Multimedia system and process for medical, safety, and health improvements

• US 20080032267A1
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pertech Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pertech Corporation
• Inventors: Suzansky, James W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,758,019 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/00 Measuring for diagnostic purposes radiation diagnosis A61B6/00; diagnosis by ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/00; Identification of persons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/20 Education
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/28 for medicine
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/70 relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

A multimedia system and method provide self-improvement guidance in health, education, or safety. The user receives content material related to self-improvement, tracking of self-improvement behaviors, alerts to potential health dangers, and help information. A variety of games and puzzles guide and motivate the user through an educational process where the user'"'"'s responses affect the sequencing of the testing. The user'"'"'s interactions with the system are recorded and summarized.

Claims

1. A multimedia system for providing a user with self-improvement guidance in health, education, or safety comprising:

a) an educating portion for communicating content material related to the self-improvement guidance;

b) a monitoring portion for improving and tracking specific self-improvement behaviors identified by the user;

c) an alerting portion for alerting the user to potential health dangers revealed by the monitoring portion;

d) a gaming portion for improving and testing the user'"'"'s knowledge of the content material, in which the user'"'"'s responses affect the sequencing of the testing;

e) an interactive portion for providing help information to the user; and

f) an information recording portion for recording the user'"'"'s interaction with the system.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the self-improvement behaviors further comprise compliance with a medication regime.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the medication regime further comprises at least one prescribed medication dosage for at least one medical condition.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion is a maze.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion is a puzzle.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion is a shooting game.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion is a matching game.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion is an assembly game.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the gaming portion requires the user to answer multiple choice questions correctly, in order to progress toward the finish of the game.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the educating portion continues to present the user with content information, pertaining to each multiple choice question answered incorrectly, until the user answers the question correctly.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a cellular phone.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a kiosk.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a personal digital assistant.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a wireless device.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein a format of the gaming portion is selected to reflect the user'"'"'s demographics, based upon a matching algorithm, which matches a profile of the user with available game formats.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the content of the educating portion is displayed on a dedicated website.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the interactive portion provides a search feature of the website and the Internet.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the interactive portion provides hyperlinks to websites related to the content material of the educating portion.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the content material of the educating portion offers guidance for treatment of specific diseases.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein the content material of the educating portion offers guidance for treatment of specific medical conditions.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the content material of the educating portion provides guidance for tracking standard healthy behaviors and their results.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the content material of the educating portion displays procedures for performing a predefined set of disease-specific self-tests of body fluids.

23. The system of claim 1 wherein the content material of the educating portion displays guidelines for a predefined set of disease-specific medication dosages and contra-indications for these dosages.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein the user inputs to the monitoring portion:

1) prescription information;

2) each dose of medication the user has taken; and

3) the effects of the dose on the user'"'"'s;

a) levels of pre-defined bodily fluids or

b) measurements of pre-defined bodily functions.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the alerting portion reads the information captured by the monitoring portion and tracks it.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the alerting portion alerts the user when it is time to refill a prescription.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein the alerting portion notifies the user if the user fails to take the proper dosage in accordance with the prescription.

28. The system of claim 1 wherein the interactive portion provides the user with information and assistance stored by the educating portion.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the information and assistance is directed at filing insurance claims.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the user'"'"'s personal information, self-improvement behavior input to the monitoring portion, and responses to the gaming portion are recorded by the recording portion.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the information recorded is provided as a service to assist health, security and medical providers.

32. The system of claim 1 wherein the user inputs to the monitoring portion the user'"'"'s physiological characteristics, selected from a set of standard wellness measures.

33. The system of claim 1 wherein the self-improvement behaviors input to the monitoring system are chosen from a set of standard nutrition, exercise, and medication wellness practices.

34. The system of claim 1 wherein the alerting portion notifies the user of contraindications to the medication dosage the user is taking.

35. A multimedia method of providing a user with self-improvement guidance in health, education, or safety comprising the steps of:

a) providing content material related to the self-improvement guidance through an educating portion;

b) tracking specific self-improvement behaviors identified by the user through a monitoring portion;

c) alerting the user to potential health dangers revealed by the monitoring portion through an alerting portion;

d) testing the user'"'"'s knowledge of the content material, through a gaming portion in which the user'"'"'s responses affect the sequencing of the testing;

e) providing help information to the user through an interactive portion; and

f) recording the user'"'"'s interaction with the system through an information recording portion.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the self-improvement behaviors further comprise compliance with a medication regime.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the medication regime further comprises at least one prescribed medication dosage for at least one medical condition.

38. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion is a maze.

39. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion is a puzzle.

40. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion is a shooting game.

41. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion is a matching game.

42. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion is an assembly game.

43. The method of claim 35 wherein the gaming portion requires the user to answer multiple choice questions correctly, in order to progress toward the finish of the game.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the educating portion continues to present the user with content information, pertaining to each multiple choice question answered incorrectly, until the user answers the question correctly.

45. The method of claim 35 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a cellular phone.

46. The method of claim 35 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a kiosk.

47. The method of claim 35 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a personal digital assistant.

48. The method of claim 35 wherein the user interacts with the gaming portion using a wireless device.

49. The method of claim 35 wherein a format of the gaming portion is selected to reflect the user'"'"'s demographics, based upon a matching algorithm, which matches a profile of the user with available game formats.

50. The method of claim 35 wherein the content of the educating portion is displayed on a dedicated website.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the interactive portion provides a search feature of the website and the Internet.

52. The method of claim 35 wherein the interactive portion provides hyperlinks to websites related to the content material of the educating portion.

53. The method of claim 35 wherein the content material of the educating portion offers guidance for treatment of specific diseases.

54. The method of claim 35 wherein the content material of the educating portion offers guidance for treatment of specific medical conditions.

55. The method of claim 35 wherein the content material of the educating portion provides guidance for tracking standard healthy behaviors and their results.

56. The method of claim 35 wherein the content material of the educating portion displays procedures for performing a predefined set of disease-specific self-tests of body fluids.

57. The method of claim 35 wherein the content material of the educating portion displays guidelines for a predefined set of disease-specific medication dosages and contra-indications for these dosages.

58. The method of claim 35 further including the step of inputting to the monitoring portion:

1) prescription information;

     2) each dose of medication the user has taken; and

     3) the effects of the dose on the user'"'"'s;

a) levels of pre-defined bodily fluids or b) measurements of pre-defined bodily functions.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein the alerting portion reads the information captured by the monitoring portion and tracks it.

60. The method of claim 59 wherein the alerting portion alerts the user when it is time to refill a prescription.

61. The method of claim 59 wherein the alerting portion notifies the user if the user fails to take the proper dosage in accordance with the prescription.

62. The method of claim 35 wherein the interactive portion provides the user with information and assistance stored by the educating portion.

63. The method of claim 62 wherein the information and assistance is directed at filing insurance claims.

64. The method of claim 62 wherein the user'"'"'s personal information, self-improvement behavior input to the monitoring portion, and responses to the gaming portion are recorded by the recording portion.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein the information recorded is provided as a service to assist health, security and medical providers.

66. The method of claim 35 wherein the user inputs to the monitoring portion the user'"'"'s physiological characteristics, selected from a set of standard wellness measures.

67. The method of claim 35 wherein the self-improvement behaviors input to the monitoring system are chosen from a set of standard nutrition, exercise, and medication wellness practices.

68. The method of claim 35 wherein the alerting portion notifies the user of contraindications to the medication dosage the user is taking.

69. A method for improving wellness behaviors of a consumer comprising the steps of:

a) inputting to a processor for storage;

1. the consumer'"'"'s personal data;

2. a selection of standard wellness behaviors the consumer wishes to track; and

3. the consumer'"'"'s physiological characteristics affected by the wellness behaviors being tracked;

b) updating the consumer'"'"'s physiological characteristics to reflect the consumer'"'"'s performance of the wellness behaviors;

c) providing the consumer with educational material pertaining to the wellness behaviors;

d) providing at least one game to test the consumer'"'"'s knowledge of the educational material presented wherein the consumer'"'"'s responses affect the sequencing of the testing;

e) providing reminders to the consumer to remind the consumer to perform specific wellness behaviors selected from the list of wellness behaviors being tracked;

f) alerting the consumer to potential health problems, when specific wellness behaviors are not performed; and

g) displaying a summary of the effects of the wellness behaviors on the consumer'"'"' physiological characteristics.