EPIDERMAL ELECTRONICS TO MONITOR REPETITIVE STRESS INJURIES AND ARTHRITIS

• US 20160015280A1
• Filed: 10/02/2014
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Malamud, Mark A., Pan, Tony S., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Tegreene, Clarence T., Whitmer, Charles, Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US14/504,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20160015280A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/06 Arrangements of multiple sensors of different types
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0036 including treatment, e.g., using an implantable medical device, ablating, ventilating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/026 Measuring blood flow A61B3/1233, A61B3/1241 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1121 Determining geometric values, e.g. centre of rotation or angular range of movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14542 for measuring blood gases A61B5/14551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/45 For evaluating or diagnosing the musculoskeletal system or teeth A61B5/1036, A61B5/1074, A61B7/006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4836 Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods A61B5/0036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7455 : characterised by tactile indication, e.g. vibration or electrical stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36003 : of motor muscles, e.g. for walking assistance
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36031 : using physiological parameters for adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2274/00 : Thermoplastic elastomer material
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/546 : Flexural strength; Flexion stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/7166 : Water-soluble, water-dispersible
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/724 : Permeability to gases, adsorption
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 25/08 : of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 25/20 : comprising silicone rubber
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2535/00 : Medical equipment, e.g. bandage, prostheses or catheter
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/08 : of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/08 : characterised by added members at particular parts layer formed of separate pieces of material which are juxtaposed side-by-side B32B3/14, B32B3/18
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 : using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 : Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for monitoring, treating, and preventing a repetitive stress injury, arthritis or other medical condition. A system embodiment includes, but is not limited to, a deformable substrate configured to interface with a skin surface; a sensor assembly coupled to the deformable substrate, the sensor assembly including a motion sensor and a physiological sensor, the sensor assembly configured to generate one or more sense signals based on detection of a movement of a body portion by the motion sensor and a physiological parameter of the body portion by the physiological sensor; a processor operably coupled to the sensor assembly and configured to receive the one or more sense signals; and an effector operably coupled to the processor and configured to affect the body portion responsive to control by the processor.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a deformable substrate configured to interface with a skin surface;

a sensor assembly coupled to the deformable substrate, the sensor assembly including a motion sensor and a physiological sensor, the sensor assembly configured to generate one or more sense signals based on detection of a movement of a body portion by the motion sensor and a physiological parameter of the body portion by the physiological sensor;

a processor operably coupled to the sensor assembly and configured to receive the one or more sense signals; and

an effector operably coupled to the processor and configured to affect the body portion responsive to control by the processor.

8. The system of claim 1, further including a comparison module accessible by the processor to compare the detected movement of the body portion and the physiological parameter of the body portion to reference data indicative of a strain injury.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to determine an action to be executed by the effector based upon a comparison made via the comparison module.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the effector is a tactile stimulator.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the effector is a nerve stimulator.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the nerve stimulator is configured to therapeutically stimulate a nerve proximate to the body portion.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the nerve stimulator is configured to stimulate a nerve conduction of the nerve to induce at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the nerve stimulator is configured to stimulate the nerve conduction after a threshold period of time during which the body portion is retained in a particular position.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the nerve stimulator is configured to electrically block a nerve conduction of a nerve proximate to the body portion.

50. The system of claim 1, further including a reporter.

53. The system of claim 50, wherein the reporter is configured to report at least one of an actuation of the effector, a detected movement of the body portion, or a detected physiological condition.

56. The system of claim 50, wherein the reporter includes a transmitter configured to transmit data to a remote location.

79. The system of claim 1, further including a second device, the second device including:

a second deformable substrate configured to interface with a second skin surface;

a second sensor assembly coupled to the second deformable substrate, the second sensor assembly including a motion sensor and a physiological sensor, the second sensor assembly configured to generate one or more sense signals based on detection of a movement of a second body portion by the motion sensor of the second sensor assembly and a physiological parameter of the second body portion by the physiological sensor of the second sensor assembly;

a second processor operably coupled to the second sensor assembly and configured to receive the one or more sense signals of the second sensor assembly; and

a second effector operably coupled to the second processor and configured to affect the second body portion responsive to control by the second processor.

80. The system of claim 79, wherein the motion sensor is configured to sense the second device.

81. The system of claim 79, further including a communications interface between the processor and at least one component of the second device.

