On-Device Spirometry Using Multi-Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spirometry tests are inconvenient and costly, requiring frequent medical visits and specialized equipment, and patients often fail to perform the test correctly without proper training, leading to inaccurate results due to issues like distance and mouth structure variations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for conducting an on-device, effort-aware spirometry test using a smartphone or wearable device that captures audio, image, and distance data to measure air volume exchange and exhalation force, providing real-time feedback to ensure correct test performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If spirometry tests are conducted using specialized medical equipment in clinical settings, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase, and ease of operation decreases due to requiring trained personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical spirometry equipment with a smartphone-based system that uses acoustic sensors, cameras, and microphones to capture respiratory data. The mechanical breathing measurement apparatus is substituted with electronic sensing components already present in mobile devices, significantly reducing device complexity while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a portable copy of clinical spirometry functionality using smartphone sensors. Instead of requiring patients to visit clinics with specialized equipment, the system copies the essential measurement functions into a device patients already possess, enabling home-based testing while preserving core measurement precision through multiple sensor modalities
2Ease of operation
If spirometry tests are performed without proper training and supervision, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to incorrect test performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms where the smartphone system monitors test performance through sensors and provides immediate guidance to patients. The system detects whether the patient is performing the test correctly and offers corrective feedback, enabling untrained users to achieve accurate measurements without clinical supervision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables patients to perform spirometry tests independently at home using their own smartphones. The system is designed to guide users through the entire testing process without requiring trained personnel, allowing patients to self-administer the test while maintaining measurement quality through automated monitoring and feedback
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensor modalities are integrated to compensate for individual variations, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the multi-functional nature of smartphones, which already integrate cameras, microphones, acoustic sensors, and processors. By utilizing these existing universal components for spirometry measurement, the system achieves high measurement precision through multiple sensor modalities without adding significant complexity, as the device is already designed to handle diverse sensing tasks
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 convenient, accurate, and cost-effective spirometry testing at any location, improving patient compliance and result accuracy by compensating for individual variations and guiding users to perform the test correctly.
Implementation Method 1
receiving, by an electronic device, sensor data during a spirometry test of a user, the sensor data comprising audio data of the user
Implementation Method 2
image data of a face of the user
Implementation Method 3
distance data of a distance from the face of the user
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, by an electronic device, sensor data during a spirometry test of a user, the sensor data comprising audio data of the user, image data of a face of the user, and distance data of a distance from the face of the user. The method also includes obtaining, by the electronic device, at least one measured parameter associated with the spirometry test that is determined using at least one of the audio data, the image data, or the distance data, wherein the at least one measured parameter is correlated with an amount of air volume exchange or an amount of exhalation force by the user during the spirometry test. The method further includes providing, by the electronic device, real time feedback during the spirometry test, the real time feedback based on the at least one measured parameter, the real time feedback indicating whether or not the user is performing the spirometry test correctly.