Granted Patent B2

US 12,733,827 · App. 18/667,608 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventors: Kate LeeAnn Bechtel (Pleasant Hill, CA); James McMillan (Santa Monica, CA)

Assignee: ROCKLEY PHOTONICS LIMITED

A61B5/02433A61B5/02438A61B5/681

Abstract

Claims (42)

1 . A wearable device, comprising a first optical sensor module, the first optical sensor module comprising:

an image sensor configured to receive light from biological tissue;

a photodiode configured to receive light from the tissue;

a light source comprising a laser and being configured to illuminate, through the tissue, each of the image sensor and the photodiode, a distance between the image sensor and the photodiode being less than 50% of the distance between the image sensor and the light source; and

at least one processing circuit configured to process first data corresponding to a first light signal received by the image sensor from the light source to generate a speckleplethysmography (SPG) measurement, and to process second data corresponding to a second light signal received by the photodiode from the light source to generate a photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement.

2 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the light source is configured to illuminate the tissue with only coherent light.

3 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the light source is the only light source in the first optical sensor module.

4 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor and the photodiode are each spaced apart from the laser by a substantially same distance.

5 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein one of the image sensor and the photodiode is positioned between the laser and the other one of the image sensor and the photodiode.

6 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing circuit is configured to cause the image sensor and the photodiode to concurrently capture the first light signal and the second light signal, respectively.

7 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein:

the light source is configured to selectively illuminate the tissue with coherent light or incoherent light;

the at least one processing circuit is configured to:

during a first time period, cause the light source to illuminate the tissue with coherent light, and to cause the image sensor to capture the first light signal from the light source; and

during a second time period, cause the light source to illuminate the tissue with incoherent light, and to cause the photodiode to capture the second light signal from the light source.

8 . The wearable device of claim 7 , wherein the light source is configured to selectively generate the incoherent light by selectively applying one or more speckle mitigation techniques to coherent light generated by the laser.

9 . The wearable device of claim 7 , wherein the laser is selectively operable in a first state, wherein light generated by the laser is coherent, and in a second state, wherein light generated by the laser is incoherent.

10 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor is a first image sensor and the photodiode is a first photodiode, and

wherein the first optical sensor further comprises a second image sensor and a second photodiode, the light source being configured to illuminate, through the tissue, each of the second image sensor and the second photodiode, and a distance between the second image sensor and the second photodiode being less than 50% of the distance between the first image sensor and the light source.

11 . The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the photodiode is configured to perform at least one of in-pixel ambient light subtraction or in-pixel DC light subtraction.

12 . A wearable device, comprising a first optical sensor module, the first optical sensor module comprising:

an image sensor configured to receive light from biological tissue;

a light source comprising a laser and being configured to illuminate, through the tissue, the image sensor; and

at least one processing circuit configured to process first data corresponding to a first light signal received by the image sensor from the light source to generate a speckleplethysmography (SPG) measurement, and to process second data corresponding to a second light signal received by the image sensor from the light source to generate a photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement,

wherein the image sensor is configured to perform in-pixel DC light subtraction.

13 . The wearable device of claim 12 , wherein a photosensitive surface of the image sensor configured to capture light has an area of less than 5 mm 2 and an analog to digital converter with 12 or fewer bits.

14 . The wearable device of claim 12 , wherein:

the light source is configured to selectively illuminate the tissue with coherent light and incoherent light; and

the at least one processing circuit is configured to:

during a first time period, cause the light source to illuminate the tissue with coherent light, and to cause the image sensor to capture the first light signal from the light source; and

during a second time period, cause the light source to illuminate the tissue with incoherent light, and to cause the image sensor to capture the second light signal from the light source.

15 . The wearable device of claim 14 , wherein the light source is configured to selectively generate the incoherent light by selectively applying one or more speckle mitigation techniques to coherent light generated by the laser.

16 . The wearable device of claim 14 , wherein the laser is selectively operable in a first state, wherein light generated by the laser is coherent, and in a second state, wherein light generated by the laser is incoherent.

17 . The wearable device of claim 12 , wherein the second light signal is the same as the first light signal, and

wherein the at least one processing circuit is configured to, during a first time period, cause the light source to illuminate the tissue with only coherent light, and cause the image sensor to capture the first light signal from the tissue, and

wherein the at least one processing circuit is configured to generate both the SPG measurement and the PPG measurement based on data corresponding to the first light signal.

18 . The wearable device of claim 12 , wherein the light source is the only light source in the optical sensor module, and the image sensor is the only light-capturing component in the optical sensor module.

19 . A wearable device, comprising a first optical sensor module, the first optical sensor module comprising:

an image sensor configured to receive light from biological tissue;

a light source comprising a laser, the light source being configured to selectively generate coherent and incoherent light and to illuminate, through the tissue, the image sensor; and

at least one processing circuit configured to process first data corresponding to a first light signal received by the image sensor from the light source to generate a speckleplethysmography (SPG) measurement, and to process second data corresponding to a second light signal received by the image sensor from the light source to generate a photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement.

20 . The wearable device of claim 19 , wherein the light source is configured to selectively generate the coherent and incoherent light by selectively applying one or more speckle mitigation techniques to light generated by the laser.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (400)