A stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe and a method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe, comprising a light-emitting unit, a detector unit, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a flexible circuit, a flexible functional housing, a power module, a control module and a signal processing module; the light-emitting unit, the detector unit, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the power module, the control module and the signal processing module are all arranged on the flexible circuit; the flexible circuit is encapsulated inside the flexible functional housing. The present invention can quickly and accurately measure important physiological information of the measured person including blood oxygen saturation, blood sugar concentration, etc. Its extensible attachment design allows the monitor to be in close contact with the skin, improving precision and accuracy. The double-sided temperature and humidity design and the detector distribution can optimize the layout and reduce signal interference. It has broad market prospects in the fields of flexible electronics and wearable medical care.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of physiological monitoring, and in particular to a stretchable physiological monitor that fits an earlobe and a method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In my country, deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases account for about 40% of the total deaths, posing a great threat to people's health. Cardiovascular diseases are characterized by suddenness and danger, but studies have shown that 72% of patients have obvious discomfort before cardiac arrest, and 70% of patients have symptoms that last for more than 15 minutes. Therefore, real-time ECG monitoring of patients and timely detection of abnormal ECG changes are of great significance for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, traditional medical intelligent physiological monitors have the disadvantage of being inconvenient to use. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe and a method thereof, which can be easily carried and realize real-time physiological monitoring.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] A stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe comprises a light emitting unit, a detector unit, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a flexible circuit, a flexible functional housing, a power module, a control module and a signal processing module; the light emitting unit, the detector unit, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the power module, the control module and the signal processing module are all arranged on the flexible circuit; the flexible circuit is encapsulated inside the flexible functional housing.

[0006] Furthermore, the light emitting unit includes 5 lasers of different wavelengths, including green light, red light, infrared light and two near-infrared lights, the green light is used to measure the earlobe thickness, the red light and one near-infrared light are used to measure the blood oxygen concentration, and the other near-infrared light and infrared light are used to measure the blood sugar concentration.

[0007] Furthermore, the detector unit includes two InGaAs detectors, one for receiving reflection signals of red light and near-infrared light, and the other for receiving transmission signals of green light, near-infrared light and infrared light.

[0008] Furthermore, the flexible functional shell includes a flexible shading layer, a stretchable substrate and a flexible package which are arranged in sequence; two magnets are symmetrically arranged between the flexible shading layer and the stretchable substrate; and the two magnets are adsorbed together after the stretchable physiological monitor is bent.

[0009] Furthermore, the temperature sensor includes two units, which are respectively arranged on two sides of the stretchable physiological monitor after bending.

[0010] Furthermore, the humidity sensor includes two units, which are respectively arranged on two sides of the stretchable physiological monitor after bending.

[0011] Furthermore, the control module is connected to the control light emitting unit, the detection unit, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the power module and the signal processing module respectively to obtain data of each unit and perform control.

[0012] Furthermore, the stretchable substrate material and the flexible packaging material are one or more of polydimethylsiloxane, aliphatic or aromatic random copolymer polyester, polyacrylate, polymethyl silicone resin, amino silicone resin or fluorosilicone resin.

[0013] Furthermore, the five lasers of the light-emitting unit are all located on the front of the earlobe and are divided into three groups: red light and near-infrared light, near-infrared light and infrared light, and green light. The five wavelengths have no intersection with each other.

[0014] A control method of a stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe comprises the following steps:

[0015] Step S1: appropriately stretch the stretchable physiological monitor, place two magnets on opposite sides of the earlobe and release them to fix the stretchable physiological monitor on the earlobe;

[0016] Step S2: The signal processing module converts the electrical signals of the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor into temperature and humidity information, analyzes the influence of temperature and humidity fluctuations on signal processing, and converts the electrical signal of the front detector into a blood oxygen saturation signal, and the electrical signal of the back detector into an earlobe thickness signal and part of the blood sugar information, and calculates the blood sugar concentration value of the measured person according to the earlobe thickness, blood oxygen saturation and part of the blood sugar information of the measured person;

[0017] Step S3: Send the acquired detection data to the mobile terminal.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] The present invention can quickly and accurately measure important physiological information of the person being measured, including blood oxygen saturation, blood sugar concentration, etc. Its stretchable attachment design allows the monitor to be in close contact with the skin, improving precision and accuracy. The double-sided temperature and humidity design and detector distribution can optimize the layout and reduce signal interference. It has broad market prospects in the fields of flexible electronics and wearable medical care. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2is a schematic diagram of the structure of the folded device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a detection method in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Among them, 1-light-emitting unit, 2-detector unit, 3-temperature sensor, 4-humidity sensor, 5-flexible circuit, 6-flexible functional housing, 7-power module, 8-control module, 9-signal processing module, 10-flexible package, 11-magnet I, 12-magnet II, 13-stretchable substrate, 14-light-shielding layer, 15-InGaAs detector, 16-earlobe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 1 The present invention provides a stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe, including: a light emitting unit, a detector unit, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a flexible circuit, a flexible functional housing, a power module, a control module and a signal processing module.

[0026] In this embodiment, the light-emitting unit includes five lasers of different wavelengths, namely green light, red light, infrared light, and two near-infrared lights, and the five wavelengths have no intersection with each other; green light is used to measure earlobe thickness, red light and one near-infrared light are used to measure blood oxygen concentration, and another near-infrared light and infrared light are used to measure blood sugar concentration.

[0027] In this embodiment, the detector unit includes two InGaAs detectors, which are located on the front and back of the earlobe, respectively. The detector located on the front is used to receive the reflection signals of red light and near-infrared light, and the response band includes at least red light and near-infrared light; the detector located on the back is used to receive the transmission signals of green light, near-infrared light and infrared light. The reflection signal received by the detector on the front contains blood oxygen information, and the blood oxygen signal is converted into an electrical signal and fed back to the signal processing module. The transmission signal received by the detector on the back contains the earlobe thickness (green light signal) and part of the blood sugar information (near-infrared light and infrared light), and the thickness and blood sugar signals are converted into electrical signals and fed back to the signal processing module.

[0028] In this embodiment, two temperature sensors are respectively located on the front and back of the earlobe, which can monitor the temperature near the light-emitting unit and the detector unit, and convert the temperature information into a voltage signal and feed it back to the signal processing module.

[0029] In this embodiment, two sensors of the humidity sensor are respectively located on the front and back of the earlobe, and are used to monitor the humidity near the light-emitting unit and the detector unit, and convert the humidity information into a voltage signal and feed it back to the signal processing module.

[0030] In this embodiment, the flexible circuit is a polymer / electrode / polymer sandwich structure, the polymer provides protection and support for the electrode, and can be one of polydimethylsiloxane, aliphatic or aromatic random copolymer polyester, polyacrylate, polymethyl silicone resin, amino silicone resin or fluorosilicone resin; the shape of the electrode is one of a first-order or second-order self-similar serpentine, saddle shape, semicircle, and ellipse.

[0031] In this embodiment, the flexible functional shell of the stretchable physiological monitor can be stretched and bent, and the stretchable substrate material and the flexible packaging material can be one or more of polydimethylsiloxane, aliphatic or aromatic random copolymer polyester, polyacrylate, polymethyl silicone resin, amino silicone resin or fluorosilicone resin; the flexible shading layer is black to prevent the influence of ambient light on the performance of the monitor; two magnets are located between the stretchable substrate and the shading layer, and the two magnets can be adsorbed together when they are set relative to each other.

[0032] In this embodiment, the signal processing module is used to process the measured electrical signals to obtain blood oxygen saturation, blood sugar concentration, temperature and humidity values, and can transmit the signals to other terminals.

[0033] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe, characterized in that: It includes a light-emitting unit, a detector unit, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a flexible circuit, a flexible functional housing, a power module, a control module and a signal processing module to achieve real-time physiological monitoring; the light-emitting unit, the detector unit, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the power module, the control module and the signal processing module are all arranged on the flexible circuit; the flexible circuit is encapsulated inside the flexible functional housing; The light emitting unit includes 5 lasers of different wavelengths, including green light, red light, infrared light and two near-infrared lights, wherein the green light is used to measure the thickness of the earlobe, the red light and one near-infrared light are used to measure the blood oxygen concentration, and the other near-infrared light and infrared light are used to measure the blood sugar concentration; The five lasers of the light-emitting unit are all located on the front of the earlobe and are divided into three groups: red light and near-infrared light, near-infrared light and infrared light, and green light. The five wavelengths do not overlap with each other. The detector unit includes two InGaAs detectors, which are respectively located on the front and back of the earlobe, the detector located on the front is used to receive reflection signals of red light and near-infrared light, and the detector located on the back is used to receive transmission signals of green light, near-infrared light and infrared light; The flexible functional housing comprises a flexible light shielding layer, a stretchable substrate and a flexible package which are arranged in sequence; two magnets are symmetrically arranged between the flexible light shielding layer and the stretchable substrate; the two magnets are adsorbed together after the stretchable physiological monitor is bent; The temperature sensor includes two units, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the stretchable physiological monitor after bending; The humidity sensor includes two units, which are respectively arranged on two sides of the stretchable physiological monitor after bending; The stretchable substrate material and the flexible packaging material are one or more of polydimethylsiloxane, aliphatic or aromatic random copolymer polyester, polyacrylate, polymethyl silicone resin, amino silicone resin or fluorosilicone resin.

2. A stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module is connected to the control light emitting unit, the detection unit, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the power module and the signal processing module respectively to obtain the data of each unit and perform control.

3. A control method for a stretchable physiological monitor that fits the earlobe, characterized in that: The method is implemented based on the stretchable physiological monitor according to any one of claims 1-2, and comprises the following steps: Step S1: appropriately stretch the stretchable physiological monitor, place two magnets on opposite sides of the earlobe and release them to fix the stretchable physiological monitor on the earlobe; Step S2: The signal processing module converts the electrical signals of the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor into temperature and humidity information, analyzes the influence of temperature and humidity fluctuations on signal processing, and converts the electrical signal of the front detector into a blood oxygen saturation signal, and the electrical signal of the back detector into an earlobe thickness signal and part of the blood sugar information, and calculates the blood sugar concentration value of the measured person according to the earlobe thickness, blood oxygen saturation and part of the blood sugar information of the measured person; Step S3: Send the acquired detection data to the mobile terminal.

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