Patent Publication Number: US-2011077482-A1

Title: Portable electronic device and method for using the same

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to portable electronic devices, and particularly to a multifunctional portable electronic device having a built-in blood oxygen saturation (SaO 2 ) measuring device and a method for using the same. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     SaO 2  is commonly expressed as a percentage of oxyhemoglobin (HbO 2 ) in the hemoglobin (Hb) in a person&#39;s body. During medical care, SaO 2  is an important physiological parameter and often needs to be measured. Generally, conventional SaO 2  measuring devices only have the single function of measuring SaO 2 . If an SaO 2  measuring device is integrated with a more frequently used instrument, it may more convenient and cost effective. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present portable electronic device and method for using the same can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the various drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present portable electronic device and method for using the same. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the figures. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a portable electronic device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the portable electronic device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method for using the portable electronic device shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  schematically shows a portable electronic device  100 , according to an exemplary embodiment. The device  100  can be a mobile phone, a digital camera, or a personal digital assistant (PDA), for example. Also referring to  FIG. 2 , the device  100  includes at least one conventional function module  10 , such as a wireless communication module, an image capturing module, an audio/video file player module, etc., and further includes a driving circuit  12 , an SaO 2  detector  14 , a signal converter  16 , a processor  17 , a display module  18 , and an alarm module  19 . The driving circuit  12 , the SaO 2  detector  14 , the signal converter  16 , and the processor  17  are electrically connected in series. The display module  18  and the alarm module  19  are both electrically connected to the processor  17 . 
     At least a portion of the SaO 2  detector  14  is installed on an exterior surface of the portable electronic device  100 . The SaO 2  detector  14  includes a first light emitting diode (LED)  142 , a second LED  144 , and a photoelectric sensor  146 . The first LED  142  is configured to emit visible light, and the second LED  144  is configured to emit infrared light. The driving circuit  12  can drive the first LED  142  and the second LED  144  to emit light. The first LED  142  and the second LED  144  are positioned adjacent to the photoelectric sensor  146 . When the SaO 2  detector  14  is positioned adjacent to an exposed portion of a person&#39;s body (i.e., skin), the driving circuit  12  drives the first LED  142  and the second LED  144  to respectively emit visible light and infrared light. When the visible light and the infrared light irradiate the exposed portion, some visible light and infrared light is absorbed by the exposed portion, and substantially the remaining visible light and infrared light are reflected back to the photoelectric sensor  146 . The photoelectric sensor  146  can receive the reflected visible light and infrared light and generate electrical signals corresponding to the received light. 
     The signal converter  16  can receive the electrical signals generated by the photoelectric sensor  146 , convert the electrical signals to digital signals, and transmit the digital signals to the processor  17 . The processor  17  can be a conventional central processing unit (CPU) of the portable electronic device  100 . The processor  17  can calculate the quantity of the reflected visible light and infrared light according to their corresponding electrical signals, and then calculate the quantity of the absorbed visible light and infrared light according to the quantity of the reflected visible light and infrared light. Since HbO 2  and Hb have different absorption rates of visible light and infrared light, the processor  17  can calculate the ratio of the quantity of HbO 2  with respect to the quantity of Hb according to the quantity of the absorbed visible light and infrared light and known absorption rates of visible light and infrared light of HbO 2  and Hb, thereby obtaining the SaO 2  of the person. The processor  17  can also be connected to the function module  10  to control the function module  10  to work. 
     The display module  18  can be a conventional display of the portable electronic device  100 . The alarm module  19  can be a conventional indicator light, bell, or vibrator of the portable electronic device  100 . The processor  17  can control the display module  18  and the alarm module  19  to function. When obtaining the SaO 2  of the person, the processor  17  can transmit the SaO 2  data to the display module  18  for display. A predetermined range of SaO 2  can be set and stored in the processor  17 . If the SaO 2  is out of the predetermined range, the processor  17  can control the alarm module  19  to give the alarm by means of shining, ringing, or vibrating. 
     Also referring to  FIG. 3 , a method for using the portable electronic device  100  to measure a person&#39;s SaO 2 , according to an exemplary embodiment, is provided. The method may at least include the following steps. 
     First, a predetermined range of SaO 2  is set and stored in the processor  17 . The portable electronic device  100  is positioned adjacent to an exposed portion of a person&#39;s body, such as a finger or a forearm, and the SaO 2  detector  14  is positioned as close to the exposed portion of the body as possible to maintain the accuracy of the detector  14  by preventing the dissipation of reflected light. Thus, the driving circuit  12  is actuated and drives the first LED  142  and the second LED  144  to emit light. When the visible light and the infrared light irradiate the exposed portion of the person&#39;s body, some visible light and infrared light is absorbed by the exposed body portion, and substantially the remaining visible light and infrared light are reflected back to the photoelectric sensor  146 . 
     The photoelectric sensor  146  receives the reflected visible light and infrared light and generates electrical signals corresponding to the received light. The signal converter  16  receives the electrical signals generated by the photoelectric sensor  146 , converts the electrical signals to digital signals, and transmits the digital signals to the processor  17 . 
     When receiving the digital signals corresponding to the reflected visible light and infrared light, the processor  17  calculates the quantity of the reflected visible light and infrared light according to their corresponding electrical signals, and then calculates the quantity of the absorbed visible light and infrared light according to the quantity of the reflected visible light and infrared light. Thus, the processor  17  further calculates the ratio of the quantity of HbO 2  with respect to the quantity of Hb according to the quantity of the absorbed visible light and infrared light and known absorption rates of visible light and infrared light of HbO 2  and Hb, thereby obtaining the SaO 2  of the person. 
     When obtaining the SaO 2  of the person, the processor  17  transmits the SaO 2  data to the display module  18  to display. If the SaO 2  is out of the predetermined range, the processor  17  controls the alarm module  19  to give the alarm, thereby reminding the examiner and the examined person. 
     The present portable electronic device  100  integrated with the SaO 2  measuring device (i.e., the subassembly including at least the driving circuit  12 , the SaO 2  detector  14 , the signal converter  16 , the processor  17 , the display module  18 , and an alarm module  19 ) is easy to be carried and used. The users of the portable electronic device  100  need not carry a separate SaO 2  measuring device, which can decrease the burden of the users and conserve cost. 
     It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of structures and functions of various embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.