WO2004038942A1

WO2004038942A1 - Mobile communication terminal with an electrocardiograph

Info

Publication number: WO2004038942A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/001759
Authority: WO
Inventors: Min-Hwa Lee
Original assignee: Healthpia Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-10-24
Filing date: 2003-08-29
Publication date: 2004-05-06
Also published as: AU2003256121A1; KR20040036324A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal with an embedded electrocardiograph and an electrocardiogram measuring circuit in a battery pack. The battery pack is connected with multiple organism electrodes. It communicates through an organism electrode module which collects the data and blue tooth module, and interfaces by an connection pin to a main frame mobile communication terminal. The main frame outputs manipulation guide information through a video unit which requires an electrocardiogram measure with a battery pack through the above outer interface according to a selection of a user’s manipulation signal inputted by the above key pad. An electrocardiogram measure portion controls and indicates the electrocardiogram information received from the above outer interface through the above video unit, and includes a control section with a remote analyze section for controlling remote analysis and data management.

Description

MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL WITH AN ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly to a mobile communication terminal including an electrocardiogram measurement circuit incorporated into a battery pack thereof.

Background Art

The idea of incorporating additional optional circuits into a battery pack has been proposed in order to extend the functions of a mobile communication terminal. Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-270836 published on October 14, 1997 has disclosed an additional device implemented as a radio reception circuit embedded in a battery pack that is detachably coupled to a mobile communication terminal. Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-19664, filed by Kim, Tea-Jin et al., and published on March 15, 2001 has described an audio reproducing device that includes an MP3 codec and a flash memory module incorporated into a battery pack of a mobile communication terminal, and is controlled by a user interface of the terminal. The present applicant has observed that the incorporation of additional functions into a battery pack makes it possible to implement a large number of functions easily without hardware modification of the terminal body. The present applicant has also noticed that daily and continuous treatment and data collection is important for the functionality of medical treatment and diagnosis, as for skin beautification and in the measurement of body fat based on bioimpedance . Thus, the present applicant has filed Korean Patent Application Nos. 2002-53004, 2002-52996, 2002-52995, and 2002- 52994 on September 3, 2002 which have described battery pack devices that are coupled to mobile communication terminals and can support low frequency treatment, supersonic cosmetic treatment, bioimpedance measurement, etc. These devices each incorporate necessary probes and driving circuits related thereto into a battery pack, communicate with the body of a mobile communication terminal, and control the circuits inside the battery pack, through an application program executed in the terminal, to support the additional functions described above .

The present applicant has studied the incorporation of electrocardiography, in which continuous observation and data collection is important, into a mobile communication terminal while minimizing changes to the existing hardware of the terminal by providing an additional circuit to the battery pack.

An attempt to integrate a medical diagnosis function into a portable device such as a mobile phone, usually carried by an individual, can be seen in Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-93976, filed by Park, Won-Hee and published on October 31, 2001. This publication disclosed a fixed-line or mobile telephone having a function of measuring an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a function of forwarding the analysis to a remote host. However, in this prior art, an electrode is directly formed on a portion of the telephone where a palm is placed, so it is impossible to achieve the original purpose of electrocardiograph, i.e., the electrocardiogram measurement of various parts of a human body such as arms, legs and a chest. In addition, this publication did not describe even basic technology for the electrocardiogram measurement, and there are also differences between the proposed circuit and the real circuit. In addition, there is a technical difficulty in integrating the electrocardiograph into a battery pack, since 4 or more bioelectrodes should be attached to the respective locations of a body spaced relatively far apart from each other. Further, it is difficult to perform real- time signal processing in managing the bioelectrodes independently through wireless links.

