US-12616394-B2 - Apparatus and method for user recognition based on oxygen saturation

US12616394B2US 12616394 B2US12616394 B2US 12616394B2US-12616394-B2

Abstract

An apparatus for performing user recognition may include: a first sensor configured to measure health information from a user; a second sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from the user; and a processor configured to obtain oxygen saturation based on the pulse wave signal, to recognize the user based on an oxygen saturation pattern of the obtained oxygen saturation, and to update the measured health information as health information of the recognized user.

Inventors

Jae Min Kang
Byung Hoon Ko
Seung Woo NOH
Sang Yun PARK
Jin Woo Choi

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230331
Priority Date: 20221213

Claims (16)

1 . An apparatus for performing user recognition, the apparatus comprising: a first sensor configured to measure health information from a user; a second sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from the user; and a processor configured to obtain oxygen saturation based on the pulse wave signal, recognize the user based on an oxygen saturation pattern of the obtained oxygen saturation, and update the measured health information as health information of the recognized user, wherein the second sensor comprises a plurality of channels, wherein each of the plurality of channels has at least one light source and at least one detector, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the oxygen saturation at each time point in a predetermined period of the pulse wave signal for each channel, and generate the oxygen saturation pattern of the user for each channel based on a statistical value of the oxygen saturation calculated at each time point, and wherein the processor is further configured to generate the oxygen saturation pattern by mapping the oxygen saturations of each channel to their corresponding channel positions in a measurement region of the second sensor.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor comprises a light source configured to emit light of multiple wavelengths to skin of the user, and a detector configured to detect the light reflected or scattered from the user.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a storage configured to store oxygen saturation patterns of one or more existing users, wherein the processor is further configured to recognize, as the user, an existing user that matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the user among the oxygen saturation patterns of the one or more existing users.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein in response to no oxygen saturation pattern in the storage matching the oxygen saturation pattern of the user, the processor is further configured to recognize the user based on an input of the user.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein in response to the user being a new user, the processor is configured to register the new user in the storage, and store the measured health information as health information of the new user.
6 . The apparatus claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and an oxygen saturation pattern of an existing user that is stored in a storage, and in response to the similarity being greater than or equal to a first threshold value, the processor is configured to determine that the oxygen saturation pattern of the user matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user.
7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein in response to the similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user, being greater than or equal to the first threshold value, and being less than or equal to a second threshold value, the processor is further configured to update the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user based on the oxygen saturation pattern of the user.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a storage configured to store user information, including one or more of height, weight, age, gender, and health information of one or more existing users.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the health information comprises one or more of electrocardiogram, blood glucose, body fat, body mass, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, triglyceride, and antioxidant index.
10 . A method of performing user recognition, the method comprising: by a first sensor, measuring health information from a user; by a second sensor, measuring a pulse wave signal from the user; obtaining oxygen saturation based on the pulse wave signal; recognizing the user based on an oxygen saturation pattern of the user; and updating the measured health information as health information of the recognized user, wherein the second sensor comprises a plurality of channels, wherein each of the plurality of channels has at least one light source and at least one detector, wherein the obtaining of the oxygen saturation comprises: calculating the oxygen saturation at each time point in a predetermined period of the pulse wave signal for each channel; and generating the oxygen saturation pattern of the user for each channel based on a statistical value of the oxygen saturation calculated at each time point, and wherein the generating of the oxygen saturation pattern further comprises generating the oxygen saturation pattern by mapping the oxygen saturations of each channel to their corresponding channel positions in a measurement region of the second sensor.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the recognizing of the user comprises recognizing, as the user, an existing user that matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the user, among oxygen saturation patterns of one or more existing users which are stored in a storage.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the recognizing of the user comprises, in response to no oxygen saturation pattern in the storage matching the oxygen saturation pattern of the user, recognizing the user based on an input of the user.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising, in response to the user being a new user, registering the new user in the storage, wherein the updating of the measured health information comprises storing the measured health information as health information of the new user.
14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the recognizing of the user comprises: calculating a similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and an oxygen saturation pattern of an existing user; and in response to the similarity being greater than or equal to a first threshold value, determining that the oxygen saturation pattern of the user matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the recognizing of the user comprises, in response to the similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user being greater than or equal to the first threshold value, and being less than or equal to a second threshold value, updating the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user based on the oxygen saturation pattern of the user.
16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising extracting user information of the recognized user from a storage, wherein the measuring of the health information comprises obtaining the health information based on the extracted user information.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0173989, filed on Dec. 13, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field Apparatuses and methods consistent with example embodiments relate to recognizing users based on oxygen saturation and performing health information management. 2. Description of the Related Art Recently, electronic devices such as smartwatches have incorporated technology for measuring various health data, including electrocardiogram, body fat, blood glucose, and blood pressure. As health data contains sensitive personal information, accurately matching the measured health data to users may be necessary to control measurement of health information and ensure proper medical information management. Cross-contamination of health information between patients may pose a serious risk to the patients. Authentication methods such an iris sensor, a fingerprint sensor, and the like may be used to authenticate users to ensure that only the intended user can access his or her health data. However, these authentication processes may be inconvenient, and mounting additional sensors may be challenging. SUMMARY According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for performing user recognition, may include: a first sensor configured to measure health information from a user; a second sensor configured to measure a pulse wave signal from the user; and a processor configured to obtain oxygen saturation based on the pulse wave signal, recognize the user based on an oxygen saturation pattern of the obtained oxygen saturation, and update the measured health information as health information of the recognized user. The second sensor may include a light source configured to emit light of multiple wavelengths to skin of the user, and a detector configured to detect the light reflected or scattered from the user. The second sensor may include a plurality of channels, wherein each of the plurality of channels has at least one light source and at least one detector. The processor may be further configured to calculate the oxygen saturation at each time point in a predetermined period of the pulse wave signal, and generate the oxygen saturation pattern of the user based on a statistical value of the oxygen saturation calculated at each time point. The apparatus may include a storage configured to store oxygen saturation patterns of one or more existing users, wherein the processor may be further configured to recognize, as the user, an existing user that matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the user among the oxygen saturation patterns of the one or more existing users. In response to no oxygen saturation pattern in the storage matching the oxygen saturation pattern of the user, the processor may be further configured to recognize the user based on an input of the user. In response to the user being a new user, the processor may be configured to register the new user in the storage, and store the measured health information as health information of the new user. The processor may be further configured to calculate a similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and an oxygen saturation pattern of an existing user that is stored in a storage, and in response to the similarity being greater than or equal to a first threshold value, the processor is configured to determine that the oxygen saturation pattern of the user matches the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user. In response to the similarity between the oxygen saturation pattern of the user and the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user, being greater than or equal to the first threshold value, and being less than or equal to a second threshold value, the processor may be further configured to update the oxygen saturation pattern of the existing user based on the oxygen saturation pattern of the user. The apparatus may include a storage configured to store user information, including one or more of height, weight, age, gender, and health information of one or more existing users, wherein the first sensor may be further configured to extract the user information of the recognized user from the storage, and obtain the health information based on the extracted user information. The health information may include one or more of electrocardiogram, blood glucose, body fat, body mass, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, triglyceride, and antioxidant index. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of performing user recognition may include: measuring health information from a user; measuring a pulse wave signal from the user; obtaining oxygen saturation based on the pulse wave signal; recognizing the user based on an oxygen saturation pattern of the user; and updating the measured health information as health information o