Wearable Temperature Sensor for Continuous Body Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermometers for measuring internal body temperature are bulky and uncomfortable, making continuous or periodic temperature monitoring during daily activities or sleep challenging, and they lack the ability to accurately track small temperature changes necessary for determining fertility, stress, or menstrual cycles.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device that measures created cavity temperature (CCT) using an artificially created cavity, such as an earring or belly button ring, with a miniaturized temperature sensor and transmitter, which can operate periodically or constantly, and optionally includes a low-power rechargeable battery or energy harvesting capabilities for wireless communication, allowing for comfortable and continuous temperature tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional thermometers are used to measure internal body temperature, then temperature measurement capability is achieved, but the device becomes bulky and uncomfortable for continuous wear during daily activities or sleep
Solution Approach 1:
The conventional thermometer is segmented into two separate components: a miniaturized temperature sensor that can be comfortably worn during daily activities and sleep, and a separate processing unit. This segmentation allows the sensing element to be small and comfortable while the processing functions are handled externally, resolving the contradiction between measurement capability and wear comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from measuring temperature in natural body cavities (ear canal, armpit, rectum) to measuring temperature through an artificially created cavity (piercing). This dimensional change in the measurement approach allows for a smaller, more comfortable sensor design that can be worn continuously without the bulk of conventional thermometers.
2Ease of operation
If conventional thermometers are designed to be compact, then wearability is improved, but the ability to accurately measure small temperature changes necessary for determining fertility and stress is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The complex signal processing and temperature analysis functions are extracted from the wearable sensor itself and performed externally by a separate processing unit. This extraction allows the wearable component to remain simple and comfortable while the external system performs sophisticated analysis to detect small temperature changes for fertility and stress determination.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary processing system acts as a mediator between the simple wearable temperature sensor and the complex fertility/stress analysis requirements. This intermediary performs the sophisticated temperature change detection and physiological state determination, allowing the wearable device to remain compact and comfortable while achieving high measurement precision.
3Measurement precision
If manual temperature measuring is required, then measurement capability is maintained, but continuous or periodic temperature monitoring becomes troublesome and unattainable
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable temperature sensor automatically and continuously monitors temperature without requiring manual operation. The device performs self-service temperature measurement and transmits data automatically, eliminating the need for manual thermometer use and enabling continuous monitoring during daily activities and sleep.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables continuous temperature monitoring through a wearable device that operates continuously without interruption. This continuous action contrasts with manual measuring methods and provides uninterrupted temperature data for fertility and health tracking, making continuous monitoring practical and attainable.
4Ease of operation
If a wearable temperature sensor is designed to be small and comfortable, then ease of wear is improved, but the device complexity increases due to integration of miniaturized components and wireless communication
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions (temperature sensing, wireless communication, and data processing) are merged into a single integrated wearable device. This merging eliminates the need for separate components and reduces overall system complexity while maintaining small size and comfort for continuous wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both a temperature sensor and a wireless communication device. This universal design consolidates multiple functions into one device, reducing the number of separate components needed and simplifying the overall system while maintaining comfort for continuous wear.
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 accurate and continuous monitoring of temperature changes, facilitating the determination of fertility trends and reducing medical costs by providing a convenient, at-home method for tracking physiological states like fever and fertility without disrupting daily activities.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor, which can be positioned, for example and without limitation, within and/or through the created cavity. The sensor operates periodically or constantly through a specific time interval and reads temperature periodically or constantly.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are devices, system and methods for using wearable sensors, such as an earring configured for insertion in an artificially-created cavity in a wearer's ear, the earring including one or more sensing devices in communication with a processing device via a wireless link.