WEARABLE VIBRATORY STIMULATION DEVICE AND OPERATIONAL PROTOCOL THEREOF

• US 20140024981A1
• Filed: 05/07/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Inventors: KIM, Choong Hyun, CHOI, Jun Ho, KIM, Seung Jong, CHUN, Chang Mook
• Application Number:
  US13/888,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20140024981A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 601/69
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 1/00 Apparatus for passive exercising A61H5/00 takes precedence; Vibrating apparatus driving means for vibrating A61H23/00; Chiropractic devices, e.g. body impacting devices, external devices for briefly extending or aligning unbroken bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/165 Wearable interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5002 Means for controlling a set of similar massage devices acting in sequence at different locations on a patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5064 Position sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5069 Angle sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5079 Velocity sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5097 wireless
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 23/02 with electric or magnetic drive
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 23/0263 using rotating unbalanced masses
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 3/00 Appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk about apparatus for helping babies to walk A47D13/04; orthopaedic devices for correcting deformities of, or supporting, limbs A61F5/0102; exercising apparatus for the feet or toes A63B23/10; stairways or ramps E04F11/00

Abstract

The wearable vibratory stimulation device includes: a measuring instrument for obtaining data relating to a body motion of a user who wears the vibratory stimulation device; a walking pattern database for storing normal walking pattern data collected by measuring general persons having normal walking patterns and information about an inherent walking pattern analysis result of a specific user; a controller for analyzing the body motion information of the user, transmitted from the measuring instrument, by comparing with the walking pattern data stored in the walking pattern database, and generating a stimulation signal to be applied to a specific body portion of the user; and an exciting unit for applying a vibratory stimulation to the specific body portion in response to the stimulation signal transmitted from the controller.

Claims

1. A wearable vibratory stimulation device, comprising:

a measuring instrument for obtaining data relating to a body motion of a user who wears the vibratory stimulation device;

a walking pattern database for storing normal walking pattern data collected by measuring general persons having normal walking patterns and information about an inherent walking pattern analysis result of a specific user;

a controller for analyzing the body motion information of the user, transmitted from the measuring instrument, by comparing with the walking pattern data stored in the walking pattern database, and generating a stimulation signal to be applied to a specific body portion of the user; and

an exciting unit for applying a vibratory stimulation to the specific body portion in response to the stimulation signal transmitted from the controller.

2. The wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 1, further comprising a motion capturing unit for capturing a motion of the user by using sensors attached to a plurality of body portions of the user.

3. The wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein, in case of determining the walking pattern of the user is an abnormal motion, the controller determines the kind of a stimulation signal, a stimulation pattern and a stimulation time point required for improving the motion of the corresponding body portion, and generates a stimulation signal.

4. The wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein the exciting unit applies the vibratory stimulation to the muscle or tendon of the body by using an eccentric mass motor or a piezo-actuator.

5. The wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 1, further comprising a low-pass filter for removing noise from the signal relating to the user body motion information, transmitted from the measuring instrument to the controller.

6. The wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes a Kalman filter or a particle filter in order to estimate a walking pattern of the user from the signal relating to the user body motion information having noise.

7. An operational protocol of a wearable vibratory stimulation device, comprising:

measuring, by a measuring instrument, a motion of a user who wears the vibratory stimulation device and obtaining data relating to a body motion of the user;

transmitting the data obtained by the measuring instrument to a controller;

analyzing, by the controller, the data relating to the body motion of the user, transmitted from the measuring instrument, by comparing with a walking pattern data stored in a walking pattern database, to determine whether the walking pattern of the user is normal;

in the case the controller determines that the walking pattern of the user is abnormal, determining the kind of a stimulation signal, a stimulation pattern and a stimulation time point and generating a stimulation signal in order to correct the walking pattern; and

applying, by an exciting unit, a vibratory stimulation to a specific body portion of the user in response to the stimulation signal transmitted from the controller.

8. The operational protocol of a wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 7, wherein the controller is capable of receiving the data relating to the body motion of the user by using a motion capturing unit which captures a motion of the user by using sensors attached to a plurality of body portions of the user.

9. The operational protocol of a wearable vibratory stimulation device according to claim 7, wherein the exciting unit applies the vibratory stimulation to the muscle or tendon of the body by using an eccentric mass motor or a piezo-actuator.