An electrocardiogram measurement system to assist in overcoming such problems has been proposed in Korean Patent No. 329,205 that was filed on September 3, 1998 by Ahn, Byoung-Sung and issued on March 6, 2002. In this prior art, a measurement header, to which a plurality of detection electrodes are connected, performs primary processing on detected signal values and transmits them through a transmission link. Upon receipt of the signal values, an induced voltage generator records them on an electrocardiograph, and they are further transmitted to a remote site through a remote transmission link, so as to concentrate data. In addition, a wireless link or an optical communication link has been proposed as a transmission link between the measurement header and the induced voltage generator. However, this system relates to a special-use electrocardiograph system installed in a hospital, etc., and simply focuses on avoiding inconvenience due to connecting a number of cables. Although the prior art systems or methods, described above, have proposed solutions to overcome their own problems and described benefits therefrom, none has disclosed a method of implementing an electrocardiogram measurement device that can perform a daily measurement of an electrocardiogram conveniently and correctly. Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, the present invention has been made to improve the prior art much more, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile communication terminal having an electrocardiogram measurement function that can perform a daily electrocardiogram measurement conveniently and correctly. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrocardiogram measurement device that can be economically implemented while minimizing changes to the existing hardware of a mobile communication terminal.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a mobile communication terminal comprising a body and a battery pack detachably coupled to the body, said battery pack including: a communication interface for interfacing with the body; a wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with a bioelectrode module; and a pack controller for performing a control operation so that electrocardiogram measurement data is received from the bioelectrode module through the wireless communication unit and the received data is transmitted to the body through the communication interface unit, said body including: a keypad; a display unit; a data communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through an external wireless communication network; an external interface unit, coupled to the communication interface unit, for data transmission and reception; and a controller including an electrocardiogram measurement unit for performing a control operation so that operation guide information is outputted through the display unit, and an electrocardiogram measurement request is made to the battery pack through the external interface unit, according to a selection corresponding to a user operation signal inputted through the keypad, and further the electrocardiogram information received from the external interface unit is displayed on the display unit.

According to the present invention, an electrocardiogram measurement device is integrated with a mobile communication terminal constantly carried by a user, thereby allowing a daily electrocardiogram measurement. In addition, since a dedicated circuit required for the electrocardiogram measurement is embedded in the battery pack of the mobile communication terminal, it is possible to provide such an electrocardiogram measurement device while minimizing changes to the circuits of the terminal body. Furthermore, since the present invention utilizes the mobile terminal's own user interface such as a keypad, a display unit, a microprocessor, etc., it is possible to perform electrocardiogram measurement while minimizing circuit additions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the controller further includes a remote analysis unit for performing a control operation so that data measured in the electrocardiogram unit is transmitted to a host computer through the data communication unit, and an analysis result received from the host computer through the data communication unit is displayed on the display unit.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the electrocardiogram measurement device can perform the daily electrocardiogram measurement, the measured electrocardiogram data can be concentrated and collected daily in a server through wireless Internet, and it can be analyzed by an expert system or directly by an expert, so that the analyzed result can be informed to the user very quickly. As circumstances require, an urgent warning may be given to a patient in real time.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the bioelectrode module includes a module wireless communication unit for communication with the wireless communication unit; a plurality of bioelectrodes for detecting a bioelectric voltage on each portion of a human body; a measurement unit for measuring the bioelectric voltage by operating the plurality of bioelectrodes; and a measurement controller for transmitting a measured result by the measurement unit through the module wireless communication unit, upon receipt of a measurement start signal through a receiver of the module wireless communication unit .

According to this aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of the bioelectrodes are connected by wire to the bioelectrode module that is provided separately from the battery pack, and the bioelectrode module communicates with the battery pack through a single wireless link, the hardware configuration is greatly simplified, and it is possible to avoid inconvenience of individually connecting each of the bioelectrodes by wire to the battery pack of very small size. In addition, even when bringing the bioelectrode module near the body of a patient more closely, he or she can still perform self-measurement very conveniently while viewing the mobile terminal's display unit (i.e., an LCD screen) with his or her own eyes.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the external appearance of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processes performed in the body of a mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Now, the above and other aspects of the present invention will be described in detail through preferred embodiments with reference to the annexed drawings, so that the present invention can be easily understood and realized by those skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the external appearance of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this drawing, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a body 10 and a battery pack 20 which is detachably attached to the body 10 and in which dedicated circuits required for electrocardiogram measurement are partially embedded. The battery pack 20 communicates wirelessly with a bioelectrode module 30 to which a plurality of bioelectrodes 41, 42, 43 and 44 are connected.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a body 10 for performing voice and data communication and a battery pack 20 which is detachably coupled to the body 10 and in which additional circuits are embedded, as described above. A bioelectrode module provided external to the body 10 is connected by wire to a plurality of bioelectrodes, and transmits collected biological signals to an antenna of the battery pack 20.

