Patent Application
20070287923
The present invention relates generally to a system for measuring an arterial pulse, and more particularly to a means by which arterial pulse can be continuously measured with a noninvasive device that makes direct mechanical contact with the user's wrist.
Beat by beat blood pressure is the missing piece of information in lie detection and psychological response to immediate stressors. Post-traumatic stress disorders might be manageable by simply quantifying the accumulated stress that a Marine is experiencing. Stress has known negative effects on the cardio vascular system. Heart rate variability (HRV) seems to be a window into observing the accumulation of stress or pending illnesses. From what the literature illustrates, measuring heart rate or HRV or any other useful parameter is more difficult during the wakened period of the day when there are often additional stressors. At night, measurement of HRV is easier and may be more useful because there is only one activity.
The pressure pulse, the mechanical representation of the blood flowing in the artery, is best detected at the classic pressure points that are well known and whose locations are widely published in the literature. At these points the artery is close to the surface of the skin so that with application of light constrictive pressure, the pulsations caused by the heartbeat can be sensed mechanically as pulsations in the constrictive force. At some points, the artery is so close to the surface that slight pulsations can even be observed on the surface of the skin. On many people, the radial artery produces such a disturbance at the wrist pressure point and provides an opportunity for pulse measurement at that sensing point.
The present invention relates to a plethysmograph for measuring heart rate variability (HRV) and other HR derived parameters and storing monitored data within a wristwatch-like device for later download using a connection to a PDA or PC, via a connection such as USB. In one example of a military application, the mitigation starts with an observation made by a corpsman who notices, for instance, that a Marine has a deteriorated HRV pattern. This observation will occur as the watches of all the Marines are periodically reviewed by the Corpsman. Mitigation in its simplest form might amount to giving the Marine a couple of days off in a safer, more relaxed setting until the HRV returned to normal values. The wristwatch-like device is thus used to correlate accumulated stress or pending sickness with HR derived parameters.
According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wrist-watch like device that includes a piezo sensing element.
According to a second broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a piezo sensing element that is caused to flex in response to expansion and contraction of the diameter of the user's wrist.
According to another broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a pulse monitoring system for establishing a history of the pulses of the user over an extended period of time.
According to still another broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for externally sensing the disturbance at the wrist pressure point, in which the disturbance causes a piezoelectric sensing element to generate an electrical current.
According to a further broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a transmitting system for transmitting pressure pulses that are sensed at a wrist pressure point by a piezoelectric sensing element to an external receiver.
According to a further broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a piezoelectric element supported on a substrate member that is preferably an elastically deformable metal, such as brass and steel. The piezoelectric fragility toward flexing is minimized by virtue of being bonded to the deformable substrate member.
According to still another broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a wrist plethysmograph having a piezoelectric member supported on a deformable substrate member and housed within a Faraday cage which is mounted by a strap to the user's wrist. The strap of the wrist plethysmograph is relatively inelastic and upon swelling of the user's wrist, the strap pulls a back plate component toward the wrist and the back plate member drives a force transmitting element against the piezoelectric member and it substrate carrier member. The piezoelectric is caused to flex and generates a measurable current.
According to still a further board aspect of the invention, a system for externally sensing the disturbance at the wrist pressure point is employed, in which the disturbance is caused by the pulsing of an artery or arteries in the user's wrist. The resulting wrist expansions and contractions bend a piezoelectric sensing element causing it to generate an electrical current.
According to still a further board aspect of the invention, a system for externally generating a train of waves corresponding to arterial pressure pulses in a user's wrist is provided in which the pressure pulses bend a piezoelectric sensing element causing it to generate an electrical current. A transimpedance amplifier is employed to transform the current signal to a required voltage signal. The voltage is continuously zeroed out, resulting in low sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, motion artifacts, thermo gradients, etc.
According to still a further board aspect of the invention, a wrist plethysmograph is contained within a wristwatch-like structure, and an electrical signal is wirelessly transmitted to a remote receiver.
According to still a further board aspect of the invention, a wrist plethysmograph is contained in a wristwatch-like structure, and an electrical signal is generated by the application of a force to a piezoelectric disk, as by bending, flexing, or the like. The signal data is stored within a memory component within the watch, and transmitted to a remote receiver either by a direct wire connection, or wirelessly. Bluetooth signal transmission or the like can be used for the wireless signal transmission to a nearby PC, PDA, smart phone, or the like, where further analysis can take place and where-alarms can be triggered. Additionally, or alternatively, phone messages, email messages, or the like can be sent with, or without the wears knowledge or assistance, to care givers, emergency medical services, Internet sites, or other interested party or parties.
The invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
It is advantageous to define several terms before describing the invention. It should be appreciated that the following definitions are used throughout this application.
Definitions
Where the definition of terms departs from the commonly used meaning of the term, applicant intends to utilize the definitions provided below, unless specifically indicated.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “disk” refers to all polygonal shapes, from a three sided polygon (triangle) to an infinite sided polygon (circle), and is inclusive of oblong configurations, e.g., ellipses, elongated rectangles, and the like.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “flexing” refers to the physical deforming, (e.g. bending, twisting, stretching, etc.) of a piezo element that causes said piezo element to generate a current. Bending of the piezo element can be, for example, on the order of microns to tens of microns in response to a force of tens to hundreds of Newtons.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “fulcrum” refers to a point or support about which a piezoelectric sensing element flexes.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “inelastic” refers to being resistant to dimensional change. A strap must be sufficiently flexible to comfortably conform to the shape of the user's wrist, but must not stretch under the load that is being applied. Inelastic is used synonymously with “intractable” and “non-extensible”, to indicate a high resistance to change, in particular, resistant to a change in length under the force produced by the expanding of the wrist due to arterial pulses. Examples of inelastic/intractable/non-extensible materials that can be used for the strap are silk, rayon, Kevlar, Twaron, and aramid fibers. Kevlar® is the DuPont Company's brand name for a particularly light but very strong synthetic fiber consisting of long molecular chains produced from poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. Twaron® is a para-aramid and is used in automotive, construction, sport, aerospace, military and industry applications, e.g., “bullet-proof” body armor. Spider silk is a fiber spun by spiders. Spider silk is a remarkably strong material and its tensile strength is comparable to that of high-grade steel. Spider dragline silk has a tensile strength of roughly 1.3 GPa, as compared to a tensile strength for one form of steel of 1.65 GPa. However, spider silk is much less dense than steel having a ratio of tensile strength to density that is perhaps 5 times better than steel. Spider silk is as strong as Aramid filaments, such as Twaron or Kevlar. Aramid fibers are a class of strong, heat-resistant synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for “bullet-proof” body armor fabric, and as an asbestos substitute. The name is a shortened form of “aromatic polyamide”. They are fibers in which the chain molecules are highly oriented along the fiber axis, so the strength of the chemical bond can be exploited. High Tenacity Rayon is a modification of “regular rayon” to provide exceptional strength (two times that of HWM rayon). High tenacity rayon is primarily found in tire cord and industrial end uses. It may be finished, chemically coated or rubberized for protection from moisture and potential loss of dimensional stability and strength during use.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “piezoelectricity” refers to ability of crystals and certain ceramic materials to generate a voltage in response to applied mechanical stress. The piezoelectric effect is reversible in that piezoelectric crystals, when subjected to an externally applied voltage, can change shape by a small amount. (For instance, the deformation is about 0.1% of the original dimension in piezo element.) The effect finds useful applications such as the production and detection of sound, generation of high voltages, electronic frequency generation, microbalance, and ultra fine focusing of optical assemblies.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “piezo element” refers to any material that has capability of generating piezoelectricity.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “plethysmograph” refers to an instrument that measures variations in the size of an organ or body part on the basis of the amount of blood passing through or present in the part.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “PZT” refers to a piezo element, as for example, one of lead zirconate titanate, a material that shows a marked piezoelectric effect as well as any other electroceramic that contains the properties necessary achieve the results set forth herein.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “watch” refers to a wrist plethysmograph that is housed in a wrist watch-like device that can optionally include the features of a standard watch, chronograph, and the like.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term “transimpedance amplifier” refers to a circuit for converting current input into voltage output. A typical situation is the measuring of current using instruments having voltage inputs. A current-to-voltage converter is a circuit that performs current to voltage transformation. In electronic circuitry operating at signal voltages, it usually changes the electric attribute carrying information from current to voltage. The converter acts as a linear circuit with transfer ratio k=VOUT/IIN [V/mA] having dimension of resistance. The active version of the circuit is also referred to as a transresistance or transimpedance amplifier.
