Antenna Array Phase Shift Pill Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gastrointestinal (GI) tract monitoring techniques are inadequate for providing low-stress, rapid, and effective diagnostic data, especially for conditions like diabetic gastroparesis, and are not suitable for continuous monitoring in home or care facility environments, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment of GI disorders.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses a plurality of antennas positioned around a patient's body to generate and receive signals, allowing for the estimation of the relative phase shifts and locations of these antennas, which are then used to calculate the position of a pill transmitter swallowed by the patient, providing real-time monitoring of GI motility and function.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple antennas are positioned around the patient's body to enable precise location tracking, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the monitoring function into multiple independent antenna elements positioned around the patient's body. Each antenna independently transmits or receives signals, and the processing electronics segments the received signals to determine relative phase shifts for each antenna pair, enabling precise location tracking through distributed measurement points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces processing electronics as an intermediary component that receives signals from multiple antennas, calculates relative phase shifts, and determines the positions of both antennas and the pill transmitter. This intermediary processing layer simplifies the overall system by centralizing the complex computational tasks rather than requiring each antenna to independently perform location calculations.
2Reliability
If real-time signal processing is performed to dynamically calculate antenna positions, then reliability is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs signal processing and position calculations at periodic intervals rather than continuously. The processing electronics receives signals from antennas, determines relative phase shifts, and updates antenna and pill positions at discrete time points, reducing energy consumption while maintaining reliable monitoring through periodic assessment of the GI tract conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the transmitted signals themselves to carry multiple functions - both the primary purpose of stimulating the pill transmitter and the secondary purpose of determining antenna positions through relative phase shift analysis. This self-service approach allows the same signal to serve dual purposes, reducing the need for separate calibration signals and minimizing additional energy consumption.
3Measurement precision
If relative phase shifts are calculated to estimate antenna locations, then measurement precision is improved, but difficulty of detecting and measuring increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the processing electronics continuously monitors the relative phase shifts between antenna signals and uses this information to dynamically adjust and refine the estimated positions of both the antennas and the pill transmitter. This feedback loop allows the system to compensate for measurement uncertainties and improve precision through iterative refinement of position estimates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary calibration by initially determining the relative positions of antennas using phase shift measurements before actual pill monitoring begins. This preliminary action establishes a reference framework that simplifies subsequent measurements, as the system already has established antenna positions to use as reference points for detecting pill location, reducing the difficulty of ongoing measurements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate, non-invasive, and cost-effective monitoring of GI tract movements, facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of various GI conditions, including gastroparesis, by providing precise data on pill location and motility within the GI tract.
Implementation Method 1
generating a transmit signal for transmission from any of a plurality of antennas... receiving a set of receive signals from the antennas, the receive signals responsive to the transmit signal
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods described herein use near field communications to locate a set of antennas attached to, coupled with, or near the patient. A signal emitted by an antenna in the set of antennas can be received by the other antennas in the set. A second signal can be further transmitted from another antenna in the set. The differential phase and/or time shifts between the antennas from the multiple signal transmissions can contain sufficient information to find the locations of the antennas in antenna centric coordinates. The antenna locations can then be used to find a location of a pill transmitter swallowed by the patient.