodes may be housed in a fourth sensor housing body. Therefore,
According to an embodiment of the invention, a blood pressure may be estimated according to a Pulse Wave Transit Time (PWTT) between a peak of the ECG lead signal and a peak of the PPG signal, or a Pulse Arrival Time (PAT) of the PPG signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the blood pressure may be estimated based on one or more models or algorithms. A simple model for estimating the blood pressure can be derived as below:
SBP=a*PWTT+b  Eq. (1)
where SBP represents the systolic blood pressure and a and b are predetermined parameters. Note that the Eq. (1) is merely one of a plurality of possible implementations of the model, and the invention should not be limited thereto. For example, the blood pressure may also be derived according to more complicated models or algorithms, and may also be estimated further according to physical characteristics of the user, such as the height, weight, age, rhythm of the heart, or others.
After obtaining the blood pressures BP_hand and BP_foot, the ABI may be estimated according to the blood pressures BP_hand and BP_foot. Note that in some embodiments of the invention, the ABI may also be estimated further according to physical characteristics of the user, and the invention should not be limited thereto. Note further that the finger and toe utilized for sensing the PPG signals and the skin voltages as shown in
The personal health device 200 may comprise at least a plurality of photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors, such as the PPG sensors 210-1 and 210-2, a plurality of electrodes, such as the electrodes 220-1 and 220-2, an ECG lead signal converter 230, a processing circuit 240, a power supply device 250, a speaker 255, an input unit 260, a wireless communication module 270, a display device 280 and a storage unit 290. Regarding the descriptions of the PPG sensors 210-1 and 210-2, the electrodes 220-1 and 220-2, the ECG lead signal converter 230, the processing circuit 240, the wireless communication module 270, the display device 280 and the storage unit 290, reference may be made to the corresponding elements of
The power supply device 250 is configured for providing utility power or battery power. The speaker 255 is configured for playing sounds to notify the user operating the personal health device 200. The input unit 260 is configured for facilitating the user to input commands or physical characteristics. According to an embodiment of the invention, the personal health device 200 may further comprise amplifiers 211-1 and 211-2 configured for amplifying the PGG signals received from the PPG sensors 210-1 and 210-2, analog filters 212-1 and 212-2 configured for filtering the amplified PGG signals and drivers 213-1 and 213-2 configured for further driving the filtered PGG signals before being provided to the processing circuit 240. The processing circuit 240 may comprise an ADC 241 integrated therein and configured for performing analog to digital conversion.
Note that the amplifiers 211-1 and 211-2 may be integrated into one device, and as well as the analog filters 212-1 and 212-2 and the drivers 213-1 and 213-2, and a multiplexer may be added for multiplexing the PPG signals as shown in
The personal health device 200 may further comprise a bias voltage 214 configured for providing the bias voltage to the transmitter LED in the PPG sensors 210-1 and 210-2, and a gain control unit 215 configured for controlling the gain value of the amplifiers 211-1 and 211-2. The ECG lead signal converter 230 may comprise an instrumentation amplifier (IA) 231 configured for amplifying the skin voltages received from the electrodes 220-1 and 220-2, an analog filter 232 configured for filtering the amplified skin voltages and an ADC 233 configured for performing analog to digital conversion.
Note that in some embodiments of the invention, the personal health device 100/200/300 may comprise more than two PPG sensors and two electrodes, and the blood pressure may also be derived according to the models or algorithms that are more complicated and different from the model shown in Eq. (1). For example, a blood pressure may be derived according to more than one PPG signal and more than one ECG lead signal. Therefore, the embodiments as illustrated above are merely some of a plurality of possible implementations, and the invention should not be limited thereto.
As discussed above, comparing to the conventional way of measuring the ABI, the proposed methods and personal health devices are more convenient for the user and can be applied anywhere outside of a hospital, such as estimating the ABI at home and keep monitoring the ABI records estimated at different times for a period of time. In this manner, the beginning or degeneration of the PVD or PAD may be detected as early as possible. In addition, since ABI estimated by the proposed personal health devices is a ratio of estimated blood pressures, even if the estimated blood pressures may not be very accurate, the ratio of estimated blood pressures and the change of the ABI records estimated at different times are still very meaningful for the user to monitor his/her personal health.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents.