The disclosed plethysmograph can track beat-by-beat blood pressure—even during sleep without waking the patient—measuring peripheral blood pressure. There are important differences between peripheral and central blood pressure in the treatment of hypertension, especially resistant hypertension. The disclosed device uses Pulse Decomposition Analysis (PDA) for a complete understanding of the pulse wave structure and is based on verified physical theory. The device measures heart and breathing rates, arrhythmias, and inspiratory effort through direct observation of pulsus paradoxus, heart rate variability, cardiac output, and other parameters. These measurements can enable the device to detect and locate aortic aneurisms and can be useful as a screening device for aneurisms, saving about $5,000 in hospital costs. It can also be useful for monitoring arterial stiffness, general arterial health, apnea as a screening device, drug therapy compliance, efficacy studies for drugs, CPAP compliance and efficacy, asthma screening or warning device, and as a health protector for first responders. The device can automatically monitor heart rate, determine heart rate variability, and store irregular heart rate patterns.
Since the disclosed plethysmograph can quantify inspiratory effort, it can be used as a hospital admission standard for children who may be suffering from asthma attack, enabling the separation of emotional symptoms from asthma symptoms. At home the disclosed plethysmograph can measure the severity of an asthma attack or even warn of an impending attack. As a monitoring device, inspiratory effort could be an important device for the diagnosis and treatment of many respiratory problems including chemical exposure, environmental asthma, and insults to the lungs or trachea. Glucose levels could also be detected indirectly from a combination of parameters that the disclosed plethysmograph supplies. Nocturnal hypoglycemia is particularly important to warn or wake a patient before the effects of a glycemic coma disable the patient. Apneas and hypopneas during sleep could also be recorded and, since heart and breathing rates are recorded, central apnea could be diagnosable at home or in the field. Because of the measurement of inspiratory effort, obstructive sleep apnea could be diagnosable.
The plethysmograph provides a means by which arterial pulse can be continuously measured using an inexpensive, simple and noninvasive device with direct mechanical contact to the wrist or other part of the body to be monitored. The wrist, at the radial artery palpation area, provides an accurate monitoring area due to the slight swelling of the wrist and arm in response to the passage of the pulse. Although this effect can be weak and not be sensed adequately, the movement of the tissue surrounding the palpation area is often visible to the eye.
In light of the accuracy obtained through monitoring the radial artery palpation area, the disclosed invention will be primarily described through examples using a watch. The disclosed watch can also provide standard watch functions and, as most people wear watches anyway, the monitoring device would provide no change to normal patterns or habit. Watch type features, controlled by user buttons, can be incorporated, as for example stop watch and countdown timer(s), temperature measurement, compass, radiation level detector, altimeter, etc. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the medical arts, how to adopt the teachings to monitor other areas of the body.
The disclosed watch uses the imperceptible swelling of the wrist that occurs as the arterial pulse travels down the arm and is terminated at the fingertips. This termination is also imperceptible and dies out without notice unless a finger is damaged due to trauma when pulsitile throbbing occurs. The band and watchcase are snuggly wrapped around the wrist. When the imperceptible pulse arrives it is observed by a piezo element and creates a free charge as the swelling of the wrist bends the element. A current, reacted by the movement of this charge, is transformed by the transimpedance amplifier into a voltage which represents the change in pulse pressure with time. Provided the system is well shielded and pre-amplified, integration of this signal reproduces the pulse pressure waveform familiar in textbooks. The current is differentiated to get pulse integration. Without the fast recovery provided by the transimpedance amplifier, settling times can be five to ten seconds. It also eliminates the piezo element's large sensitivity to thermal transients, which are substantial in a body worn device that is exposed to the environment on the side opposite the wrist.
To monitor these palpitations, a mechanical strap surrounds the wrist at its palpation point over the radial artery. If the strap is worn with light tension, the pulse at the palpation point can cause a variation in the tension of the mechanical strap that is mechanically transferred to a piezoelectric sensing element housed in a container similar to a conventional wristwatch. The strap is a narrow band or strip of material, as for example, a watch band that overlies the volar aspect or anterior of the wrist.
A physical transfer element, mounted between the surface of the skin and the piezoelectric sensing element transfers the variations in contact pressure to the piezo sensing element. The pressure fluctuations on the piezo element can be sensed as current or voltage changes.
A substantial amount of information can be obtained through the monitoring of heart rate and blood pressure. As the disclosed watch can measure, record and analyze both separately and in combination, the heart rate and blood pressure, a vast amount of information can be obtained about the user. Examples of information derived from the disclosed watch are:
The device 100 has an outer casing 101 that houses the components of the plethysmograph and also serves as a Faraday cage. The outer casing 101 shields the high impedance components from electrical interference, protecting the piezoelectric sensing element and its amplifier from surrounding changing electromagnetic fields.
A piezoelectric element 102 is supported by a substrate member 104 which is fixed to a non-conductive ring member 105, that can be formed of any insulating material, such as fiberglass or other polymeric material. The piezoelectric element 102 is constructed in a classical bending configuration and more specifically is geometrically designed as a bending disk. An advantage of using circular disks, such as found in piezoelectric buzzers, is their ubiquitous availability and minimized cost of construction due to a very high production volume. However, other configurations of disks can also be used as defined above and will be evident to those skilled in the art.
The substrate member 104 is centrally supported by a fairly rigid support member 106. Upward movement of the support member 106, produced by the upward movement of the back face 108 of the watch like member 100, causes a flexing of the piezoelectric element 102. The support member 106 functions like a fulcrum about which the substrate member 104 and the piezoelectric element 102 are flexed. In accordance with this embodiment the contact pressure of the strap 122 with the wrist 140 produces a tensile force that is opposed by the contact pressure at the back face 108 of the outer casing 101 of the sensor housing. If the pressure is directly applied to the piezoelectric element 102, the element 102 can easily be broken by the application of too much pressure. The piezoelectric element 102 is preferably protected by an elastomeric substrate support 104, limiting the deflection of the piezoelectric element and preventing breakage. The limitation of the movement of the piezoelectric element 102 is referred to as “snubbed”.
The current generated by the flexing of the piezoelectric element 102 is amplified by the transimpedance amplifier 110 carried by the circuit board 112. The transimpedance charge amplifier 110 is used as a current to voltage converter in an inverting configuration to output the differential or time derivative of the electrical signal from the piezo element. The rapid processing of the electrical signal is essential to the generating of the train of pulse pressure waves, as shown for example, in
Because the disclosed plethysmograph contains a local area network radio, other sensors, such as body temperature or smart bandages, could be implemented within the disclosed system. A host of external, self-powered sensors could be added to the disclosed system depending on their usefulness with the plethysmograph acting as the hub enabling several of sensors to be part of a customized automatic monitoring system. Examples of these include oximetry at the ear, toe, or other places, ECG, EMG, EEG, skin salinity, a variety of oral chemical detectors, and temperature. Audio monitoring of lung sounds using a matrix of microphones to form a picture of the lungs could be generated on a display that locates and identifies sites of pneumonia, projectile damage, and other lung problems.
The disclosed device can store the history of treatment and medical records of the patient. These records and medical history can be viewed or altered by a PC or PDA. Due to Moore's Law, devices can store data can store can retain a patient's entire treatment history and all relevant personal information even if the period is over weeks, months, or years.
A transimpedance amplifier converts current input to voltage output. The piezo element converts tensile stress in the piezo element to displacement of electrical charge Q. Thus Q=k13*F. Since dQ/dt−k13*dF/dt and dQ/dt=i then the transimpedance amplifier's output voltage is proportional to the time derivative of force applied to the sensing element. If the pulse waveform spectrum is decomposed into a set of sine waves (the Fourier Transform) then the fundamental definition, dQ/dt=ω*cos(Ωt) reveals the obvious fact that the derivative of the set of sine functions falls at 20 dB/decade to zero as ω approaches D.C. Thus, if the current representing the movement of charge between shorted electrodes is measured instead of the open circuit voltage between them, D.C. blocking is intrinsic in the measurement and no external capacitor is needed.
Although possible to use, the use of a voltage amplifier is far less advantageous than a transimpedance amplifier 110 because the pulse signals have a very low frequency of about 0.1 Hz. A 35 mm piezo element has about 0.02 μF capacitance and the voltage while measuring a pulse is nominally about 1 volt. At 1 Hz, 1 volt on the capacitance of the piezoelectric element causes about 0.1 μamp to flow. Therefore it would require a voltage amplifier with a gain=1 to be about equal to a transimpedance amplifier with Rf=10 MOhms.
The back face 108 is pulled tight against the wrist 140 of the user by the watch band or strap 122 as the wrist 140 swells with each pulse. The back face 108 acts like a piston and pushes the transfer member 106 against the substrate 104 and the piezoelectric element 102, to which it is bonded. The piezoelectric element 102 bends, producing a tiny varying charge separation, which is a current signal. The strap 122 is non-elastic and thus resists expanding and contracting under the pulse pressure indicated by arrows 132. The strap 122 does not expand or contracting in the direction indicated by arrows 134, and consequently, the swelling of the wrist is accommodated by the plethysmograph by driving the casing back face 108 outwardly toward the piezoelectric member 102. Upon passage of the pulsation the substrate member and the tendency of the casing back to flatten, drive the watch casing back 108 to its zero force configuration.
By clamping the piezoelectric voltage to zero, the configuration produces a very linear response and removes the sensitivity to environmental influences and keeps the electrical signal centered around zero (0) volts, where it can be suitably amplified without regard to slowly varying voltage offsets that might be derived from changes in temperature, pressure, or light intensity. It should be noted that the electrical response is directly the time differentiated pulse and must be integrated to get the normally recognized pulse response.
The mechanical strap 122 that couples the radial pulse to the piezoelectric element 102 acts as a mechanical filter and special attention must be given to the physical characteristics of that element. The straps disclosed herein must be inelastic in order to accurately couple the radial pulse to the piezoelectric element. If the strap is highly compliant, that is, very elastic, the pulsative signal will be attenuated in the elastic distortion of the strap rather than transferring the signal to the piezoelectric element 102. If the strap 122 is very stiff, it will not conform to the surface of the skin and will not respond well to the pulse. The material selected for the construction of the strap must be skin conformable while capable of transferring the signal from the wrist 140, or palpation point or points, to the piezoelectric element 102, with out attenuating the signal to a level that obviates or negates the sensitivity of the piezoelectric element 122. That is, the signal that is transferred to the sensor must be sufficient to produce the required level of current.
An example of a material that will enable the flexing of the piezoelectric element 102 is rayon or silk cloth. However other materials that are stiff in the plane of the fabric, and highly compliant, i.e., has a high tensile strength, but has a low resistance to flexural and/or torsional forces, out of the plane of the fabric can be used.
The extraction of the pulse into an electrical form enables the analyzing of the pulse through algorithms. The wrist plethysmograph 100 does not merely count the time frequency of the user's pulse, but also senses the patterns of the pressure variations. Using the data from the plethysmograph piezoelectric element 102 various physiological parameters can be monitored, including heart rate, blood pressure, breath rate, augmentation index (indication of the hardness of arteries), heart rate variability, and other physiological cycles.
The compliant anchors 306, as illustrated in
The expansion force indicated by the arrows 300 apply a force to the strap 322, in the direction indicated by the arrow 134. The inelasticity of the strap 322 results in the force 300 being applied to the back face 304 of the housing 310. The term “bottom face” refers the face of the watch that is in contact with the posterior of the wrist. When the resultant force applied by the transfer member 303 to the piezo element 222 is greater than zero, as indicated in
The strap 322 is seen to closely conform to the shape of the user's wrist 140, and essentially the only gap between the strap 322 and the wrist is in the region 350, proximate the housing 310.
In the schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention of
The capacitance of the piezo electrodes appears in parallel to the effective voltage source in the voltage amplifier model and its reactance, greater than 100K at the highest frequency in our passband, is therefore ignored.
The frequency regime used in the disclosed plethysmograph covers the resting breathing fundamental at the low frequency extreme to the upper frequencies contained in the heartbeat. The passband therefore is about 100 milliHz to about 60 Hz.
A conventional D.C. coupled voltage amplifier will pass all of the frequencies from D.C. to the upper break point determined by Rf and Cf (½*π*R*C) Since the signal level is so high from the piezo element, very little gain can be used when the open circuit voltage is measured, in the range of about 1× to 10×.
The voltage amplifier signal output is breathing or pulse, directly, without signal processing. The signal contains, however, thermal inputs and motion artifacts to the constrained piezo element. The artifacts are large and the signal randomly drifts several volts from the zero reference.
Because of this artifact the voltage amplifier needs to include a blocking capacitor in the input to remove sensitivity to voltage signals approaching D.C. For our uses, the low frequency break point must be below the breathing fundamental at 0.1 Hz and the capacitor needed to accomplish this is very large.
As can be seen through the examples illustrated herein, there are a number of advantages to using a transimpedance amplifier circuit.
The gain curves are specifically tailored through electronic components to exclude signals below the human breathing rate and signals above the significant harmonics of the heart rate. It should be understood that the amplifiers electronic components can change depending on whether the system is used on a neonate, child, adult, or animal. Because the heart and breathing rates are somewhat different from each. Spurious low frequency signals, external signals from changing electrostatic fields, slowly moving temperature gradients, light level responses, and the like, are rejected by the amplifier by increasing the signal to noise ratio of the system. Higher frequency signals, usually due to motion or environmental vibrations are similarly rejected and result in higher signal to noise ratios.
The circuit of
Additional features can be added to the plethysmograph through software or integration of additional mechanical devices. Examples of these additions are:
Screening device for aortic aneurysms: Two subjects can be observed using the disclosed plethysmograph on both wrists. One patient has a thoracic aneurysm and the other patient has an abdominal aneurysm. In both cases disclosed plethysmograph detected and located the aneurysm. The disclosed plethysmograph is able to locate aneurysms because the pulse waveform is, a record of reflected systolic pulses that originate at different places and arrive at different times. Normally, there are only four reflected pulses, but, in these special cases, the aneurysm produces an extra pulse. As expected, no reflections are observed on a patient with a repaired abdominal aneurysm.
Automatic monitoring of spinal cord injured patients: HRV can be used as a pre-symptomatic indication of sepsis in neonates. HRV could be used for pre-symptomatic warnings of frequent urinary track infections, sepsis, or other impending illness. The disclosed plethysmograph can be tested on a number of SCI patients who often have one or more UTIs per month in order to monitor the reduction in HRV that precedes the symptoms of illness.
As stated heretofore other areas of the body can be used for monitoring. While most patients will have at least one hand, both will be,missing in some cases. In these instances, an alternative area, such as the upper brachial area, can be used for the monitoring. With the exception of the means for attachment, plethysmograph remains the same, except that algorithms must be adjusted for differences in anatomy and point of observation. Since there are pulse palpation sites on the forehead, feet, legs and neck, these places would in many cases provide all the presently obtained parameters with only changes in algorithm constants and coupling devices to fit the new anatomical geometry.
There are other reasons for alternate pulse sites. Like the waveform differences from a damaged aorta, insults to the femoral artery could be observable in the pedal pulse. An important use could be at the carotid artery, where the waveform changes dramatically as perfusion is reduced in the brain.
While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein, the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein, but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure. The limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term “preferably” is non-exclusive and means “preferably, but not limited to.”
In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; b) a corresponding function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts that support that structure are not recited. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “present invention” or “invention” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure. The language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of critically, should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments (i.e., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “embodiment” can be used to describe any aspect, feature, process or step, any combination thereof, and/or any portion thereof, etc. In some examples, various embodiments may include overlapping features. In this disclosure, the following abbreviated terminology may be employed: “e.g.” which means “for example”.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application 60/800,521 for Wrist Plethysmograph, filed May 15, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein as though recited in full.
ONR (Office of Naval Research) NO-0014-04-C-0204
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60800521 | May 2006 | US |
