Sensor Array Stethoscope for Heart Valve Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stethoscopes require precise placement by trained physicians to accurately monitor heart vibrations, making them challenging for non-medical professionals to use effectively and limiting their application in home or non-clinical settings.
Innovation Solution
A stethoscope system featuring a conformable patch with an array of pressure sensors and a control system that can combine and filter signals to distinguish heart signal components from breathing signals, determine heart valve activity, and provide user feedback for proper placement, enabling easier operation and continuous cardiac activity monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single pressure sensor is used in a traditional stethoscope, then the device structure is simple, but precise placement by trained physicians is required to accurately monitor heart vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single sensor into an array of multiple pressure sensors (e.g., 3x3 grid = 9 sensors). Each sensor captures vibrations from a slightly different location, and the control system processes these multiple signals to determine both the presence and optimal placement of the stethoscope. This segmentation allows non-medical users to achieve accurate measurements without precise manual placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system analyzes signals from the sensor array and provides feedback to the user about placement quality. By comparing the strength and consistency of vibrations across multiple sensors, the system can determine whether the patch is properly positioned over the heart and guide users to adjust placement if needed, eliminating the need for expert knowledge.
2Ease of operation
If an array of multiple pressure sensors is used, then accurate heart valve activity can be detected without precise placement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple pressure sensors into a single integrated patch that functions as one cohesive device. The control system merges the signals from all sensors in the array, processing them together to determine heart valve activity. This merging approach allows the complex multi-sensor system to operate as a unified, easy-to-use device for non-medical users.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor array and control system automatically perform the functions that previously required skilled physicians - identifying optimal placement locations and accurately measuring heart vibrations. The system serves itself by using the collective data from multiple sensors to self-correct for placement variations, eliminating the need for user expertise while maintaining measurement accuracy.
3Reliability
If multiple simultaneous measurements are taken from different areas of the chest, then redundant measurements improve accuracy, but more data processing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary processing of the multiple sensor signals immediately upon acquisition, combining and filtering the data before full analysis. By pre-processing the redundant measurements from the sensor array, the system prepares the data in advance, reducing the computational burden and processing time required for subsequent heart valve activity detection.
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
The system allows for accurate heart valve activity monitoring without requiring precise placement, making it suitable for non-medical users and enabling quicker detection of cardiac abnormalities, suitable for home or pharmacy settings.
Implementation Method 1
Stethoscopes may be capable of detecting such vibrations as sounds or as electrical signals transduced by electromechanical or piezoelectric sensors
Data Source
AI summary
A stethoscope system may include an array of sensors, which may include pressure sensors. The array may be implemented in a wearable “patch” that is conformable to a patient's body. The stethoscope system may include a control system that is capable of receiving signals from the array of sensors. The signals may, for example, correspond to measurements from multiple pressure sensors of the array. The control system may be capable of combining signals from multiple pressure sensors to produce combined signals. The control system may be capable of filtering the combined signals to remove, at least in part, breathing signal components and to produce filtered signals. The control system may be capable of determining a correspondence between heart signal components of the filtered signals and corresponding heart valve activity.