Monitoring dehydration using RF dielectric resonator oscillator

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for monitoring dehydration levels of a subject using Radio Frequency (RF) dielectric resonant oscillators (DROs) that may be affixed to the skin of the subject. According to some example aspects, a sensor comprising a microstrip ring resonator may be affixed to the skin and used to determine the change in hydration of a person quantitatively and / or qualitatively. An RF emitter can be configured to emit a scanning signal to the sensor, where the scanning signal can be swept over a specified frequency range. The sensor is configured to resonate in response to the scanning signal, where characteristics of the sensor's resonance (e.g., the specific frequency and "Q "factor of the resonance) is impacted by dielectric losses of the sensor to the skin due to hydration level of the subject.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of US Patent Application Serial No. 12 / 729,364, filed March 23, 2010, entitled "MONITORING DEHYDRATION USING RF DIELECTRIC RESONATOR OSCILLATOR." The disclosure of this patent application is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. Background technique

[0003] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0004] Dehydration can be defined as an excessive loss of bodily fluids. In physiology, dehydration may cause a loss of fluid in an organism. Dehydration can be caused by losing too much fluid, not drinking enough water or fluids, or both. There are three main types of dehydration: hypotonic (losing primarily electrolytes, specifically sodium), hypertonic (losing primarily water) and isotonic (losing water and electrolytes ...

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