Multi-sensor device for monitoring health
Devices, systems, and methods for non-invasively detecting and monitoring medical conditions using multiple modalities of sensing include at least two electrodes configured to be positioned on a subject, an acoustic sensor configured to be positioned on a subject, a thoracic impedance measurement module connected to the electrodes, for measuring a first impedance between the electrodes, and a heart acoustic measurement module connected to the acoustic sensor, for detecting and measuring a heart sound from the acoustic sensor.
1 . A device for non-invasively detecting and monitoring medical conditions, comprising:
a first electrode pair configured to he positioned on a subject and further configured to measure a disturbance along a first vector;
a second electrode pair configured to be positioned on the subject and further configured to measure a disturbance along a second vector;
a sensor configured to be positioned on a torso of the subject and further configured to detect a change in an orientation of the device, the orientation of the device indicating an orientation of the torso of the subject; and
a thoracic impedance measurement module coupled to the first electrode pair and the second electrode pair, wherein the thoracic impedance measurement module is configured to:
adjust a first frequency of a first current for performance of a first set of impedance measurements and a second frequency of a second current for performance of each impedance measurement of a second set of impedance measurements to scan varying depths of the subject,
determine the first set of impedance measurements at a first depth of the subject along the first vector and along the second vector when the device is in a first orientation, and
determine the second set of impedance measurements at a second depth of the subject along the first vector and along the second vector in response to detecting that the orientation of the device has changed from the first orientation to a second orientation,
wherein physiologic information for the subject is determined based on a change between the first set of impedance measurements and the second set of impedance measurements.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first electrode pair includes:
a first force electrode configured to be positioned on the subject and further configured to apply a first current to the subject; and
a first sense electrode configured to be positioned on the subject and fixther configured to sense a disturbance along a first vector caused by the first current, wherein the first vector extends through the subject between the first force electrode and the first sense electrode; and
the second electrode pair includes:
a second force electrode configured to be positioned on the subject and further configured to apply a second current to the subject; and
a second sense electrode configured to be positioned on the subject and further configured to sense a disturbance along a second vector caused by the second current, wherein the second vector extends through the subject between the second tbrce electrode and the second sense electrode.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the physiologic information is related to lung fluid of the subject.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode pair is configured to be positioned on the torso of the subject, wherein the first vector extends through the torso of the subject, wherein the second electrode pair is configured to be positioned on an upper chest of the subject, and wherein the second vector extends through the upper chest of the subject.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first set of impedance measurements comprises a first disturbance along the first vector, the first disturbance comprising a measured voltage along the first vector, and wherein the first set of impedance measurements further comprises a second disturbance along the second vector, the second disturbance comprising a measured voltage along the second vector.
6 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising an electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement module coupled to the first electrode pair, wherein the ECG measurement module utilizes the first electrode pair to perform ECG measurements.
7 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a heart sound sensor configured to be positioned over a heart region of the subject and further configured to detect one or more heart sounds of the subject; and
a heart sounds-based measurement module coupled to the heart sound sensor, the heart sounds-based measurement module configured to convert the one or more heart sounds to sensing data for analysis.
8 . The device of claim 7 , further comprising a data fusion/decision engine coupled to the thoracic impedance measurement module and the heart sounds-based measurement module, the data fusion/decision engine configured to fuse a first impedance along the first vector, a second impedance along the second vector, and the sensing data for making one or more inferences about the subject.
9 . A system for non-invasively detecting and monitoring medical conditions, comprising:
a sensor configured to be positioned on a torso of a subject and further configured to detect a change in an orientation of the sensor, the orientation of the sensor indicating an orientation of the torso of the subject;
a thoracic impedance measurement module configured to:
adjust a first frequency of a first current for performance of a first measurement of a first impedance and a second frequency of a second current for performance of a second measurement of a second impedance to scan varying depths of the subject;
determine the first impedance at a first depth along a first vector from a first force electrode configured to be positioned on the subject to a first sense electrode configured to be positioned on the subject; and
determine the second impedance at a second depth along a second vector from a second force electrode configured to be positioned on the subject to a second sense electrode configured to be positioned on the subject; and
a data analyzer coupled to the thoracic impedance measurement module and the sensor, the data analyzer configured to perfbrrn data analysis, data trending, or data reduction with the first impedance along the first vector and the second impedance along the second vector, wherein the first impedance and the second impedance are measured when the sensor detects that the sensor is in a first orientation, and a third impedance along the first vector and a fourth impedance along the second vector, wherein the third impedance and the fourth impedance are measured in response to detecting that the orientation of the sensor has changed from a first orientation to a second orientation.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the first force electrode and the, second sense electrode are configured to be positioned on the torso of the subject, wherein the first vector extends through the torso of the subject, wherein the second force electrode and the second sense electrode are configured to be positioned on an upper chest of the subject, and wherein the second vector extends through the upper chest of the subject.
11 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a heart sounds-based measurement module coupled to the data analyzer, the heart sounds-based measurement module configured to convert one or more heart sounds received from a heart sound sensor to sensing data, and wherein the data analysis, the data trending, or the data reduction is further perforated with the sensing data.
12 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising a data fusion/decision engine coupled to the data analyzer, the data fusion/decision engine configured to:
receive results of the data analysis, the data trending, or the data reduction; and
fuse the results for making inferences about the subject.
13 . The system of claim 12 , further including a processor, wherein the processor includes the data analyzer and the data fusion: decision engine.
14 . The system of claim 12 , further comprising a transmitter/receiver coupled to the data fusion/decision engine, the transmitter/receiver configured to transmit the fused results over one or more wireless communication paths to a remote device.
15 . A method for non-invasively detecting and monitoring medical conditions, comprising:
determining, by a device having a sensor positioned on a torso of a subject and an electrode pair that is positioned on the subject, that the device is in a first orientation;
adjust a first frequency of a first current for performance of a first measurement of a first thoracic impedance;
determining, by the device, the first thoracic impedance at a first depth for the subject when the device is in the first orientation;
detecting, by the device, a change in an orientation of the device from the first orientation to a second orientation;
adjust a second frequency of a second current for performance of a second measurement of a second thoracic impedance to scan varying depths of the subject;
determining, by the device, the second thoracic impedance at a second depth for the subject when the device is in the second orientation; and
determining, based on a change between the first thoracic impedance and the second thoracic impedance, physiologic information for the subject.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
determining the first thoracic impedance includes:
applying, by a force electrode of the electrode pair, the first current to the subject when the device is in the first orientation; and
detecting, by a sense electrode of the electrode pair, a first disturbance caused by the first current being applied to the subject; and
determining the second thoracic impedance includes:
applying, by the force electrode, the second current to the subject when the device is in the second orientation; and
detecting, by the sense electrode, a second disturbance caused by the second current being applied to the subject.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the first frequency has a magnitude between 50 kilohertz (kHz) and 100 kHz and the first current has an amplitude between 1 milliamps root mean squared (mARMs) and 4 mA R ms, and wherein the second frequency has a magnitude between 50 kHz and 100 kHz and the second current has an amplitude between 1 mARms and 4 mARms.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the first orientation comprises a wearer of the device being approximately horizontal; and
the second orientation comprises a wearer of the device being in a Fowler's position.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the second orientation comprises the wearer of the device being in standard Fowler's position.