Method for monitoring exposure to an event and device thereof

• US 9,138,172 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rochester Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Rochester Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Borkholder, David A., DeBusschere, Brian Derek
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US13/371,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20120239342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,320 Days
• Field of Search: 702/138
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0209 adapted for power saving
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4064 Evaluating the brain A61B5/031, A61B5/369, A61B5/14553 take 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: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus that includes obtaining, by a dosimetry computing device, sensor readings from at least one sensor. An event is identified, by the dosimetry computing device, based on at least one of one or more of the obtained sensor readings or one or more determinations based on the obtained sensor readings meeting one or more selection. At least one of the one or more determinations or the sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria when the event is identified is stored by the dosimetry computing device.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring exposure of an individual to an event, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a dosimetry computing device comprising at least one pressure sensor, one or more sensor readings from the at least one sensor;

identifying, by the dosimetry computing device, a blast event comprising a pressure shock front experienced by the individual based on at least one of the one or more obtained sensor readings or one or more determinations based on the one or more obtained sensor readings exceeding a defined trigger threshold value based on one or more selection criteria;

determining a direction of the propagation of the blast event pressure shock front experienced by the at least one sensor; and

storing, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one of the one or more determinations or the one or more obtained sensor readings which exceed one or more of the selection criteria when the blast event is identified.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the storing further comprises storing, by the dosimetry computing device, all of the obtained sensor readings with a time and date stamp when the obtaining occurred.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the obtaining further comprises at least one of obtaining, by the dosimetry computing device, pressure readings from a pressure sensor or acceleration readings from an inertial measurement unit; and

the identifying further comprising identifying, by the dosimetry computing device, the event when at least one of one of the pressure readings is above a stored pressure criteria or one of the acceleration readings is above a stored acceleration criteria.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the identifying exceeding a trigger threshold comprises identifying, by the dosimetry computing device, the event based on at least one of:

one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

a set number of the pressure readings are above the stored pressure criteria;

a first set number of pressure readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

a calculated pressure impulse from the pressure readings is above a stored pressure impulse criteria;

at least one high pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

at least one low pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

the pressure readings have a positive phase above a stored pressure criteria, followed by a negative phase below a stored pressure criteria.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event is based on at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has an acceleration value in an x, y, or z direction is above a stored acceleration value criteria;

at least one of a first set number of acceleration readings in the x, y, or z direction in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

acceleration readings has an acceleration vector magnitude above a stored acceleration vector magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the acceleration readings has a vector or axis acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event is based on at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has a rotational acceleration reading above a stored rotational acceleration criteria;

at least one of a first set number of rotational acceleration readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

rotational acceleration readings have an acceleration magnitude above a stored acceleration magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the rotational acceleration readings has an acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event comprises obtaining pressure readings above a stored pressure criteria from the at least one pressure sensor or from multiple linked dosimetry apparatuses and obtaining acceleration readings from a three-axis accelerometer above a stored acceleration criteria.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the identifying further comprising identifying, by the dosimetry computing device, the event based on one of the sensor readings satisfies a stored sensor criteria and a set number of subsequent sensor readings satisfy at least one of the stored sensor criteria or additional stored sensor criteria.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying, by the dosimetry computing device, when the identified event is a false positive prior to the storing.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the storing, further comprises storing, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained readings related to the false positive identified event with a time and date stamp when the determining occurred.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising switching, by the dosimetry computing device, from a lower power mode to a higher power mode based on the identifying of one of the sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

storing, by the dosimetry computing device, the switch with a time and date stamp when the switch occurred; and

outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, in response to a request the stored switch with the time and date stamp when the switch occurred.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the obtaining, by the dosimetry computing device, further comprises obtaining the sensor readings from at least one sensor at a first sample rate in the lower power mode and a second sample rate which is higher than the first sample rate in the higher power mode.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the

determining a direction of the event comprises obtained acceleration readings from the at least one sensor comprising an acceleration sensor or obtained pressure readings from the at least one sensor comprising a plurality of pressure sensors each being separated by at least a first set distance.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

