Electronic Devices

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. According to one embodiment, the electronic device may include: a pulse wave sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from a subject; a magnetic field detector configured to detect a change in a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field source according to a change in a force applied by the subject to the pulse wave sensor; and a processor configured to acquire a contact pressure between the subject and the pulse wave sensor based on the change in the magnetic field, and obtain bio-information based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure.

Description

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0138834 filed on November 13, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] Apparatuses and methods consistent with example embodiments relate to a technique for estimating bio-information in an electronic device, and more particularly, to cuff-less blood pressure estimation. Background Art

[0003] Generally, as examples of a method of non-invasively measuring blood pressure without causing pain to a human body, there are a method of measuring blood pressure by cuff-based pressure measurement and a method of estimating blood pressure by pulse wave measurement without a cuff.

[0004] Cuff-based blood pressure measurement methods may include the Korotkoff-sound method and the oscillometric method. In the Korotkoff-sound method, a cuff is wrapped around the patient's upper arm and inflated to a pressure higher than the patient's systolic pressure to measure blood pressure by listening to the sound produced by blood flow while the pressure in the cuff drops. In the oscillometric method using an automated machine, an inflated cuff is placed around the patient's upper arm, and the pressure inside the cuff is continuously monitored by gradually reducing the cuff pressure to measure blood pressure based on the point where a large change in pressure occurs.

[0005] As a cuff-free blood pressure measurement method, there are generally a method of estimating blood pressure by calculating pulse transit time (PTT) and a pulse wave analysis (PWA) method of estimating blood pressure by analyzing a pulse waveform. Summary of the invention

[0006] According to one aspect of an example embodiment, there is provided an electronic device comprising: a pulse wave sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from an object; a magnetic field detector configured to detect changes in a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field source according to changes in a force applied by the object to the pulse wave sensor; and a processor configured to acquire a contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor based on the changes in the magnetic field, and obtain biological information based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure.

[0007] The magnetic field source may include at least one of a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.

[0008] The magnetic field source may be installed in a device provided separately from the electronic device.The device including the magnetic field source may be adapted to be placed on an object opposite to a contact surface of the object and the pulse wave sensor, and adapted to press the object against the contact surface of the object and the pulse wave sensor.

[0009] The electronic device may also include a magnetic field source.

[0010] A magnetic field source may be installed in the electronic device and may support a magnetic secure transmission (MST) scheme.

[0011] The pulse wave sensor may include a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor including a light source configured to emit light to a subject and a detector configured to detect light scattered or reflected from the subject.

[0012] The pulse wave sensor may use at least one of natural light, light emitted from a display panel of the electronic device, and flash light as a light source, and may use at least one of a facial recognition sensor, a camera, an illumination sensor, and an iris recognition sensor as a detector.

[0013] The processor can also be configured to: in response to receiving a request to obtain biological information, generate guidance information including at least one of action guidance information and pressure guidance information, wherein the action guidance information is used to guide the user's action for measuring the pulse wave signal, and the pressure guidance information is used to guide the change of contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor.

[0014] The electronic device may also include: an output interface configured to output guidance information; and a communication interface configured to send the guidance information to an external device, wherein the processor may also be configured to: when generating the guidance information, control at least one of the output interface and the communication interface based on the position of the pulse wave sensor.

[0015] The processor may be further configured to convert the magnetic field detected at each measurement time point into the contact pressure at each measurement time point by using a predefined conversion model.

[0016] The processor may be further configured to obtain a statistical value including at least one of a sum, an average value, and a minimum value of X-axis values, Y-axis values, and Z-axis values ​​of the magnetic field, and convert the statistical value into a contact pressure by applying the statistical value to a predefined conversion model.

[0017] The processor may be further configured to acquire an oscillometric envelope representing a relationship between a pulse wave value of the pulse wave signal at each measurement time point and the contact pressure, and obtain biological information based on the oscillometric envelope.

[0018] The processor may be further configured to acquire at least one of a contact pressure value at a maximum amplitude point of the oscillometric envelope and a contact pressure value having a predetermined ratio of the contact pressure value at the maximum amplitude point as a characteristic value, and obtain biological information based on the characteristic value.

[0019] The biological information may include at least one of the following items: blood pressure, vascular age, arterial stiffness, aortic pressure waveform, vascular compliance, pressure index, degree of fatigue, degree of skin elasticity, and skin age.

[0020] According to an aspect of another example embodiment, a method for estimating biological information by an electronic device is provided, the method comprising: measuring a pulse wave signal from an object by a pulse wave sensor; detecting a change in a magnetic field by a magnetic field source according to a change in a force applied by the object to the pulse wave sensor; acquiring a contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor based on the change in the magnetic field; and obtaining biological information based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure.

[0021] The method may further include: in response to a request to obtain biological information, generating guidance information including at least one of motion guidance information and pressure guidance information, wherein the motion guidance information is used to guide the user's action for measuring the pulse wave signal, and the pressure guidance information is used to guide the change of contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor.

