Vigilance monitor system
First Claim
1. A human subject vigilance monitor, comprising:
- a) a plurality of ambient environmental sensors, each adapted to produce an output signal;
b) at least one source of human subject stimuli;
c) at least one human subject response sensor, each adapted to produce an output related to subject initiated responses to the stimuli;
d) a controller having a CPU, a digital I/O communications circuit communicating with the CPU, an A/D converter communicating with the CPU, memory communicating with the CPU, and an UART for communication with a data device external to the vigilance monitor;
wherein the ambient environmental sensors include a light level sensor coupled to the A/D converter to communicate with the CPU, the source of stimuli includes a visual source of stimulation and an aural source of stimulation which are coupled to the digital I/O circuit to communicate with the CPU, ande) means for controlling the presentation of the stimuli to the subject, for detecting subject initiated response signals to the stimuli, for detecting the sensed environmental signals, for converting the environmental signals and the response signals to data values, and for controlling storage of the data values in a data memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention includes a plurality of ambient sensors at least one human subject stimulator, at least one sensor adapted to detect the human subject response to the stimuli, and a controller programmed to receive information from the environmental or ambient sensors, to control the stimulators, and to record the human subject'"'"'s response to the stimuli via the human response sensors. The invention can monitor and record, over a series of consecutive time periods, the human subject'"'"'s vigilance, level of physical activity, and other physiological, physical, and chemical variables pertaining to the subject and his or her ambient environment. The invention can be used to prevent impairments in mental performance occurring due to fatigue or exposure to adverse environmental conditions or human subject condition. Based on continuous evaluations of the status of the subject (and if so desired, the ambient environment) the vigilance monitor can be programmed to automatically intervene to prevent degradation in mental performance by providing a warning to the subject or to others.
71 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A human subject vigilance monitor, comprising:
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a) a plurality of ambient environmental sensors, each adapted to produce an output signal; b) at least one source of human subject stimuli; c) at least one human subject response sensor, each adapted to produce an output related to subject initiated responses to the stimuli; d) a controller having a CPU, a digital I/O communications circuit communicating with the CPU, an A/D converter communicating with the CPU, memory communicating with the CPU, and an UART for communication with a data device external to the vigilance monitor; wherein the ambient environmental sensors include a light level sensor coupled to the A/D converter to communicate with the CPU, the source of stimuli includes a visual source of stimulation and an aural source of stimulation which are coupled to the digital I/O circuit to communicate with the CPU, and e) means for controlling the presentation of the stimuli to the subject, for detecting subject initiated response signals to the stimuli, for detecting the sensed environmental signals, for converting the environmental signals and the response signals to data values, and for controlling storage of the data values in a data memory.
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2. A human subject vigilance monitor comprising:
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a) a human subject stimulator, said stimulator having a first state corresponding to the absence of an applied stimulus to a human subject, and a second state corresponding to the presence of an applied stimulus to a human subject; and b) a human subject sensor, said sensor producing an output signal corresponding to said subject'"'"'s volitional response to said applied stimulus; and c) an electronic controller, said controller having a first information input comprising information contained in said human subject sensor output signal, said controller having an output signal, said states of said stimulator determined by said output signal of said controller, said controller processing the timing relationship between said controller output signal to said first information input signal from said human subject sensor in accordance with a stored program, and producing information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance; and d) a means for using said information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance for signalling that a subject'"'"'s vigilance has fallen below a desirable level. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31)
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3. A human subject vigilance monitor comprising:
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a) a human subject stimulator, said stimulator having a first state corresponding to the absence of an applied stimulus to a human subject, and a second state corresponding to the presence of an applied stimulus to a human subject; and b) a human subject sensor, said sensor producing an output signal corresponding to a subject'"'"'s volitional response to said applied stimulus; and c) an ambient environmental sensor, said sensor having an output signal responsive to a measured environmental condition; and d) an electronic controller, said controller having a first information input comprising information contained in said human subject sensor output signal, and a second input comprising information contained in said ambient environmental sensor output signal, said controller having an output signal, said states of said stimulator determined by said output signal of said controller, said controller processing the timing relationship between said controller output signal to said first information input signal from said human subject sensor with said second input signal in accordance with a stored program, producing information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance, and storing said produced information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance with said environmental information as a function of time; and e) a means for using said information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance for signalling that a subject'"'"'s vigilance has fallen below a desirable level. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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4. A human subject vigilance monitor comprising:
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a) a human subject stimulator, said stimulator having a first state corresponding to the absence of an applied stimulus to a human subject, and a second state corresponding to the presence of an applied stimulus to a human subject; and b) a motion sensor for coupling to a human subject, said motion sensor generating an activity level signal related to the volitional activity of a subject as a volitional activity information output of said sensor; and c) an electronic controller, said controller having a first information input comprising information contained in said volitional activity output, said controller having an output signal, said states of said stimulator determined by said output signal of said controller, said controller processing said first input in accordance with a stored program and producing information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance; and d) a means for using said information related to a subject'"'"'s vigilance for signalling that a subject'"'"'s vigilance has fallen below a desirable level. - View Dependent Claims (30, 32)
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16. The method of operating a human subject vigilance monitor, said monitor having environmental sensors, volitional response sensors for detecting subject initiated volitional responses to a plurality of stimuli, and a controller including provision for a program instruction set therein, comprising the steps of:
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a) activating said monitor with a START routine; b) initializing said monitor with an INITIALIZE routine, including providing said monitor with a program instruction set initiating operation of said monitor and control of said program instruction set; c) controlling presentation of visual and aural stimuli to a subject; d) controlling measurement and data collection from said environmental sensors; e) controlling data collection from said subject initiated volitional response sensors; and storing the collected environmental sensor data and the collected response data in a memory storage. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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33. An article of manufacture for evaluating memory abilities or performance of a user by presenting a simple mental, complex mental, or psychomotor test to the user comprising:
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a) a first switch having a normally open state and a closed state, and a second switch having a normally open state and a closed state, for interfacing with a user; b) a source of a first type of stimulus to a user; c) a source of a second type of stimulus to a user; d) instruction means for controlling presentation of said first and second type of stimuli to a user; e) instruction means for causing the detection of when either or both of said switches are moved into said closed state and storing the time and sequence of said closed state of each switch for later retrieval; f) instruction means for determining deviation of time and sequence of said closed states of each switch from stored values; g) instruction means for alerting a user of a deviation of time and sequence above a prescribed limit. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification