KR101780061B1 - Potable apparatus for measuring bio-signal - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable bio-signal measuring device capable of improving the convenience of measurement of a living body signal and easily measuring various living body signals is disclosed. The portable bio-signal measuring apparatus includes a PPG array sensor which is composed of a plurality of light emitting diodes and a plurality of light receiving diodes and measures a photoelectric pulse wave, and a controller which amplifies a signal provided from the PPG array sensor, converts the amplified signal into a digital signal, A signal processor, and a wireless transmitter for processing the digital signal according to a wireless communication standard and transmitting the processed signal. Therefore, it is possible to easily measure the biological signals without restraint or unconditionally, and to continuously monitor the health condition.

Description

[0001] POTABLE APPARATUS FOR MEASURING BIO-SIGNAL [0002]

The present invention relates to a bio-signal measurement, and more particularly, to a portable bio-signal measurement device capable of easily measuring various bio-signals by being attached to a user's body.

The present invention was derived from research conducted as part of the industrial source technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Korea Industrial Technology Evaluation & Management Service [assignment number: 2009-S-014-01, title: Sensing- Development].

Photo-PlethysmoGraphy (hereinafter abbreviated as "PPG") is a signal that detects light reflected or transmitted from a human body by irradiating light of a specific wavelength band to a human body, and is a signal to be.

The PPG sensor, which measures PPG, is a device that measures the flow of blood using a photodetector. It is widely used in the laboratory or medical field today and allows estimation of heart conditions based on measured blood flow. For example, if the flow of blood is increased, it can be assumed that the heart is acting excessively, and if the flow of blood is normal, it can be assumed that the movement of the heart is stabilized.

PPG is a non-invasive, non-invasive, single sensor that can detect multiple biological signals such as pulse, respiration, and oxygen saturation, and is less complex and less expensive to manufacture.

However, in order to measure the PPG signal, the PPG sensor must be attached to the body part such as the patient's finger, toe, or earlobe at a medical institution such as a hospital, and the patient must directly visit the medical institution And a PPG sensor is attached to a finger, a toe, or an earlobe to measure a living body signal, which gives a patient a sense of physical impairment.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages described above to provide a portable bio-signal measuring device capable of improving measurement convenience of a living body signal and easily measuring various living body signals.

The technical objects of the present invention are not limited to the technical matters mentioned above, and other technical subjects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable bio-signal measuring apparatus including a PPG array sensor including a plurality of light emitting diodes and a plurality of light receiving diodes for measuring a photoelectric pulse wave, A signal processor for amplifying a signal provided from the base station and converting the signal into a digital signal and providing a converted digital signal, and a radio transmitter for processing the digital signal according to a radio communication standard and transmitting the processed digital signal.

The portable bio-signal measurement device as described above includes a sensor capable of measuring a bio-signal such as PPG, body temperature, pressure, skin conductivity, etc. in the form of a wristwatch or the like that the user always carries, , Noise removal, signal form conversion, etc., and then determines whether or not there is a health condition, and outputs a warning signal when it is determined that the health condition is abnormal.

Therefore, it is possible to easily measure the bio-signals without restraint or unconditionally, to continuously monitor the health condition, and to provide the user with the awareness at the early stage of the health abnormality through the warning signal when the health abnormality occurs .

In addition, the bio-signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a medical industry field where user protection and real-time monitoring are important, and can construct a new concept infrastructure in the conventional sensor industry.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable bio-signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 shows a more detailed configuration of the PPG array sensor shown in Fig.
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a portable bio-signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail.

It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in the present application Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements in the drawings and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements are omitted.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable bio-signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a bio-signal measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sensor unit 100, a signal processing unit 200, and a wireless transmission unit 300.

The sensor unit 100 measures a living body signal and provides an electric signal (for example, voltage or current) corresponding to the measured living body signal to the signal processing unit.

The sensor unit 100 may include at least one of a PPG array sensor 110, a temperature pressure sensor 130, and a Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) In addition, the sensor unit 100 may further include an acceleration sensor capable of sensing the operation of the user.

The PPG array sensor 110 is composed of a plurality of light emitting and light receiving elements and measures the PPG signal and provides the signal processor 200 with a current corresponding to the measured PPG signal.

