HIGH PRECISION PROCESSING OF MEASUREMENT DATA FOR THE MUSCULAR-SKELETAL SYSTEM

1 . A high precision method to measure a parameter corresponding to the muscular-skeletal system comprising the steps of:

presetting a measurement sequence for a predetermined number of measurement cycles;

generating a sum corresponding to the measurement sequence; and

measuring an elapsed time of the measurement sequence.

2 . The method of claim 1 further including a step of increasing the predetermined number of measurement cycles to raise measurement precision.

3 . The method of claim 1 further including a step of dividing the sum corresponding to the measurement sequence by the elapsed time.

4 . The method of claim 3 further including the steps of:

applying the parameter to a medium during the measurement sequence;

emitting an energy wave into the medium;

detecting a propagated energy wave;

counting each detected propagated energy wave; and

stopping the measurement sequence when a count of detected propagated energy waves equals the predetermined number of measurement cycles.

5 . The method of claim 4 further including a step of emitting an energy wave into the medium upon detection of each propagated energy wave to sustain energy wave propagation during the measurement sequence.

6 . The method of claim 5 further including a step of maintaining an integer number of energy waves in the medium during the measurement sequence.

7 . The method of claim 5 further including a step of relating a transit time, frequency, or phase measured during the measurement sequence to generate a parameter measurement.

8 . The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

setting a counter to the predetermined number of measurement cycles;

decrementing the counter upon detection of each propagated energy wave; and

stopping the measurement sequence when the counter decrements to zero.

9 . The method of claim 8 further including the steps of:

dividing the predetermined number of measurement cycles by the elapsed time; and

storing a result in a data register.

10 . The method of claim 9 further including the steps of:

placing a sensing module in proximity to the muscular-skeletal system such that the parameter to be measured is applied directly or indirectly to the sensing module; and

controlling an operation of the sensing module wirelessly to achieve a specific resolution of measurement data; control processes that include adjusting an ultrasonic frequency, a sampling frequency, a waveguide length, a data rate, and bandwidth in real-time.

11 . A method of measuring a parameter of the muscular-skeletal system comprising the steps of:

placing a sensing assemblage in proximity to the muscular-skeletal system;

setting a precision level and resolution of captured data to optimize a trade-off between measurement resolution versus ultrasonic frequency prior to a measurement sequence; and

adjusting a bandwidth of a transceiver providing data communications to deliver the captured data in real-time.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further including a step of optimizing the tradeoff by evaluating measurement resolution versus a length of a waveguide propagation medium;

13 . The method of claim 11 further including a step of optimizing the tradeoff by adjusting the frequency of the ultrasonic energy waves or repetition rate or energy pulses;

14 . The method of claim 11 further including a step of optimizing the tradeoff by adjusting a bandwidth of sensing and data capture operations.

15 . The method of claim 11 , comprising accumulating multiple cycles of excitation and transit time of ultrasonic energy waves.

16 . The method of claim 11 , comprising controlling a digital counter to run through multiple measurement cycles, each cycle having excitation and transit phases such that there is not lag between successive measurement cycles, and capturing a total elapsed time.

17 . A measurement system to measure a parameter of the muscular-skeletal system comprising:

a sensor placed in proximity to the muscular-skeletal system;

a digital counter coupled to a sensor where a signal corresponding to a measurement cycle of the sensor clocks the digital counter;

a digital timer to measure an elapsed time of a measurement sequence where the measurement sequence comprises a predetermined number of measurement cycles;

a data register coupled to the digital timer to store a number calculated from the predetermined number of measurement cycles and the elapsed time of the measurement sequence.

18 . The measurement system of claim 17 where the precision of a parameter measurement increases by increasing the predetermined number of measurement cycles.

19 . The measurement system of claim 18 further including a clock operatively coupled to the digital counter and the digital timer where a parameter value relates to a time period of a measurement cycle and where the digital timer elapsed time is a sum of individual parameter measurements.

20 . The measurement system of claim 19 where the measurement system comprises one or more sensing assemblies, one or more load surfaces, an accelerometer, electronic circuitry, a transceiver, and an energy supply, where the measurement system measures forces, such as an applied load, and transmits the measurement data to a secondary system for further processing and display.