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US20100305437A1 - System and method for intra-body communication - Google Patents

System and method for intra-body communication Download PDF

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Publication number
US20100305437A1
US20100305437A1 US12/602,469 US60246908A US2010305437A1 US 20100305437 A1 US20100305437 A1 US 20100305437A1 US 60246908 A US60246908 A US 60246908A US 2010305437 A1 US2010305437 A1 US 2010305437A1
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mechanical signal
mammal
signal
mechanical
receiver
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Michael Liebschner
Lin Zhong
Mimi W. Zhang
Michael S. Cordray
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/0002—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/0002—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network
    • A61B5/0026—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network characterised by the transmission medium
    • A61B5/0028—Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/0048—Detecting, measuring or recording by applying mechanical forces or stimuli
    • A61B5/0051—Detecting, measuring or recording by applying mechanical forces or stimuli by applying vibrations
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/48—Other medical applications
    • A61B5/4836—Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods
    • A61B5/4839—Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods combined with drug delivery
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/0002—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network
    • A61B5/0004—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network characterised by the type of physiological signal transmitted
    • A61B5/0008—Temperature signals
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/02—Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the cardiovascular system, e.g. pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood flow
    • A61B5/024—Measuring pulse rate or heart rate
    • A61B5/02438—Measuring pulse rate or heart rate with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/145—Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration or pH-value ; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid or cerebral tissue
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/145—Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration or pH-value ; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid or cerebral tissue
    • A61B5/14532—Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration or pH-value ; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid or cerebral tissue for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4504—Bones
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4504—Bones
    • A61B5/4509—Bone density determination
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4514—Cartilage
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4519—Muscles
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4528—Joints
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/45—For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth
    • A61B5/4533—Ligaments
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B13/00—Transmission systems characterised by the medium used for transmission, not provided for in groups H04B3/00 - H04B11/00
    • H04B13/005—Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to the field of body area networks, in particular intra-body communication. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method of intra-body communication using the musculoskeletal system of a mammal.
  • Acoustic sound wave propagation through bone tissue is a widely-used technique in evaluating bone mechanical properties, specifically predicting bone elastic properties through speed-of-sound measurements. This is particularly critical for diagnosing and monitoring the progression of osteoporosis as well as assessing the extent of fracture healing in long bones and monitoring drug treatment.
  • Such systems measure speed of sound and/or broadband attenuation coefficient and correlate these parameters to bone properties. Nevertheless, these devices operate in the ultrasound range with very limited penetration depth into hard connective tissues such as bones. Reliable sound wave propagation using ultrasound is only possible within a few millimeters.
  • Reliable acoustic wave propagation across multiple bones can only be achieved in the low-frequency range, typically around the resonance frequency of the tissue.
  • Resonance of the tissue has the advantage that the whole tissue is excited, instead of a few millimeters as with ultrasound.
  • the downside is the lower data transfer rate compared to high frequency techniques if serial data communication is applied.
  • Several non-RF body-area communication techniques have been proposed that use the body's own electrical field. However existing techniques suffer from an extremely limited range, due to the low and uneven electrical conductivity of the human body. Numerous works exist on the vibration characteristics of various human bones, especially human skulls for the application in hearing aid. However, none of them considered the use of musculoskeletal conduction for body-area communication and interfacing.
  • the disclosed methods and systems utilize wireless transmittance of a mechanical signal through the musculoskeletal system of a mammal.
  • Mechanical signals may be generated through engineered devices or by the user and transmitted through the user's own musculoskeletal system to other anatomic regions or to another user. Further aspects and features of embodiments of the methods and systems will be discussed below.
  • a method comprises generating a mechanical signal in a mammal.
  • the method also comprises transmitting the mechanical signal through the musculoskeletal system in the mammal.
  • the method further comprises sensing the mechanical signal from the musculoskeletal system.
  • a method of communicating with an implanted device comprises generating a mechanical signal internal or external to a mammal. Furthermore, the method comprises transmitting the signal through the musculoskeletal system of the mammal. The method also comprises detecting the mechanical signal. Additionally, the method comprises delivering the drug in response to the mechanical signal.
