Mobile wireless customizable health and condition monitor

• US 8,618,930 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2010
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NRV-Wellness, LLC
• Original Assignee: Aframe Digital Inc. (Neos Technologies, LLC)
• Inventors: Papadopoulos, Amy, Crump, Cindy A., Wilson, Bruce G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tang, Son M
• Application Number:
  US12/862,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20110025493A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/825.19, 340/539.12, 340/573.7, 340/689, 340/506, 340/576, 600/300, 600/301
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02427 Details of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/721 using a separate sensor to detect motion or using motion information derived from signals other than the physiological signal to be measured
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring. The monitoring system may include at least one wearable monitor, which may include an accelerometer, coupled to a user; at least one server communicatively coupled using a network to the at least one wearable monitor, the accelerometer facilitating detection of a fall by the user and transmitting notification of said fall to said at least one server, and the server allowing verification of the fall and adjustment of fall detection parameters either automatically or through a user interface.

Claims

1. A monitoring system, comprising:

at least one wearable monitor coupled to a user, said at least one wearable monitor having at least one sensor, a memory, and a microcontroller; and

at least one gateway having a transceiver;

at least one device located at a remote location;

at least one server coupled in communication over a wide-area network with the at least one gateway and at least one device;

where the at least one wearable monitor incorporates a fall detection capability that determines whether the wearer has fallen based on values from the at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is an accelerometer that measures acceleration on three axes, and the values from the at least one sensor determining whether the wearer has fallen include a first determination of which axis of the accelerometer is likely pointing toward the center of the earth, a second determination when that axis has experienced an acceleration above a threshold, a detection when that axis has next passed through zero, a measurement of the amount of time until that axis reaches a peak magnitude, a measurement of the amount of time from the peak magnitude until that axis passes through zero again; and

a determination of whether that axis experiences an acceleration above a second threshold after having passed through zero twice;

the at least one wearable monitor transmits fall signals and sensor data to the at least one gateway, and the at least one gateway transmits the signals and data to the least one server; and

the at least one server performs complex analysis on the signals and sensor data to filter false positives, predict future events, and generates and sends medical alerts to a caregiver.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said at least one server has a user interface which facilitates verification of genuine fall events.

3. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the at least one monitor is adjustable based on configurable parameters.

4. A system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the configurable parameters are stored in the at least one server.

5. A system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the parameters are adjustable through a user interface on the at least one server.

6. A system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the parameters are adjusted automatically by the at least one server.

7. A method of detecting a fall, comprising:

coupling a wearable monitor to a user;

detecting a potential fall event;

sending a fall signal and sensor data to at least one server over a wide area network;

recording data relating to the potential fall event on at least one server;

analyzing the data to determine if the signal is a false positive; and

sending at least one alert using a wide-area network to at least one device at a remote location; and

determining which axis of an accelerometer is likely pointing toward the center of the earth;

determining when that axis has experienced an acceleration above a threshold;

detecting when that axis has next passed through zero;

measuring the amount of time until that axis reaches a peak magnitude;

measuring the amount of time from the peak magnitude until that axis passes through zero again;

determining whether that axis experiences an acceleration above a second threshold after having passed through zero twice;

comparing this data to a set of parameters; and

transmitting the data to at least one server when the comparison to the set of parameters indicates a potential fall event.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7, further comprising:

comparing the reading of each axis to a set of parameters; and

determining which axes are most acceptably close to reading 1 G of acceleration.

9. A method in accordance with claim 7, further comprising:

displaying indication of a potential fall event to a user; and

allowing the user to confirm that the indicated potential fall event represents a genuine fall.

10. A method in accordance with claim 7, further comprising:

analyzing the frequency and characteristics of indicated potential fall events that do not represent genuine falls;

modifying the parameters to reduce the amount of indicated potential fall events that do not represent genuine falls; and

transmitting the new parameters to be stored on the wearable monitor.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the analysis of the data and modification of the parameters are accomplished through a user interface.

12. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the analysis of the data and modification of the parameters are accomplished automatically, based on operator feedback regarding whether previous indicated fail events represented genuine falls.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, in which the parameters are modified so to better suit the behavior characteristics of an individual user.

14. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the set of parameters includes at least one of:

an acceptable magnitude of acceleration in any direction which will start execution of the algorithm;

an acceptable duration of acceleration in any direction which will start execution of the algorithm;

an acceptable magnitude of acceleration required as a starting point for the axis in question;

an acceptable magnitude of acceleration on the other side of 0 in order to continue fall consideration;

an acceptable magnitude of acceleration once it has returned to the original side of zero in order to indicate a potential fall event;

an acceptable amount of time required to go from the peak magnitude on the original side of the zero axis to the peak magnitude on the other side of zero; and

an acceptable amount of time required to return from the peak magnitude on the other side of zero to the minimum magnitude required for fall recognition on the original side of zero.