Pet animal collar for health and vital signs monitoring, alert and diagnosis
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring a pet animal to determine a suspicion of a specific medical condition in the pet animal, the pet animal being a dog or a cat, the method comprising:
- providing a collar, the collar having an annular band, the band having a working surface configured to wrap around a neck of the pet animal, the collar also configured to have at least two sensor elements situated along a circumference of the band, the at least two sensor elements including an accelerometer and a non-accelerometer sensor, the accelerometer configured to measure at least one accelerometer-measured bioparameter of the pet animal from among;
resting patterns, activity patterns, movement patterns, position patterns, lameness and scratching, and the non-accelerometer sensor configured to measure the following non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters of the pet animal;
(a) temperature and (b) at least one of (i) pulse rate and (ii) respiration rate, wherein the at least one of pulse rate and respiration rate is measured by at least one acoustic sensor;
providing the band with at least one acoustic balancer projecting from a rear surface of the band at one or more regions along the circumference of the band and with at least one acoustic concentrator along the circumference of the band, the at least one acoustic concentrator integrally formed with the band, projecting radially inward from the working surface and having a dimension along an axis that projects radially inward from the working surface, the at least one acoustic concentrator configured in shape to penetrate a fur of the neck of the pet animal and reduce relative movement between the collar and the pet animal when a head of the pet animal moves so as to, together with the at least one acoustic balancer, reduce noise, capture a low frequency sound, conduct a readable signal from the neck to the at least one acoustic sensor, and improve accuracy of position outputs by the accelerometer;
receiving, by one or more local or remote processors, (a) sensor output data from the sensor array concerning the measured bioparameters and (b) reference data concerning the measured bioparameters of the pet animal or of a population of the pet animal, the one or more remote or local processors configured to determine whether a specific medical condition is suspected by at least one of the following;
(i) scoring at least two bioparameters relative to the reference data and comparing a cumulative score of all scored bioparameters to a threshold cumulative score or to a threshold cumulative range;
or(ii) identifying an abnormal pattern in at least one bioparameter from among the accelerometer-measured bioparameters and the non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters;
performing, by the one or more remote or local processors, a quality assurance test on said sensor input data for the at least one accelerometer-measured bioparameter and applying results of said quality assurance test to said sensor output data that is considered a necessary component for detecting the at least one specific medical condition such that;
(i) if said sensor output data passes the quality assurance test said sensor output data is deemed a sufficient condition for detecting the at least one specified medical condition and the one or more remote or local processors are configured to send an alert, whereas (ii) if said sensor output data fails the quality assurance test, sensor output data from the non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters of the pet animal is processed,wherein the monitoring by the collar of the vital signs is such that the signal to noise ratio is sufficiently high, and outputs of the accelerometer are sufficiently accurate, for the monitoring of the vital signs to be sufficiently accurate to assist in diagnosing the health condition of the pet animal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring vital signs of a pet animal comprises an annular band, an accelerometer configured to measure at least one of resting patterns, activity patterns, movement patterns, position patterns relating to, for example the pet animal relieving itself, lameness and scratching, and a non-accelerometer sensor configured to measure at least one of the following non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters of the pet animal: temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate. One or more processors are configured to receive sensor output data and reference data concerning the measured bioparameters of the pet animal or of a population of the pet animal, and determine a suspicion of a specific medical condition by: (i) scoring at least two bioparameters and comparing a cumulative score to a threshold cumulative score or to a threshold cumulative range; or (ii) identifying an abnormal pattern. The processor(s) may send an alert if at least one specific medical condition is suspected.
36 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring a pet animal to determine a suspicion of a specific medical condition in the pet animal, the pet animal being a dog or a cat, the method comprising:
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providing a collar, the collar having an annular band, the band having a working surface configured to wrap around a neck of the pet animal, the collar also configured to have at least two sensor elements situated along a circumference of the band, the at least two sensor elements including an accelerometer and a non-accelerometer sensor, the accelerometer configured to measure at least one accelerometer-measured bioparameter of the pet animal from among;
resting patterns, activity patterns, movement patterns, position patterns, lameness and scratching, and the non-accelerometer sensor configured to measure the following non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters of the pet animal;
(a) temperature and (b) at least one of (i) pulse rate and (ii) respiration rate, wherein the at least one of pulse rate and respiration rate is measured by at least one acoustic sensor;providing the band with at least one acoustic balancer projecting from a rear surface of the band at one or more regions along the circumference of the band and with at least one acoustic concentrator along the circumference of the band, the at least one acoustic concentrator integrally formed with the band, projecting radially inward from the working surface and having a dimension along an axis that projects radially inward from the working surface, the at least one acoustic concentrator configured in shape to penetrate a fur of the neck of the pet animal and reduce relative movement between the collar and the pet animal when a head of the pet animal moves so as to, together with the at least one acoustic balancer, reduce noise, capture a low frequency sound, conduct a readable signal from the neck to the at least one acoustic sensor, and improve accuracy of position outputs by the accelerometer; receiving, by one or more local or remote processors, (a) sensor output data from the sensor array concerning the measured bioparameters and (b) reference data concerning the measured bioparameters of the pet animal or of a population of the pet animal, the one or more remote or local processors configured to determine whether a specific medical condition is suspected by at least one of the following; (i) scoring at least two bioparameters relative to the reference data and comparing a cumulative score of all scored bioparameters to a threshold cumulative score or to a threshold cumulative range;
or(ii) identifying an abnormal pattern in at least one bioparameter from among the accelerometer-measured bioparameters and the non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters; performing, by the one or more remote or local processors, a quality assurance test on said sensor input data for the at least one accelerometer-measured bioparameter and applying results of said quality assurance test to said sensor output data that is considered a necessary component for detecting the at least one specific medical condition such that;
(i) if said sensor output data passes the quality assurance test said sensor output data is deemed a sufficient condition for detecting the at least one specified medical condition and the one or more remote or local processors are configured to send an alert, whereas (ii) if said sensor output data fails the quality assurance test, sensor output data from the non-accelerometer-measured bioparameters of the pet animal is processed,wherein the monitoring by the collar of the vital signs is such that the signal to noise ratio is sufficiently high, and outputs of the accelerometer are sufficiently accurate, for the monitoring of the vital signs to be sufficiently accurate to assist in diagnosing the health condition of the pet animal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification