Ultrasonic Ear Monitoring via Acoustic Reflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring heart activity, such as heart rate, often require additional sensors like accelerometers or Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, which can be cumbersome and inconvenient, especially for continuous monitoring in everyday life.
Innovation Solution
A head-worn device equipped with a speaker and microphone that outputs ultrasonic waves and senses the reflected waves to determine heart activity without the need for additional sensors, using machine learning algorithms and signal processing techniques to analyze the changes in the ultrasonic signal phase and magnitude.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional sensors like accelerometers or PPG sensors are used to monitor heart activity, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The speaker and microphone, originally designed for audio functions, are made multi-functional by enabling them to perform both audio processing and heart activity monitoring. The speaker outputs ultrasonic waves while the microphone detects reflected waves, allowing the existing components to serve dual purposes without adding dedicated sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own existing components (speaker and microphone) to perform heart activity monitoring without requiring external or additional sensors. The device serves itself by utilizing the acoustic path already present in the earbud structure for both audio delivery and physiological measurement.
2Reliability
If additional sensors are added for continuous heart monitoring, then reliability of health monitoring is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The existing speaker and microphone components are repurposed to provide continuous heart monitoring functionality, eliminating the need for separate sensor modules that would complicate device wearability. The dual-use approach maintains reliability while preserving ease of operation.
3Device complexity
If ultrasonic waves are used to detect heart activity through ear surface movement, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects heart activity by measuring mechanical vibrations and movements of the ear surface caused by blood pulsation. The ultrasonic waves reflect off the ear canal and eardrum, and the microphone captures phase changes in the reflected waves that correspond to these mechanical movements, enabling accurate heart rate detection without additional sensors.
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 continuous, non-invasive monitoring of heart activity, including heart rate, without the need for additional sensors, providing accurate and reliable data for health monitoring and potential detection of heart pathologies.
Implementation Method 1
obtain a microphone signal of a microphone of the head-worn device that receives a reflected ultrasonic wave responsive to the outputted ultrasonic wave
Implementation Method 2
cause an ultrasonic wave to output from a speaker of a head-worn device
Implementation Method 3
detecting a change in phase of the ultrasonic wave in the microphone signal over time. The change in phase may be correlated to a change in path length of the ultrasonic wave from the speaker to the microphone that is due to movement of the surface of the ear
Implementation Method 4
determining the heart activity may include heterodyning the reflected ultrasonic wave to generate a heterodyned signal with near-zero frequency
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasonic wave is output from a speaker of a head-worn device. A microphone signal is obtained from a microphone of the head-worn device that senses the ultrasonic wave as it reflects off an ear of a user. Heart activity such as a heart rate of the user is determined based at least on the microphone signal. Other aspects are also described and claimed.