Th!e

HEART RATE AND BLOOD OXYGEN MONr.TOR.ING SYSTEM

Field

This invention is related to medical devices and more particularly to devi

monitoring heart rate and/or blood oxygen levels.

Background

Heart rate monitors and blood oxygen monitors are medical devices used to measure heart rates and blood oxygen levels in real time and/or to record such measurements for later study. Some heart rate monitors use electrodes in contact with a user's skin to measure small electrical signals thai are generated by the user's heart as it beats, and other heart rate monitors use Sight IR light ) to measure small light fluctuations due to the user's blood circulation. Blood oxygen monitors typically use light (e.g. red light and IR light) to measure the oxygen content of the blood.

Most heart rate monitors which measure light fluctuation arc iransffiisslve-type devices which include an infrared (ill) hght emitting diode (LED) and a separate

photodeteetor. The IR. LED is typically positioned on one side of a linger clip and the photodetecior is typically positioned on the other side of the finger clip. In use, the IR light generated by the IR LED is transmitted through the finger, where it is modulated by the blood flow, and is then detected by the photodeteetor for processing.

Most blood oxygen monitors are also transmissive-type devices which include a red LED, an IR LED and a separate photodeteetor. The red LED and. IR LED are typically positioned on one side of a linger clip and the photodeteetor Is typically positioned on the other side of the finger clip. In use, red light generated by the red LED is transmitted through the finger then. Is detected by the photodeteetor for processing. Medical grade heart, rate monitors and blood oxygen monitors have been combined in the past, Even so, the tend to be bulky, cumbersome and expensive. in particular, the medical grade electronics of the oionstoriog apparatus are typically housed in relatively large chassis and often require filtered wall power to operate. Furthermore, long and cumbersom cables are used couple the monitoring apparatus of the prior art to the linger clips.

Because of the aforementioned problems of traditional medical monitoring equipment, a number of portable, battery powered devices have become available. For example, heart rate mon itors including electrodes have been built into a number of device including wrist watches, exercise equipment, and portable electronic devices such as smartphones. There are also finger cli type transmissive sensors that can be coupled to. for example, a smartphone for detecting heart rate. While less expensive, such devices are also less versatile and tend to have fewer features.

These and other .limitations of the prior art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several figures of the drawing.

Summary

Various examples are set forth herein for the purpose of illustrating various combinations of elements and acts within the scope of the disclosures of the speci ication and drawings. As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, other combinations of elements and acts, and variations thereof, are also supported herein.

In an embodiment, set forth by way of example and not l mitation, a mobile device with rerlectatice-based heart rate monitoring includes a body including a transmissive surface, an LED aligned proximate to the transmissive surface, a photooeteetor aligned with the transmissive surface, monitoring circuitry coupled to the LED and the photodeteetor to develop a digital output and a CPU coupled to the monitoring circuitry, in an alternate embodiment, the CPU can process the digital, signals developed by ihe monitoring circuitry and at least one of display and store heart rate data.

In a further embodiment, set forth by way of example and not limitation, a heart rate monitoring circuit includes an .LED, a photodeteetor, LED driving circuitry coupled to the LED, a filtering and ampl fication stage having an input coupled to the phot.odetect.or, and an analog- to-digital (A/D) converter having an input coupled to an output of the filtering and amplification stage. In an alternate embodiment, a CPU or other digital processor (such as a digital signal processor, a/k a ⁱ PSP, microprocessor, microcontroller, gate array, state machine, etc.) is coupled to an output of the A/D converter to provide signal processing of heart rate data.

I n another embodiment, set forth by way of example and not limitation, a computer implemented process determines if a signal has been acquired and. if so, whether it is strong enough t r processing. If no. more power is applied to the LED until the filtered signal is strong enough tor processing. Next, i f a linger is present long enough to acquire sufficient data tor digital processing, digital signal processing takes place to calculate a heart rate. In an alternate embodiment, the heart rate is at least one of display and stored. In a further alternate embodiment, the digital processing includes a Last Fourier Transform (Ff T).

