The present invention relates to a sensor system for monitoring the condition of a person on a planar support, said system comprising a planar sensor element fitted on the support for converting mechanical forces produced by the person's movements and vital functions into electric signals, and an interface for the connection of the sensor via a connection cable to a monitoring unit. The invention also concerns a method for manufacturing the sensor system.
Previously known is a so-called electret field, i.e. a permanent electric charge injected into a dielectric material by ionization. A film applicable as a sensor film of a sensor element according to the invention is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,546, in which a dielectric plastic film containing flat or ripped gas blisters is used to form a so-called electret bubble film. Both surfaces of the film are metal-coated. WO specification 96/06718 presents a procedure for expanding a thin foamed plastic film, in which procedure the amount of gas contained in it can be more than doubled. EP patent specification EP-B1-0775049 describes how a thin biaxially oriented film containing flat gas blisters is electrically charged so that partial discharges occur in the gas blisters inside it. Patent specification FI 913741 presents various electric structures for sensor elements. Previously known are also fibrous polarized electret films, as presented e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,659. Likewise, piezo-electric sensor films, such as PVDF, are known and they are also applicable for use in the sensor element of the invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,996 presents a planar sensor system for the monitoring of a patient's condition, such as respiration, heart beat, and body movements, which uses orthogonal sensor element sheets containing longitudinal piezo-electric sensor strips, said sheets being placed in the patient's bed. Individual sensor strips may also be of a circular or square form. Another piezo-electric sensor is described in the article J. Siivola: “New noninvasive piezoelectric transducer for recording respiration, heart rate and body movements”, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, July 1989, which presents a piezo-electric PVDF converter for converting the forces produced on the patient support by respiration, heart beats and body movements into electric signals. According to the article, the sensor has electrodes consisting of aluminum and chromium metal layers of a thickness of 30 nm on both sides of a PVDF polymer film. The connection leads are coupled to the electrodes using conductive epoxy glue.
The so-called electret field, i.e. a permanent electric charge injected into dielectric material by ionization, is based on ions being locked in molecules and the crystal structure. A film applicable for use as the active electromechanical material of a patient sensor is described in the article J. Siivola, K. Leinonen, L. Räisänen: “EMF-polymer transducer as a detector of respiration in humans”, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, November 1993. This film consists of dielectric plastic film, such as polypropylene, containing flat or ripped gas blisters, constituting an electret film (so-called electret bubble film). Unlike the piezo-electric PVDF film, which is sensitive to bending, the electret bubble film containing flat gas blisters is very sensitive to variation of thickness. This provides an advantage in an application according to the invention. The raw material of the electret bubble film, typically polypropylene, involves no environmental hazard even when burning, unlike PVDF, which contains very toxic fluoride.
A specific disadvantage associated with prior-art sensor elements is a difficult and expensive manufacturing process. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of prior-art solutions and achieve a new type of sensor system whose manufacture produces no detrimental environmental stress and which contains no environmentally hazardous toxic substances, in which the sensor produces both an optimal respiration signal and an optimal heartbeat signal, and in which the manufacturing costs of the sensor element per unit have been minimized.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sensor has a substantially oval shape, this solution being based on the observation that a patient generally lies in the middle region of a bed. Since a human being has a substantially oval shape in longitudinal cross-section, the weight distribution caused by the body diminishes toward the edges of the bed.
It has been established that using a narrow, eg about 5 cm wide and 60 cm long sensor strip based on electret bubble film, heartbeat is well registered, whereas respiration is not so clearly perceived. Likewise, we have discovered that, using a similarly manufactured sensor strip 50 cm wide and 60 cm long, respiration is clearly perceived while heartbeat is not so clearly detected. We have found that the best combination is a sensor about 30 cm wide and 60 cm long and having a rectangular or preferably oval form. Such a sensor is capable of clearly distinguishing both respiration, including snoring, and heartbeat.
An embodiment of the invention in which an aluminum/polyester film is used in the sensor element is additionally characterized in that the area of connection of the connecting cable is silvered e.g. by printing with silver pasta.
In the method of the invention, an electromechanical sensor film, such as an electret bubble film which has a permanent electric charge injected by ionization and which may also consist of a plurality of films glued together, is provided with film-like metallic electrodes placed on both of its outer surfaces, the outer surface of at least one of the metal electrodes being provided with a film-like insulating material, which may also consist of the same electromechanical sensor film.
The method of the invention for manufacturing a sensor system from a sensor element material is characterized in that at least the signal electrode material is provided with repeated electrode patterns. The sensor element is formed by cutting the sensor element material between electrode patterns.
In detail, the system and method of the invention are characterized by what is presented in the attached claims.
By applying the manufacturing technique of the invention, it is possible to produce sensors the size of a whole bed by cutting the sensor from sensor material manufactured as long continuous sheets divided into areas measuring e.g. about 30×60 cm.
By using a sensor element of a shape as provided by the invention and manufactured by the method of the invention, it will be possible to optimize the amount of material needed for the sensor element so that no material is wasted. Moreover, the sensor element of the invention is less susceptible to interference and damage than currently used sensor elements. In addition, the silvering used in the area of connection of the connecting cable minimizes damage that may arise at the joint as a result of bending and handling. Furthermore, using an electret bubble film, the sensor element can be made very thin and elastic.
