US-12616443-B2 - Patch sensor for a medical device

US12616443B2US 12616443 B2US12616443 B2US 12616443B2US-12616443-B2

Abstract

A patch sensor adapted to process echo information to generate a first type of medical data and/or a second, different type of medical data using a respective processing pathway. A communications module of the patch sensor is adapted to be switchable between a first mode, in which only the first type of medical data is transmitted to a medical device, and a second mode, in which at least the second type of medical data is transmitted to the 5 medical device. The first type of medical data occupies a smaller bandwidth (during transmittal) than the second type of medical data.

Inventors

Franciscus Hendrikus Van Heesch
McKee Dunn Poland

Assignees

KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20200320
Priority Date: 20190417

Claims (20)

1 . A patch sensor adapted to transmit one or more signals to a medical device, the patch sensor comprising: a transducer array adapted to transmit ultrasound waves and receive echo information to thereby generate a received echo signal; a processing system defining: a first processing pathway adapted to process the received echo signal to generate a first signal carrying physiological data derived from the received echo signal; and a second processing pathway adapted to process the received echo signal to generate a second signal carrying ultrasound imaging data derived from the received echo signal, the second signal occupying a greater bandwidth than the first signal; and a communications module adapted to transmit one or more of the first and second signals to the medical device, the communications module being operable in: a first communication mode, in which the communications module transmits the first signal over a first communication channel, and does not transmit the second signal, to the medical device; and a second communication mode, in which the communications module transmits at least the second signal over a second communication channel to the medical device, wherein the second communication channel has a greater bandwidth than the first communication channel.
2 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the communication module is adapted to: when operating in the first communication mode, transmit the first signal to a physiological data monitor which thereby acts as the medical device; and when operating in the second communication mode, transmit at least the second signal to an ultrasound monitoring system which thereby acts as the medical device.
3 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first communication channel comprises a wireless channel and the communications module comprises a wireless transmitter, and wherein the communications module is adapted to, when operating in the first communication mode, wirelessly transmit the first signal to the medical device using the wireless transmitter.
4 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the second communication channel comprises a wired channel and the communications module comprises a wired terminal, for connecting to a wire connected to the medical device, and wherein the communications module is adapted to, when operating in the second communication mode and when a wire is connected to the wired terminal, transmit at least the second signal to the medical device over the wire connected to the wired terminal.
5 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , further comprising a communication mode controller adapted to control the communications module to enter the first or second communication mode based on information about one or more resources available to the patch sensor.
6 . The patch sensor of claim 5 , wherein the information about one or more resources comprises information about: a type of power source used by the patch sensor; a type of the medical device; a power level of a power source used by the patch sensor; and an available bandwidth for communicating with the medical device.
7 . The patch sensor of claim 5 , wherein the communication mode controller is adapted to: identify one or more available communication channels over which the communications module is able to communicate with the medical device; determine whether or not any of the identified communication channels have sufficient bandwidth to facilitate transport of the second signal to the medical device as the second communication channel; place the communications module in the second communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device; and place the communications module in the first communication mode in response to determining that none of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device.
8 . The patch sensor of claim 7 , wherein: the communications module comprises a wired terminal, for transmitting one or more signals via a wire connected thereto; and the communication mode controller is adapted to: determine whether a wire is connected between the wired terminal and the medical device to thereby identify whether a wired communication channel to the medical device is available as the second communication channel; and place the communications module in the second communication mode in response to determining that the wired communication channel is available.
9 . The patch sensor of claim 5 , wherein: the communications module comprises a wireless transmitter for transmitting signals to the medical device; and the communication mode controller is adapted to: identify one or more available wireless communication channels over which the wireless transmitter is able to transmit a signal to the medical device; determine an available bandwidth of each available wireless communication channel; determine whether or not any of the identified available wireless communication channels have sufficient available bandwidth to facilitate transport of the second signal to the medical device as the second communication channel; and place the communications module in the second communication mode in response to determining that at least one available wireless communication channel has sufficient bandwidth to facilitate the transport of the second signal to the medical device.
10 . The patch sensor of claim 5 , wherein the communication mode controller is further adapted to control the communications module to automatically switch from the first communication mode to the second communication mode when the second communication mode becomes available.
11 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the communications module is adapted to, when operating in the second communication mode, transmit both the first signal and the second signal over the second communication channel to the medical device.
12 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , further comprising a subject securing mechanism adapted to secure the patch sensor to a position on a subject, wherein the communications module is adapted to be switchable between the first and second communication mode whilst the patch sensor remains in the same position on the subject.
13 . A monitoring system comprising: the patch sensor according to claim 1 ; and the medical device adapted to receive the one or more signals from the patch sensor.
14 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the communications module is operable in the first communication mode to reduce a power consumption of the patch sensor.
15 . The patch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the communications module is further adapted to deactivate the second processing pathway when the communications module is in the first communication mode, and to deactivate the first processing pathway when the communications module is in the second communication mode.
16 . A method of controlling a patch sensor wearable by a subject and comprising a transducer array for transmitting ultrasound waves into the subject, a processing system for receiving and processing an echo signal responsive to the transmitted ultrasound waves, and a communications module for communicating with a medical device, the method comprising: generating a first signal carrying physiological data derived from the received echo signal in a first processing pathway; generating a second signal carrying ultrasound imaging data derived from the received echo signal in a second processing pathway, the second signal occupying a greater bandwidth than the first signal; identifying one or more available communication channels over which the communications module is able to communicate with the medical device; determining whether or not any of the identified communication channels have sufficient bandwidth to facilitate transport of the second signal to the medical device; placing the communications module in a second communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device, and transmitting at least the second signal over the at least one of the identified communication channels to the medical device in the second communication mode; and placing the communications module in a first communication mode in response to determining that none of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device, and transmitting the first signal over another one of the identified communication channels to the medical device in the first communication mode, and not transmitting the second signal, wherein the another one of the identified communication channels has insufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: determining a type of power source powering the patch sensor; when the type of power source is resource-restricted, placing the communications module in the first communication mode; and when the type of power source is not resource-restricted, placing the communications module in the second communication mode.
18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: deactivating the second processing pathway when the communications module is in the first communication mode; and deactivating the first processing pathway when the communications module is in the second communication mode.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein: when in the first communication mode, the first signal is transmitted to a physiological data monitor which thereby acts as the medical device, and when in the second communication mode, at least the second signal is transmitted to an ultrasound monitoring system which thereby acts as the medical device.
20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing code for controlling a patch sensor wearable by a subject and comprising a transducer array for transmitting ultrasound waves into the subject, a processing system receiving and processing an echo signal responsive to the transmitted ultrasound waves, and a communications module for communicating with a medical device, wherein when executed by one or more processors, the code causes the one or more processors to: generate a first signal carrying physiological data derived from the received echo signal in a first processing pathway; generate a second signal carrying ultrasound imaging data derived from the received echo signal in a second processing pathway, the second signal occupying a greater bandwidth than the first signal; identify one or more available communication channels over which the communications module is able to communicate with the medical device; determine when any of the identified communication channels have sufficient bandwidth to facilitate transport of the second signal to the medical device; place the communications module in a second communication mode in response to determining that at least one of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device, and causing at least the second signal to be transmitted over the at least one of the identified communication channels to the medical device in the second communication mode; and placing the communications module in a first communication mode in response to determining that none of the identified communication channels has sufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal to the medical device, and causing the first signal to be transmitted over another one of the identified communication channels to the medical device, and not transmitting the second signal, in the first communication mode, wherein the another one of the identified communication channels has insufficient bandwidth to transmit the second signal.