windowing, averaging and/or noise rejection. In a still further alternate embodiment, the digital processing includes determining whether a result of the digital processing meets a predetermined confidence level. in another embodiment set forth by way of example and not limitation, an electronic device with heart rate monitor includes: a body including at least one infrared OR) mms issive w indow; a digital processor located within the body; a display screen supported by the body; an 1 R light emitting diode (LED) aligned with the IR transmlssive window; LED driving circuitry coupled to the IR LED; an ill photodeteetor aligned with the IR transmlssive window: a filtering and amplification stage having an input coupled to the IR photodeteetor; an analog-to-digiial converter (ADC) having an analog input coupled to an output of the filtering and ampli fication stage and a digital output; and memory coupled to the digital processor. Preferably, the memory includes code segments executable by the digital processor for: (a) detecting that a finger has been placed on the IR. transmlssive window; (b) capturing raw data trout the ADC; (e) performing a Fast Fourier Transform (PET) of the raw data to develop PPT data; (d) processing the FPT data for at least one of window, averaging and noise rejection; (e) calculating a heart rate; and (1) at least one of displaying and storing the heart rate. in another embodiment, set forth by way of example and not limitation, an integrated circuit device includes an insulating body provided with a number of electricall -conductive leads and having a .surface provided with a red LED aperture, an. IR LED aperture and a photodetcctor aperture:, the insulating body including an optical isolator separating the photodeiector aperture from the red LED aperture and the IR LED aperture. A red LED is al igned with, the red LED aperture, an IR LED Is aligned with the III LED aperture, and a. photodetcctor is aligned with the photodetcctor aperture,

In another embodiment, set forth by way of example and not limitation, a

combination heart rate monitor and blood oxygen moniioriag circuit includes: a red LED and an I ^' LED; a red photodetcctor and an ill photodeiector; a filtering and amplification stage coupled to the red piiotodetector and the IR photodetec-tor; control circuitry receiving feedback from the filtering and ampli fication stage and controlling the currents to the red LED and the I II LED; and an analog-to-digitai converter (ADC) having an analog input coupled to an output of ihe filtering and amplification stage and having a digital output.

These and other examples of combinations of dements and acts supported herein as well as advantages thereof will become apparent to those of skill in ihe art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several figures of the drawing.

Brief Description of Drawings

Several examples w ill no be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like elements and/or acts are provided with like reference numerals. The examples arc intended to illustrate, not limit, concepts disclosed herein. The drawings include ihe following figures:

Figure 1 is a top plan, view of an example reflectance-based heart rate monitoring system built into a smart telephone device; Figure 2 w a block diagram of example CPU and related circuitry of the example smart telephone device of Fig. ! ;

Figure 3 Is a block diagram of example heart rate monitoring circuitry;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for heart rate monitoring; Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example o a combination heart rate monitor and blood oxygen monitoring circuitry;

Figure 6 is a flow diagram of an example process for both hear rate monitoring and blood oxyge level monitoring;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an integrated heart rate and Flood oxygen sensor; and

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the sensor of Fig. 8.

Description of Embodiments

Fig, I illustrates, by way of example and not limitation, a reflectance-based heart rate monitoring system built into a smartphone 10, in this example, ihe smartphone 10 includes a body 12, an LED 14, a photodetector 16, a light, sensor 18 _» and a transra sive surface 20 (e.g. a glass or plastic surface). The smartphone 10 further includes a touch-screen 22. a speaker aperture 24. and a control button 26.

The light, emitting diode (LED) 14 is a. preferred example of a light emitting source. although other light emitting sources may also be suitable in some applications. In an example embodiment, die LED 1 is an intrared (ill) LED such that the light that it emits is generall not deieciibie by the human eye. The photodetector 1 can be, for example, a photodiode, although other photodetectors may also he suitable for some applications.

In an embodiment, set forth by way of example and not limitation, LED 14 and photodetector 16 are aligned proximate io the iransrnissive surface 20 (which may be substantially planar) which, can serve as a window for the LED 14 and photodetector 16. In this way, if a finger is placed on the transmissive surface 20 over the LED 14 and the photodetector 16, IR light from the FED 14 may reflect off of the finger to the photodetector 16 lor the monitoring of heart rate. Fig. 2 is a block diagram, set forth by way of example and not limitation of circuitry 28 within the body 1 of smart-phone 10. The circuitry includes a CPU 30, memory 32, a network interface 34, an antenna interlace 36, a touch-screen, interlace 38 nd other input/output (I/O) circuitry 40. The CPU can be _: rovided by several manufacturing sources, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, and the memory 32 can include both volati le and non-volatile memory, both of which are capable of storing data and program code in a non-transitory fashion (e.g. not as a propagating electromagnetic waves). Other forms of non-transitory storage can also be used, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary sk ll in the art.

Fig, 3 is a block diagram of a heart rate monitoring circuit 42, set forth by way of example and not limitation, which can form a part of the circuitry of Fig, 2, The example circuit 42 includes the light sensor 18, LED driving circuitry 44, the LED 14, photodetector 16, a capacitor 46, an amplifier 48, a resistive-capaeitive (R/C) feedback circuit 50, post ^■ filtering 52, post amplification 54, a direct current (D.C.) filter 56. an analog--n>digsta.i (A D) converter 58, and a digital processor 30 ( which may be the CPU 30), A finger 62 can be placed in proximity to LED 1 and photodetector 16 to provide data for heart rate calculation in the digital processor 60.

Various portions of the heart rate monitoring circuit 42 may be provided as pari or all of an Integrated circuit {.! ^' .€.). For example, the tillering and ampli fication stage 64 between the output of the photodetector 1.6 and the input io the A/D converter 58 can be provided as part or all of an I,C, Furthermore; other components shown in Fig, 3 can be integrated, with the filtering and amplification stage 64. Integration is considered io be desirable in. compact systems and devices, such as the aforementioned smart phone devices and other devices such as computer tablets, MPS players, laptop computers, etc.

Fig, 4 is a How diagram, set forth by wa of example and not limitation, of a process 66 for heart, rate monitoring. In this example embodiment, an operation 68 determines if a signal has been ac uired, e.g. from photodetector 16. If so, an operation 70 determines if the signal after filtering,, is strong enough for processing, i f not, an operation 72 increased the LED strength, e.g. by adjusting the LED driving circuitry 44. if the -filtered signal is strong enough, an operation 74 determines if a finger is detected. If so,, an .operation .captures N seconds of data (e.g. 5 seconds of data) and, in this example, stores the captured data in a data log. Next, after a successful capture of N second of data, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) occurs in an operation 78, and windowing, ^' averaging and noise rejection occurs in an operation 80.

Next, in an operation 82, It is determined whether the confidence level for the data is above a given threshold. For example, the threshold might he, byway of non-limiting examples a 95% or 99% confidence level that there Is accurate heart rate data to be processed. If so, the fundamental Irequeoey/heart rate is calculated in an operation 84. An operation 86 can the store die data for later analysis, such as in- memory 32, or display the heart rate data, such as on touch -screen 22. Figure 5 is a hloek. diagram of an example combination heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring system 90 including a light generating section 92 and a light receiving section. 94. Preferably, the light generating section 92 and the light receiving section 94 are optically isolated as indicated by the broken line 96, By- 'light", it is meant herein electromagnetic radiation, visible or not. For example, the light can he in the red or infrared (IR) frequency ranges.

The light generating section 92, in this non-limiting example, includes a red LED 98 and an IR. LED 100. Optionally, a. lens 102 is aligned with red L-B-D 9.S and a lens 104 is aligned with IR LED \ 00. The anodes of LBDs 98 and 100 are coupled to Vcc, e.g. about 3- 5 volts in certain embodiments. When energized. LED 98 develops red tight 106 and LED 100 develops i.R light 108. in certain example embodiments LEDs 98 and 1.00 are pulsed ON and OFF in regular intervals in a time multiplexed manner.. In a non-limiting example, the red LED wavelength, is centered at about 620 nni and the I LED wavelength is centered at about 850 nm, Other wavelength centers are available, as will be appreciated by those of skilled in the art, The light receiving section 94, in this no rh l miting ex-ample, includes a first photodiode 1 10 and a second, photodiode 1 12. The photodiod.es 1 10 and 1 12 may be virtual photodiodes comprising a plurality of photodiodes coupled together or may he a single photodiode functionally separated into the first photodiode and the second photodiode. The cathodes of first photodiode 1. 10 and second photodiode 1 12 are coupled to Vee (e.g. the are reversed biased), and are preferahly aligned with a first optical filter 1 14 and a. second optical filter 1 16. In this non-lira iting. example. Oral fi ller 1 14 is a red filler and second filler !. 16 is an I ^' R filler. Optionally, a lens 1 18 is provided to collect reflected light signals 20.

