SET-TOP BOX FOR MONITORING TELEHEALTH SENSORS

• US 20120218123A1
• Filed: 02/24/2011
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ji, Lusheng, Miller, Robert R. II
• Granted Patent: US 9,462,948 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.07
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7232 involving compression of the physiological signal, e.g. to extend the signal recording period
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The subject disclosure provides a system and method for a set-top box for monitoring telehealth and biometric sensors. A subject patient is associated with telehealth and biometric sensors which measure the subject patient'"'"'s vital signs and other health related attributes. In one aspect, the system includes a set-top box for continuously gathering biometric and telehealth sensor data. The set-top box includes a sensor interface for interfacing with the sensors and supports wireless and wired connections to the sensors. The system additionally may include a system management station for providing feedback to the subject patient.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring telehealth sensors, the system comprising:

a network interface configured to connect to a data network;

a sensor interface coupled to the network interface, the sensor interface configured to interface with at least one telehealth sensor that gathers biometric data; and

an intelligent component configured to monitor the biometric data gathered from the at least one telehealth sensor,

wherein the intelligent component is configured to associate the biometric data with a subject and transmit the biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor via the network interface.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a heart rate monitor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a gait sensor.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a body weight scale.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a medication dispenser.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a glucometer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one telehealth sensor is a pulse oximeter.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor interface is configured to communicate using a Zigbee communication protocol.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the intelligent component is configured to provide real-time feedback to the subject based on a rules-based analysis.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the intelligent component is configured to transmit the biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor in response to meeting a predetermined condition.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the intelligent component is configured to periodically transmit a summary of the biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the intelligent component is configured to store the biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor for a predefined time period and transmit the biometric data after a second predefined time period.

13. A method, comprising:

employing at least one processor to execute a set of code instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, the set of code instructions, in response to execution by the at least one processor, performs operations comprising;

interfacing with at least one telehealth sensor;

substantially continuously collecting biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor;

associating the biometric data from the at least one telehealth sensor with a subject; and

transmitting the biometric data to at least one other device from the at least one telehealth sensor via a network interface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a heart rate monitor.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a gait sensor.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a body weight scale.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a medication dispenser.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a glucometer.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the interfacing includes interfacing to a pulse oximeter.

20. A system for monitoring telehealth sensors, comprising:

a database engine that receives biometric data from a wireless transceiver and provides real-time feedback associated with the biometric data, wherein the database engine is coupled to a wireless transceiver via at least one wireless communication network, and wherein the wireless transceiver is coupled to at least one sensor for substantially continuously collecting the biometric data from a telehealth sensor associated with a subject, wherein the biometric data is associated with the body movements of the subject.