Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100327460 | CAPACTIVE CONNECTORS WITH ENHANCED CAPACITIVE COUPLING - A single-chip module (SCM) and a multi-chip module (MCM) that includes at least two instances of the SCM are described. The SCM includes a pad disposed on a substrate. This pad has a top surface that includes a pattern of features. A given feature in the pattern of features has a height that extends above a minimum thickness of the pad, thereby increasing a capacitance associated with the pad relative to a configuration in which the top surface is planar. Furthermore, pads disposed on the two instances of the SCM in the MCM may each have a corresponding pattern of features that increases the capacitive coupling between the pads relative to a configuration in which the top surfaces of either or both of the pads are planar. Note that the pads may be aligned such that features in the patterns of features on these pads are interdigited with each other. | 12-30-2010 |
20120211878 | CHIP PACKAGE WITH PLANK STACK OF SEMICONDUCTOR DIES - In a chip package, semiconductor dies in a vertical stack of semiconductor dies or chips (which is referred to as a ‘plank stack’) are separated by a mechanical spacer (such as a filler material or an adhesive). Moreover, the chip package includes a substrate at a right angle to the plank stack, which is electrically coupled to the semiconductor dies along an edge of the plank stack. In particular, electrical pads proximate to a surface of the substrate (which are along a stacking direction of the plank stack) are electrically coupled to pads that are proximate to edges of the semiconductor dies by an intervening conductive material, such as: solder, stud bumps, plated traces, wire bonds, spring connectors, a conductive adhesive and/or an anisotropic conducting film. Note that the chip package may facilitate high-bandwidth communication of signals between the semiconductor dies and the substrate. | 08-23-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090133508 | Biomimetic Tactile Sensor for Control of Grip - Disclosed is a robust tactile sensor array that mimics the human fingertip and its touch receptors. The mechanical components are similar to a fingertip, with a rigid core surrounded by a weakly conductive fluid contained within an elastomeric skin. It uses the deformable properties of the finger pad as part of the transduction process. Multiple electrodes are mounted on the surface of the rigid core and connected to impedance measuring circuitry within the core. External forces deform the fluid path around the electrodes, resulting in a distributed pattern of impedance changes containing information about those forces and the objects that applied them. Strategies for extracting features related to the mechanical inputs and using this information for reflexive grip control. | 05-28-2009 |
20100240982 | System for the Assessment of Sleep Quality in Adults and Children - Systems and methods for assessment of sleep quality in adults and children are provided. These techniques include an apparatus worn above the forehead containing the circuitry for collecting and storing physiological signals. The apparatus integrates with a sensor strip and a nasal mask to obtain the physiological signals for the user. The form factor of this apparatus is comfortable, easy to self-apply, and results in less data artifacts than conventional techniques for capturing physiological data for analyzing sleep quality. Neuro-respiratory signals are analyzed using means to extract more accurate definitions of the frequency and severity of sleep discontinuity, sleep disordered breathing and patterns of sleep architecture. Biological biomarkers and questionnaire responses can also be compared to a database of healthy and chronically diseased patients to provide a more accurate differential diagnosis and to help determine the appropriate disease management recommendations. | 09-23-2010 |
20100292545 | INTERACTIVE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILER METHOD AND SYSTEM - An efficient, objective, flexible and easily deployable system for conducting evaluations of mental and physiological state and recommending individualized treatment to improve said state is described. The method and system are based on commensurate measurement of mental functions, levels of stress and anxiety, and/or biologically active molecules such as neurotransmitters, immune markers including cytokines and hormones. The method and system are designed to assess an individual's cognitive function and the underlying physiology in order to delineate various disease processes, injuries, drug states, training stages, fatigue levels, stress levels, aging processes, predict susceptibility to stress and/or sleep deprivation, identify aptitude for training and/or characterize effects of any experimental conditions. The system and method may be used in recommending individualized treatment protocols, as well as to guide the treatment process by assessing the efficacy of such therapies in the clinical trials process. | 11-18-2010 |
20110105859 | Adaptive Performance Trainer - Techniques for accelerating training through optimization of the psychophysiological state of the trainee are provided. These techniques include an adaptive performance training system configured to acquire, analyzed, display, and translate data that reflects the psychophysiological state of the user, including the electrical activity of the brain (EEG), the heart (EKG), the musculature (EMG), respiration and other parameters that characterize the state of the user in real-time. The system includes a plurality of feedback mechanisms for providing visual, auditory, and/or tactile feedback based on the current psychophysiological state of the user and for facilitating moving the user toward a goal psychophysiological state for performing a particular task and for optimizing performance of that task. | 05-05-2011 |
20130131464 | SYSTEM FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF SLEEP QUALITY IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN - Systems and methods for assessment of sleep quality in adults and children are provided. These techniques include an apparatus worn above the forehead containing the circuitry for collecting and storing physiological signals. The apparatus integrates with a sensor strip and a nasal mask to obtain the physiological signals for the user. The form factor of this apparatus is comfortable, easy to self-apply, and results in less data artifacts than conventional techniques for capturing physiological data for analyzing sleep quality. Neuro-respiratory signals are analyzed using means to extract more accurate definitions of the frequency and severity of sleep discontinuity, sleep disordered breathing and patterns of sleep architecture. Biological biomarkers and questionnaire responses can also be compared to a database of healthy and chronically diseased patients to provide a more accurate differential diagnosis and to help determine the appropriate disease management recommendations. | 05-23-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100087701 | Systems and Methods for Optimization of Sleep and Post-Sleep Performance - Systems and methods for optimizing the sleep and post-sleep performance of individuals regardless of their environment and time available for sleep are provided. The systems and methods take into account factors that determine the effects of a sleep episode on dexterity, cognitive functions and the subjective feeling of fatigue after sleeping: duration and sleep architecture of the sleep episode, point on the circadian cycle at which the episode occurred, the amount of sleep debt accumulated prior to the episode and the subject's susceptibility to sleep deprivation. The systems and methods include monitoring of sleep architecture over a longer period of time, measurement of accumulated sleep debt and assessment and/or tailoring of the sleep architecture for each subsequent sleep episode, determining a desired sleep state in which the subject should be in, and generating sensory stimuli for guiding the subject to the desired sleep state. | 04-08-2010 |
20100145201 | METHOD FOR MEASURING CENTRAL VENOUS PRESSURE OR RESPIRATORY EFFORT - Photoplethysmography (PPG) is obtained using one red (e.g., 660 nm) and one infrared (e.g., 880 to 940 nm) light emitting diode with a single photo diode in combination with a pressure transducer thereby allowing both CVP and SpO2 to be measured simultaneously. The system also includes sensors capable of measuring position, angle and/or movement of the sensor or patient. Once the PPG signal is acquired, high pass adaptive and/or notch filtering can be used with one element of the filter from the red and infrared signals used to measure the arterial changes needed to compute SpO2 and the other element of the signal can be used to measure CVP changes. | 06-10-2010 |
20130303837 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SLEEP AND POST-SLEEP PERFORMANCE - Systems and methods for optimizing sleep and post-sleep performance. In an embodiment, a system comprising a device and sleep mask are provided. The mask may comprise electroencephalographic (EEG) sensors and one or more stimulation elements configured to stimulate the senses of a wearer of the mask. The mask may be releasably and electrically coupled to a device which receives EEG signals from the mask, determines current and target sleep states based, at least in part, on the EEG signals, and uses this determination to tailor a sleep architecture of the wearer by controlling the stimulation elements. The mask may be a soft mask which utilizes conductive thread embroidered into one or more textile layers. In an embodiment, the stimulation elements may comprise one or more heating elements, electroluminescent panels, and speakers. In addition, the EEG sensors may comprise hybrid sensors comprising hydrogel in a conductive spacer fabric. | 11-14-2013 |
20140303428 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SLEEP AND POST-SLEEP PERFORMANCE - Sleep mask for reducing sleep inertia. In an embodiment, the sleep mask comprises a foam layer having a shape that covers both of a human subject's eyes so as to attenuate ambient light. Visual stimulation element(s), configured to emit light, are positioned between the foam layer and the subject's eyes. In addition, a plurality of sensors positioned on the forehead of the subject collect electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electromyogram (EMG) signals. A soft exterior cover houses the foam layer, the visual stimulation element(s), and the sensors. The sleep mask further comprises processor(s) that determine and record each sleep stage of the subject, determine when to wake the subject, and, when it is determined to wake the subject, control the visual stimulation element(s) to wake the subject using emitted light. | 10-09-2014 |