Non-invasive flow monitoring
US10178959B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 10, 2014 |
| Grant date | Jan 15, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 14, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B5/7225
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Systems are provided for detecting the flow of blood in vasculature by illuminating the blood with a source of coherent illumination and detecting one or more time-varying properties of a light speckle pattern that results from the scattering of the coherent illumination by tissue and blood. The movement of blood cells and other light-scattering elements in the blood causes transient, short-duration changes in the speckle pattern. High-frequency sampling or other high-bandwidth processing of a detected intensity at one or more points in the speckle pattern could be used to determine the flow of blood in the vasculature. Such flow-measuring systems are also presented as wearable devices that can be operated to detect the flow in vasculature of a wearer. Systems and methods provided herein can additionally be applied to measure flow in other scattering fluid media, for example in a scattering industrial, medical, pharmaceutical, or environmental fluid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.