Apparatus and Methods for Monitoring Physiological Data During Environmental Interference

A method of monitoring at least one physiological property of a subject, comprising:

• directing modulated energy at a target region of the subject via an energy emitter;
• obtaining a first energy response signal from the subject when the emitter is on;
• obtaining a second energy response signal from the subject when the emitter is off;
• and
• processing the first and second energy response signals via a filter to produce a processed energy response signal that is associated with a physiological condition of the subject, wherein the filter attenuates time-varying environmental interference from a non-physiological source external to the body of the subject and includes one or more of the following:
• sunlight, ambient light, airflow, and temperature.

A sensor module, comprising:

• a printed circuit board (PCB);
• an optical emitter attached to the PCB;
• an optical detector attached to the PCB adjacent to the optical emitter;
• an optical filter overlying at least a portion of the optical detector, wherein the optical filter is configured to attenuate light at one or more selected wavelengths;
• and
• light-opaque material adjacent to the optical detector that prevents ambient light from interfering with the optical detector.

A wearable monitoring apparatus, comprising:

• a substrate configured to be attached to a body of a subject;
• and
• a sensor module attached to the substrate, the sensor module comprising:
• an energy emitter that directs modulated energy at a target region of the subject;
• a detector adjacent to the energy emitter that detects an energy response signal from the subject, wherein the energy response signal is associated with a physiological condition of the subject;
• a filter that attenuates time-varying environmental interference from the energy response signal, wherein the time-varying environmental interference is from a non-physiological source external to the body of the subject and includes one or more of the following:
• sunlight, ambient light, airflow, and temperature;
• and
• at least one processor that controls operations of the energy emitter, detector, and/or filter, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to process the detected energy response signal and produce an extracted energy response signal.

A method of monitoring at least one physiological property of a subject, comprising:

• directing modulated energy at a target region of the subject via an energy emitter;
• obtaining, via an energy detector, a first energy response signal from the subject when the emitter is on;
• obtaining, via the energy detector, a second energy response signal from the subject when the emitter is off;
• detecting motion information from the subject;
• and
• processing the first and second energy response signals via a filter to produce a processed energy response signal that is associated with a physiological condition of the subject, wherein the filter attenuates time-varying environmental interference from a non-physiological source external to the body of the subject and includes one or more of the following:
• sunlight, ambient light, airflow, and temperature;
• and
• processing the motion information from the subject to attenuate motion artifacts from the processed energy response signal.