[0022] The step of acquiring the contact pressure may include: converting the change of the magnetic field into the contact pressure by using a predefined conversion model.

[0023] The step of obtaining the biological information may include acquiring an oscillometric envelope representing a relationship between a pulse wave value of the pulse wave signal at each measurement time point and the contact pressure, and obtaining the biological information based on the oscillometric envelope.

[0024] The step of obtaining biological information may include acquiring at least one of a contact pressure value of a maximum amplitude point of the oscillometric envelope and a contact pressure value having a predetermined ratio of the contact pressure value of the maximum amplitude point as a characteristic value, and obtaining biological information based on the characteristic value.

[0025] According to an aspect of another example embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a pulse wave sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from a body part when a user applies force to the pulse wave sensor by pressing a body part of the user against the pulse wave sensor using a touch pen; a magnetic sensor configured to detect changes in a magnetic field generated by the touch pen according to changes in the force applied by the body part to the pulse wave sensor; and a processor configured to obtain a contact pressure between the body part and the pulse wave sensor based on the change in the magnetic field, and estimate blood pressure based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure.

[0026] The electronic device may further include a power supply configured to supply power to the touch pen using an electromagnetic induction scheme.

[0027] The processor may be further configured to generate guidance information regarding a force applied to the pulse wave sensor by the user and guidance information regarding a contact pressure acquired based on a change in the magnetic field.

[0028] The processor may be further configured to estimate blood pressure using an oscillometric method based on the contact pressure and the pulse wave signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The above and / or other aspects will become more apparent by describing certain example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0030] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example embodiment;

[0031] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to another example embodiment;

[0032] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to another example embodiment;

[0033] Figure 4A is a diagram for describing a method of applying pressure to an object using a touch pen;

[0034] Figure 4B is a diagram for describing an action guide for measuring a pulse wave signal;

[0035] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram for describing an embodiment in which an electronic device provides guidance of contact pressure;

[0036] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B is a diagram for describing an embodiment in which guidance of contact pressure is provided by an external device;

[0037] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B is a graph used to describe oscillometric-based blood pressure estimation;

[0038] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for measuring biological information performed by an electronic device according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Example embodiments are described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] In the following description, the same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements even in different drawings, and the relative sizes and depictions of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.

[0041] Matters defined in the description, such as detailed structures and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments can be practiced without those specifically defined matters. In addition, well-known functions or structures are not described in detail because they would obscure the description with unnecessary details.

[0042] It will be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", etc. can be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. In addition, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In this specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "include" and its deformation (such as, "comprising") will be understood to indicate that the elements stated are included, but any other elements are not excluded. Terms such as "unit" and "module" represent units that process at least one function or operation, and they can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0043] When a statement such as "at least one of..." follows a list of elements, it modifies the entire list of elements rather than the individual elements in the list. For example, the statement "at least one of a, b, and c" should be understood to mean: only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all a, b, and c, or any variation of the above examples.

[0044] Hereinafter, example embodiments of electronic devices will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The electronic devices described hereinafter include wearable devices manufactured in various forms (such as smart watches, smart bracelet types, headphone types, hairband types, etc.) and mobile devices (such as smart phones, tablet personal computers (PCs), etc.), but are not limited thereto.

[0045] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example embodiment.

[0046] Reference Figure 1 , the electronic device 100 may include a sensor 110 and a processor 120. The sensor 110 may include a pulse wave sensor 111 and a magnetic sensor 112.

[0047] The pulse wave sensor 111 may measure a pulse wave signal from the user while the user places his / her finger on the pulse wave sensor 111 and changes the force applied by the finger to the pulse wave sensor 111. The electronic device 100 may prompt the user to gradually increase or decrease the force applied to the pulse wave sensor 111. For example, the pulse wave sensor 111 may measure a pulse wave signal while the user gradually increases the force over a predetermined period of time, thereby gradually increasing the contact pressure between the finger and the pulse wave sensor 111. In another example, the pulse wave sensor 111 may measure a pulse wave signal while the user gradually decreases the force from a point where the force becomes equal to or higher than a threshold, thereby decreasing the contact pressure.

[0048] The pulse wave sensor 111 may be a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor including a light source configured to emit light to the user and a detector configured to detect light emitted by the light source that is scattered or reflected from an object according to characteristics of the user's tissue. However, the pulse wave sensor 111 is not limited thereto.

[0049] For example, the electronic device 100 may use various sensor modules as the pulse wave sensor 111, wherein the various sensor modules are installed in the electronic device 100 and are configured to measure physical quantities or monitor the operating state of the electronic device 100 and convert the measured or detected information into an electrical signal. Specifically, the sensor module may include a facial recognition sensor, a camera module, an illumination sensor, an iris recognition sensor, a flash, and a display panel. For example, natural light, light emitted from a display panel, or flash light may be used as a light source for the pulse wave sensor 111. The display panel may include a touch screen capable of receiving a touch input. In addition, a facial recognition sensor, a camera, an illumination sensor, or an iris recognition sensor may be used as a detector for the pulse wave sensor 111.