242. The system of claim 1, further including a power supply, the power supply including at least one of a battery coupled to the deformable substrate, a thin film battery coupled to the deformable substrate, a wireless power coil configured to receive a remote power signal, an inductive coil configured to receive a remote power signal from a transmission coil, and a solar cell coupled to the deformable substrate.

243. The system of claim 8, wherein the strain injury includes at least one of arthralgia, arthritis, a nerve entrapment, carpal tunnel entrapment, cubital tunnel entrapment, tarsal tunnel entrapment, and tendonitis.

245. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor includes at least one of an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an infrared sensor, and an optical sensor.

246. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor is configured to measure at least one of a repeated motion of the body portion, a number of repetitions of the movement of the body portion, a speed of the movement of the body portion, a duration of the movement of the body portion, a disposition of the body portion relative to a second body portion, and an angle of movement of the body portion.

247. The system of claim 1, wherein the physiological sensor includes at least one of an electromyograph (EMG), a strain sensor, a temperature sensor, an optical sensor, a light emitting diode (LED), and an acoustic sensor.

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82. A method, comprising:

detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), at least one of a position and a movement of a body portion;

generating one or more sense signals based on detection of the at least one of a position and a movement of a body portion;

processing the one or more sense signals to determine a risk of inducing a repetitive stress injury; and

executing an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein processing the one or more sense signals to determine a risk of inducing a repetitive stress injury includes:

comparing the one or more sense signals to reference data indicative of a strain injury to determine the risk of inducing the strain injury.

91. The method of claim 83, further including:

determining the action to execute based upon comparing the one or more sense signals to reference data indicative of a strain injury.

92. The method of claim 82, wherein executing an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury includes:

reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk.

106. The method of claim 92, wherein reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes:

reporting at least one of an actuation of an effector configured to execute the action, a detected movement of the body portion, or a detected physiological condition.

109. The method of claim 92, wherein reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes:

communicating the determination to a remote location.

123. The method of claim 82, wherein executing an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury includes:

stimulating a nerve proximate to the body portion.

124. The method of claim 123, wherein stimulating a nerve proximate to the body portion includes:

inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by stimulating the nerve conduction of the nerve proximate to the body portion.

125. The method of claim 124, wherein inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by stimulating the nerve conduction of the nerve proximate to the body portion includes:

inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by stimulating a nerve conduction of the nerve after a threshold period of time during which the body portion is retained in a particular position.

126. The method of claim 82, wherein executing an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury includes:

electrically blocking a nerve conduction of a nerve proximate to the body portion.

135. The method of claim 82, further including:

detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), a physiological parameter of the body portion; and

generating one or more sense signals based on detection of the physiological parameter of the body portion.

144. The method of claim 82, further including:

detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), a device interfacing with at least one of the body portion and another body portion.

145. The method of claim 144, further including:

transmitting a communication signal to the device.

146. The method of claim 145, wherein transmitting a communication signal to the device includes:

transmitting the one or more sense signals generated based on detection of at least one of the position and the movement of the body portion to the device.

147. The method of claim 82, further including:

detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), at least one of a position and a movement of a second body portion proximate the body portion.

248. The method of claim 83, wherein the strain injury includes at least one of arthralgia, arthritis, a nerve entrapment, carpal tunnel entrapment, cubital tunnel entrapment, tarsal tunnel entrapment, and tendonitis.

249. The method of claim 92, wherein reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes at least one of providing a tactile indication of the risk, providing a vibration-based indication of the risk, providing a tactile indication regarding a position of the body portion, providing a tactile indication regarding a biomechanically detrimental position of the body portion, and providing a tactile indication that the body portion has been in the position longer than a threshold duration.

250. The method of claim 92, wherein reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes at least one of providing a visual indication of the risk, providing a visual indication regarding a position of the body portion, providing a visual indication regarding a biomechanically detrimental position of the body portion, and providing a visual indication that the body portion has been in the position longer than a threshold duration.

251. The method of claim 92, wherein reporting the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes at least one of providing an auditory indication of the risk, providing an auditory indication regarding a position of the body portion, providing an auditory indication regarding a biomechanically detrimental position of the body portion, and providing an auditory indication that the body portion has been in the position longer than a threshold duration.