  • an implanted device e.g. drug delivery system
  • a method of monitoring one or more body parameters comprises generating a mechanical signal internal or external to a mammal.
  • the mechanical signal is encoded with data corresponding to the one or more body parameter.
  • the one or more body parameters comprise but are not limited to blood pressure, ECG, heart rate, body temperature, glucose level, bone integrity or combinations thereof.
  • the method further comprises transmitting the signal through the musculoskeletal system of the mammal.
  • the method comprises detecting the mechanical signal and decoding the mechanical signal to monitor the one or more body parameters.
  • the sensor component may work autonomously or is in two-way communication with the receiver unit.
  • a method of identifying a mammal comprises generating a mechanical signal internal or external to the mammal. The method also comprises transmitting the signal through the musculoskeletal system of the mammal. The method additionally comprises detecting the mechanical signal. Moreover the method comprises comparing the mechanical signal to a reference signal to identify the mammal.
  • a method of diagnosing an injury in a mammal comprises generating a mechanical signal internal or external to the mammal. The method further comprises transmitting the signal through the musculoskeletal system of the mammal. Furthermore, the method comprises detecting the mechanical signal and comparing the mechanical signal to a reference signal to diagnose the injury, the reference signal wherein the injury comprises a fracture, a tear, a trauma, internal bleeding, or combinations thereof.
  • the reference signal may be drawn from a data base or the controlateral side of the person being tested.
  • a system for intra-body communication in a mammal comprises a mechanical signal generator coupled to the body of the mammal.
  • the system also comprises a receiver capable of detecting a mechanical signal (e.g., low frequency signal) generated from said mechanical signal generator.
  • the method further comprises transmitting data in a modulated format.
  • the intra-body communication can be further extended through physical contact to another individual, for example but not limited to through a handshake.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a method and system for intra-body communication
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an experimental setup for an embodiment of the system
  • FIG. 3 illustrates Frequency-Shift-Keyed response at 0.1 g signal amplitude of an embodiment of the system
  • FIG. 4 shows results of experiments run at transmitter locations at the wrist ( 1 ) and lower back ( 2 ) and receiver locations of wrist ( 1 ), lower back ( 2 ), and behind the ear ( 3 );
  • FIG. 5 shows a picture a wrist-based sensor for use with embodiments of the system and method
  • FIG. 6 shows a plot spectrum vs. time for bone-conduction signal of a series of deliberate teeth clicks
  • FIG. 7 shows a spectrum vs. time for bone-conduction signal of speech.
  • the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”.
  • the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
  • intra-body communication may refer to internal communication within a single mammalian body. However, sensors and components can be internally or externally to the individual.
  • muscleculoskeletal system refers to the portions of a mammal pertaining to the bone and joints and surrounding soft tissue such as connective tissue, muscle, ligaments and cartilage.
  • a “mechanical signal” refers to vibrations or signals that are generated from a mechanical/physical input (e.g. shaking, tapping, vibrating, etc.) and are non-electrostatic or optical in nature.
  • mamal refers to humans and other mammalian animal species.
  • an intra-body communication system 100 may comprise a stimulator 101 that produces mechanical excitations yielding vibrations or a signal, a portion 103 of the mammalian musculoskeletal system that conduct the vibrations or signals, and a receiver/sensor 105 that detects the vibration.
  • the direction of communication is reversed.
  • only one of the components is external to the individual while the other is internal in the body.
  • both receiver and transmitter are internal.
  • the method may be extended across more then one individual.
  • a mechanical vibration or signal may refer to any vibration or signal that is transmitted non-electrically. In other words, the vibration or signal does not rely on electromagnetic or electrostatic signals such as radio waves for transmittal.
  • bone conduction may be excited externally.
  • vibrators on mobile phones can be used to generate frequency patterns in the lower audible range.
  • the stimulator may be an electro-mechanical stimulator, electro-magnetic stimulator or a piezoelectric stimulator.
