The invention comprises a method and apparatus for selecting optical pathways sampling a common tissue layer, such as the dermis, of a person for analysis in a noninvasive analyte property determination systemy, comprising the steps of: probing skin with a range of illumination zone-to-detection zone distances with at least two wavelength ranges, which optionally overlap, and selecting, using a metric, illumination zone-to-detection zone distances having mean optical pathways probing the common tissue layer, such as without the mean optical pathways entering the subcutaneous fat layer of the person. Optionally, the skin tissue layers are modulated and/or treated via tissue displacement before and/or during data collection.

A toe correction apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The toe correction apparatus includes: a first sensor attachable to a first side of a hallux proximate to a second toe for measuring first pressure information between the hallux and the second toe; and a processor, configured to determine a degree to which the hallux bends to the second toe according to the first pressure information, and control an inflation amount or a deflation amount of an adjustable airbag between the hallux and the second toe according to the degree to which the hallux bends to the second toe.

The invention describes a measurement method for the continuous non-invasive determination of blood pressure using two blood volume sensors, which are under two different applied pressures. The non-linear function, which is updated for each cardiac cycle, is used to model the relationship between blood pressure and relative blood volume change. The model depends on relative blood volume changes and applied external pressures to the sensors. The derived model needs one point blood pressure calibration. The blood volume sensor can be optical sensor, such as photoplethysmographic sensor, however, any transducer, which converts blood volume or relative blood volume to electrical signal, is applicable. As one possible application, the method can be used for the blood pressure determination at one finger. However, the method is not limited with the blood volume measurement sites (e.g. radial artery etc.).

The invention disclosed herein relates to improvements in the collection personal health data. It further relates to a Personal Health Monitor (PHM), which may be a Personal Hand Held Monitor (PHHM), that incorporates a Signal Acquisition Device (SAD) and a processor with its attendant screen and other peripherals. The SAD is adapted to acquire signals which can be used to derive one or more measurements of parameters related to the health of a user. The computing and other facilities of the PHM with which the SAD is integrated are adapted to control and analyse signals received from the SAD. The personal health data collected by the SAD may include data related to one or more of blood pressure, pulse rate, blood oxygen level (SpO.sub.2), body temperature, respiration rate, ECG, cardiac output, heart function timing, arterial stiffness, tissue stiffness, hydration, blood viscosity, blood pressure variability, the concentration of constituents of the blood such as glucose or alcohol and the identity of the user.

Methods and devices provide physiological movement detection, such as gesture, breathing, cardiac and/or gross body motion, with active sound generation such as for an interactive audio device. The processor may evaluate, via a microphone coupled to the interactive audio device, a sensed audible verbal communication. The processor may control producing, via a speaker coupled to the processor, a sound signal in a user's vicinity. The processor may control sensing, via a microphone coupled to the processor, a reflected sound signal. This reflected sound signal is a reflection of the generated sound signal from the vicinity or user. The processor may process the reflected sound, such as by a demodulation technique, to derive a physiological movement signal. The processor may generate, in response to the sensed audible verbal communication, an output based on an evaluation of the derived physiological movement signal.

Parametric model based computer implemented methods for determining the stiffness of a bone and systems for estimating the stiffness of a bone in vivo. The computer implemented methods include determining a complex compliance frequency response function Y(f) and an associated complex stiffness frequency response function H(f) and independently fitting a parametric mathematical model to Y(f) and to H(f). The systems include a device for measuring the stiffness of the bone in vivo and a data analyzer to determine a complex compliance frequency response function Y(f) and an associated complex stiffness frequency response function H(f).

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe, a reference image holding unit that holds an ultrasound image acquired by fixing a position of the ultrasound probe as a reference image, a movement vector calculation unit that calculates a movement vector between two ultrasound images, a movement vector integration unit that integrates the movement vector from a time when the reference image is held to a current time, a deformed image generation unit that generates a deformed image in which the current ultrasound image is moved and changed to a time when the reference image is held based on an integration result, a tomographic plane determination unit that compares the deformed image with the reference image to determine whether tomographic planes of the current ultrasound image and the reference image are the same as each other, and a determination result notification unit that notifies a user of a determination result.

A measuring device intended for being placed in contact with a tissue and a method for analysing the measured tissue data A measuring device intended for being placed in contact with a tissue, and comprising including an indenter configured to cause a deformation of the tissue, a strain gauge configured to measure a force of resistance of the tissue to the deformation caused by the indenter; and a position sensor configured to measure an indentation depth representative of a movement of the indenter. A method for analysing tissue data relating to a tissue, the method being implemented by computer and including a step of associating a measurement of the indentation depth and a measurement of the force of resistance to the deformation corresponding to the indentation depth.

Disclosed is an apparatus for estimating bio-information. The apparatus for estimating bio-information includes: a sensor part comprising a pulse wave sensor array configured to detect a pulse wave signal when an object contacts a contact surface of the sensor part, and a load sensor configured to detect a first contact load applied by the object to the contact surface; and a processor configured to obtain contact load distribution of the contact surface based on the pulse wave signal, and to estimate bio-information based on the contact load distribution.

Methods are disclosed for measuring the size of body parts treated by a compression therapy device. Either the volume or circumference of the body part may be measure. The methods my include evacuating an inflatable compression sleeve to a known pressure, inserting the body part into the compression sleeve, inflating the sleeve to a pre-set condition, and then measuring one or more inflation related parameters. The pre-set conditions may include a predetermined pressure, volume, or size of the inflatable cells comprising the sleeve. The inflation related parameters may include the time to fill the cell to a pre-set pressure, the pressure attained after a pre-set time of inflation, or the measure volume of a cell after a pre-set amount of air is introduced into it. The methods may also include deflating the cells from the known inflation state to a second inflation state and measuring similar parameters.