Method and system for image-based nutrition/health monitoring

• US 8,630,448 B1
• Filed: 10/14/2011
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Shanmugam, Elangovan, Akin, Muhammet Serdar, Schutte, Andries
• Primary Examiner(s): Tabatabai, Abolfazl
• Application Number:
  US13/274,120
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/110, 382/165, 382/181, 600/300, 426/11, 426/61, 426/71, 426/86, 426/119, 426/389, 426/499, 705/2, 434/127, 128/921, 128/920, 128/922
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0092 Nutrition
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets

Abstract

Data indicating a user'"'"'s desired, and/or mandated/prescribed, dietary guidelines and/or restrictions is obtained from one or more sources and then when the user is frequenting a restaurant, fast food establishment, supermarket, or any other establishment for obtaining food, an optical image of printed or visual nutritional information associated with the food item the user is contemplating purchasing/eating is obtained via one or more user computing systems. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology is then used to transform the printed/visual nutritional information contained in the optical image into discrete nutritional information data. The nutritional information data is then analyzed and compared with the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired, and/or mandated/prescribed, dietary guidelines and/or restrictions and a recommendation is made to the user as to whether the contemplated food item is a good/acceptable purchase for the user, and/or whether the user should eat/purchase the food item.

Claims

1. A method for image based nutrition monitoring comprising:

obtaining data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions, at least a portion of the data being obtained from medical records data of the user, the medical records being maintained by a physician of the user;

obtaining image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering;

transforming at least a portion of the image data of the printed nutritional information associated with the food item the user is considering into nutritional information data associated with the food item the user is considering;

analyzing or comparing the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions; and

based, at least in part, on the analysis or comparison of the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions, make a consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering to the user.

2. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more healthcare insurance providers.

3. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more health related/advisory agencies.

4. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more one or more diet providers or diet plan developers/promoters.

5. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

the image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering is obtained using a user computing system having an optical scan capability.

6. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 5, wherein;

the user computing system is a mobile computing system.

7. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

the image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering is obtained using a user computing system having a camera capability.

8. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 7, wherein;

the user computing system is a mobile computing system.

9. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

at least a portion of the image data of the printed nutritional information associated with the food item the user is considering is transformed into nutritional information data associated with the food item the user is considering using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.

10. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding whether the food item the user is considering should or should not be consumed.

11. The method for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 1, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding what actions, or non-actions, will be required by the user if the food item the user is considering is consumed in order for the user to comply with the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions.

12. A computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring comprising:

using one or more processors to obtain data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions, at least a portion of the data being obtained from medical records data of the user, the medical records being maintained by a physician of the user;

using one or more processors associated with a user computing system to obtain image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering;

using one or more processors to transform at least a portion of the image data of the printed nutritional information associated with the food item the user is considering into nutritional information data associated with the food item the user is considering;

using one or more processors to analyze or compare the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions; and

based, at least in part, on the analysis or comparison of the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions, using one or more processors to make a consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering to the user.

13. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more healthcare insurance providers.

14. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more health related/advisory agencies.

15. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions is obtained from one or more one or more diet providers or diet plan developers/promoters.

16. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

the image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering is obtained using a user computing system having an optical scan capability.

17. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 16, wherein;

the user computing system is a mobile computing system.

18. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

the image data of printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering is obtained using a user computing system having a camera capability.

19. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 18, wherein;

the user computing system is a mobile computing system.

20. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

at least a portion of the image data of the printed nutritional information associated with the food item the user is considering is transformed into nutritional information data associated with the food item the user is considering using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.

21. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding whether the food item the user is considering should or should not be consumed.

22. The computing system implemented process for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 12, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding what actions, or non-actions, will be required by the user if the food item the user is considering is consumed in order for the user to comply with the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions.

23. A system for image based nutrition monitoring comprising:

a user computing system, the user computing system having an optical scan or camera capability;

one or more computing systems having an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability;

one or more databases or computing systems, at least one of the one or more databases or computing systems including data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions;

printed nutritional information associated with a food item; and

one or more processors associated with one or more computing systems, the one or more processors associated with one or more computing systems implementing at least part of a process for image based nutrition monitoring, the process for image based nutrition monitoring including;

using the one or more processors to obtain the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions from the one or more databases or computing systems, at least a portion of the data being obtained from medical records data of the user, the medical records being maintained by a physician of the user;

using the optical scan or camera capability of the user computing system to obtain image data of the printed nutritional information associated with a food item the user is considering;

using the one or more computing systems having an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability to transform at least a portion of the image data of the printed nutritional information associated with the food item the user is considering into nutritional information data associated with the food item the user is considering using the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability;

using the one or more processors to analyze or compare the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions; and

based, at least in part, on the analysis or comparison of the nutritional information data and the data indicating a user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions, using the one or more processors to make a consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering to the user.

24. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

at least a portion of the one or more databases or computing systems including the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions are associated with one or more healthcare insurance providers.

25. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

the one or more databases or computing systems including at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions are associated with one or more health related/advisory agencies.

26. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

the one or more databases or computing systems including at least a portion of the data indicating the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions are associated with one or more one or more diet providers or diet plan developers/promoters.

27. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

the user computing system is a mobile computing system.

28. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding whether the food item the user is considering should or should not be consumed.

29. The system for image based nutrition monitoring of claim 23, wherein;

the consumption recommendation associated with the food item the user is considering is a recommendation regarding what actions, or non-actions, will be required by the user if the food item the user is considering is consumed in order for the user to comply with the user'"'"'s desired or prescribed dietary guidelines or restrictions.