Description

This application is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2020/057802, filed on 20 Mar. 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/823,226, filed 25 Mar. 2019. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of medical devices, and in particular to patch sensors for medical devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ultrasound imaging has been widely adopted as an imaging technique in the medical field, not least due to its relative ease of use, diagnostic usefulness and good safety record. One recent trend in the ultrasound imaging field is the miniaturization of ultrasound devices, and in particular to the development of wireless handheld device and patch sensors. In particular, patch sensors are useful for long-term monitoring, as they can be placed on a subject (to be monitored) and left in place for a long period of time, e.g. more than an hour. As patch sensors can be left on a subject for such a long period of time, there has been an increasing interest is appropriating or adapting the patch sensors to enable the monitoring of other parameters of the subject, such as physiological data including vital signs. Thus, a “hybrid” patch sensor for an ultrasound imaging system can act to both monitor physiological data and obtain ultrasound imaging data, e.g. raw data for constructing an ultrasound image. There is an ongoing desire to improve the adaptability and flexibility of use for a patch sensor suitable for an ultrasound system. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is defined by the claims. According to examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a patch sensor to transmit one or more signals to a medical device. The patch sensor comprises: a transducer array adapted to transmit ultrasound waves and receive echo information to thereby generate a received echo signal; a processing system defining: a first processing pathway adapted to process the received echo signal to generate a first signal carrying a first type of medical data derived from the received echo signal; and a second processing pathway adapted to process the received echo signal to generate a second signal carrying a second, different type of data derived from the received echo signal, the second signal occupying a greater bandwidth than the first signal. The patch sensor also comprises a communications module adapted to transmit one or more signals to the medical device, the communications module being operable in: a first communication mode, in which the communications module transmits only the first signal to the medical device; and a second communication mode, in which the communications module transmits at least the second signal to the medical device. Thus, a patch sensor (suitable for an ultrasound imaging system) is operable in two modes, a first communication mode in which only a first type of medical data (i.e. “first data”) is passed to a medical device and a second communication mode in which a second type of data (i.e. “second data”), being larger than the first data, is passed to the medical device. Thus, a different set of data is sent to the medical device depending upon the communication mode of the patch sensor. It will be apparent that the two types of medical data are different in size. In particular, the two types of data may be different in size before any formatting or modification is made to the data for transmission or communication, e.g. before any communication metadata is added, before any encoding for communication takes place or the like. Thus, in the context of the present disclosure, the term “medical data” is used to refer to the data that is transmitted to the medical device and directly correlates to data obtained from the subject for medical purposes, e.g. excluding data sent as part of an encryption, modulation or other communication-based scheme. In other words, the medical data refers to information directly related to monitored parameters of the subject, rather than any communication-based additional data (e.g. compressions, metadata, paddings, encryption, formatting and so on). In particular, the patch sensor is operable in (at least) two different communication modes, in which communications sent by the patch sensor occupy at least two different bandwidth sizes. Generally speaking, the second signal carries more data or more complex data per second than the first signal. Thus, the bandwidth required to transport the second signal is greater than the bandwidth required to transport the first signal. The invention relies upon the understanding that differing amounts of medical data would occupy different amounts of bandwidth when transmitted, and proposes to control the amount of bandwidth used by controlling the amount of medical data communicated by the patch sensor. The greater the bandwidth used to commu