Wearable Heart Rate Sensor Sleep Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for measuring resting heart rate, such as manual counting and ECG monitoring during sleep studies, are either cumbersome, expensive, or intrusive, failing to accurately capture the lowest heart rate during sleep due to wakefulness and the discomfort of clinical settings.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device with heart rate sensors that collects data during limited sampling periods, infers sleep status using various sensors, and aggregates usable samples to determine a minimum heart rate, providing accurate and non-intrusive health information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual counting or ECG monitoring during sleep studies is used to measure resting heart rate, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device automatically detects sleep stages and collects heart rate data without requiring user intervention or clinical setting participation. The device self-manages the measurement process by monitoring heart rate continuously during wear and automatically identifying rest periods, eliminating the need for manual pulse counting or supervised sleep studies while maintaining measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical pulse counting with automated optical or electrical heart rate sensing. The wearable device uses photodetectors or ECG electrodes to electronically detect heart rate, substituting the mechanical finger-artery palpation method with a non-contact, automated sensing system that provides continuous monitoring without user effort
2Measurement precision
If continuous heart rate monitoring is performed to capture minimum heart rate during sleep, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs heart rate monitoring periodically rather than continuously, activating the heart rate sensor only during detected sleep periods and collecting data at specific sampling intervals. This periodic measurement approach captures the minimum heart rate during rest while allowing the sensor to remain inactive during wakeful periods, significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
The device first detects sleep stages using motion sensors or other low-power sensors before activating the higher-power heart rate sensor. This preliminary detection ensures that expensive heart rate measurements are only performed when the user is actually sleeping, preventing wasted energy on measurements taken during wakeful states when the heart rate is not at its minimum
3Measurement precision
If heart rate samples are collected during all periods to ensure data completeness, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of information deteriorates due to inclusion of non-resting data
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the day into distinct sleep and wake periods using motion sensors, accelerometers, or user input, then separately analyzes heart rate data from each segment. By dividing the monitoring period into sleep stages (where minimum heart rate occurs) and wakeful periods, the system can selectively process only the relevant sleep segment data to determine resting heart rate, excluding contamination from active states
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable device is described. The wearable device comprises: a device body configured to be secured in contact with a subject; a first sensor borne by the device body that is activatable to measure a heart rate of the subject; and control logic configured to activate the first sensor during a monitoring period during which the subject is determined to be in a sleep period.