# US 12,109,043 B2 · System and method for monitoring respiration

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- Number: US 12,109,043 B2
- Document ID: US12109043B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/306,278
- Filed: 2021-05-03
- Published: 2021-11-18
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2017-02-07
- Assignees: Spire Corporation
- Applicants: Spire, Inc.
- Inventors: Jonathan Palley; Benjamin Yule; Dylan Jackson; Zhao Zhao; Ross Rudolph; Margaret Robb; Neema Moraveji
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109043B2

## CPC

- A61B 5/6804: {Garments; Clothes}
- A61B 5/0004: {characterised by the type of physiological signal transmitted}
- A61B 5/0205: Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
- A61B 5/02427: {Details of sensor}
- A61B 5/0803: {Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor}
- A61B 5/0816: {Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency (measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00)}
- A61B 5/1112: {Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS}
- A61B 5/1116: {Determining posture transitions}
- A61B 5/1118: {Determining activity level}
- A61B 5/113: occurring during breathing
- A61B 5/14551: {for measuring blood gases}
- A61B 5/6823: {Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip}
- A61B 5/02438: {with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient}
- A61B 5/6801: {specially adapted to be attached to or worn on the body surface}
- A61B 5/6802: {Sensor mounted on worn items}
- A61B 5/721: {using a separate sensor to detect motion or using motion information derived from signals other than the physiological signal to be measured}
- A61B 2560/0412: Low-profile patch shaped housings
- A61B 2562/0219: Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

A system for monitoring biosignals of a user, including an attachment module configured to secure the system at an inner surface of a garment of the user; a flexible layer coupled to the attachment module, wherein the flexible layer and the attachment module cooperatively define a housing lumen; an electronics subsystem arranged within the housing lumen, the electronics subsystem including a first sensor, wherein the first sensor outputs a first signal; a respiratory sensor, wherein the respiratory sensor outputs a respiration signal, and a processing module that receives the first signal, the respiration signal, and the proximity signal, and generates a processed biometric output based on the first signal and the respiration signals.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for monitoring physiological data of a user, comprising:
a housing configured to be secured to an inner surface of a garment and positioned between the garment and a body of the user when the garment is worn by the user, wherein the housing comprises a first opening; and
an electronic circuitry positioned in the housing, the electronic circuitry comprising:
an optical sensor configured to output an optical sensor signal indicative of one or more cardiovascular parameters of the user;
a set of stacked capacitive layers, a first pair of the set of stacked capacitive layers forming a respiration sensor and a second pair of the set of stacked capacitive layers forming a proximity sensor, the first pair of capacitive layers of the respiration sensor being arranged between the second pair of capacitive layers of the proximity sensor, wherein the set of stacked capacitive layers includes a second opening aligned with the first opening and the optical sensor, and wherein the respiration sensor is configured to output a respiration signal indicative of respiration of the user and the proximity sensor is configured to output a proximity signal indicative of the housing being positioned proximal to the user; and
a processor configured to receive the optical sensor signal, the respiration signal, and the proximity signal, determine physiological data based on the optical sensor signal and the respiration signal, and control the electronic circuitry based on the proximity signal.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuitry is configured to switch between an active mode and a standby mode responsive to the proximity signal, wherein the active mode comprises powering on the optical sensor and the respiration sensor and processing the optical sensor signal and the respiration signal with the processor, and wherein the standby mode comprises maintaining the optical sensor and the respiration sensor in an off state.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuitry further comprises an accelerometer configured to detect a motion of the user, and wherein the electronic circuitry is further configured to, responsive to a detection of the motion by the accelerometer, activate the proximity sensor.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor comprises a photoplethysmographic (PPG) sensor configured to monitor the one or more cardiovascular parameters of the user through an optical pathway that extends through the first and second openings.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an adhesive positioned on an exterior of the housing, and wherein the adhesive is configured to semi-permanently bond the housing to the garment of the user.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine one or more signal artifacts based on the respiration signal and remove the one or more signal artifacts from the optical sensor signal to obtain a modified optical sensor signal, and determine the physiological data based on the modified optical sensor signal and the respiration signal.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more signal artifacts are indicative of a force resulting from movement of the body of the user caused by respiration of the user, and wherein the respiration sensor is configured to detect the force.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the housing is configured to transmit the force resulting from movement of the body of the user caused by respiration of the user to the set of stacked capacitive layers, and wherein a capacitive layer of the first pair of the set of stacked capacitive layers is configured to deflect in response to the transmitted force.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the first opening comprises a transparent window.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising a recess in the housing, wherein the electronic circuitry is at least partially positioned in the recess, and wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a power source positioned in the recess.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a communication circuitry configured to encode the physiological data using a modulation scheme and transmit encoded physiological data to a remote computing system.

### Claim 12

A method for monitoring physiological data of a user comprising:
by an electronic processing circuitry positioned in a housing configured to be secured to an inner surface of a garment and positioned between the garment and a body of the user when the garment is worn by the user:
turning on an optical sensor and a respiration sensor responsive to receiving a proximity signal detected by a proximity sensor that comprises a first pair of stacked capacitive layers of a set of stacked capacitive layers, the proximity signal indicative of the housing being positioned proximal to the user;
receiving an optical sensor signal detected by the optical sensor and indicative of one or more cardiovascular parameters of the user;
receiving a respiration signal detected by the respiration sensor and indicative of respiration of the user, the respiration sensor comprising a second pair of stacked capacitive layers of the set of stacked capacitive layers, the second pair of stacked capacitive layers of the respiration sensor being arranged between the first pair of capacitive layers of the proximity sensor; and
determining physiological data based on the optical sensor signal and the respiration signal.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising, by the electronic processing circuitry, maintaining the optical sensor and the respiration sensor in an off state responsive to not receiving the proximity signal.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the housing comprises a first opening, and wherein the set of stacked capacitive layers includes a second opening aligned with the first opening and the optical sensor.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the optical sensor is configured to monitor the one or more cardiovascular parameters of the user through an optical pathway that extends through the first and second openings.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the first opening comprises a transparent window.

### Claim 17 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising, by the electronic processing circuitry, turning on the proximity sensor responsive to detecting motion of the user.

### Claim 18 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12 further comprising, by a communication circuitry positioned in the housing, encoding the physiological data using a modulation scheme and transmitting encoded physiological data to a remote computing system.

### Claim 19 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising, by the electronic processing circuitry, determining a set of signal artifacts based on the respiration signal and removing the set of signal artifacts from the optical sensor signal to obtain a modified optical sensor signal, and determining the physiological data based on the modified optical sensor signal and the respiration signal.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein the set of signal artifacts are indicative of a force resulting from movement of the body of the user caused by respiration of the user, and wherein the respiration sensor is configured to detect the force.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting by the housing the force resulting from movement of the body of the user caused by respiration of the user to a plurality of capacitor plates forming the respiration sensor, wherein a plate of the plurality of capacitor plates deflects in response to the transmitted force.