  • Low-frequency vibration patterns are commonly generated by either vibration motors or electromagnetic shakers.
  • vibration motors the amplitude and frequency may be coupled through a mechanical link to an eccentric weight. Increasing the motor speed may also increase the excitation.
  • Electromagnetic stimulators or shakers and piezo-electric stimulators allow for a separation between amplitude and frequency. Through power limiting components a flat power spectrum of the shaker can be achieved, allowing robust data communication between different devices at alternate frequency ranges.
  • the user 103 may be the stimulation or vibration source.
  • a user can easily produce bone vibrations, e.g., through teeth clicks and finger snaps. Such user initiated excitation can be readily used for interfacing with the embodiments of the system.
  • a user may tap the skin or make a motion with a limb to generate a mechanical vibration.
  • the stimulator 101 may be placed in any location in or on the body.
  • embodiments of the system 100 enable wireless body-area communication based on mechanically excited bone conduction inside the human musculoskeletal system.
  • Example of locations for placing stimulator 101 include without limitation, wrist, throat, head, heart, lungs, skull, ankle, leg, etc.
  • Embodiments of the system 100 are intended as a secure, reliable, low-power, low cost, and low-data rate alternative to existing RF technologies. Measurements and theoretical analysis have shown that ultra low-power (i.e. ⁇ 1 mW) excitation is enough for fairly reliable communication ( ⁇ 10% bit error rate), without being noticeable to the user. Adding error compensation methods may reduce that error.
  • the receiver or sensor 105 may comprise any suitable sensor, which is sensitive enough to detect vibrations or signals from the body. Alternatively, one or more sensors 105 may be used. Examples of sensors that may be used include without limitation, a microphone, an accelerometer, or combinations thereof. In a specific embodiment, the sensor 105 is a MEMS based three-axis accelerometer. The sensors are preferably are low-power sensors, thus making the system extremely power efficient. In embodiments, the sensors may use power in the range of between about 1 mW and about 100 mW, alternatively between about 2 mW and 50 mW, alternatively between about 0.1 mW and about 2 mW. Receiver or sensor may be located or disposed within the body or external to the body. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the sensor may be worn on the wrist much like a wristwatch.
  • system 100 may further comprise charge converters and amplifiers coupled to the sensor 105 and/or the stimulator 101 . Any charge converters and amplifiers known to those of skill in the art may be used.
  • system 100 may be free of radiation and require extremely low power to maintain a connection and transfer data.
  • Another advantage of the disclosed systems and methods is the two-way exchange of information between implanted devices and/or receivers.
  • system 100 may interact with body-worn devices in a hand-free fashion, e.g., to answer a phone call through the Bluetooth headset by a teeth click. Furthermore, the system 100 may manage a power-hungry RF wireless body-area connection as a secondary ultra-low power channel, or wake-on-vibration. For example, a Bluetooth connection between a headset and a cell phone can be shutdown between calls and be reestablished upon a request from the cell phone through embodiments of the system.
  • An additional advantage of system 100 is that body-area data communication may be maintained in a hostile environment, where radio frequencies are likely to be jammed or insecure.
  • a stimulator 101 initiates or generates a mechanical vibration in a user 103 .
  • the stimulator may be placed at any location in or on the body of the user.
  • the mechanical signal is transmitted through the musculoskeletal system of the user.
  • the mechanical signal is encoded using frequency and/or amplitude modulation.
  • the mechanical signal may carry data such as blood pressure, heart rate, or other body parameters to receiver 105 . It is emphasized that the disclosed methods and systems are different than ultrasound techniques, which rely on the reflection of ultrasonic high frequency sound waves for imaging purposes.
  • the mechanical signal or vibration is generated at a frequency from about 5 Hz to about 50,000 Hz, alternatively from about 10 Hz to about 10,000 Hz, alternatively from about 50 Hz to about 5,000 Hz.
  • the mechanical signal is a signal having a frequency no more than about 20 kHz. That is, the mechanical signal is generally below frequencies considered to be in the ultrasound range.