T e fillers ! 1 and 1 1 6 can be provided by coating phoiodiodes 1 10 and 1 13, respectively, with organic filter pigments which shapes the spectral response of the photodiodes, The use o filters, such as Oilers 1 14 and ! 16, helps to improve " ut of band ^" l ight rejection and increase overall signal to noise ratio (SNR).

The light receiving section 92, in this nonprinti g example, also includes a translmpedanee amplifier (TIA ) 122, a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) 124» an analog- to-digital converter (ADC ) 1 26, registers 128, a digital signal processor (DSP) 130, control & synchronization: 132. drive buffer 134 and drive buffer 1 6. An optional microcontrol ler 1 38 can communicate with registers 128 ia a bus 140 by using, by way of non-limiting example, an 12 C protocol,

The red LED 98 and. IE LED 1 00 develop red light 1 06 and l.R l ight 108, respectively, which are directed to a fingertip F. In this example, LEDs 98 and 10 are pulsed ON and OFF at regular intervals in a ime multiplexed manner. The timing and current levels for LEDs 08 and 1 00 are determined by control & synchronization 1 32 and. are provided by drive buffers 1 36 and 1 34, respectively.

The red photodiode 1 1 0 and IR photodiode 1 1 2 receive reflected light signals 120 from fingertip F and convert these light signals into current The outputs of phoiodiodes 1 1 and 1 12 are applied, to ^' ΠΑ 1 22 lor amplification and processing. In ihis example, TIA 122 converts the photodiode currents into suitable output voltages. Since the signals reflected from the skin can be very small (lew mV to uV) and may be associated with common mode voltage levels in the order of several volts, in addition, to amplification of the current signal from, the phoiodiodes, TSA also preferably removes. unwanted common mode signals and filters for the signals reflected from fingertip F (often around 1 .2Ήζ). F irst order filtering can be configured at the TIA stage to extract the AC signals reflected from the skin. in this non- limiting example, PGA 124 receives signals iron; TIA 122 and compares them against, fixed threshold parameters and adjusts its gain of ampl ifier appropriately, The PGA 1 24 also generates feedback, signals for control <& synchronization 132 which, in. turn. controls the drive levels of drive buffers 34 and 1.36, thereby adjusting the LED signal strength until a target signal amplitude is achieved,

ADC 126 receives analog signals from PGA 124 and converts them to digital signals thai can be stored in digital registers 128. The DSP 1.30, in this non-limiting example, does the post processing of the data stored in the registers 128, For xam l , DPS 130 can digitally filter the data to remove oirt--of~band noise, perform averaging, generate Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) signals to calculate heart ra e, generate confidence levels of signals, calculate percent oxygen content, store data In look-tip tables, etc.

Control & synchronization 132, in this non-limiting example, includes logic circuitry which uses the control signals from PGA 124 to generate control signals Ibr drive buffers 134 and 1 36 to adjust the intensity of the light generated by the LBDs. Control. &

synchronization 1 2 also controls the timing of the firing of the LEBs so they are each illuminated in an appropriate timing interval.

Bus 1.40, In this non-limiting example, can be used to communicate with external devices (such as microcontroller 1 38;) using an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interlace. In alternate embodiments, microcontroller 1.38 may be omitted or may be integrated with the circuit 90. As well known to those of skill in the art, an I2C interlace is a multi-master serial single-ended computer bus used to connect electronic devices, Other interlaces are also suitable, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. In this non-limiting example, microcontroller 138 can. access the registers 128 to derive data from the circuit 90. For example, microcontroller 1 8 can comprise a sensor hub of a srnartphone.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a process 1.44, set forth by way of -example and not I imitation, for monitoring heart rate and blood oxygenation. Process 1 4 idle in an.