First, the bioelectrode module 30 collects and processes electrocardiogram signals by operating the bioelectrodes provided external to the module 30. A bioelectrode (not shown) includes an electrode element to which a hydrogel adhesive is electrically connected, and, as can be seen in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 278,492 issued on May 31, 2002, various materials and structures of the bioelectrode have been known before the filing date of the present invention. The bioelectrode are each connected to a measurement section 320 of the bioelectrode module 30 through an electrical cable. The measurement section 320 is mainly composed of an analog circuit controlled by a measurement controller 300, and includes a circuit for amplifying and converting the measured electricity amount . The amount measured by the measurement section 320 corresponds mainly to the waveform of an electrocardiogram-related voltage. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the measurement section 320 may additionally include an analog calculation circuit that calculates a difference voltage and an average voltage from the measured voltages. However, the additional analog calculation circuit is not essential when it is implemented by software in a microprocessor that is implemented as the measurement controller 300. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the measurement section 320 may include a latch circuit or a sample and hole circuit that instantly holds a sampled measurement value in order to guarantee simultaneous measurement.

The measurement controller 300 converts an electrocardiogram signal measured in the measurement section 320 into a digital format, and reads the latched values through a plurality of channels. The read values are multiplexed for transmission through a single wireless link. Optionally, the measurement controller 300 may further perform a process for calculating the measurement values and converting them into final electrocardiogram data. This process is not essential and may be performed by one of a pack controller of the battery pack 20 and a controller 100 in the body 10, and may also be implemented as an analog circuit in the measurement section 320, as described above.

A Bluetooth module 340 provides a wireless link for data communication with the battery pack 20. The Bluetooth communication supports a point-to-point connection and a multipoint connection between devices in a local area (about less than 10m) through frequency hopping CDMA communication. Transfer rates may be as high as 1 Mbps, and the data transmission is performed through ACL (Asynchronous ConnectionLess) and SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) links. In the present invention, the wireless link may also be implemented through one of serial port profiles supported by the Bluetooth, for example through a LAN access profile or a CT profile. The Bluetooth module has already been commercialized and developed fully before the filing date of the present invention, and Bluetooth modules currently provided have a small size suitable for a portable device of very small size. The adoption of a Bluetooth module as a communication module is advantageous in that it minimizes the probability of data error occurrence between medical devices due to electromagnetic interference. In addition, since Bluetooth modules are expected to be widely spread among small-size consumer devices, the adoption of a Bluetooth module will also make it easy to connect with other devices.

Since, in the actual implementation, the Bluetooth module 220 is implemented by a signal processor and a software module, the pack controller 200 may also be implemented physically by another software module in the same signal processor as that of the Bluetooth module 220.

Although not shown, the bioelectrode module 30 itself includes a battery capable of power maintenance, for example a rechargeable secondary battery or a replaceable battery. A manual power switch is operated to block the power when the bioelectric module 30 is not in use. Alternatively, the microprocessor integrated with the measurement controller 300 monitors an external access made through the Bluetooth module 340, and when it determines that the bioelectrode module 30 is not in use, the measurement controller 300 shifts its power mode to control power supplied to each part in the device so that power consumption is minimized.

The battery pack 20 will now be described. The controller 200 receives electrocardiogram data through the Bluetooth module 220. The Bluetooth module 220 is a counterpart of the Bluetooth module 340 in the bioelectrode module 30 and must be implemented by the same profile as the Bluetooth module 340. Since, in the actual implementation, the Bluetooth module 220 is implemented by a signal processor and a software module, the pack controller 200 may also be implemented physically by another software module in the same signal processor as that of the Bluetooth module 220.

The pack controller 200 instructs the bioelectrode module 30 through the Bluetooth module 220 to start measurement and collect data, and processes the received data and transmits it to the body 10 through a communication interface 240. Additionally, the pack controller 200 can perform power consumption control of each of the subcircuits of the battery pack 20.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication interface 240 is a USB port, which is physically implemented as connection points on a coupling surface of the battery pack 20 to be combined with the body 10. Preferably, the connection points are arranged near a power supply terminal. A main chip adopted in a mobile phone improved recently, for example an MSM5000 chip, supports a USB interface therein. If the user joins the battery pack 20 and the body 10 together in a general manner, two interfaces, one being provided on the coupling surface of the battery pack and the other provided on a corresponding surface of the mobile phone, become connected to each other, so that the battery pack is easy to put on and take off.

Reference numerals 261, 263 and 265 not described above denote battery cells generally included in the battery pack 20. The body of the mobile communication terminal will now be described. The body 10 includes a keypad 163 to be manipulated by the user and a display unit 161 for displaying information that is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic electroluminescence element. Although not shown, the mobile phone may include a speaker and a microphone for voice communication, and codecs for audio compression and channel communication. The power controller 180 processes a DC power supply voltage supplied from the battery pack 20 to convert it into a required voltage, which is stabilized and then supplied to each portion of the body 10.

As a counterpart of the communication interface 240 of the battery pack 20, the external interface 120 is implemented by the same protocol as the interface 240, and includes contact points of the shapes corresponding to those of the interface 240 so as to allow the two interfaces 120 and 240 to be combined together.

The data communication unit 140 performs data communication according to the mobile communication protocol, and may be configured to support wireless Internet communication, according to the preferred embodiment. For example, the data communication unit 140 supports packet communication through a CDMA channel. In another embodiment, the communication unit 140 may be a wireless LAN modem. In this case, wireless communication is performed in a more restricted area.

The controller 100 is implemented as a software module that is implemented in a microprocessor. Improved CDMA integrated circuits, for example Qualcomm' s MSM chips, each include a high performance microprocessor embedded therein. This microprocessor may be programmable through an external bus or a serial communication link. The programming environment of mobile communication terminals has been dramatically developed recently, so that a development environment similar to a personal computer is provided to personal portable terminals, and a programming environment based on a virtual machine such as a GVM (General Virtual Machine) is provided to mobile phones. The present invention can be realized easily by using such a programming environment. The controller 100 includes an electrocardiogram measurement unit 105 and a remote analysis unit 103.

A description will now be given of the procedure of processes performed by the controller 100 with reference to Fig. 3.

The controller 100 checks key input, as a general routine (step 901) , and if an additional function is selected

(step 903) , it provides a list of additional functions (step

905) , otherwise it handles a different function (step 904) . If a user selects an electrocardiogram function from the listed functions (step 907) , the control is handed over to the electrocardiogram measurement unit 105 of the controller 100, and the electrocardiogram measurement unit 105 transmits a measurement start command to the battery pack (step 909) . If a different function is selected, the control is handed over to the process routine of the selected function (step 908) .

At this time, the pack controller 200 in the battery pack 20 shown in Fig. 2 receives measured electrocardiogram data from the bioelectrode module 30 through the Bluetooth module 220 via a single link, and transmits it continuously through the communication interface 240.

The transmitted data is received by the electrocardiogram measurement unit 105 of the controller 100 in the body 10 (step 911) . The received electrocardiogram data is displayed on a display unit 161. While the corresponding graph scrolls left to right, text representing the data is displayed at the upper portion. A separate option menu is presented to allow the selection of an electrocardiogram data item from the displayed data items. In order to maximize the utilization of an LCD screen of the mobile phone, the display mode may be shifted to a transverse display mode in which the graph scrolls in the vertical direction and the user can view it by turning the phone horizontally. Each time when data of a specific period is displayed, the electrocardiogram measurement unit 105 checks whether the user selects measurement termination through the keypad 163 (step 915) . If the measurement termination has not been selected, the data reception and display at steps 911 and 913 are repeated, and if the termination has been selected, an instruction to terminate the measurement is made to the battery pack 20 (step 917) .

At this time, the pack controller 200 of the battery pack 20 instructs the bioelectrode module 30 to terminate the measurement and reduce the power consumption, and changes its power consumption mode and deallocates a memory that has been allocated for the data measurement.

Thereafter, if the result of checking the user's key input is that the user has selected a remote connection (step 919) , the control is handed over to the remote analysis unit 103, and the remote analysis unit 103 controls the data communication unit 140 to make a connection to a host having a predetermined address through wireless Internet (step 921) . At this time, the user authentication is performed using the connection phone number. After the authentication is completed, all of the measured data or the sampled data is uploaded to a database of the host that is allocated on an individual basis (step 923) . The uploaded information is stored in the database of the host, together with data such as the identification information of a measured person and the measured date/time. The host queries whether the user desires to receive the analysis service of the data uploaded using the browser (step 925) , and if the user selects the analysis service in response to the query, it activates an electrocardiogram expert engine to analyze the uploaded data. During this analysis, the measured person's history data previously stored in the database may be analyzed together with the uploaded data. While the data analysis may be performed by the expert system, the data may also be sent to an electrocardiogram analysis expert such as a doctor so that the expert inputs the result of analyzing the data. The analysis result obtained through such steps is received from the host through the data communication unit 140 in the terminal body 10 of the measured person, and the remote analysis unit 103 controls the received analysis result to be displayed on the display unit 161. Accordingly, the display unit 161 receives the analysis result and displays it in a text or graphic mode (step 927) .

