Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to a mask. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a mask with a sensor to sense a physiological condition. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    First responders, soldiers, and other wearers often work in stressful conditions and in hot environments. The protective gear and other equipment can add to the heat and physical stress. Heat related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, are a very real problem in these environments, and can result in hospitalization or death. By accurately monitoring physiological parameters of the wearer and sending them to a central monitoring station, heat related illnesses or other stresses can be recognized before they become too serious, and preventive action can be taken. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    A human wearable mask includes a skirt for directly contacting a forehead of a human wearer and a sensor on the skirt to obtain and provide temperature data from the forehead of the human wearer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1A  is a top view of a patch according to an example embodiment. 
           [0005]      FIG. 1B  is a bottom view of the patch shown in  FIG. 1A  according to an example embodiment. 
           [0006]      FIG. 1C  is an oblique view of the patch shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  according to an example embodiment. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of circuitry in the patch shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  according to an example embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  illustrates a mask according to an example embodiment. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the patch shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  according to an example embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5A  is a top view of a patch according to an example embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5B  is a bottom view of the patch shown in  FIG. 5A  according to an example embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an example embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a computer system to analyze physiological data obtained from the integrated sensors. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made. The following description of example embodiments is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope is defined by the appended claims. 
         [0015]    The functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented in software or a combination of software and human implemented procedures in one embodiment. The software may consist of computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media such as memory or other type of storage devices. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which are software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software may be executed on a digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server or other computer system. 
         [0016]    Issues encountered with physiological monitoring of wearers include obtaining accurate measurements and doing so in an unobtrusive fashion to ensure wearer use and compliance with monitoring. Such wearers may be in indoor or outdoor activities during which heat stress may occur. Another issue includes sending the data to a decision maker to determine the best course of action to protect the wearer. 
         [0017]    The embodiments can monitor body core temperature in a wearer. A patch is placed in contact with skin on the forehead of a wearer to monitor the body core temperature. At least a portion of the patch is in contact with skin over the superficial temporal artery of the wearer. Blood in the superficial temporal artery has a temperature substantially equal to the body core temperature of the wearer. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1A  is a top view of a patch  100  according to an example embodiment. The patch  100  is substantially rectangular with rounded corners, although it may have another shape suited for placement in a mask. The patch  100  comprises a main body  102  comprising a flexible polyamide or paper or plastic material with integrated circuits and conductive lines or traces and terminals formed thereon (not shown). The main body  102  has a length  110 , a width  112  and a thickness (shown in  FIG. 1C ). The length  110  is approximately 1.5 inches and the width  112  is approximately 1 inch.  FIG. 1A  illustrates an insulated side of the main body  102  that is fixed to a mask worn by the wearer. The patch  100  includes three thermistors  120  on the insulated side of the main body  102 , each thermistor  120  being in thermal contact with a metal disk  130 . The insulated side of the main body  102  is embedded in a layer of silicone (not shown). Each metal disk  130  comprises two semicircles of metal  132  and  133 . Separate contacts of a thermistor  120  are each in thermal contact with a respective one of the semicircles of metal  132  and  134  that conduct head to the thermistor  120  and are also electrical contacts for the thermistor  120 . The terminals of the thermistor  120  can be soldered to the semicircles of metal  132  and  134 . Each metal disk  130  can comprise copper with a diameter of approximately five millimeters and a weight of approximately one-half ounces per square foot. The copper may have a different weight according to example embodiments. The metal disks  130  provide thermal conductivity over an area larger than the respective thermistor  120  with which they are in thermal contact. The semicircles of metal  132  and  134  may be squares or rectangles of metal according to example embodiments. 
         [0019]    The patch  100  includes a projecting portion  134  that projects from the main body  102 . The projecting portion  134  also comprises the flexible polyamide material. The projecting portion  134  includes electrical contacts  136  that may be metal pads to couple signals to and from the patch  100 . The electrical contacts  136  may be formed on the main body  102  without the projecting portion  134  according to an example embodiment. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1B  is a bottom view of the patch  100  shown in  FIG. 1A  according to an example embodiment.  FIG. 1B  illustrates a skin side of the main body  102  to be in contact with the skin of the wearer. The patch  100  includes five thermistors  140  on the skin side of the main body  102 , each thermistor  140  being in thermal contact with a metal disk  150 . The metal disks  150  may each comprise copper and have a diameter of approximately five millimeters and a weight of approximately one-half ounce per square foot. The copper may have a different weight according to example embodiments. The metal disks  150  provide thermal conductivity over an area larger of the skin of the wearer than the respective thermistor  140  with which they are in thermal contact. 
         [0021]    The metal disks  130  and  150  may have a different shape, such as a polygon having three or more edges. Each thermistor  120  and  140  has a negative temperature coefficient (NTC). The thermistors  120  and  140  may alternatively have a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) in example embodiments. Alternatively, a separate thermocouple is integrated into each metal disk  130  and  150 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 1C  is an oblique view of the patch  100  shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  according to an example embodiment. The main body  102  has a thickness  160  of approximately 0.012 inches.  FIG. 1C  illustrates the insulated side of the main body  102  including the thermistors  120  and the metal disks  130  that are near a mask worn by the wearer. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of circuitry  200  in the patch  100  shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  according to an example embodiment. The circuitry  200  is formed on or in the main body  102 . The circuitry  200  includes a microcontroller  210  to receive and analyze signals on separate lines from the thermistors  120  and  140 . The thermistors  120  and  140  can generate analog signals representing the temperatures of the metal disks  130  and  150 . The microcontroller  210  can digitize the analog signals from the thermistors  120  and  140  into digital data, encode the digital data and transmit the encoded digital data through a wireless transmitter (not shown). The microcontroller  210  can also perform calculations based on the digital data. 
         [0024]    The microcontroller  210  is coupled to exchange signals with other sensors. For example, the patch  100  has a pulse oximeter sensor and a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor. The microcontroller  210  can provide control signals to two light-emitting diodes (LEDs)  272  and  274  in the pulse oximeter sensor to prompt the LEDs  272  and  274  to emit light at different wavelengths. The light passes through tissue to reach a photo detector  276  that can be a photodiode. The photo detector  276  can generate an analog signal on a line  278  to indicate light received from the tissue. The signal on the line  278  can be amplified by an amplifier  280  and provided on a line  282  to the microcontroller  210 . The microcontroller  210  can convert the analog signal from the pulse oximeter sensor into digital data and analyze the digital data to estimate the oxygen saturation of blood in the tissue and also a respiration rate of the wearer. 
         [0025]    The microcontroller  210  is coupled to receive analog signals from two conductive electrodes  286  and  288  in the GSR sensor on lines  290  and  292 , respectively. The microcontroller  210  can convert the analog signals from the electrodes  286  and  288  into digital data and analyze the digital data to estimate an electrical conductance of the skin and a perspiration (sweat) rate of the wearer. 
         [0026]    At least one of the metal disks  150  on the skin side of the main body  102  will be in contact with skin over the superficial temporal artery at the body core temperature. The metal disks  130  on the insulated side of the main body  102  may have a temperature between the temperature of the environment and the body core temperature. The microcontroller  210  can perform calculations based on a temperature difference between the metal disks  150  on the skin side of the main body  102  and the metal disks  130  on the insulated side of the main body  102  to estimate the magnitude and direction of energy flow through the patch  100 . Thermal energy may flow from the wearer to the insulated side of the main body  102  or from a high-temperature environment to the wearer. 
         [0027]    The core temperature Tc of the wearer can be estimated from the following equation: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             Tc 
             ≅ 
             
               
                 
                   
                     h 
                     patch 
                   
                   
                     h 
                     tissue 
                   
                 
                  
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     
                       T 
                       s 
                     
                     - 
                     
                       T 
                       i 
                     
                   
                   ) 
                 
               
               + 
               
                 T 
                 s 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0028]    In this equation T s  is the temperature of skin over the temporal artery, h patch  is the heat transfer coefficient of the patch  100 , h tissue  is the heat transfer coefficient of skin over the temporal artery and T i  is the temperature of the thermistor on the insulated side of the patch opposite the wearer&#39;s skin  120 . Results of the calculations and the data are encoded and transmitted through equipment used by the wearer. 
         [0029]    In various embodiments, physiological monitoring is integrated into protective self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or respirator masks that are already used by the wearer can ensure compliance while still obtaining accurate measurements. Several key indicators of heat illnesses are high body core temperature, rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, heavy sweating (or no sweating in the case of heat stroke), and weak pulse (strong pulse in the case of heat stroke). Each of these parameters may be measured through the forehead, allowing integration of one or a plurality of these physiological measurements with the wearer&#39;s existing wearable protection equipment (PPE). These measurements can be taken with a few sensors and little inconvenience to the wearer, providing excellent monitoring. The wearer&#39;s condition can be sent to a foreman or incident commander to determine the best course of action to protect the wearer. 
         [0030]    Physiological measurements may be taken using various sensors. In one embodiment, sensors are integrated into a SCBA mask or respirator and the communication of sensor data is provided over wired or wireless channels. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates a mask  300  according to an example embodiment. The mask  300  can be a SCBA mask or respirator mask. The mask  300  has a substantially transparent visor  310  held in an air-tight fashion by a frame  320 . Straps  330  are fixed to the frame  320  and can be wrapped around the head of a wearer to hold the mask  300  in place. A gas conduit  340  in the frame  320  allows the wearer to breathe through the mask  300 . The conduit  340  may include one or more filters to filter incoming gas or may be attached to receive gas from a source of gas such as air or oxygen (not shown). The mask  300  has a skirt  350  attached to the frame  320  in an air-tight manner. The skirt  350  is flexible and is attached to the frame  320  along the entire perimeter of the frame  320  and the visor  310 . The skirt  350  may form a substantially air-tight seal with the face and forehead of the wearer which is important to prevent toxins from leaking into the space inside the mask  300  between the visor  310  and the wearer. The insulated side of the main body  102  of the patch  100  is affixed to the skirt  350  near the forehead of the wearer wearing the mask  300 , and more specifically near the temporal artery of the wearer. More particularly, the silicone on the insulated side of the main body  102  is attached in an air-tight manner to the skirt  350 . The skirt  350  may also be formed of silicone, which may reduce cooling, making a skin temperature of the wearer closer to the body core temperature of the wearer. The patch  100  may be embedded in the skirt  350  according to an example embodiment. 
         [0032]    By probability, one of the thermistors  140  will be over the temporal artery of the wearer. That thermistor will register the highest skin temperature. The total heat flux through the skin can be measured by another thermistor on the back side of the flex circuit patch. Data from the back side thermistor may be used to correct for any cooling effects of the skin (sweating, wind speed, etc). 
         [0033]    The data collected may be communicated to the wearer via indicator lights, displays, or speakers/alarms (not shown). The data may also be communicated to a foreman, fire incident commander, or a central office through wired or wireless channels, possibly including the data channel of existing voice radios, telemetry units such as the PASS unit worn by firefighters, audio modulation of voice channels on radios, or the use of radios specific to this application. The wearer condition can be described as a green-yellow-red indication, formulated by the aggregate of the physiological measurements. This would be done for simplicity of decision making by the foreman, as well as to preserve wearer privacy about their medical condition. 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the patch  100  shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  according to an example embodiment. The main body  102  is shown with a metal disk  150  fixed thereto. A thermistor  140  is in thermal contact with both semicircles of the metal disk  150 , each of two terminals of the thermistor  140  being in thermal contact with one semicircle of the metal disk  150 . The insulated side of the main body  102  is in contact with a tier of silicone  402  to insulate and protect the main body  102 . A conformal amount of silicone  404  is formed on the skin side of the main body  102 , the thermistor  140  and the metal disk  150  for protection. A conformal coating could be applied instead of the silicone  404  according to an example embodiment. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5A  is a top view of a patch  500  according to an example embodiment. The patch  500  is substantially rectangular with rounded corners, although it may have another shape suited for placement in a mask. The patch  500  may comprise a flexible polyamide or paper or plastic material with integrated circuits and conductive lines or traces and terminals formed thereon (not shown). The patch  500  has a length  510 , a width  512  and a thickness (not shown). The length  510  is approximately 1.5 inches and the width  512  is approximately 1 inch.  FIG. 5A  illustrates a skin side of the patch  500  to be in contact with the skin of the wearer. The patch  500  includes eight thermistors  520  on the skin side. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5B  is a bottom view of the patch  500  shown in  FIG. 5A  according to an example embodiment.  FIG. 5B  illustrates an insulated side of the patch  500  that is exposed to the insulated or to a mask worn by the wearer. The patch  500  includes  16  electrical contacts  536  that may be metal pads to couple signals to and from the patch  500 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a method  600  according to an example embodiment. The method starts at  610 , and at  620  the method measures physiological conditions of a wearer of a mask via sensors on a skirt of the mask proximate a forehead of the wearer. At  630 , the method provides data representative of the measured physiological conditions of the wearer to circuitry to determine the condition of the wearer as a function of the provided data. The method ends at  640 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a computer system to analyze physiological data obtained from the integrated sensors. While several optional components are illustrated, many are not needed to perform the methods and functions described above, and may be omitted in various embodiments. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , one embodiment of the hardware and operating environment includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer  700  (e.g., a personal computer, workstation, or server), including one or more processing units  721 , a system memory  722 , and a system bus  723  that operatively couples various system components including the system memory  722  to the processing unit  721 . There may be only one or there may be more than one processing unit  721 , such that the processor of computer  700  comprises a single central-processing unit (CPU), or a plurality of processing units, commonly referred to as a multiprocessor or parallel-processor environment. In various embodiments, computer  700  is a conventional computer, a distributed computer, or any other type of computer. 
         [0040]    The system bus  723  can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory can also be referred to as simply the memory, and, in some embodiments, includes read-only memory (ROM)  724  and random-access memory (RAM)  725 . A basic input/output system (BIOS) program  726 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer  700 , such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM  724 . The computer  700  further includes a hard disk drive  727  for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive  728  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk  729 , and an optical disk drive  730  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk  731  such as a CD ROM or other optical media. 
         [0041]    The hard disk drive  727 , magnetic disk drive  728 , and optical disk drive  730  couple with a hard disk drive interface  732 , a magnetic disk drive interface  733 , and an optical disk drive interface  734 , respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer  700 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any type of computer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), redundant arrays of independent disks (e.g., RAID storage devices) and the like, can be used in the exemplary operating environment. 
         [0042]    A plurality of program modules can be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk  729 , optical disk  731 , ROM  724 , or RAM  725 , including an operating system  735 , one or more application programs  736 , other program modules  737 , and program data  738 . Programming for implementing one or more processes or methods described herein may be resident on any one or number of these computer-readable media. 
         [0043]    A user may enter commands and information into computer  700  through input devices such as a keyboard  740  and pointing device  742 . Other input devices (not shown) can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  721  through a serial port interface  746  that is coupled to the system bus  723 , but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  747  or other type of display device can also be connected to the system bus  723  via an interface, such as a video adapter  748 . The monitor  747  can display a graphical user interface for the user. In addition to the monitor  747 , computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. 
         [0044]    The computer  700  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers or servers, such as remote computer  749 . These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupled to or a part of the computer  700 ; other types of communication devices may also be used. The remote computer  749  can be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above  110  relative to the computer  700 , although only a memory storage device  750  has been illustrated. The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 7  include a local area network (LAN)  751  and/or a wide area network (WAN)  752 . Such networking environments are commonplace in office networks, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the internet, which are all types of networks. 
         [0045]    When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer  700  is connected to the LAN  751  through a network interface or adapter  753 , which is one type of communications device. In some embodiments, when used in a WAN-networking environment, the computer  700  typically includes a modem  754  (another type of communications device) or any other type of communications device, e.g., a wireless transceiver, for establishing communications over the wide-area network  752 , such as the internet. The modem  754 , which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  723  via the serial port interface  746 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  700  can be stored in the remote memory storage device  750  of remote computer, or server  749 . It is appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of, and communications devices for, establishing a communications link between the computers may be used including hybrid fiber-coax connections, T1-T3 lines, DSL&#39;s, OC-3 and/or OC-12, TCP/IP, microwave, wireless application protocol, and any other electronic media through any suitable switches, routers, outlets and power lines, as the same are known and understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0046]    Embodiments described and claimed herein are not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments herein disclosed, since these embodiments are intended as illustration of several aspects of the disclosure. Any equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, various modifications of the embodiments in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 1