Device and method for detecting abnormal situations

• US 20030153836A1
• Filed: 02/07/2003
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universite De Rennes I
• Original Assignee: Universite De Rennes I
• Inventors: Sentieys, Oliver, LʼHer, Henry, Billon, Michel, Faraldi, Odile, Cosquer, Philippe, Valette, Michel, Gagnadre, Claude, Vinesse, Helene, Lutzler, Pierre, Thuillier, Sandrine
• Granted Patent: US 7,384,398 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/483
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/183 Single detectors using dual technologies G08B13/1672, G08B13/2448, G08B13/2494 take precedence

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for detecting abnormal situations, in particular falls, in a living being, comprising means generating an alarm signal representing an abnormal situation, based on analysis of at least an activity information and, at least in some cases, at least a physiological information.

Claims

1. Device for detecting abnormal situations, falls in particular, in a living subject, characterised in that it comprises:

means for detecting a potential abnormal situation, supplied by an actimetric system delivering at least one item of information about activity;

means for confirming said potential abnormal situation, supplied by at least one physiological sensor delivering at least one item of physiological information.

means for generating an alarm signal representative of the confirmed abnormal situation.

2. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claim 1, characterised in that, in continuous operation mode, only detection of actimetric information is active, and in that physiological information is determined at regular intervals and/or in the presence of a potential abnormal situation.

3. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to either one or the other of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that said actimetric system comprises at least one accelerometer.

4. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claim 3, characterised in that it implements at least two accelerometers, with their outputs summed so as to form a unique activity signal, supplying said means for detecting a potential abnormal situation.

5. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to either one or the other of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that it comprises a pressure sensor and means for separating the information present in the signal delivered by said pressure sensor, the latter simultaneously forming at least one part of said actimetric system and at least one part of said physiological sensors.

6. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that said physiological sensor or sensors deliver at least one item of information belonging to the group comprising:

the pulse;

a measurement as function of the arterial pressure;

the rhythm and/or debit of respiration;

the temperature and variations and/or combinations of these measurements.

7. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claims 5 and 6, characterised in that it implements at least one dynamic pressure sensor sensitive to the heart beat of said subject.

8. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that it comprises means for measuring one item of information representative of the application force of said device on the skin of said subject.

9. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claim 8, characterised in that said information representative of the applied force is used to verify whether or not said device is worn correctly.

10. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that it is made in the form of a bracelet watch.

11. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that it comprises a feeler mechanism forming an interface between the skin of said subject and at least one physiological sensor.

12. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that it comprises means for generating a local alarm and means for transmission of said alarm to a distant site, after a predetermined delay period, when said alarm has not be manually invalidated by said subject.

13. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that it comprises means for manual activation, transmitting an alarm to a distant site.

14. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claims 8 and 13, characterised in that said manual activation is obtained by pressing strongly on said device, so as to act on said means for measuring an item of information representative of the applied force.

15. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that it comprises means for memorisation of at least one model of fall and/or a series of said physiological measurements.

16. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that comprises display means for at least one of the items of information belonging to the group comprising:

time and date;

physiological information;

alerts;

personalised messages, at a given moment;

information about location.

17. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that it comprises at least one photodiode, for the transmission of information to the processing means of said device and/or for delivering explanatory information.

18. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that it comprises a microphone.

19. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterised in that it is associated with an anti-fugue system.

20. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to claim 19, characterised in that it comprises localisation means.

21. Device for detecting abnormal situations according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterised in that it comprises means for physiological monitoring.

22. Method for detecting abnormal situations, falls in particular, for a living being, characterised in that it comprises the following stages:

detection of a potential abnormal situation, in function of at least one item of activity information;

confirmation or invalidation of said potential abnormal situation, in function of at least one item of physiological information.

generation of an alarm signal, representative of the confirmed abnormal situation.

23. Method for detecting abnormal situations according to claim 22, characterised in that it comprises the following stages:

generation of a local alarm;

delay period of a defined time length, waiting for an invalidation order from said subject;

transmission of said alarm to a distant site, when said alarm has not been invalidated during said delay time period.

24. Method for detecting abnormal situations according to either one or the other of claims 22 and 23, characterised in that at least one of said items of information is analysed relative to a model formed from an ensemble of successive measurements representative of evolution with time.