Wireless Blood Pressure Sensor Using Passive Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood pressure measurement methods interfere with the patient's condition and are limited by the need for wired power or batteries, making them unsuitable for continuous monitoring, especially during sleep or physical activity.
Innovation Solution
A wireless, extra-corporal blood pressure monitoring apparatus with a flexible sensor housing attached to the body near an artery, using passive components and wireless coupling to a remote transceiver for continuous, non-invasive measurement of systolic and diastolic pressure without the need for a battery, utilizing capacitive, inductive, or resonant circuitry to sense arterial diameter changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional blood pressure measurement methods (invasive, oscillometric, auscultatory, tonometric) are used, then blood pressure can be measured, but the patient's state is affected and measurements become erroneous during sleep or physical activity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical contact-based measurement methods (cuff inflation, stethoscope placement, probe pressure) with a wireless optical/electromagnetic sensing system. The sensor detects blood pressure through non-contact or minimal-contact means, transmitting data wirelessly to eliminate the interference caused by mechanical attachment and wired connections during patient movement, sleep, or physical activity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a wireless communication intermediary between the sensor and the measurement system. Instead of direct wired connection or mechanical contact, the sensor communicates blood pressure data through wireless signals (optical or electromagnetic), allowing continuous monitoring without interfering with the patient's natural state during sleep or physical activity.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If wired power connection or internal battery is used in monitoring devices, then the device can operate continuously, but the system complexity increases and environmental effects are undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical power supply system (wires or batteries) with a wireless power or energy harvesting system. The sensor is designed to operate without traditional power connections, using wireless energy transfer or energy harvesting from the environment (such as body heat, motion, or ambient electromagnetic fields), thereby eliminating the complexity of power management while enabling continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system is designed to be self-powered through energy harvesting from the patient's body (thermal energy, kinetic energy from movement, or biochemical energy). This eliminates the need for external power sources or battery replacements, allowing the device to operate continuously without adding complexity to the power supply system.
3Device complexity
If passive sensor components are used, then the device complexity is reduced, but wireless coupling and signal transmission become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs passive sensor components that detect blood pressure through changes in physical parameters (such as capacitance, inductance, or resonant frequency) that can be wirelessly coupled. By designing the sensor to operate in the passive mode with optimized electromagnetic or optical coupling parameters, the system achieves simple structure while maintaining effective wireless signal transmission through careful parameter selection and tuning.
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-interfering blood pressure monitoring under normal living conditions, providing accurate and reliable data without the limitations of wired connections or battery power, allowing for uninterrupted monitoring during sleep or physical activity.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor relies on passive components, such as capacitors, inductors, resistors, etc., for its operation
Implementation Method 2
The wireless coupling may be an inductive coupling, a capacitive coupling, an electromagnetic coupling
Implementation Method 3
The electronic circuit is a resonant circuit comprising an inductor and a capacitor
Implementation Method 4
Since the artery wall is flexible, the diameter of the artery expands with increasing blood pressure. The housing of the sensor according to the invention is also flexible so that the geometry of the housing changes when the housing is attached to the body of the living being proximate the artery
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus for non-interfering blood pressure measurements, relates to an apparatus for continuously monitoring blood pressure for patients at home or at work. The apparatus includes an extra-corporal sensor for blood pressure determination with a flexible housing adapted to be attached to the body of a living being proximate to an artery, and an electronic circuit for wireless coupling to a remote transceiver in accordance with the blood pressure in the artery, the remote transceiver adapted for wireless coupling to the sensor for generation of a pressure signal in accordance with the blood pressure in the artery, and a processor connected to the remote transceiver for reception of the pressure signal and adapted to estimate systolic and diastolic pressure based on the signal.