assessing, by the dosimetry computing device, the event based on the identified sensor readings and the determined direction of the event; and

outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, the assessment of the event.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

assessing, by the dosimetry computing device, the event based on the identified sensor readings; and

outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, the assessment of the event.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising engaging, by the dosimetry computing device, one of a plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the engaging, by the dosimetry computing device, further comprises illuminating one of a plurality of symbols with the one of the plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one output request; and

outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria when the event is identified.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising storing, by the dosimetry computing device, the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one output request; and

outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings with the time and date stamp when each is obtained in response to the received at least one output request.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising storing, by the dosimetry computing device, the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting, by the dosimetry computing device, the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording, by the dosimetry computing device, at least one of one or more atmospheric measurements in the housing by at least one atmospheric sensor coupled to the dosimetry computing device or one or more voltage measurements of the dosimetry computing device.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing, by the dosimetry computing device, at least a portion of obtained readings or calculations for each of a plurality of the identified events up to a set limit; and

replacing, by the dosimetry computing device, one of the stored plurality of events with a next identified event when the set limit is reached based on one or more stored retention criteria.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

capturing, by the dosimetry computing device, one or more environmental parameters by an atmospheric sensor;

adjusting, by the dosimetry computing device, the stored sensor criteria based on the captured one or more environmental parameters.

78. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

adjusting the obtained sensor readings based upon orientation of the at least one sensor to the blast direction to determine the force of the blast event experienced by the individual; and

applying the adjusted sensor readings to stored injury threshold values to determine an injury risk assessment.

79. The method of claim 78 wherein the adjusting the obtained sensor readings comprises compensating the measured pressure readings based on the relative angle of the pressure sensor in the dosimetry apparatus to the force to improve accuracy and precision of the experienced force.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for monitoring exposure to an event comprising machine executable code which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform steps:

obtaining sensor readings from at least one sensor of a dosimetry device comprising at least one pressure sensor;

identifying a blast event comprising a pressure shock front experienced by an individual based on the obtained sensor readings or one or more determinations based on the obtained sensor readings exceeding a defined trigger threshold value based on one or more selection criteria;

determining a direction of the propagation of the blast event pressure shock front experienced by the at least one sensor; and

storing at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings which exceed one or more of the selection criteria when the blast event is identified.

27. The medium of claim 26 wherein the storing further comprises storing all of the obtained sensor readings with a time and date stamp when the obtaining occurred.

28. The medium of claim 26 wherein:

the obtaining further comprises at least one of obtaining pressure readings from a pressure sensor or acceleration readings from an inertial measurement unit; and

the identifying further comprising identifying the event when at least one of one of the pressure readings is above a stored pressure criteria or one of the acceleration readings is above a stored acceleration criteria.

29. The medium of claim 26 wherein the identifying exceeding a trigger threshold comprises identifying the event based on at least one of:

one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

a set number of the pressure readings are above the stored pressure criteria;

a first set number of pressure readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

a calculated pressure impulse from the pressure readings is above a stored pressure impulse criteria;

at least one high pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

at least one low pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

the pressure readings have a positive phase above a stored pressure criteria, followed by a negative phase below a stored pressure criteria.

30. The medium of claim 26 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event is based on at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has an acceleration value in an x, y, or z direction is above a stored acceleration value criteria;

at least one of a first set number of acceleration readings in the x, y, or z direction in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

acceleration readings has an acceleration vector magnitude above a stored acceleration vector magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the acceleration readings has a vector or axis acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

31. The medium of claim 26 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event is based on at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has a rotational acceleration reading above a stored rotational acceleration criteria;

at least one of a first set number of rotational acceleration readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

rotational acceleration readings have an acceleration magnitude above a stored acceleration magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the rotational acceleration readings has an acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

32. The medium of claim 26 wherein the determining a direction of the blast event comprises obtaining pressure readings above a stored pressure criteria from the at least one pressure sensor or from multiple linked dosimetry apparatuses and obtaining acceleration readings from a three-axis accelerometer above a stored acceleration criteria.