The temperature sensor 130 measures a temperature of a user's body and a pressure for quantitative data extraction and changes of a wavelength simultaneously with attachment of a bio-signal detection device to a user. In the related art, a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor are separately used Although two sensors are used, in an embodiment of the present invention, one sensor is used to measure the pressure and the body temperature of the user.

Specifically, the temperature sensor 130 measures the body temperature of the user using the infrared temperature sensor 130, and when the temperature sensor 130 is installed on the strap of the wrist watch, The signal is measured using a sensor capable of simultaneously measuring the pressure for wavelength change and quantitative data extraction.

The GSR sensor 150 is made of a conductive fiber composed of a soft cloth which is harmless to the human body and has no irritation and does not use a metal material such as a conventional copper plate or silver-silver chloride (Ag-Agcl), and corresponds to the measured skin conductivity To the signal processing unit (200).

Specifically, the GSR sensor 150 measures a current value that changes according to changes in skin resistance due to sweat secretion due to the sympathetic / parasympathetic nerves of the user between the two electrodes.

The signal processing unit 200 performs amplification, noise removal, and analog-to-digital conversion on the measurement signal provided from the sensor unit 100, and provides the processed signal to the wireless transmission unit 300. The signal processor 200 converts the current signal supplied from the PPG array sensor 110 into a voltage signal.

The signal processing unit 200 includes a current-voltage conversion unit 210, an amplification unit 220, a filter unit 230, and an analog-to-digital conversion unit 240 to perform the above- can do.

Specifically, the current-to-voltage conversion unit 210 converts the current signal provided from the PPG array sensor 110 of the sensor unit 100 into a voltage signal. The amplification unit 220 includes a current-to-voltage conversion unit 210, Temperature-pressure sensor 130, and GSR sensor 150 to a voltage level of a sufficient magnitude. The amplification unit 220 may be composed of, for example, an OPAMP, and may amplify the supplied voltage by 1000 times or more.

The filter unit 230 removes the noise included in the amplified signal through the amplification unit 220 with a bandpass filter to extract a signal corresponding to each band, An RC filter may be provided.

The analog-to-digital conversion unit 240 converts the analog signal provided from the filter unit 230 into a digital signal and provides the digital signal to the wireless transmission unit 300. The analog-to-digital converter 240 converts the provided analog signal into a digital signal at a resolution of 12 bits, and provides the digital signal to the wireless transmitter 300 through a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) communication.

The wireless transmission unit 300 may be implemented in a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB (Ultra Wide Band), or IEEE 802.11 wireless communication standard. Data transmitted from the signal processing unit 200 Processed according to the radio communication standard, and then transmits the processed biometric signal.

The bio-signal measuring apparatus includes a radio receiving unit 410 for receiving a bio-measured signal transmitted through a radio air interface of the radio transmitting unit 300 and providing the processed bio-signal to the radio receiving unit 410, (Or a user) by analyzing the bio-measured signal provided from the bio-information analyzing unit 420 and controlling the output of the health state information or warning message based on the determined health state. Here, the controller 420 executes the health condition monitoring program stored in the storage unit 440, analyzes the provided bio-measured signal, and determines whether or not the health state of the user is abnormal.

The bio-signal measuring apparatus includes an output unit 430 for outputting health status information or a warning message in accordance with the control of the controller 420, and a controller 430 for determining the bio- (For example, a health condition monitoring program) and a storage unit 440 for storing judgment reference data. Here, the output unit 430 may include a display device such as an LCD or an OLED, and a device such as a speaker and a lamp.

2 is a perspective view of the PPG array sensor 110. Fig. 2 (b) is a plan view of the PPG array sensor 110. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the PPG array sensor 110. Fig. 2 (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I 'of the PPG array sensor 110 shown in FIG. 2 (a).

2, the PPG array sensor 110 is configured such that a plurality of light emitting devices 111 and a light receiving device 113 are arranged on a fixing member 115. [

The plurality of light emitting devices 111 may be composed of light emitting diodes, and the plurality of light receiving devices 113 may be composed of light receiving diodes.

The fixing member 115 may be formed of a rubber plate, and grooves are formed on the upper surface of the rubber plate so that the plurality of light emitting devices 111 and the plurality of light receiving devices 113 can be received. The upper surface of the fixing member 115 in which the light emitting element 111 and the light receiving element 113 are housed is smoothly bent in the thickness direction so that the fixing member 115 can be naturally adhered to the skin when attached to the skin.

The PPG array sensor 110 is provided with a transmission line 117 for supplying power to the plurality of light emitting devices 111 and the light receiving device 113 and for transmitting a detected signal, Is formed of a shield cable for protecting weak bio-signals from external interference.

2, the PPG array sensor 110 includes a plurality of light emitting devices 111 and a light receiving device 113 for measuring PPG signals. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, A sensor capable of measuring a variety of living body signals such as an electromyogram sensor, an electrocardiogram sensor, and an electroencephalogram sensor may be additionally provided in the controller 115.

In the conventional PPG sensor, a light-emitting diode and a light-receiving diode are provided and a transmission type or a reflection type sensor is used. However, when the light-emitting diode and the light-receiving diode are installed one by one, There is a disadvantage that it is confined to places where the distribution of capillaries is large, such as fingers, earlobes, and toes. However, in the PPG array sensor 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a total of eight light emitting diodes and four light receiving diodes are provided in total, thereby widening the detection range of the PPG signal, And a high amplification circuit was constructed to detect PPG signal in the wrists passing arterial blood in the deep body.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a portable bio-signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which shows that the bio-signal measuring apparatus is implemented in the form of a wristwatch.

Fig. 3 (a) is a side sectional view of the wristwatch-type bio-signal measuring apparatus, Fig. 3 (b) is a top plan view of the wristwatch bio-signal measuring apparatus, Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bio-signal measuring device. Fig.

Referring to FIG. 3, the PPG array sensor 110 is installed inside the wrist strap 501, which is a position where the artery inside the wrist can be measured when the user wears the wrist watch. The transmission line 117 is formed by a shield cable and inserted into the wrist strap 501 so as not to be exposed to the outside, and is connected to the sensing signal processor 500.

The temperature sensor 130 is configured to simultaneously measure the pressure and the user's body temperature with one sensor and is installed inside the wrist strap 501 so as not to be exposed to the outside and is connected to the sensing signal processor 500 .

The GSR sensor 150 is made of a conductive fiber formed of a soft cloth which is harmless to the human body and has no repulsion. The GSR sensor 150 is installed inside the wrist strap 501 so as to be in direct contact with the user's body and is connected to the sensing signal processor 500.

3, the PPG array sensor 110, the temperature sensor 130, and the GSR sensor 150 are all provided. However, it is not necessary that all of the three sensors are installed, One or two of the sensors may be selectively installed.

The sensing signal processor 500 shown in FIG. 3 includes a signal processor 200, a controller 420, and a storage unit 440, which are components of the portable bio-signal measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 3, since the signals output from the PPG array sensor 110, the temperature-pressure sensor 130, and the GSR sensor 150 are transmitted through the wire, (300) and a wireless receiver (410).

In addition, the sensing signal processor 500 analyzes the provided biometric signal to determine the health state of the subject (or user), and outputs the health state information or warning message through the output unit 430 based on the determined health state do. The sensing signal processor 500 may incorporate an electronic clock and the output unit 430 may be configured to display time simultaneously.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be possible.

100: sensor unit 110: PPG array sensor
130: Temperature pressure sensor 150: GSR sensor
200: signal processing unit 210: current-voltage conversion unit
220: amplification unit 230: filter unit
240: analog-to-digital conversion section
300: radio transmission unit 410: radio reception unit
420: control unit 430: output unit
440:

Claims (1)

A PPG array sensor composed of a plurality of light emitting diodes in a row, a plurality of light receiving diodes in a row, and a shield cable, and measuring a photoelectric pulse wave;
A signal processor for amplifying a signal provided from the PPG array sensor and converting the amplified signal into a digital signal to provide a converted digital signal; And
And a radio transmitter for processing the digital signal according to a radio communication standard and transmitting the digital signal,
Wherein the shield cable shields the measured photoplethysmus from external interference and transmits the measured photoplethysmogram to the signal processor.

Images