Non-contact apparatus for monitoring cardiopulmonary activity signals and method for the same

Abstract

A laser apparatus includes an optical fiber component and a pump light source coupled to the optical fiber component. The optical fiber component includes a first fiber segment, a second fiber segment and a connecting segment that connects the first and second fiber segments. The first fiber segment includes a fiber core having a first diameter, and the second fiber segment includes a fiber core having a second diameter. The first diameter may be greater than the second diameter, and the connecting segment may have a periodically varying refractive index.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals, comprising the steps of:
 transmitting probing pulses to the chest portion to generate scattered pulses from the probing pulses by the scattering of the cardiopulmonary portion;   generating a phase-difference signal between the scattered pulses and reference pulses by a mixer;   converting the phase-difference signal into a digital signal representing the cardiopulmonary activity; and   checking to determine whether the cardiopulmonary activity is normal and generating an alarm signal if the checking result is negative.   
     
     
         2 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 1 , wherein the digital signal is a breathing signal and the step of checking to determine whether the cardiopulmonary activity is normal and generating an alarm signal if the checking result is negative includes:
 setting a threshold value;   checking to determine whether the intensity of the digital signal is greater than the threshold value; and   generating the alarm signal if the intensity of the digital signal is not greater than the threshold value for a predetermined interval.   
     
     
         3 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 2 , wherein the alarm signal is a suffocation signal. 
     
     
         4 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 1 , wherein the digital signal is a heartbeat signal and the step of checking to determine whether the cardiopulmonary activity is normal and generating an alarm signal if the checking result is negative includes:
 setting a threshold value;   checking to determine whether the intensity of the digital signal is greater than the threshold value; and   generating the alarm signal if the intensity of the digital signal is not greater than the threshold value for a predetermined interval.   
     
     
         5 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 2 , wherein the alarm signal is a cessation signal of the heartbeat. 
     
     
         6 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold value is set according to the intensity of the digital signal. 
     
     
         7 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 1 , wherein the probing pulses is a series of high-frequency sinusoidal pulses. 
     
     
         8 . A method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals, comprising the steps of:
 transmitting probing pulses to the chest portion to generate scattered pulses from the probing pulses by the scattering of the chest portion;   generating a phase-difference signal between the scattered pulses and a reference pulses by a mixer;   converting the phase-difference signal into a digital signal representing the cardiopulmonary activity; and   calculating a frequency of the cardiopulmonary activity based on the digital signal.   
     
     
         9 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 8 , wherein the step of calculating a frequency of the cardiopulmonary activity based on the digital signal includes:
 setting a threshold value;   checking to determine whether the intensity of the digital signal is greater than the threshold value and determining a signal peak of the cardiopulmonary activity is detected if the checking result is positive;   calculating time intervals of a plurality of signal peaks of the cardiopulmonary activity; and   averaging the time intervals to generate the frequency of the cardiopulmonary activity.   
     
     
         10 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 8 , wherein the digital signal is a breathing signal. 
     
     
         11 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:
 checking to determine whether the frequency of the cardiopulmonary activity is in a predetermined range: and   generating an alarm signal if the frequency of the cardiopulmonary activity is outside the predetermined range.   
     
     
         12 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 11 , wherein the digital signal is a heartbeat signal and the alarm signal is an over-beating signal. 
     
     
         13 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 11 , wherein the digital signal is a heartbeat signal and the alarm signal is an under-beating signal. 
     
     
         14 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 8 , wherein the threshold value is set according to the intensity of the digital signal. 
     
     
         15 . The method for acquiring cardiopulmonary activity signals of  claim 8 , wherein the probing pulses are a series of high-frequency sinusoidal pulses.