Methods and systems for assuring compliance

• US 8,606,595 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanjay Udani
• Original Assignee: Sanjay Udani
• Inventors: Udani, Sanjay
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP VAN
• Application Number:
  US13/163,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20120323589A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets

Abstract

Systems and methods for collecting information, verifying authenticity of such information, processing, maintaining, and managing such information are described. The system can be a standalone unit or can comprise a combination of various units configured to function together.

Claims

1. A method of measuring compliance to a protocol procedure, the protocol procedure including guidance steps intended to achieve, by one or more activities, a result related to care of a subject, comprising:

providing an electronic device loaded with a software application and/or accessing a remote application, and by the electronic device;

i) providing instruction to the subject, a clinical practitioner, or a professional involved in the protocol procedure to perform an activity according to the protocol procedure;

ii) validating identity of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional accessing the electronic device and performing the activity;

iii) recording said identity to keep evidence that the activity is being performed by the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional;

iv) recording movement or action of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional when the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional performs the activity according to the protocol procedure;

v) processing the recorded movement or action of the subject to produce recorded movement or action data;

vi) determining whether the recorded movement or action data of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional are within a range of expected movement or action data processed from movements or actions expected for subjects, clinical practitioners, or professionals performing said activity, wherein, when the recorded movement or action data are within the range of the expected movement or action data, the electronic device determines compliance with the protocol procedure.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising presenting questions to the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional on the electronic device, wherein the questions are in a form selected from the group consisting of:

displayed text, video, audio, and hologram.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising responding to the questions on the electronic device, wherein the responding is performed from a method selected from the group consisting of:

touch screen input, text input, audio recording, video recording, holographic recording, transcribed audio recording, transcribed video recording, and transcribed holographic recording.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing a computer database with a library of protocols, wherein the protocol procedure is obtained from at least one protocol in the library of protocols.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing a camera or a biometric device, wherein the camera or the biometric device is embedded in the electronic device or external to the electronic device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the recording of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional performing the activity is an audio, video, and/or holographic recording obtained from the camera and wherein processing the recorded movement or action of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional to produce recorded movement or action data is performed by computer vision tracking algorithms executed by the electronic device, the computer vision tracking algorithms extracting information from images corresponding to the recorded movement or action.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the audio is converted to text.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the reviewing is performed locally from the electronic device or remotely from a different electronic device.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the audio, video, and/or holographic recording comprises identification blocking features configured to obscure said identity from reviewers that are unauthorized to know the identity.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the protocol procedure is selected from the group consisting of:

consuming a pill, consuming a powder, consuming a liquid, injecting a medication, drawing blood, measuring body functions, measuring body temperature, measuring blood pressure, measuring glucose, answering medical questions, performing a physical examination;

dispensing an investigational product, consuming an investigational study product, filling out a diary, scale, questionnaire, preparing food, consuming food, preparing a beverage, consuming a beverage, applying a cream, applying a gel, measuring weight, measuring height, measuring body size, performing an EKG, performing a stress test, collecting urine, collected saliva, collecting stool, collecting semen, and drawing blood answering medical questions;

performing a physical examination;

dispensing and/or taking an investigational study product;

filling out a diary, scale (e.g., survey question with a range of 1-10), or questionnaire;

eating a specific study related food or beverage;

measuring a body function such as temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar;

measuring an anthropomorphic measurement such as weight;

performing a test such as an EKG or stress test;

collecting a specimen such as urine, saliva, stool, semen, or blood;

determining, measuring, or diagnosing a patient condition or parameter;

analytic laboratories, surgeries, pathology procedures, dermatology procedures, gastroenterology procedures, cardiology procedures, obstetrics procedures, gynecology procedures, oncology procedures, orthopedics procedures, pediatrics procedures, internal medicine procedures, sleep medicine procedures, rehabilitation procedures, radiology procedures, and/or urology procedures.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising importing results obtained from the protocol procedure into the electronic device.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the validating said identity is performed by a method selected from the group consisting of:

facial recognition, fingerprints, retina scan, voiceprint, iris scan, typing biometrics, hand and finger geometry, signature verification, ear geometry, olfactory biometrics, and behavioral biometrics.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the validating said identity by way of biometric recognition further comprises comparing biometric characteristics of the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional with the biometric characteristics of other subjects, clinical practitioners, or professionals, wherein the biometric characteristics of the other subjects, clinical practitioners, or professionals are stored in a biometric characteristics database.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the biometric characteristics database is a locally located database within the electronic device.

15. The method according to claim 1, the method further including verifying by the electronic device identity of products used by the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional to perform the activity, wherein said verifying provides evidence that the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional uses the correct product.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising prior to using the product, verifying, by way of the electronic device or by way of further electronic devices, the identity of a container of the product by scanning a bar code affixed to the container with a bar code scanner configured to operate with the electronic device.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising prior to using the product, verifying, by way of the electronic device or by way of further electronic devices the identity of a container of the product by scanning an RFID chip embedded into the container with an RFID scanner configured to operate with the electronic device.

18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising prior to using the product, verifying, by way of the electronic device or by way of further electronic devices, the identity of the product according to physical characteristics of the product by showing the product to a camera connected to the electronic device, wherein the electronic device is configured to compare observed physical characteristics of the product with a library of physical characteristics of a plurality of products.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the physical characteristics comprises one or more of:

a shape, a size, a color, a pattern, and a marking.

20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising tracking number of the products used and a number of products expected to be remaining.

21. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:

providing an automated product counter, the product counter configured to count a number of products actually remaining; and

comparing the number of products actually remaining with a number of products expected to be remaining, wherein the number of products expected to be remaining is obtained from the software application on the electronic device.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional is reminded, by way of the electronic device or by way of further electronic devices, at a predetermined amount of time of an upcoming activity according to the protocol procedure to be performed.

23. A device for determining compliance to a protocol procedure, the protocol procedure including guidance steps intended to achieve, by one or more activities, a result related to care of a subject, the device comprising:

an electronic device loaded with a software application and/or accessing a remote application;

a validating device configured to identify identity of a subject, a clinical practitioner, or professional involved in the protocol procedure;

a recording device configured to record movement or action carried out by the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional when the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional performs the protocol procedure;

and

a memory for use with the electronic device configured to record said identity and the movement or action when the subject, clinical practitioner, or professional performs the protocol procedure,

wherein the electronic device is configured to process the recorded movement or action to produce movement or action data and to determine whether said recorded movement or action data are within a range of expected movement or action data processed from movements or actions expected for subjects, clinical practitioners, or professionals performing said activity, wherein, when the recorded movement or action data are within the range of the expected movement or action data, the electronic device determines compliance with the protocol procedure.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein the validating device comprises a camera or a biometric device, the camera or the biometric device being embedded in the electronic device or external to the electronic device.

25. The electronic device according to claim 23, the device further including a verifying device configured to verify identity of a product used by the subject, clinical practitioner, or by the professional to perform the activity, wherein the verifying device provides evidence that the subject, clinical practitioner, or the professional uses the correct product.

26. The device according to claim 25, wherein the verifying device comprises a camera embedded in the electronic device or external to the electronic device.

27. The device according to claim 25, wherein the verifying device is a bar code scanner or an RFID scanner configured to operate with the electronic device for verifying identity of a container of the product.

28. The device according to claim 25, further comprising a product counter configured to operate with the electronic device for authenticating presence of a number of the product.

29. The device according to claim 25, wherein the verifying device is configured to identify physical characteristics of a product, and wherein the physical characteristics comprises one or more of:

a shape, a size, a color, a pattern, and a marking.

30. The device of claim 23, further comprising:

a biometric characteristics capturing device;

an application configured to perform biometric recognition; and

a database locally connected with the electronic device,

wherein the biometric recognition is performed by comparing a set of biometric characteristics against a library of biometric characteristics, and wherein the library of biometric characteristics is located in the database.

31. The device according to claim 30, wherein the biometric recognition is selected from the group consisting of:

fingerprint recognition, retina scan, voiceprint, iris scan, typing biometrics, hand and finger geometry, signature verification, ear geometry, olfactory biometrics, and behavioral biometrics.