Sporadic Light Pulse Medical Sensor for Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical sensors, especially those with wireless links, face power consumption issues that limit their battery life and suitability for ambulatory or remote monitoring applications, as they typically require continuous light emission for data collection, leading to rapid power drain.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a wireless medical sensor system that sporadically emits pulses of light instead of continuously, reducing power usage by configuring the sensor to emit light at random, pseudo-random, or predetermined irregular intervals, thereby conserving energy and extending battery life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If continuous light emission is used for data collection, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor emits light in periodic pulses rather than continuously. The light source is activated at specific intervals to capture physiological data, then deactivated to conserve power. This periodic operation maintains measurement capability while dramatically reducing energy consumption compared to continuous emission.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the timing and frequency of light emission pulses based on operational requirements. By making the emission pattern adaptable rather than static, the system can optimize between measurement quality and power consumption depending on current conditions, extending battery life while maintaining data accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If wireless link is implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but use of energy worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless transmission system operates periodically, sending data packets at scheduled intervals rather than continuously. This reduces the average power consumption of the wireless module while maintaining the ability to transmit physiological data, thereby extending battery life without sacrificing wireless functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically manages wireless communication based on data availability and power status. Transmission activity is adjusted adaptively, reducing wireless module operation time when possible while ensuring critical data is transmitted, optimizing the balance between wireless ease of operation and energy consumption.
3Weight of moving object
If battery capacity is reduced, then weight is improved, but duration of action worsens
Solution Approach 1:
By implementing periodic light emission and periodic data transmission, the system reduces average power consumption to a level where smaller battery capacities can sustain operation for clinically required durations. This enables lightweight sensor design without sacrificing battery life.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (light emission duty cycle, transmission frequency) to reduce power consumption density, allowing the use of smaller, lighter batteries while maintaining adequate operational duration for monitoring applications.
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
This approach significantly reduces power consumption, allowing the sensor to operate for a longer period and enabling more efficient monitoring of physiological parameters with reduced battery size and cost, while maintaining accurate data collection and processing.
Implementation Method 1
a light source to emit pulses of light through a patient's tissue at irregular, random, or pseudo-random intervals
Implementation Method 2
a detector to detect the light attenuated by the patient's tissue and collect data samples corresponding to the detected light pulses
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for collecting patient data via a monitoring system, with reduced power consumption. In one embodiment, the monitoring system is configured to emit pulses of light, and detect the light after passing through patient tissue. The light data is emitted sporadically, and a waveform is reconstructed from the sporadically sampled light data. Physiological parameters from the patient may be calculated from the reconstructed waveform. The sporadic sampling may reduce the power consumption by the monitoring system.