The objective of the present invention is to provide a hardness meter which estimates hardness in a stable manner regardless of a compression strength. Disclosed is a hardness meter characterized in being provided with: a movable portion which is continuously pressed against an object to be measured; a sensor which outputs an output signal reflecting a reaction force at a part of the object to be measured that is in contact with the movable portion; a motive force mechanism that causes the movable portion to perform a piston motion; and a hardness estimating portion which estimates the hardness of the object to be measured on the basis of an alternating current component of the output signal, generated by the piston motion of the movable portion.

An optomechanical sensor system is provided. The system can include a patient-worn surface displacement system comprising a deformable surface configured to be positioned against the patient adjacent to a superficial artery thereof, a plurality of optical markings disposed on the deformable surface, and an actuator configured to apply a pressure to hold the surface displacement system against the patient such that spatiotemporal movement of the superficial artery causes corresponding movement of the deformable surface and the plurality of optical markings. The system further includes an optical system which includes an imaging system, illumination, and with or without mirrors configured to visualize the plurality of optical markings at an oblique angle. The system determined the spatiotemporal movement of the superficial artery based on the received plurality of images and determine a cardiopulmonary parameter associated with the patient based thereon.

Techniques for non-invasive detection of compartment syndrome (CS) in a subject, includes an apparatus having a structural body configured to be held in a human hand. The structural body includes a subject contact element that is not in contact with the human hand and is configured to contact but not penetrate a skin layer of a subject. The apparatus also includes an optical sensor configured to detect oxygen saturation at a plurality of depths of a subject in contact with the subject contact element. The optical sensor includes at least one light emitting diode (LED) and multiple photo detectors at corresponding different distances from the LED.

A vascular hemostasis system includes a first compression member and a second compression member separated from the first compression member to create a body part receiving space that is adapted to receive a body part having a vascular opening in need of hemostasis. A compression mechanism connects the first compression member to the second compression member, and the compression mechanism is configured to selectively move the first compression member towards or away from the second compression member to adjust the size of the space and thereby provide varying amounts of compression to the body part. An optional control system includes a detecting system, such as a pulse sensor, and a controller. The controller may be adapted to control the compression mechanism in response to the detecting system. In one version, the compression mechanism includes a locking mechanism that can selectively prevent the first compression member from moving away from the second compression member. The vascular hemostasis system may be used in process to provide hemostasis.

An electronic apparatus and method for medical examination of human body using haptics is provided. The electronic apparatus controls a first head-mounted display to render a 3D model of an anatomical portion of the body of a human subject. The rendered 3D model includes a region corresponding to defect portion in the anatomical portion. The electronic apparatus transmits a touch input to wearable sensor in contact with the anatomical portion. Such an input corresponds to a human touch on the region of the rendered 3D model. The electronic apparatus receives, based on the touch input, bio-signals associated with the defect portion via the wearable sensor. The bio-signals include physiological signals and somatic sensation information associated with the defect portion. As a response to the human touch, the electronic apparatus controls a wearable haptic device to generate a haptic feedback based on the received set of bio-signals.

An exemplary method and system for a local cloud infrastructure are disclosed for a pressure elastography-based measurement system, e.g., to provide pre-screening/early screening for breast cancer detection and/or mass detection. The exemplary system comprises a local appliance and gateway that provides cloud infrastructure capabilities in a portable manner to be deployable in a doctor's office or clinic. The exemplary system can operate independently, as well as in conjunction with a regional or global cloud infrastructure, to provide electronic medical record capabilities, appointment management capabilities, as well as teleradiology interface capabilities, e.g., to improve examination workflow and reduce overall operation cost.

A system and method for measuring biomechanical properties of tissues without external excitation are capable of measuring and quantifying these parameters of tissues in situ and in vivo. The system and method preferably utilize a phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for measuring the displacement caused by the intrinsic heartbeat. The method allows noninvasive and nondestructive quantification of tissue mechanical properties. Preferably, the method is used to detect tissue stiffness and to evaluate its stiffness due to intrinsic pulsatile motion from the heartbeat. This noninvasive method can evaluate the biomechanical properties of the tissues in vivo for detecting the onset and progression of degenerative or other diseases and evaluating the efficacy of therapies.

A method for diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and related systems and apparatuses are disclosed. In the method, a visual evaluation of the patient in a standing position is first conducted. Condyle position in ear canals of the patient is palpated during jaw movement. A hip level of the patient is evaluated when back teeth of the patient are closed. If hips are unlevel, a first spacer is inserted between front teeth of the patient. The condyle position felt in the ear canals of the patient are re-palpated during jaw movements with the first spacer in place. The patient then raises and lowers his or her body by going up on their toes, and dropping to their heels. A reevaluation of the hip level of the patient is conducted and a positive or negative TMD diagnosis is indicated based on the reevaluation of the hip level of the patient.

Various systems are disclosed herein for detecting, monitoring, evaluating, and characterizing pain. They systems include a number of connected components, such as a provider device, a body-mapping system, a patient device, a user device, a referred pain device and/or a rectal probe device. Accordingly, the systems allow providers to track location-specific pain intensity for any number of patients over time in order to generate reports and determine treatment recommendations for such patients.

Briefly, example methods, apparatuses, and/or articles of manufacture are disclosed that may be implemented, in whole or in part, using one or more processing devices to facilitate and/or support one or more operations and/or techniques for authenticating an identity of a subject. In particular, some embodiments are directed to techniques for authentication of an identity of a subject as being an identity of a particular unique individual based, at least in part, on involuntary responses by the subject to sensory stimuli.