System and method of monitoring and modifying human activity-based behavior
First Claim
1. A method of modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising the steps of:
- detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
measuring an intensity of physical movement of the subject, said intensity of physical movement being based on the detected level of physical movement, said measuring beginning at the start of, and being reset at the end of, an epoch, such that a measurement of intensity is produced for each epoch, wherein said epoch is a predetermined period of time which is continuously repeated;
determining whether an epoch intensity measurement crosses an epoch threshold; and
sending, if the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold, an epoch feedback signal to one of the subject, a supervisor, and both the subject and the supervisor, where said epoch feedback signal is proportional to an amount that the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for monitoring the activity level of one or more individuals and modifying the behavior of those individuals based on feedback from the activity level monitoring is disclosed. When applying the system and method to hyperactive children in a classroom environment, an activity monitor is attached to each hyperactive child. The activity monitor determines the intensity of the subject'"'"'s activity at the end of each epoch (approximately every 5 seconds), stores the determined intensity, and compares the determined intensity to an epoch threshold. If the determined intensity exceeds the epoch threshold, the hyperactive child is given vibrotactile feedback by the attached activity monitor. The length of time that the vibrotactile feedback is applied is proportional to the amount the determined epoch intensity exceeds the epoch threshold. When the hyperactive child presses a button on the activity monitor to thereby request session feedback, the session intensity is compared to two different session thresholds, and one of three LEDs on the activity monitor is lit up, depending on where the session intensity is in comparison to the two session thresholds. A base station, either a simple hand-held device or a more complicated desk-top device, is under the control of the teacher and has a wireless communication link with the activity monitors so that information may be downloaded and the activity monitors may be controlled.
40 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A method of modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
measuring an intensity of physical movement of the subject, said intensity of physical movement being based on the detected level of physical movement, said measuring beginning at the start of, and being reset at the end of, an epoch, such that a measurement of intensity is produced for each epoch, wherein said epoch is a predetermined period of time which is continuously repeated;
determining whether an epoch intensity measurement crosses an epoch threshold; and
sending, if the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold, an epoch feedback signal to one of the subject, a supervisor, and both the subject and the supervisor, where said epoch feedback signal is proportional to an amount that the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising:
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a motion sensor for detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
means for measuring an intensity of physical movement of the subject, said intensity of physical movement being based on the detected level of physical movement, said measuring beginning at the start of, and being reset at the end of, an epoch, such that a measurement of intensity is produced for each epoch, wherein said epoch is a predetermined period of time which is continuously repeated;
means for determining whether an epoch intensity measurement crosses an epoch threshold; and
means for sending, if the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold, an epoch feedback signal to one of the subject, a supervisor, and both the subject and the supervisor, where said epoch feedback signal is proportional to an amount that the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A system for modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising:
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a motion sensor for detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
an epoch feedback unit comprising;
means for measuring an intensity of physical movement of the subject, said intensity of physical movement being based on the detected level of physical movement, said measuring beginning at the start of, and being reset at the end of, an epoch, such that a measurement of intensity is produced for each epoch, wherein said epoch is a predetermined period of time which is continuously repeated;
means for determining whether an epoch intensity measurement crosses an epoch threshold; and
epoch feedback signal means for generating, if the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold, an epoch feedback signal, where said epoch feedback signal is proportional to an amount that the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold; and
a session feedback unit comprising;
means for recording the epoch intensity measurement at the end of each epoch;
means for calculating a session intensity measurement from an average of recorded epoch intensity measurements;
means for determining whether the session intensity measurement crosses a session threshold; and
session feedback signal means for generating a session feedback signal, where said epoch feedback signal is proportional to an amount that the session intensity measurement crosses the session threshold. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method of modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
searching for a match between the detected level of physical movement and a predetermined pattern of physical movement; and
sending, if there is a match between the detected level of physical movement and the predetermined pattern of physical movement, a pattern recognition feedback signal to one of the subject, a supervisor, and both the subject and the supervisor. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63)
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64. A method of modifying an activity level of a subject, said subject being one of a human being and a primate, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a level of physical movement of a subject;
measuring an intensity of physical movement of the subject, said intensity of physical movement being based on the detected level of physical movement, said measuring beginning at the start of, and being reset at the end of, an epoch, such that a measurement of intensity is produced for each epoch, wherein said epoch is a predetermined period of time which is continuously repeated;
determining whether an epoch intensity measurement crosses an epoch threshold; and
sending, if the epoch intensity measurement crosses the epoch threshold, an epoch feedback signal to one of the subject, a supervisor, and both the subject and the supervisor.
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Specification