[0050] The magnetic sensor 112 may be installed in the electronic device 100, and may acquire magnetic field information (such as information about the magnitude and / or direction of the magnetic field) generated by the magnetic field source 130. The magnetic sensor 112 may include a 2-axis or 3-axis geomagnetic sensor, a Hall sensor, a magnetoresistance (MR) sensor, and a magneto-impedance (MI) sensor, wherein the Hall sensor is configured to measure magnetic flux density using the Hall effect and output a voltage proportional to the magnetic flux density, the MR sensor is configured to measure the magnitude of the magnetic field using the fact that the magnetic resistance of an object changes according to the magnetic field, and the MI sensor uses a special amorphous wire to apply the magneto-impedance effect.

[0051] When the object contacts the pulse wave sensor 111 for measuring the pulse wave signal, the magnetic field source 130 may generate a magnetic field. The magnetic field source 130 may include a permanent magnet and / or an electromagnet. In one example, Figure 1As shown in , the magnetic field source 130 may be installed in a device that is separately arranged from the electronic device 100. For example, the magnetic field source 130 may be installed in a touch pen or a stylus, and the touch pen or the stylus may be configured to pressurize the body part (e.g., finger) of the user that is to be in contact with the pulse wave sensor 111. The touch pen may be attached to the housing of the electronic device 100 and may be detachable from the housing of the electronic device 100. In another example, the magnetic field source 130 may be installed in a device suitable for being attached to or worn on the user. Optionally, the magnetic field source 130 may be installed or attached to the exterior, housing, or shell of the electronic device 100, or may be installed on a wearable device. In another example, the magnetic field source 130 may be installed in the electronic device 110, and may include, for example, a magnetically secure transmission sensor that supports magnetically secure transmission (MST).

[0052] For example, when the user increases or decreases the force of pressing the pulse wave sensor 111 in a state where the user's finger is in contact with the pulse wave sensor 111 in order to measure the pulse wave signal, the shape of the finger and / or the distance between the top surface of the finger (e.g., nail) and the magnetic sensor 112 is changed, so that the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field source 130 may change. This change may also be referred to as a change in magnetic flux density. For example, when the distance between the magnetized finger and the magnetic sensor 112 is slightly reduced by pressing the pulse wave sensor 111 hard, the magnetic flux density is relatively increased.

[0053] Therefore, the magnetic sensor 112 can acquire the change in magnetic flux density caused by the change in the force with which the finger presses the pulse wave sensor 111 .

[0054] Reference Figure 2 , the magnetic sensor 112 and the magnetic field source 130 are described as operating as a magnetic field detector and a magnetic field generator, respectively, but example embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the magnetic sensor 112 may generate and detect a magnetic field, and the magnetic field source 130 may be omitted, or alternatively, the magnetic field source 130 may generate and detect a magnetic field, and the magnetic sensor 112 may be omitted. In another example, both the magnetic sensor 112 and the magnetic field source 130 may generate and detect a magnetic field.

[0055] The processor 120 may obtain the contact pressure based on the change of the magnetic field (i.e., the change of the magnetic flux density) obtained by the magnetic sensor 112. For example, the processor 120 may apply a conversion model representing the correlation between the magnetic flux density or the change of the magnetic flux density and the contact pressure to convert the magnetic flux density obtained at each measurement time point into the contact pressure at each measurement time point. When the magnetic sensor 112 is a 2-axis or 3-axis sensor, the processor 120 may convert the statistical value (such as the sum, average value, maximum value, or minimum value) of the 2-axis or 3-axis magnetic flux density or the value obtained using a predefined linear / nonlinear function into the contact pressure by applying the conversion model.

[0056] When the contact pressure is acquired, the processor 120 may estimate the bio-information using the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure measured by the pulse wave sensor 111. Specifically, the bio-information may include one or more of blood pressure, vascular age, arterial stiffness, aortic pressure waveform, vascular compliance, pressure index, degree of fatigue, degree of skin elasticity, and skin age. For example, the processor 120 may estimate the blood pressure using an oscillometric method based on the contact pressure and the pulse wave signal. The processor 120 may acquire an oscillometric envelope based on the contact pressure and the pulse wave signal, extract a feature value for estimating the bio-information from the acquired oscillometric envelope, and estimate the bio-information.

[0057] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to another example embodiment.

[0058] Reference Figure 2 The electronic device 200 according to this embodiment may include a sensor 110, a processor 120, an output interface 210, a storage device 220, a communication interface 230, and a power supply 240. The power supply 240 may be omitted according to the type of device in which the magnetic field source 130 is installed.

[0059] The sensor 110 may include the pulse wave sensor 111 and the magnetic sensor 112 as described above. The pulse wave sensor 111 may be a separate sensor for measuring a PPG signal. Alternatively, various sensor modules installed in the electronic device 200 may be used as the pulse wave sensor 111, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0060] When a request for estimating bio-information is received from a user or the external device 250 or when a predetermined interval is reached, the processor 120 may generate guide information for measuring a pulse wave and provide the guide information to the user.

[0061] Specifically, the guidance information may include action guidance information for guiding the user to take actions necessary to measure the pulse wave from the user. For example, the action guidance information may include a guiding voice, text, and / or visual image for notifying that the measurement of the pulse wave will be initiated. Optionally, the action guidance information may include a voice, text, and / or visual image for guiding the position of the pulse wave sensor 111 in contact with the object. Optionally, in the case where the magnetic field source 130 is installed in a device (such as a touch pen), a visual image showing that the device is pressing a body part of the user may be provided.

[0062] Optionally, the guidance information may include pressure guidance information for guiding the user to increase or decrease the contact pressure between the pulse wave sensor 111 and the user. For example, the pressure guidance information may include information about a reference contact pressure, wherein the reference contact pressure is used to guide the user to gradually increase the contact pressure when the object is in contact with the pulse wave sensor 111 or to guide the user to gradually decrease the contact pressure when a contact pressure greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold pressure is initially applied to the pulse wave sensor 111. The information about the reference contact pressure may include a reference contact pressure value at each time point or a range of reference contact pressures. In addition, the pressure guidance information may include an actual contact pressure value obtained using magnetic field information obtained by the magnetic sensor 112.

[0063] When generating the guide information, the processor 120 may control the output interface 210 or the communication interface 230 simultaneously or individually so that the electronic device 200 and the external device 250 can output the guide information simultaneously or individually.

[0064] For example, in consideration of the position of the pulse wave sensor 111, the processor 120 may control at least one of the output interface 210 and the communication interface 230. In the case where the pulse wave sensor 111 is placed on the front side of the electronic device 200 and the user can view the display on the front side of the electronic device 200, the processor 120 may control the output interface 210 so that the guide information can be visually output on the display. In addition, in the case where the pulse wave sensor 111 is placed on the rear side of the electronic device 200 and thus the user cannot view the display on the front side of the electronic device 200, the processor 120 may control the communication interface 230 to connect with the external device 250 (e.g., a wearable device, a tablet PC, a computer monitor, a smart TV, etc.) in a wired / wireless manner, and the guide information may be sent to the external device 250 to be output to the user.

[0065] In addition, the processor 120 may simultaneously control the output interface 210 and the communication interface 230 to simultaneously output the guidance information to the electronic device 200 and the external device 250. For example, in the case where the user cannot view the front display of the electronic device 200, the processor 120 may output the voice guidance information using the voice output device (e.g., speaker) of the electronic device 200, and simultaneously send the visual guidance information to the external device 250 to be visually output. However, example embodiments are not limited to the above examples.

[0066] The output interface 210 can output the processing results of the pulse wave sensor 111, the magnetic sensor 112 and the processor 120. For example, the output interface 210 can output the guidance information and / or the estimated bio-information value visually to the display panel, or output the guidance information and / or the estimated bio-information value in a non-visual manner (such as vibration or touch) through a speaker module or a tactile module. The area of ​​the display can be divided into two or more parts. The pulse wave signal and contact pressure used to estimate the bio-information can be output to the first part in the form of a curve, and the estimated bio-information value can be output to the second part. In particular, when the estimated bio-information value deviates from the normal range, the warning information can also be output in various ways (such as, highlighted in red, output together with the normal range, output as a voice warning message, output as intensity-controlled vibration, etc.).

[0067] The storage device 220 may store the processing results of the pulse wave sensor 111, the magnetic sensor 112, and the processor 120. In addition, the storage device 220 may store various reference information required for estimating bio-information. For example, the reference information may include user characteristic information, such as the user's age, gender, health condition, etc. In addition, the reference information may include a bio-information estimation model, a bio-information estimation standard, information about a reference contact pressure, etc. However, the reference information is not limited to the above examples.

[0068] Examples of storage device 220 may include storage media such as flash memory, hard disk memory, multimedia card micro memory, card-type memory (e.g., SD memory or XD memory), random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), magnetic memory, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., but are not limited to these.

[0069] The communication interface 230 may communicate with the external device 250 using wired / wireless communication technology under the control of the processor 120, and may send and receive various data to and from the external device 250. For example, the communication interface 230 may send a bio-information estimation result to the external device 250, and may receive various reference information required for estimating bio-information from the external device 250. Examples of the external device 250 may include an information processing device such as a cuff-type blood pressure measurement device, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, and a notebook PC. In addition, the communication interface 230 may send guidance information to the external device 250.

[0070] The communication technology may include: Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication, near field communication (NFC), wireless local area network (WLAN) communication, Zigbee communication, infrared data association (IrDA) communication, Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication, ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, Ant+ communication, WiFi communication, radio frequency identification (RFID) communication, third generation (3G) communication, 4G communication, 5G communication, etc. However, the communication technology is not limited to the above examples.

[0071] The power supply 240 may supply power to each configuration of the electronic device 200. If the magnetic field source 130 is installed in the touch pen, the power supply 240 may supply power to the touch pen. Specifically, the power supply 240 may supply power to the touch pen using an electromagnetic induction scheme. However, the power supply 240 is not limited to the above example.

[0072] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to another example embodiment.

[0073] Reference Figure 3 , except with Figure 1 or Figure 2 In addition to the configuration consistent with the exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 300 according to the present embodiment may further include a payment module 310.

[0074] The payment module 310 of the present example embodiment may include a magnetic secure transmission (MST)-supporting magnetic secure transmission sensor as a module for performing, for example, smartphone-based electronic payment.

[0075] The payment module 310 may generally support simple hardware-based payment, and may provide the function of a magnetic field source for estimating biometric information as described above. However, example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the magnetic sensor 112 and the payment module 310 may be integrated into a single module or device. For example, the magnetic sensor 112 may include a magnetic field source (or magnetic field generator) and a magnetic field detector. When a user touches the electronic device 300, the magnetic field source may generate a magnetic field, and the magnetic field detector may detect changes in the magnetic field caused by changes in the contact pressure between the user and the electronic device 300.

[0076] Figure 4A is a diagram for describing a method of applying pressure to an object using a touch pen. Figure 4B FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an operation guide for measuring a pulse wave signal. Figures 1 to 4B Give a description.

[0077] Reference Figure 4A, the user may place his / her finger on the electronic device 100, place the touch pen 130 vertically on the nail of the finger, and then press the finger on the electronic device 100 using the touch pen 130. The touch pen 130 may generate a magnetic field. At this time, the contact pressure between the finger and the electronic device 100 may be changed by the force with which the touch pen 130 presses the user's finger.

[0078] Reference Figure 4B , the processor 120 may generate action guidance information 410 in response to the request to estimate the biometric information, and output the action guidance information 410 to the display of the electronic device 100. For example, the action guidance information may include an image showing the position where the user's finger OBJ should touch. Figure 4B As shown in , when the pulse wave sensor 111 uses light from the display panel as a light source and uses the front camera as a detector, the processor 120 may guide the user to touch his / her finger on a portion of the front camera and the display panel.

[0079] At the same time, the processor 120 may check whether the user touches the guided position with his / her finger. The processor 120 may display a motion image of the finger OBJ repeatedly touching and releasing the guided position as the action guide information 410 until the user's finger touches the correct position. However, this is only an example, and the action guide information may be output in various ways by considering the position of the pulse wave sensor 111, etc.

[0080] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram for describing an example embodiment in which an electronic device provides guidance of contact pressure.

[0081] Reference Figure 5A , an example is shown in which the pulse wave sensor 111 uses natural light as a light source and the front camera module 510 of the electronic device 100 is used as a detector for measuring a pulse wave signal. However, the example is not limited thereto, and a facial recognition sensor, an illumination sensor, or an iris recognition sensor located on the front side of the electronic device 100 may be used as a detector. Figure 5A As shown in , the user touches the camera module 510 of the electronic device 100 with his / her finger, vertically places the touch pen 130 on the nail, and presses the nail in a direction perpendicular to the electronic device 100. At this time, the finger is magnetized by the magnetic field generated by the touch pen 130, and the magnetic sensor 112 of the electronic device 100 can detect the magnetic flux density changed according to the finger.

[0082] In addition, the processor 120 of the electronic device 100 may provide the user with pressure guide information 550 through the display screen to guide the force of pressing the nail with the touch pen 130. The processor 120 may refer to the reference information and display a range 552 of reference contact pressure that the user should apply to the camera module 510 by pressing the nail with the touch pen 130, and the range 552 of reference contact pressure includes contact pressure ranges corresponding to each measurement time point in the time period for measuring magnetic field information. In this case, the user can generate a changing contact pressure that satisfies the range 552 of reference contact pressure according to the pressure guide information 550.

[0083] In addition, when the change of the magnetic field generated by the touch pen 130 (i.e., magnetic flux density) is detected by the magnetic sensor 112, the processor 120 can use a conversion model to convert the detected magnetic flux density into contact pressure and display the acquired contact pressure as the actual contact pressure 551 of the guide information 550.

[0084] The camera module 510 can measure the pulse wave signal by detecting light reflected or scattered from the finger when ambient natural light has been incident on the finger while the finger is in contact with the camera module. The processor 120 can estimate the blood pressure based on the measured pulse wave signal and the oscillometric scheme of the contact pressure applied to each measurement time point.

[0085] Figure 5B is a diagram showing an example in which a portion of light emitted from a display panel is used as a light source and a camera module 510 placed at the front side of the electronic device 100 is used as a detector to measure a pulse wave signal and simultaneously pressure guide information is output to the display panel.

[0086] Reference Figure 5B , users based on reference Figure 4B The motion guide information places his / her finger on the front camera module 510 and a portion of the display panel 520, places the touch pen 130 vertically on the nail, and presses the nail in a direction perpendicular to the electronic device 100. Figure 5A As described above, at this time, the processor 120 may output the pressure guidance information 550 to the display panel.

[0087] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B 2 is a diagram for describing an exemplary embodiment of providing guidance of contact pressure by an external device. Fig. 6A and Figure 6B As shown in FIG. 1 , an example in which the pulse wave sensor 111 is placed on the rear surface of the electronic device 100 and the user cannot view the display on the front side of the electronic device 100 is shown.

[0088] Fig. 6Ais a diagram showing an example in which a flash 610 placed on the rear surface of the electronic device 100 is used as a light source of the pulse wave sensor 111 and a camera module 620 is used as a detector of the pulse wave sensor 111. Specifically, the user places his / her finger on the flash 610 and the camera 620 of the electronic device 100, places the touch pen 130 vertically on the nail and presses the nail in a direction perpendicular to the electronic device 100.

[0089] Figure 6B is a diagram showing an example of measuring a pulse wave signal using a PPG sensor 630 separately mounted on the rear surface of the electronic device 100. The user places his / her finger on the pulse wave sensor 630 of the electronic device 100, places the touch pen 130 vertically on the nail, and presses the nail in a direction perpendicular to the electronic device 100.

[0090] The PPG sensor 630 may include a light source 631 and a detector 632. For example, the light source 631 may be configured as a light emitting diode (LED), a laser diode, or a phosphor, and may emit visible light, near infrared light (NIR), or mid infrared light (MIR). However, the wavelength of light to be emitted from the light source may vary depending on the purpose of measurement and the type of component to be analyzed. In addition, the light source is not necessarily configured as a single light emitter, but may be configured in the form of an array of multiple light emitters.

[0091] In addition, the detector 632 may be configured as a photodiode, a phototransistor (PTr), or a charge coupled device (CCD), and may receive light reflected or scattered from an object. The detector 632 is not necessarily configured as one component, but may be configured in the form of an array of multiple components.

[0092] Reference Fig. 6A and Figure 6B , the processor 120 of the electronic device 100 can send the action guidance information and / or pressure guidance information 650 for guiding the user to press the nail with the touch pen 130 to the external device 250 (e.g., a smart watch) through the communication interface 230, and provide the information to the user. In this particular case, the processor 120 of the electronic device 100 can also use a voice output module (e.g., a speaker) to output voice pressure guidance information (e.g., voice information notifying that the actual contact pressure deviates from the reference contact pressure range).

[0093] The processor 120 of the electronic device 100 may determine whether the user touches a sensor module (e.g., a front camera, an iris recognition sensor, a facial recognition sensor) on the front side of the electronic device 100 or a PPG sensor or a rear camera on the rear side. When it is determined that the user is in contact with the rear PPG sensor, the processor 120 may control the communication interface 230 to establish a communication connection with the adjacent external device 250 and send guidance information to the connected external device 250.

[0094] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B is a graph used to describe oscillometric-based blood pressure estimation.

[0095] Reference Fig. 7A , when the contact pressure is acquired based on the magnetic field information detected by the magnetic sensor 112, the processor 120 may acquire an oscillometric envelope OW representing the relationship between the amplitude of the pulse wave and the contact pressure based on the pulse wave signal measured by the pulse wave sensor 111. For example, the processor 120 may extract the peak-to-peak point by subtracting the amplitude value in3 of the negative (-) point from the amplitude value in2 of the positive (+) point of the waveform envelope in1 at each measurement time point of the pulse wave signal, and obtain the oscillometric envelope OW based on the peak-to-peak amplitude at each measurement time point and the contact pressure value at the measurement time point having the same peak-to-peak amplitude, for example, by plotting the amplitude of the extracted peak-to-peak point at the same measurement time point based on the contact pressure at each measurement time point to obtain the oscillometric envelope OW. Here, the "measurement time" refers to the time for measuring adjacent positive (+) points and negative (-) points of the pulse wave signal.

[0096] Reference Figure 7B , the processor 120 may obtain a characteristic value for estimating blood pressure from the oscillometric envelope OW. The processor 120 may obtain the amplitude value MA of the maximum peak point, the contact pressure value MP of the maximum peak point, the contact pressure value SP and the contact pressure value DP on the right and left sides of the contact pressure value MP of the maximum peak point and corresponding to a predetermined ratio (e.g., 0.5 to 0.7) of the amplitude value MA of the maximum peak point as characteristic values.

[0097] When the eigenvalues ​​are extracted, the processor 120 can estimate the blood pressure by applying the extracted eigenvalues ​​to a predefined blood pressure estimation model. The blood pressure estimation model can be defined as various linear or nonlinear coupled function forms without any specific restrictions, such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, logarithmic value, and regression equation. For example, the following equation 1 shows a simple linear function formula.

[0098] y=ax+b...(1)

[0099] Here, y represents the estimated blood pressure value to be obtained, and x represents the extracted characteristic value. a and b are values ​​obtained in advance through a preprocessing process, and may be defined differently according to the type of blood pressure and user characteristics. For example, the processor 120 may independently estimate the mean blood pressure, diastolic pressure, and systolic pressure through equation 1, in which coefficient a and coefficient b are defined differently for each of the mean blood pressure, diastolic pressure, and systolic pressure. For example, the mean blood pressure, diastolic pressure, and systolic pressure may be obtained by inputting the extracted characteristic values ​​MP, DP, and SP into equations defined for each type of blood pressure.

[0100] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for measuring biological information performed by an electronic device according to an example embodiment. Figure 8 Shown by Figures 1 to 3 The present invention is an exemplary embodiment of a method for measuring bio-information performed by the electronic devices 100, 200, and 300. Since it is described in detail above, the method will be briefly described to avoid redundancy.

[0101] First, when the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 receives a request for estimating biological information in operation 810, the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 may output pulse wave measurement guide information in operation 820. The request for estimating biological information may be received from a user or from an external device connected for communication. Example embodiments are not limited thereto, and may automatically determine that a request for estimating biological information is received when a predetermined estimation interval is reached.

[0102] Then, the pulse wave measurement guide information may be output in operation 820. Specifically, the guide information may include motion guide information for guiding the user's motion for measuring the pulse wave and pressure guide information for guiding the contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor 111. The motion guide information may include information about the position or direction of the pulse wave sensor 111 to be in contact with the object, and the pressure guide information may include a reference contact pressure with which the user should press the pulse wave sensor 111 through the object and an actual contact pressure with which the object actually presses the pulse wave sensor 111. The electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 may output the guide information through a display or a speaker, and simultaneously or separately output the guide information to an external device.

[0103] Then, in operation 830, the user may bring the subject into contact with the pulse wave sensor 111 for measuring a pulse wave, and measure a pulse wave signal from the subject while increasing or decreasing the contact pressure for a predetermined period of time.

[0104] In addition, in operation 840, the magnetic field information generated by the magnetic field source 130 can be detected while changing the force with which the object presses the pulse wave sensor 111 for measuring the pulse wave. The magnetic field source 130 can be installed in the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 or configured as a separate hardware device. For example, the magnetic field source 130 can be installed on a touch pen and generate a magnetic field while the user presses the object with the touch pen. Optionally, the magnetic field source 130 can be formed to be wearable on a finger, or can be attached to the outside of the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 or the housing of the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300. Optionally, an MST sensor installed in the electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 and supporting simple automatic payment of a smart phone can be used as the magnetic field source 130.

[0105] When the object magnetized by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field source 130 changes the force pressing the pulse wave sensor 111, the shape of the object is changed or the distance between the object and the magnetic sensor is slightly changed, so that a slight change in magnetic flux density occurs. Such a change in magnetic flux density can be detected by the magnetic sensor.

[0106] Then, in operation 850, the contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor 111 at each time point of measuring the pulse wave signal may be acquired based on the detected magnetic field information. For example, the contact pressure may be acquired from the change in magnetic flux density detected at each time point using a conversion model that defines the correlation between the change in magnetic flux density and the contact pressure.

[0107] In operation 860, bio-information may be estimated based on the pulse wave signal measured in operation 830 and the contact pressure acquired in operation 850. For example, an oscillometric envelope representing the relationship between the amplitude of the pulse wave at each time point and the contact pressure is obtained, and the blood pressure may be estimated using the obtained oscillometric envelope. For example, the contact pressure corresponding to the maximum amplitude of the oscillometric envelope may be obtained as a feature value for estimating the average blood pressure, and the contact pressure corresponding to the left and right sides of the contact pressure value corresponding to the maximum amplitude and to a predetermined ratio of the maximum amplitude may be extracted as a feature value for estimating the diastolic pressure and the systolic pressure. The estimated blood pressure value may be obtained by inputting the extracted feature value into a predefined blood pressure estimation equation.

[0108] Then, in operation 870, the bio-information estimation result may be output. The electronic device 100 / 200 / 300 may output the bio-information estimation result in various ways using a display, a speaker module, a tactile device, etc. In this case, a warning message may also be output together with the bio-information estimation result. For example, when the estimated blood pressure deviates from the normal range, a warning message notifying the user that the blood pressure is not within the normal range may be output in various ways (such as different colors, vibrations, tactile sensations, etc.). In addition, the bio-information estimation result may be sent to an external device to be provided to the user.

[0109] Although not limited thereto, the example embodiments may be implemented as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device capable of storing data that can be subsequently read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed on a networked computer system so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed manner. In addition, the example embodiments may be written as a computer program that is transmitted through a computer-readable transmission medium (such as a carrier wave) and received and implemented in a general-purpose or special-purpose digital computer that executes the program. In addition, it should be understood that in the example embodiments, one or more units of the above-mentioned devices and apparatus may include circuits, processors, microprocessors, etc., and may execute a computer program stored in a computer-readable medium.

[0110] The above exemplary embodiments are exemplary only and are not to be construed as limiting. The present teachings can be easily applied to other types of devices. In addition, the description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of the claims, and many substitutions, modifications and variations will be clear to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An electronic device, include: a pulse wave sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from a subject; a magnetic field detector configured to: detect a change in a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field source according to a change in a force applied to the pulse wave sensor by the subject; as well as a processor configured to: acquire a contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor based on a change in the magnetic field, and obtain biological information based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure, wherein the magnetic field source is mounted on a device that is separate from the electronic device, Therein, the device including the magnetic field source is adapted to be placed on an object in contact with the pulse wave sensor, and to press the object onto a contact surface of the object and the pulse wave sensor.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The magnetic field source includes at least one of a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The pulse wave sensor includes a photoplethysmographic sensor including a light source configured to emit light to an object and a detector configured to detect light scattered or reflected from the object.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The pulse wave sensor uses at least one of natural light, light emitted from a display panel of the electronic device, and flash light as a light source, and uses at least one of a face recognition sensor, a camera, an illumination sensor, and an iris recognition sensor as a detector.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, in, The processor is also configured to: in response to receiving a request to obtain biological information, generate guidance information including at least one of action guidance information and pressure guidance information, wherein the action guidance information is used to guide the user's action for measuring the pulse wave signal, and the pressure guidance information is used to guide the change of contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, further comprising: include: The output interface is configured to: output guidance information; and a communication interface configured to: send the guidance information to an external device, The processor is further configured to: when generating the guidance information, control at least one of the output interface and the communication interface based on the position of the pulse wave sensor.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The processor is further configured to convert the magnetic field detected at each measurement time point into a contact pressure at each measurement time point by using a predefined conversion model.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, in, The processor is also configured to: obtain a statistical value including at least one of the sum, average, minimum and maximum values ​​of the values ​​related to the magnetic field, or a value obtained by applying the value related to the magnetic field to a predefined linear / non-linear function, and convert the statistical value or the obtained value into contact pressure by applying a predefined conversion model.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The processor is further configured to acquire an oscillometric envelope representing a relationship between an amplitude value of the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure at each measurement time point, and obtain biological information based on the oscillometric envelope.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, in, The processor is further configured to acquire at least one of a contact pressure value at a maximum amplitude point of the oscillometric envelope and a contact pressure value corresponding to a predetermined ratio of the amplitude value at the maximum amplitude point as a characteristic value, and obtain biological information based on the characteristic value.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The biological information includes at least one of the following items: blood pressure, vascular age, arterial stiffness, aortic pressure waveform, vascular compliance, pressure index, degree of fatigue, degree of skin elasticity, and skin age.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program, in, When the program is executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform an estimation process, the estimation process comprising: receiving a pulse wave signal from a subject measured by a pulse wave sensor of the electronic device; receiving detected changes in a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field source in accordance with changes in a force applied to the pulse wave sensor by the subject; acquiring a contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor based on a change in the magnetic field; and Obtain biological information based on pulse wave signals and contact pressure, wherein the magnetic field source is mounted on a device that is separate from the electronic device, Therein, the device including the magnetic field source is adapted to be placed on an object in contact with the pulse wave sensor, and to press the object onto a contact surface of the object and the pulse wave sensor.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the estimating process further comprises: include: In response to a request to obtain biological information, guidance information including at least one of motion guidance information and pressure guidance information is generated, wherein the motion guidance information is used to guide the user's action for measuring the pulse wave signal, and the pressure guidance information is used to guide the change of contact pressure between the object and the pulse wave sensor.

14. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, in, The step of obtaining the contact pressure includes: converting the change of the magnetic field into the contact pressure by using a predefined conversion model.

15. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, in, The step of obtaining biological information includes acquiring an oscillometric envelope representing a relationship between an amplitude value of a pulse wave signal and a contact pressure at each measurement time point, and obtaining biological information based on the oscillometric envelope.

16. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, in, The step of obtaining biological information includes: obtaining at least one of a contact pressure value at a maximum amplitude point of the oscillometric envelope and a contact pressure value corresponding to a predetermined ratio of the amplitude value at the maximum amplitude point as a characteristic value, and obtaining biological information based on the characteristic value.

17. An electronic device, include: a pulse wave sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from a body part when a user applies force to the pulse wave sensor by pressing the user's body part against the pulse wave sensor using a touch pen; a magnetic sensor configured to detect a change in a magnetic field generated by the touch pen according to a change in a force applied to the pulse wave sensor by a body part; as well as a processor configured to: obtain a contact pressure between the body part and the pulse wave sensor based on a change in the magnetic field, and estimate the blood pressure based on the pulse wave signal and the contact pressure, Wherein, the touch pen is separately arranged from the electronic device. The touch pen is adapted to be placed on a body part in contact with the pulse wave sensor and to press the body part against a contact surface between the body part and the pulse wave sensor.

18. The electronic device according to claim 17, further comprising: include: The power supply is configured to supply power to the touch pen using an electromagnetic induction scheme.

19. The electronic device according to claim 17, in, The processor is further configured to generate guidance information about a force applied to the pulse wave sensor by a user and guidance information about a contact pressure acquired based on a change in the magnetic field.

20. The electronic device according to claim 17, in, The processor is further configured to estimate blood pressure using an oscillometric method based on the contact pressure and the pulse wave signal.

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