  • the mechanical signal may be transmitted through the bones and cartilage of the patient 103 or mammal.
  • a sensor or receiver 105 detects the mechanical signal.
  • receiver 105 may decode or demodulate the mechanical signal to receive the data encoded within the mechanical signal.
  • sensor 105 may initiate an action (i.e. drug delivery), output data received from stimulator 101 , activate an alarm, send information back to origin using the same technique in reverse, etc.
  • the disclosed systems and methods may be used in numerous applications.
  • the method and system may be used for drug release applications.
  • an internal drug dispensing device may be implanted within a patient.
  • Sensor 105 may be coupled to the drug dispensing device.
  • a mechanical signal e.g. teeth click or a signal generated from a stimulator 101
  • Sensors may detect the effectiveness of the drug and allow the user to trigger another dose release after communication with the stimulator.
  • Such systems may allow for patient targeted treatment. This may be particularly useful in chronically ill patients, diabetic patients or patients undergoing cancer treatment.
  • a biosensor may measure a body parameter such as without limitation, blood sugar, body temperature, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and the like.
  • the biosensor may send this data to stimulator 101 to transmit the data through the musculoskeletal system of the patient 103 .
  • Receiver 105 may detect and decode signal and output the data received to an output display (e.g. LCD screen) or may store data on storage medium such as without limitation, a flash card, hard drive, or other devices known to those of skill in the art.
  • the information, raw or processed, may then be forwarded to a base station (e.g. computer), a smart phone, or cell phone.
  • a base station e.g. computer
  • a smart phone or cell phone.
  • the information may be forwarded directly to a physician's office or nurses station, first responders, or other qualified personnel.
  • Embodiments of the systems and methods may also be used for identification purposes. Without being limited by theory, it is believed that each individual will have different transmission or conduction rates of mechanical signals through the musculoskeletal system. Furthermore, as a mechanical signal pass through each person's musculoskeletal system, the signal may be distorted in a unique way or pattern which may be used to identify an individual. As such, in an embodiment, a stimulator may be placed on the skin of a suspect or person to be identified. A mechanical signal may be generated by the stimulator and the receiver, placed on a different or the same area of the body, may detect the generated mechanical signal after passing through the person's musculoskeletal system. Using pattern recognition, the receiver may positively or negatively identify the tested individual according to the signal detected. Alternatively, an individual may be already implanted with one of the components.
  • a medical emergency professional may be able to diagnose conditions in the field such as without limitations, ligament tears, cartilage damage or hairline fractures and bone damage.
  • a patient may have to wait until a full x-ray, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging dataset has been taken in order to for a proper diagnosis to be made.
  • an injury to a healthy bone or ligament may have distorted a mechanical signal in one way.
  • a healthy bone or ligament may transmit a mechanical signal differently than injured tissue.
  • differences in the signal or rate of transmission may alert a professional of a possible fracture, tissue damage or tissue injury.
  • damage to organs or other tissue types may also be diagnosed besides musculoskeletal injuries.
  • damage or loosening of implants, functional parameters of implants or the quality of the implant tissue interface may also be diagnosed.
  • embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems may be used for assisting handicapped individuals.
  • a handicapped person could click his or her teeth to activate a cell phone or other device strapped to his or her body (e.g. wrist, ankle, etc).
  • the receiver may also be a wireless transmitter enabling the user person to operate external devices through teeth clicks or other rudimentary motions.
  • a reaction-type low-power electromagnetic shaker was built to generate mechanical signals through dynamic forces. This type of shaker offers a lightweight and compact configuration, ideal for miniaturization. In addition, such shakers are designed for operation over a very wide range of frequencies. Bone-conduction was detected using accelerometers with coupled amplifiers. An ultra low-power MEMS based three-axis accelerometer from Kionix was held against the receiving body location as the receiver. A LabVIEW program controlled the entire system. Binary input sequences were modulated into different frequencies to drive the electromagnetic shaker. The same program received the signal from the accelerometers and demodulated the signal. The received bit sequence was then compared to the input sequence to calculate accuracy.
  • ASK (amplitude shift-keying) and FSK (frequency shift-keying) for data communication was examined, primarily due to their simplicity.
  • a LabVIEW program was developed to encode the raw bits into modulated signals to control the input voltage of the electromagnetic shaker, as described above.
  • FSK modulation on and off frequencies are chosen for constant amplitude. The range of on frequencies used was between the lower shaker bound of 10 Hz and a selected upper bound of 2000 Hz, with the off frequency being defined in terms of the on frequency interval.
  • the receiver determined the frequency using LabVIEW's built-in Buneman frequency estimator.
  • the input signal frequency was held constant, while different amplitude values were assigned to a chosen bit pattern.
  • a 0-0.001 g off amplitude of the acceleration signal and 0.1-1.0 g on amplitude of the acceleration signal was applied.
  • the unit g represented the earth gravitational acceleration of 9.81 m/ ⁇ 2.
  • FIG. 4 summarizes the measurement results.
  • the experimental system achieved ⁇ 10% bit error rate without any error correction. This result was quite exciting because all four links involve multiple bones and several joints.
  • the performance was asymmetric. For example, the female subject had much lower BER from the wrist to the lower back than from the lower back to the wrist.
  • the difference between subjects was considerable. On average the male subject accumulated a much lower BER. Causes of that discrepancy will need to be further investigated.
  • An ultra-low power receiver was built in the form factor of a wrist-watch, which is shown in FIG. 5 . It employed the same ultra-low power three-axis accelerometer used in Example 1 and an ultra-low power microcontroller (MSP 430 ) from Texas Instruments. The active power consumption during receiving was below 5 mW. The device is capable of activating sequences and programs after minimal wrist flicking. In addition, the current version allows Bluetooth communication with cell phones for data communication outside the proposed system. In embodiments, the wristwatch functions as base station and communication link to other body worn devices and external mobile systems.
  • the bone-conduction signal of teeth clicks is characterized by high energy in spectrum above 2000 Hz, but low energy below it.
  • FIG. 6 shows the time-spectrum of the bone conduction signal of several teeth clicks.
  • the spectrum of the bone-conduction signal of speech, as shown in FIG. 7 is almost the opposite. It is characterized by high energy in spectrum below 2000 Hz, but low energy above it. This dramatic difference is introduced because the skin and skull inherently are a much lower low-pass filters to acoustic signals than the bone tissue due to vibration incurred by teeth clicks. This forms the basis for our algorithm to detect teeth clicks.
  • an algorithm was designed based on the property of the bone-conduction signal.
  • the algorithm examined the energy densities in the lower and higher spectral ranges of the bone-conduction signal. High energy density in the lower spectral range indicated the existence of speech, while a sudden increase in the energy density in the higher spectral range indicated the occurrence of a teeth click. A deliberate teeth click was detected if a teeth click occurred without the presence of speech.
  • the experimental implementation was based on standard speech signal processing.
  • the bone-conduction signal was sampled and divided into overlapping frames. In the implementation, each frame was about 23.3 ms and adjacent frames are about 22 ms apart. For each frame, the Fast Fourier Transformed Signal (FFT) was calculated to obtain the frequency spectrum.
  • FFT Fast Fourier Transformed Signal
  • the “low” spectral range was between 0 and 2750 Hz, while the “high” spectral range was between 1875 and 5500 Hz.
  • the energy densities were calculated in the low and high spectral ranges, denoted as A n and B n , respectively. Records were kept of the average energy density of silence, U. If B n was considerably larger than B n ⁇ 1 and B n+1 , the algorithm declared that a teeth click was detected. For accidental teeth clicks, A n ⁇ 1 and A n+1 were large due to the presence of speech.
  • offset is empirically set to 5 dB. It is important to note that while the algorithm is based on the generic property of the bone-conduction signal, its implementation is highly dependent on the property of the transducer (e.g. throat microphone). In this implementation, the low and high spectral ranges as well as the offset were empirically determined by examining the bone-conduction spectrum.

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Cited By (10)

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