A method and apparatus are provided to facilitate the estimation of a measured parameter. In the context of a method, a series of measurement and transmission phases are conducted. During the measurement phase, the method includes receiving an input based on a measured parameter and comparing a voltage that is based on the input that is received over time to a threshold. The method also includes triggering the transmission phase in which a control signal is provided to facilitate discharge of the voltage in response to satisfaction of the threshold. The method further includes evaluating the transmission phases to determine an estimate of the input that is based on the measured parameter. A corresponding apparatus is also provided.

An optical proximity sensor assembly includes an optical proximity sensor with an IR LED emitting light having an infrared wavelength, an IR photo detector sensitive to the infrared wavelength, an optical barrier blocking direct light rays from the LED to the IR photo detector and permitting reflected light rays to reach the at least one photo detector; and an electronic integrated circuit with an amplifier for amplifying a signal detected by the photo detector, an analog to digital converter, LED drivers, noise reduction and ambient light cancellation circuitry, and a digital interface for communication with a microcontroller. The optical proximity sensor is accommodated on a wearable carrier. A single sensor may include a plurality of identical or different LEDs, a plurality of photodiodes, or both. Also, several sensors may be placed on a person's skin along a vascular path to obtain data relating to blood flow and artery stiffness.

A lacrimal tear flow measurement device, and methods of manufacture and use, are described that includes a polymer microcapillary tube or similar structure having at least one end coated on the outside with soft silicone rubber and one end treated on the inside to be hydrophobic. The hydrophobic end keeps liquid from escaping or entering that end while allowing air to pass. The rest of the tube's insides may be hydrophilic or a neutral hydrophobe. As a Schirmer's test strip replacement, the entrance end of the device can be touched to the lacrimal lake of a patient's eye to collect suck up, or merely collect, tear fluid within the collection tube for weighing, volume measurement, or other analysis. Long-term collection devices for wear between doctors' visits can have a bypass channel allowing liquid to flow back onto the eye.

Breast reconstruction and/or mastectomy may be performed to treat or prevent breast cancer or for a variety of other purposes. These procedures can result in disruption of the innervation of the breast, leading to loss of sensation. This loss of sensation can lead to diminishment of sexual function, sexual dysfunction, or other undesired effects. To restore the lost sensory function, an implanted system is provided. The system includes a sensor configured to detect one or more of pressure, stain, or vibration. The detected input is used to determine a stimulus, and the stimulus is provided to one or more of the intercostal nerves to restore sensation.

The present invention relates to medical nanobots with embedded biosensors for real-time and continuous in-vivo anatomic localization, diagnosis, disease surveillance, and therapeutic intervention.

An illustrative system includes a cochlear implant, a lead configured to be inserted into a cochlea of a patient by way of an insertion procedure, a plurality of electrodes disposed on the lead and including an intracochlear electrode and an extracochlear electrode, a probe coupled to the extracochlear electrode, and a processor communicatively coupled with the probe and the cochlear implant. During the insertion procedure, the processor directs the cochlear implant to short the intracochlear and extracochlear electrodes, then detects, by way of the probe and the shorted intracochlear and extracochlear electrodes, evoked responses measured at the intracochlear electrode. The evoked responses include a first evoked response measured at a first insertion depth and a second evoked response measured at a second insertion depth. The processor generates, based on the first and second evoked responses, a notification indicating that cochlear trauma has likely occurred at the second insertion depth.

The present invention discloses a holder carrying thereon a sensor to measure a physiological signal of an analyte in a biological fluid, wherein the sensor has a signal detection end and a signal output end, and the holder includes an implantation hole being a channel for implanting the sensor and containing a part of the sensor, a waterproof seal disposed above the implantation hole, and an elastic divider disposed in the implantation hole to separate the implantation hole and covering all over a cross-sectional area of the implantation hole.

The present technology relates to vascular access devices, systems, and methods configured to monitor a patient's health. In some embodiments, the vascular access device may include a sensing element, and the system of the present technology may be configured to obtain physiological measurements of the patient via the sensing element, determine at least one physiological parameter based on the physiological measurement, compare the at least one physiological parameter to a predetermined threshold, and, based on the comparison, provide an indication of the patient's health.

An implantable vascular access device includes a fluid reservoir, a self-sealing cover disposed over the reservoir, and an outlet port configured to mate with a catheter, the outlet port fluidically coupled to the fluid reservoir. One or more sensors coupled to the device are configured to capture physiological data while the device is implanted within a patient. The device can also include a data communications unit configured to receive physiological data from the one or more sensors and transmit the physiological data to one or more remote computing devices. The device may also be inductively powered and/or can emit a localization signal in response to wireless interrogation.

An physiological measurement device provides a device body having a base, legs extending from the base and an optical housing disposed at ends of the legs opposite the base. An optical assembly is disposed in the housing. The device body is flexed so as to position the housing over a tissue site. The device body is unflexed so as to attach the housing to the tissue site and position the optical assembly to illuminate the tissue site. The optical assembly is configured to transmit optical radiation into tissue site tissue and receive the optical radiation after attenuation by pulsatile blood flow within the tissue.