252. The method of claim 109, wherein the remote location includes a computer system, the method further including at least one of modifying with a program stored on the computer system and interacting with the program stored on the computer system, the program including instructions, that when executed by a computer processor on the computer system, causes the computer system to provide at least one of real-time personnel scheduling, long-term personnel scheduling, and personnel tracking.

253. The method of claim 82, wherein detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), at least one of a position and a movement of a body portion includes:

measuring, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), at least one of a repeated motion of the body portion, a number of repetitions of the movement of the body portion, a speed of the movement of the body portion, a duration of the movement of the body portion, a disposition of the body portion relative to a second body portion, and an angle of movement of the body portion.

254. The method of claim 135, wherein detecting, via an epidermal electronic system (EES), a physiological parameter of the body portion includes:

detecting at least one of a temperature of the body portion, a strain of the body portion, a blood flow of the body portion, a blood oxygenation level of the body portion, and an electrical activity of the body portion.

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162. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computer processor, one or more sense signals based on detection of at least one of a position and a movement of a body portion;

processing, by the computer processor, the one or more sense signals to determine a risk of inducing a repetitive stress injury; and

controlling, by the computer processor, an effector positioned on the body portion to execute an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury.

163. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, wherein processing, by the computer processor, the one or more sense signals to determine a risk of inducing a repetitive stress injury includes:

comparing, by the computer processor, the one or more sense signals to reference data indicative of a strain injury to determine the risk of inducing the strain injury.

171. The computer-implemented method of claim 163, further including:

determining, by the computer processor, the action to execute by the effector based upon comparing the one or more sense signals to reference data indicative of a strain injury.

172. The computer-implemented method of claim 163, further including:

controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to report the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk.

186. The computer-implemented method of claim 172, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to report the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes:

controlling, by the computer processor, the reporter to report at least one of an actuation of the effector, a detected movement of the body portion, or a detected physiological condition.

189. The computer-implemented method of claim 172, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to report the determination of the risk of inducing the repetitive strain injury to reduce the risk includes:

controlling, by the computer processor, the reporter to communicate the determination to a remote location.

203. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, an effector positioned on the body portion to execute an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury includes:

controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to stimulate a nerve proximate to the body portion.

204. The computer-implemented method of claim 203, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to stimulate a nerve proximate to the body portion includes:

inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to stimulate the nerve conduction of the nerve proximate to the body portion.

205. The computer-implemented method of claim 204, wherein inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to stimulate the nerve conduction of the nerve proximate to the body portion includes:

inducing at least one of a movement or a sensation of the body portion by controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to stimulate a nerve conduction of the nerve after a threshold period of time during which the body portion is retained in a particular position.

206. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, an effector positioned on the body portion to execute an action to reduce the risk of inducing the repetitive stress injury includes:

controlling, by the computer processor, the effector to electrically block a nerve conduction of a nerve proximate to the body portion.

215. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, further including:

receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals based on detection of a physiological parameter of the body portion.

224. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, further including:

receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals associated with detection of a device interfacing with at least one of the body portion and another body portion.

225. The computer-implemented method of claim 224, further including:

controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to transmit a communication signal to the device.

226. The computer-implemented method of claim 225, wherein controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to transmit a communication signal to the device includes:

controlling, by the computer processor, a reporter to transmit the one or more sense signals generated based on detection of at least one of the position and the movement of the body portion to the device.

227. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, further including:

receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals associated with at least one of a position and a movement of a second body portion proximate the body portion.

255. The computer-implemented method of claim 162, wherein receiving, by a computer processor, one or more sense signals based on detection of at least one of a position and a movement of a body portion includes:

receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals associated with at least one of a repeated motion of the body portion, a number of repetitions of the movement of the body portion, a speed of the movement of the body portion, a duration of the movement of the body portion, a disposition of the body portion relative to a second body portion, and an angle of movement of the body portion.

256. The computer-implemented method of claim 215, wherein receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals based on detection of a physiological parameter of the body portion includes:

receiving, by the computer processor, one or more sense signals associated with at least one of a temperature of the body portion, a strain of the body portion, a blood flow of the body portion, a blood oxygenation level of the body portion, and an electrical activity of the body portion.

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