Flexible Biometric Sensing Substrate with Removable Electronics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices are expensive, large, and lack portability, limiting their use outside controlled environments, and are not designed for ambulatory or parallel sensing across the body or population.
Innovation Solution
A flexible and adaptable system comprising a substrate with detectors and an electronics module that can be removably coupled, allowing for modular and configurable biometric sensing, capable of detecting various biometric parameters and providing feedback actions, and can adapt to different configurations and environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing NIRS devices are used, then measurement precision is maintained, but device complexity and size increase, reducing portability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sensor unit and processing unit into a single integrated wearable device. The processor, memory, and sensor components are merged into one cohesive system that can be worn on the body, eliminating the need for separate desktop equipment while maintaining measurement precision through integrated signal processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable NIRS device is designed to perform multiple functions including optical detection, signal processing, data storage, and wireless communication within a single platform. The system can detect various biometric parameters (oxygenation levels, blood flow) and adapt to different sensing configurations, providing universal applicability across clinical and ambulatory settings.
2Ease of operation
If NIRS devices are made portable, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability may deteriorate due to movement and cable detachment risks
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the processing unit directly into the wearable sensor unit, the patent eliminates cables and connectors that could detach during movement. The combined design ensures stable signal processing and data transmission without the reliability issues associated with wired connections, while maintaining full portability and ease of operation.
3Weight of moving object
If semi-ambulatory systems with separate processing units are used, then portability is improved, but device complexity increases due to disintegrated sensor and processing systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges previously separate sensor and processing units into a single integrated wearable device. This consolidation reduces the number of discrete components and connections required, simplifying the overall system while maintaining portability. The integrated design eliminates the complexity of coordinating separate units and their interfaces.
4Measurement precision
If non-ambulatory systems with multiple sensor inputs are used, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to limited ports and fixed configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable NIRS device employs dynamic, reconfigurable sensor arrays that can be programmatically adjusted to monitor multiple body locations simultaneously. The system allows flexible configuration of sensing points and parameters through software control, enabling multi-point monitoring without requiring physical reconfiguration or additional fixed ports, thus maintaining both precision and ease of operation.
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 flexible, efficient, and accurate biometric sensing across various environments and patient conditions, supporting subacute, pre-hospital, and clinical monitoring with enhanced wearability and utility, and facilitating simultaneous monitoring of multiple body areas or populations.
Implementation Method 1
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices interrogate biological tissue using a selection of light frequencies in the red and near-infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavelengths are particularly well suited for deep light penetration through tissue
Implementation Method 2
These wavelengths are particularly well suited for deep light penetration through tissue, versus lower wavelengths of light that are scattered or absorbed by confounding factors in the body
Implementation Method 3
NIRS devices generally feature at least two wavelengths of light output in this range and at least one detector
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include a substrate and an electronics module. The substrate may include one or more detectors capable of detecting one or more properties of a biological tissue. The electronics module may be communicatively and removably coupled to the substrate, and may comprise a processor, a memory device, an energy storage device configured to power the substrate and the electronics module, and instructions stored on the memory device. The instructions, when executed, may direct the processor to detect the one or more detectors of the substrate, and process a signal from the one or more detectors to calculate one or more biometric parameters.