US 9,538,938 B2Granted

Signal transmission through a medium

AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.

InventorsOscar Garcia Morchon, Thomas Falck

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Abstract

System using on- or in-body communication technologies such as body-sound communication (BSC) or body-coupled communication (BCC) to obtain information on the body composition of a patient (e.g. water content/hydration level on bone density/joint status). The system, in a preferred embodiment, comprises a transmitter, receiver and processor connected to the receiver. The transmitter is arranged to transmit a signal through a medium (the body of the patient), the signal comprising a plurality of different frequency components and transmission technologies. The receiver is arranged to receive the signal following propagation through the said medium. The processor is arranged to generate, at a first time, one or more transfer functions from the received signal, each transfer function defining values for a predetermined signal parameter at different frequencies. The processor then generates, at a second time, one or more further transfer functions from the received signal and compares a transfer function with the further transfer function for the same signal parameter. An output is generated if the difference between the transfer function and the further transfer function exceeds a preset threshold.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A body wearable system for facilitating analysis related to a body of a user, the system comprising:

a first transducer configured to be placed at a first body location on the body of the user and to transmit a signal through at least a portion of the body of the user from the first body location;
a second transducer configured to be placed at a second body location on the body of the user, to receive the signal at the second body location via at least the portion of the body of the user, and to transmit the signal received at the second body location to one or more processors of the body wearable system;
a third transducer configured to be placed at a third body location on the body of the user between the first body location and the second body location, to receive the signal at the third body location, to generate a verification signal based the signal received at the third body location, and to transmit the verification signal to the one or more processors;
and
the one or more processors configured to:
receive, from the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location;
receive the verification signal from the third transducer;
generate, at a first time, a first transfer function from the received signal, the first transfer function defining values at different frequencies for a predetermined signal parameters;
generate, at a second time, a further transfer function from the received signal;
compare the first transfer function with the further transfer function for the predetermined signal parameter and further adapt the comparison based on the received verification signal;
provide, via a display device, an output related to a preset threshold responsive to the adapted comparison indicating that a difference between the first transfer function and further transfer function exceeds the preset threshold.

8 more elements

A method for facilitating analysis related to a body of a user, with a body wearable system comprising a first transducer configured to be placed at a first body location on the body of the user, a second transducer configured to be placed at a second body location on the body of the user, a third transducer configured to be placed at a third body location on the body of the user between the first body location and the second body location, and one or more processors, the method comprising:

transmitting, with the first transducer, a signal through at least a portion of the body of the user from the first body location;
receiving, with the second transducer, the signal at the second body location via at least the portion of the body of the user;
transmitting, with the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location to the one or more processors of the body wearable system;
receiving, with the third transducer, the signal at the third body location;
generating, with the third transducer, a verification signal based the signal received at the third body location;
transmitting, with the third transducer, the verification signal to the one or more processors;
receiving with the one or more processors, from the second transducer, the signal received at the second body location;
receiving, with the one or more processors, the verification signal from the third transducer;
generating, with the one or more processors at a first time, a first transfer function from the received signal, the first transfer function defining values at different frequencies for a predetermined signal parameter;
generating, with the one or more processors at a second time, a further transfer function from the received signal;
comparing, with the one or more processors, the first transfer function with the further transfer function for the predetermined signal parameter and further adapting the comparison based on the received verification signal;
providing, via a display device, an output related to a preset threshold responsive to the adapted comparison indicating that a difference between the first transfer function and the further transfer function exceeds the preset threshold.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/498,176Filed 29 Sep 2010
Priority: EP 091720502 Oct 2009
Published: US 2012/0184877 A119 Jul 2012
Granted: 10 Jan 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

A61B 5/103
Measuring for diagnostic purposes ; Identification of persons: measuring devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the…
A61B 5/4869
Other medical applications: determining body composition
A61B 8/00
Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
A61B 5/441
Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the integumentary system, e.g. skin, hair or nails: skin evaluation, e.g. for skin disorder diagnosis