By the method of the invention, sensor element material can be manufactured economically and fast by mass production in the form of material rolls, which cab be cut so as to produce reliable film-like sensor elements of desired length and width that are well protected against electromagnetic interference, to be used for monitoring the vital functions of patients. When the electrodes used are aluminum electrodes, which can be etched using iron chloride, the method of the invention is very advantageous and environmentally friendly.
A feature typical of a preferred embodiment of the invention is that in its manufacture the signal, earth and zero electrodes are produced by printing (e.g. using an ink jet printer) or by silk screen printing electrode patterns on the metal coat on the surface of the dielectric film using e.g. a dielectric insulating material that dries under UV light and etching away the areas outside the patterns. Both the printing, drying, etching and washing of the electrode pattern, all take place in a roll-to-roll process. Similarly, the gluing together or lamination of the electromechanical film is carried out in a roll-to-roll process.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is additionally characterized in that that the electret bubble film used is expanded before being charged, e.g. by the method presented in WO specification 96/06718, the amount of gas contained in it being thus increased to a level exceeding 50%. When the film is then charged, its sensitivity is increased by multiple times as compared with an unexpanded film. A feature typical of the process of charging the film by ionization is that it gives rise to partial discharges, as described in EP patent specification EP-B1-0775049. Furthermore, the invention using an electret bubble film is additionally charcaterized in that the sensor element has been heavily seasoned by keeping it at a temperature somewhat above the desired maximum operating temperature, e.g. at 60° C., for several days. This reduces the sensitivity of the sensor by about 20–25% as compared with the original situation. As a result, the sensor becomes very stable in respect of temperature variations.
In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of an example with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
a presents a cross-section of the sensor element of the invention,
b presents a signal electrode of a sensor element according to the invention in top view,
c illustrates the formation of an oval-shaped sensor element from sensor element material, and
The planar sensor element 3 in
As illustrated in
c illustrates the formation of an oval-shaped sensor element 21 according to the invention from sensor element material 22.
In the manufacture of the sensor material (
After this, all these films are laminated together using roll-to-roll lamination equipment (
The connecting wires can be reliably connected to the sensor of the invention using crimp connectors, to which the connecting wires can be connected e.g. by soldering or crimping. For the crimp connectors, which are pressed through the entire sensor laminate and thus form an electric coupling to the electrodes, the signal, earth and zero electrode patterns are provided with areas onto which the connectors can be pressed without producing a short circuit between the signal electrode and the earth/zero electrode. A sensor element (
The sensor element of the invention can also be connected to a transmitter-receiver apparatus to allow the intensity and point of application of a force or pressure applied to the sensor to be determined from the signals obtained from the sensor, said apparatus comprising a transmitter unit working in the microwave range and transmitting signals in the microwave range to the signal electrode of the sensor, and a receiver unit for receiving the signals reflected from the signal electrode. The sensor can also be provided with an antenna pattern by a corresponding technique, said antenna pattern being used as the antenna of a so-called micro-tag. If a patient carries a personal micro-tag hidden in his/her clothes, It can provide information indicating e.g. that the right person has lain down.
The sensor element of the invention can also be easily provided with several signal electrode patterns, in which case the same sensor comprises several different areas each of which can be separately connected to a signal processing apparatus. Thus, it is possible to produce e.g. a unitary sensor in which one area is placed under the thorax to monitor respiration and/or heartbeat, another area is placed under the middle body and a third area under the feet. Such a sensor, divided e.g. into three parts, can be utilized e.g. in dream research and in patient monitoring. The sensor can also be easily provided with several tens of narrow transverse strips e.g. of a width of about 2 cm, each of which can output a separate signal. Such a sensor can be utilized e.g. for measuring the efficiency of heart activity, by measuring the speed of advance of the pressure pulse when the patient is lying on the sensor.
The sensor element of the invention can also be combined with a sensor for measuring temperature and/or humidity, which will make it possible to monitor also changes occurring in the physical condition of the patient.
By the manufacturing method of the invention, the sensor element can also be so produced that the plastic film carrying the metal electrode is placed against the sensor film itself. It is also possible to use an arrangement in which earth electrodes are placed on either side of the sensor film itself, at least one of the earth electrodes being provided with holes. In the area of the holes, the next film layer is provided with a film containing the signal electrodes. In this case, the leads coming from different signal areas can be taken to one place on the film without creating a charge in the leads. The outermost electrode is still an earth electrode.
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention are not restricted to the examples described above, but that they can be varied within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20000811 | Apr 2000 | FI | national |
20010004 | Jan 2001 | FI | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT/FI01/00333 filed on Apr. 5, 2001.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3943614 | Yoshikawa et al. | Mar 1976 | A |
4370182 | Becker et al. | Jan 1983 | A |
4509527 | Fraden | Apr 1985 | A |
4654546 | Kirjavainen | Mar 1987 | A |
4874659 | Ando et al. | Oct 1989 | A |
5448996 | Bellin et al. | Sep 1995 | A |
5844488 | Musick | Dec 1998 | A |
5912759 | Good et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
5964720 | Pelz | Oct 1999 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
0 775 049 | Dec 1999 | EP |
913741 | Feb 1993 | FI |
2 069 238 | Aug 1981 | GB |
9605045 | Feb 1996 | WO |
9606718 | Mar 1996 | WO |
9852467 | Nov 1998 | WO |
0102823 | Jan 2001 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20030073936 A1 | Apr 2003 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | PCT/FI01/00333 | Apr 2001 | US |
Child | 10267554 | US |