Fiber-integrated fabric for non-tight contact bio-sensing of vital signs

摘要

In this research we present a novel configuration allowing to perform high precision sensing of various vital bio-signs obtained from a fiber-based sensor performing the measurements in a non-tight contact with the skin of the measured subject. We will discuss usage of various types of fibers: single as well as multi-mode. Laser beam is injected into the fiber. In the case of a single mode fiber along the fiber, special artifacts that are breaking the total internal reflection condition, are inserted. Those artifacts are causing to some portion of the injected light to escape the fiber and to interact with the nearby surrounding of the fiber, realizing a smart photonic drip. Changes in the resulted interference-based intensity at the output of the fiber-sensor is analyzed and associated with various bio-medical signs. In the case of a multi-mode fiber, a detector analyzes the temporal-spatial changes of the 2-D speckle pattern imaged at the tip of the fiber. In both cases the fiber strain, temperature change and vibration associated movements occurring in the proximity of the fiber or in the fiber itself, cause change of the fiber propagating photons phase, polarization and amplitude which leads to temporal-spatial changes in the analyzed speckle pattern or in the resulted interference based intensity measured at the output of the fiber-sensor. After applying proper artificial intelligence (AI) algorithmic, one may correlate those small changes with various vital bio-signs such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), heart sound (phono-cardiogram), respiration rate and sound and even blood pressure.