Finger Support Tool With Flexible Bag for Accurate Physiological Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing support tools for acquiring physiological parameters, such as pulse oximetry, impose a significant burden on the finger due to their size and weight, and miniaturization efforts compromise the accuracy of parameter acquisition.
Innovation Solution
A support tool design featuring a single support member with a flexible bag member and a hinge portion, integrated with a constraining band, allows for reduced size and weight while maintaining deformability and preventing relative position changes, thus reducing finger burden and ensuring accurate parameter acquisition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a support tool with rigid support members is used to maintain finger position, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device size and weight increase, causing greater burden on the finger
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid support members with a flexible bag member that can deform to accommodate the finger's shape and movement. The bag member is made of a flexible material that provides gentle constraint without the weight and rigidity of traditional rigid supports, thereby reducing finger burden while maintaining measurement accuracy through proper positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The support tool incorporates a dynamic hinge portion that allows relative movement between the support member and bag member. This dynamic structure adapts to finger movements and maintains optimal sensor positioning without requiring heavy rigid components, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device weight.
2Measurement precision
If a support tool with rigid support members is used to maintain finger position, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device size increases, causing greater burden on the finger
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible bag member can be designed in a compact form that conforms to the finger's contours, reducing the overall size of the support tool compared to rigid structures that require additional space for structural integrity. This allows accurate positioning without increasing device dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge portion is integrated within the support member structure, and the bag member is connected through this hinge, creating a nested configuration that minimizes the overall footprint of the device while maintaining functional separation between positioning and measurement components.
3Weight of moving object
If the support tool is miniaturized to reduce finger burden, then device size and weight are reduced, but relative position stability deteriorates, affecting measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge portion provides controlled dynamic stability, allowing the bag member to move relative to the support member in a constrained manner. This dynamic connection maintains stable relative positioning for accurate measurements while keeping the overall device lightweight and miniaturized.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge portion acts as an intermediary element between the rigid support member and the flexible bag member, mediating their relative positions and maintaining stability without requiring heavy structural components. This intermediary mechanism ensures position stability in miniaturized configurations.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A support tool which is to be attached to a finger of a subject, and which is used for supporting acquisition of physiological parameter of the subject, includes a support member that is to be placed on a first side of the finger, a bag member that is to be placed on a second side of the finger that is opposite to the first side, a fluid passage that communicates with an interior of the bag member, and a band portion that constraining the bag member to the finger. In the support tool, a sensor used for acquiring the physiological parameter is placeable at least one of between the finger and the support member, and between the finger and the bag member.