Non-invasive IR transmission measurement of analyte in the tympanic membrane
US6002953A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B5/6817
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention provides non-invasive methods and apparati for measurement of the concentration of a selected constituent of a subject's blood. The invention cools a segment of the subject's tympanic membrane and employs the thermal radiation that the subject's inner ear emits and is transmitted through this cold segment to directly obtain absorption information related to the concentration of various constituents of blood flowing through the membrane. In particular the invention utilizes optical devices inserted into the external ear cavity to direct a portion of the transmitted radiation onto an infrared detection and analysis device. The signal from the detection device is analyzed to obtain the concentration of the constituent of interest. The invention can employ both traditional spectrophotometric techniques and also non-spectrophotometric techniques to derive the concentration of a particular constituent.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.