operation 1 6 until, a linger (such as fingertip F of Fig. 5) is detected. If it is detected, it is determined if the red LED 98 or 1R LED 100 is the light source, i f it is the red LED 9&. an operation 1 50 determines if the red signal, strength as detected by photodiode I i 0 is high enough, if not. the drive current to the red LED 98 is increased via drive buffer 136, in this non- limiting example. Likewise, If the 111 LED 100 is providing the illumination, an operation 1 54 determines if the IR signal strength is high enough. If not, an operation 1.56 Increases the 111 LED drive, -e.g. by increasing the drive current to IR LED 100 via drive buffer 134.

When both the red and I ^' R signal strength are high enough, as determined by the AND operation 158, an operation 160 captures both red and I ^' R data. This data is processed, for 5 example, with a Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT) in an operation 162 and is further processed in an operation 164 to provide, by way of non-limiting examples, windowing, averaging and/or noise rejection.

Next, in an operation 166. it is determined whether the confidence level in the derived data is above a threshold level, i f not. process control is returned to operation 146. If the Id confidence level is sufficient, the oxygen level in the bloodstream (<¾ level) is calculated in an operation 1 68, and the heart rate (or "Timdamenial frequency") is calculated in an operation 170. Next, in an operation 1 72, the heart rate and blood oxygen level is displayed and/or stored in, for example, registers 128.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an integrated heart rate and blood oxygen sensor l€ I S 174, set forth by way of example but not limitation _* hi this example, the sensor I ^' C 1 74 is illustrated as having an elongated rectangular body 176 provided with a plurality of pins or leads .178. This configuration is sometimes referred to as a dual in-One pin (DI P) package. in this example, there are fourtee electrically conductive (usually metal) leads 178, e.g. seven on each side of the body 1 76. The body 1 6 is typically made from a non-conducting 20 material such as plastic or ceramic. in this example, the body 1 76 is provided with three apertures 180, 182 and 1 84 and an optical Isolator 186. Also in this example, lenses IBS, 190 and 192 are disposed within the apertures 1 0. 1 2 and 184, respectively. The lenses are typically made from a plastic material, although lenses of other materials such as glass or quartz are also possible. The 5 optical isolator 186 should be substantially impenneable to light in the red and IR ranges in this example.

With reference to both Figs. 5 and 7, lenses 188 and 190 of Fig, 7 can, for example, correspond with lenses 102 and 104 of Fig, S. Lens 1 2 of Fig, 7 can, by way of non- limiting exam le, correspond with lens 1 18 of Fig. 3, The optical isolator 186 of Fig, 7 can, 30 also by way of non-limiting example, correspond with the optical isolation 96 of Fig. 5. The I2C bus of Fig. 5 can correspond, for example, to several of pins 178 of Fig. 7, and Vcc can also be ass ciat d with a pin 1 78 of Fig. 7. h w ll therefore be appreciated thai the circuitry 90 of Fig. 5 can be incorporated into the body 1 76 of Fig. 7 with, for example, the light generating section 92 o one side of the optical isolator 186 and the light receiving section 94 on the other side of the optical isolator 186. Other configurations, with more or less components and different positions with respect to the optical isolator are also available, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.

Fig, 8 is a lo plan view of the IC 174 of Fig. 7, In this example, the LED beneath the lens 188 is a red LED. and the LED beneath the lens 190 is an IR LED, Beneath ihe lens 192 is an opticas Biter array 1 4 corresponding, in an example embodiment, to filters 1 14 and 1 16 of Fig. 5, Here, the optical Biter array Is formed over the photodeteetors as fi lms of organic materials in a grid-like pattern of alternating red (R) and IR filters. By filtering out other wavelengths (e.g. bine or green), the SN for the detector is improved.

Althoug various examples have been described using speeiBc terms and devices, such description is for illustrative purposes only. The words used are words of description rather than of limitation, it is to be understood that changes and. variations may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit or the scope of any examples described herein. In addition, H should be understood that aspects of various other examples may be interchanged either in whole or in part. It is therefore intended that the claims herein, and hereafter presented, be interpreted in accordance with their true spirit and scope and without limitation or estoppel.

What is claimed is: