Body sensor and bottle sensor and related systems

Abstract

A body monitoring device A10 for monitoring physiological and vital signs of an infant comprises a housing A12 configured to be attached to the body of an infant, and at least one sensor A14 disposed

Claims

1. A body monitoring device for monitoring physiological and vital signs of aninfant, comprising:a housing, configured to be attached to the body of an infant; andat least one sensor disposed in the housing and configured to monitor at least one measurable physiological or vital sign.

2. The body monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed of a flexible material.

3. The body monitoring device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one of:a heart rate monitor,a skin temperature sensor,an acoustic transducer,an accelerometer,a blood oxygen level sensor, and a magnetic field sensor.

4. The body monitoring device of any preceding claim, wherein the housing includes a portion having a flat surface.

5. The body monitoring device of any preceding claim, further comprising electronic components including a processor configured to:receive at least one measurement signal from the at least one sensor;process the received measurement signal; and wirelessly communicate the processed signal to a user device.

6. The body monitoring device of claim 5, further comprising an output device, configured to generate an audio or visual alert based on the processed signal.

7. A body monitoring device according to any of claims 1 to 6, arrangedautomatically to collect data dependent on the level or presence of a signal from one or more of the sensors.

8. A body monitoring device according to claim 7, in dependence on detected proximity of a monitored subject, the monitoring device is configured automatically to collect data from the one or more sensors.

9. A body monitoring device according to any of claims 1 to 8, the device is arranged to determine a physiological state of a monitored subject.

10. A body monitoring device according to claim 9, in which the physiological state consists of the monitored subject being asleep, or awake and / or feeding.

11. A monitoring apparatus, comprising:a body monitoring device;an adapter for an infant feeding bottle; anda central control unit configured to communicatively connect with the body monitoring device and the feeding bottle sensor device;wherein the body monitoring device comprises a housing configured to be attached to the body of an infant and at least one sensor disposed in the housing and configured to monitor at least one measurable physiological or vital sign;wherein the feeding bottle sensor device comprises a removable sealing attachment for engagement with an infant feeding bottle including a teat adapter for engagement with a feeding teat, an adapter inlet in the removable sealing attachment for receiving a sensor assembly, and a sensor assembly removably insertable into the removable sealing attachment, the sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters in dependence on detection of the fluid in the feeding bottle.

12. A monitoring apparatus according to claim 11, arranged automatically to collect data dependent on the level or presence of a signal from one or more of the sensors.

13. An adapter for an infant feeding bottle, the adapter comprising:a removable sealing attachment for engagement with an infant feeding bottle including a teat adapter for engagement with a feeding teat;an adapter inlet in the removable sealing attachment for receiving a sensor assembly; anda sensor assembly removably insertable into the removable sealing attachment, the sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters in dependence on detection of the fluid in the feeding bottle.

14. An adapter according to claim 13, for engagement with the opening of the bottle through which in use, fluid passes during feeding, the adapter comprising:an inner housing for engaging sealingly with an inner side of the bottle opening; andan outer housing for engaging sealingly with the outer side of the bottle opening,wherein the adapter inlet for receiving the sensor assembly is defined at least in part by an inlet in the inner housing and an inlet in the outer housing.

15. An adapter according to claim 14, wherein the inlet in the inner housing and the inlet in the outer housing are formed on a side of the removable sealing attachment.

16. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 15, in which when the sensor assembly is arranged within the removable sealing attachment, fluid is thermally and optically in contact with the sensor assembly during its flow out of the bottle.

17. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the sensor assembly includes one or of a temperature sensor, a time of flight sensor, an orientation sensor and a bottle detection sensor.

18. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 17, in which the sensor assembly includes a transmitter for transmitting data signals relating to detected feeding parameters.

19. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 18, in which the sensor assembly includes a receiver for receiving control signals wirelessly.

20. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 19, in which the sensor assembly is rechargeable.

21. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 20, in which the sensor assembly is arranged for communication with a communications hub, for receiving data relating to feeding parameters and for transmitting control signal to the sensor.

22. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 21, in which the sensor is arranged to detect the temperature of fluid within the bottle and generate an alarm when the temperature is detected outside of specified range.

23. An adapter according to any of claim 22, in which the sensor assembly has a housing sized to fit into the adapter inlet.

24. An adapter according to claim 23, in which the sensor assembly housing comprises a magnetic field detector arranged to detect when the sensor is positioned within an adapter.

25. An adapter for an infant feeding bottle, the adapter comprising:a collar for engagement with the infant feeding bottle, the collar comprising a sensor assembly removably fixable to the removable attachment, the sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters associated with a use of the bottle.

26. An adapter according to any of claims 13 to 25, comprising an orientation detector to detect the orientation of a bottle.

27. An adapter according to claim 26, in which in dependence either only on the orientation detector or in dependence on the orientation and one or other sensors, the start and / or end of a feeding session is detected.

28. An infant feeding bottle comprising a fluid receptacle, and an adapter for the feeding bottle, the adapter being according to any of claims 13 to 27.

29. A method of tracking an infant feeding session, the method comprising:providing a feeding bottle with an adapter having a sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters associated with a use of the feeding bottle;during feeding, gathering data relating to one or more parameters of the feeding session;transmitting the gathered data to a user.

30. A method according to claim 29, in which the gathered data is transmitted in real time during the feeding session.

31. A method according to claim 29 or 30, in which the adapter provided is an adapter according to any of claims 13 to 27.

32. An adapter for an infant feeding bottle, the adapter comprising:a collar for fixing at the opening of an infant feeding bottle, the collar including a teat adapter for engagement with a feeding teat;a sensor assembly removably connectable to the collar, the sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters in dependence on detection of the fluid in the feeding bottle.

33. An adapter for an infant feeding bottle, the adapter comprisinga collar for fixing at the opening of an infant feeding bottle, the collar including a teat adapter for engagement with a feeding teat;the collar further comprising a sensor assembly comprising one or more sensors for determination of feeding parameters in dependence on detection of the fluid in the feeding bottle.

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