Industrial Applicability

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides an electrocardiogram measurement function to a mobile communication terminal that a user constantly carries, whereby a daily electrocardiogram measurement is possible, contributing to continuous treatment of a heart patient, and an electrocardiogram of a general person can also be measured to be utilized in determining his or her stress degree and coping with the stress, thereby largely contributing to popular utilization of electrocardiogram data.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal with an electrocardiogram measurement function has a configuration such that an electrode driving portion including a delicate analog circuit is suitably separated from a circuit for processing only digital data, thereby simplifying the configuration and reducing the manufacturing cost .

Further, a bioelectrode module is separately provided, thereby making it easy to handle bioelectrodes, and the module communicates wirelessly with the battery pack, so that there is no need to performs an inconvenient connection operation of wires, thereby making it easy to handle the module, and, in addition, a circuit in the battery pack can be greatly simplified. Furthermore, data of a number of subscribers is concentrated on a remote host and managed thereby on a subscriber-by-subscriber basis, whereby it is possible to effectively utilize the electrocardiogram data. The data can be provided to an expert to be analyzed thereby, or can be analyzed by an expert analysis system, whereby it is possible to predict emergency situations in advance and to check the condition of the user' s own health anywhere and anytime.

In addition, the present invention utilizes a user interface already existing in the body of a mobile communication terminal, thereby minimizing hardware additions and lowering the cost.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .

Claims

Claims :

1. A mobile communication terminal comprising a body and a battery pack detachably coupled to the body, said battery pack including: a communication interface for interfacing with the body; a wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with a bioelectrode module; and a pack controller for performing a control operation so that electrocardiogram measurement data is received from the bioelectrode module through the wireless communication unit and the received data is transmitted to the body through the communication interface unit, said body including: a keypad; a display unit; a data communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through an external wireless communication network; an external interface unit, coupled to the communication interface unit, for data transmission and reception; and a controller including an electrocardiogram measurement unit for performing a control operation so that operation guide information is outputted through the display unit, and an electrocardiogram measurement request is made to the battery pack through the external interface unit, according to a selection corresponding to a user operation signal inputted through the keypad, and further the electrocardiogram information received from the external interface unit is displayed on the display unit.

2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is a

Bluetooth module.

3. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller further includes a remote analysis unit for performing a control operation so that data measured in the electrocardiogram unit is transmitted to a host computer through the data communication unit, and an analysis result received from the host computer through the data communication unit is displayed on the display unit.

4. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the bioelectrode module includes: a module wireless communication unit for communication with the wireless communication unit; a plurality of bioelectrodes for detecting a bioelectric voltage on each portion of a human body; a measurement unit for measuring the bioelectric voltage by operating the plurality of bioelectrodes; and a measurement controller for transmitting a measured' result by the measurement unit through the module wireless communication unit, upon receipt of a measurement start signal through a receiver of the module wireless communication unit .

5. A battery pack device of a mobile communication terminal, comprising: a communication interface unit for interfacing with a body of a mobile communication terminal; a power supply terminal through which power is supplied to a portable terminal; at least one battery cell for supplying DC power to the power supply terminal; a wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with a bioelectrode module; and a pack controller for perform a control operation so that electrocardiogram measurement data is received from the bioelectrode module through the wireless communication unit, and the received data is transmitted to the body through the communication interface unit.

6. The battery pack device according to claim 5, wherein the bioelectrode module includes: a module wireless communication unit for communication with the wireless communication unit; a plurality of bioelectrodes for detecting a bioelectric voltage on each portion of a human body; a measurement unit for measuring the bioelectric voltage by operating the plurality of bioelectrodes; and a measurement controller for transmitting a measured result by the measurement unit through the module wireless communication unit, upon receipt of a measurement start signal through a receiver of the module wireless communication unit.

7. The battery pack device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the wireless communication unit is a Bluetooth communication module.