33. The medium of claim 26 wherein the identifying further comprising identifying the event based one of the sensor readings satisfies a stored sensor criteria and a set number of subsequent sensor readings satisfy at least one of the stored sensor criteria or additional stored sensor criteria.

34. The medium of claim 26 further comprising identifying when the identified event is a false positive prior to the storing.

35. The medium of claim 34 wherein the storing, further comprises storing at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained readings related to the false positive identified event with a time and date stamp when the determining occurred.

36. The medium of claim 26 further comprising switching from a lower power mode to a higher power mode based on the identifying of one of the sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria.

37. The medium of claim 36 further comprising:

storing the switch with a time and date stamp when the switch occurred; and

outputting in response to a request the stored switch with the time and date stamp when the switch occurred.

38. The medium of claim 36 wherein the obtaining further comprises obtaining the sensor readings from at least one sensor at a first sample rate in the lower power mode and a second sample rate which is higher than the first sample rate in the higher power mode.

39. The medium of claim 26 wherein the determining a direction of the event comprises obtained acceleration readings from the at least one sensor comprising an acceleration sensor or obtained pressure readings from the at least one sensor comprising a plurality of pressure sensors each being separated by at least a first set distance.

40. The medium of claim 39 further comprising:

assessing the event based on the identified sensor readings and the determined direction of the event; and

outputting the assessment of the event.

41. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

assessing the event based on the identified sensor readings; and

outputting the assessment of the event.

42. The medium of claim 41 further comprising engaging one of a plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

43. The medium of claim 42 wherein the engaging further comprises illuminating one of a plurality of symbols with the one of the plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

44. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

receiving at least one output request; and

outputting at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria when the event is identified.

45. The medium of claim 44 further comprising storing the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

46. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

receiving at least one output request; and

outputting at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings with the time and date stamp when each is obtained in response to the received at least one output request.

47. The medium of claim 46 further comprising storing the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

48. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

recording at least one of one or more atmospheric measurements in the housing by at least one atmospheric sensor coupled to the dosimetry computing device or one or more voltage measurements of the dosimetry computing device.

49. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

storing at least a portion of obtained readings or calculations for each of a plurality of the identified events up to a set limit; and

replacing one of the stored plurality of events with a next identified event when the set limit is reached based on one or more stored retention criteria.

50. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

capturing one or more environmental parameters by an atmospheric sensor;

adjusting the stored sensor criteria based on the captured one or more environmental parameters.

51. The medium of claim 26 further comprising:

adjusting the obtained sensor readings based upon orientation of the at least one sensor to the blast direction to determine the force of the blast event experienced by the individual; and

applying the adjusted sensor readings to stored injury threshold values to determine an injury risk assessment.

52. The medium of claim 51 wherein the adjusting the obtained sensor readings comprises compensating the measured pressure readings based on the relative angle of the pressure sensor in the dosimetry apparatus to the force to improve accuracy and precision of the experienced force.

53. A dosimetry apparatus comprising:

one or more processors coupled to a memory, the one or more processors configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory comprising;

obtaining sensor readings from at least one sensor;

identifying a blast event comprising a pressure shock front based on the obtained sensor readings or one or more determinations based on the obtained sensor readings exceeding a defined trigger threshold value based on one or more selection criteria;

determining a direction of the propagation of the blast event pressure shock front experienced by the at least one sensor; and

storing at least one of the one or more determinations or the sensor readings which exceed one or more of the selection criteria when the blast event is identified.

54. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the storing further comprises storing all of the obtained sensor readings with a time and date stamp when the obtaining occurred.

55. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for:

the obtaining further comprises at least one of obtaining pressure readings from a pressure sensor or acceleration readings from an inertial measurement unit; and

the identifying further comprising identifying the event when at least one of one of the pressure readings is above a stored pressure criteria or one of the acceleration readings is above a stored acceleration criteria.

56. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the identifying exceeding a trigger threshold comprises identifying the event based on at least one of:

one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

a set number of the pressure readings are above the stored pressure criteria;

a first set number of pressure readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

a calculated pressure impulse from the pressure readings is above a stored pressure impulse criteria;

at least one high pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

at least one low pass filtered one of the pressure readings is above the stored pressure criteria;

the pressure readings have a positive phase above a stored pressure criteria, followed by a negative phase below a stored pressure criteria.

57. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the determining a direction of the blast event is based at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has an acceleration value in an x, y, or z direction is above a stored acceleration value criteria;

at least one of a first set number of acceleration readings in the x, y, or z direction in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

acceleration readings has an acceleration vector magnitude above a stored acceleration vector magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the acceleration readings has a vector or axis acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

58. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the determining a direction of the blast event is based on at least one of:

at least one of the acceleration readings has a rotational acceleration reading above a stored rotational acceleration criteria;

at least one of a first set number of rotational acceleration readings in a set is above a minimum stored criteria and below a maximum stored criteria for the set;

rotational acceleration readings have an acceleration magnitude above a stored acceleration magnitude criteria; and

at least one of the rotational acceleration readings has an acceleration impulse above a stored acceleration impulse criteria.

59. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the determining a direction of the blast event comprises obtaining pressure readings above a stored pressure criteria from the at least one pressure sensor or from multiple linked dosimetry apparatuses and obtaining acceleration readings from a three-axis accelerometer above a stored acceleration criteria.

60. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the identifying further comprises identifying the event based one of the sensor readings satisfies a stored sensor criteria and a set number of subsequent sensor readings satisfy at least one of the stored sensor criteria or additional stored sensor criteria.

61. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprises identifying when the identified event is a false positive prior to the storing.

62. The apparatus of claim 61 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the storing further comprises storing at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained readings related to the false positive identified event with a time and date stamp when the determining occurred.

63. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the switching further comprising switching from a lower power mode to a higher power mode based on the identifying of one of the sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria.

64. The apparatus of claim 63 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

storing the switch with a time and date stamp when the switch occurred; and

outputting in response to a request the stored switch with the time and date stamp when the switch occurred.

65. The apparatus of claim 63 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the obtaining further comprises obtaining the sensor readings from at least one sensor at a first sample rate in the lower power mode and a second sample rate which is higher than the first sample rate in the higher power mode.

66. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory wherein the determining a direction of the event comprises obtained acceleration readings from the at least one sensor comprising an acceleration sensor or obtained pressure readings from the at least one sensor comprising a plurality of pressure sensors each being separated by at least a first set distance.

67. The apparatus of claim 66 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

assessing the event based on the identified sensor readings and the determined direction of the event; and

outputting the assessment of the event.

68. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

assessing the event based on the identified sensor readings; and

outputting the assessment of the event.

69. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising engaging one of a plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

70. The apparatus of claim 69 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory for the engaging further comprises illuminating one of a plurality of symbols with the one of the plurality of illumination indicators based on the assessment of the event.

71. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

receiving at least one output request; and

outputting at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings which meet one or more of the selection criteria when the event is identified.

72. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising storing the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

73. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

receiving at least one output request; and

outputting at least one of the one or more determinations or the obtained sensor readings with the time and date stamp when each is obtained in response to the received at least one output request.

74. The apparatus of claim 73 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising storing the received at least one output request with a time and date stamp when received, wherein the outputting further comprises outputting the stored output request with the time and date stamp when received.

75. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

recording at least one of one or more atmospheric measurements in the housing by at least one atmospheric sensor coupled to the dosimetry computing device or one or more voltage measurements of the dosimetry computing device.

76. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

storing at least a portion of obtained readings or calculations for each of a plurality of the identified events up to a set limit; and

replacing one of the stored plurality of events with a next identified event when the set limit is reached based on one or more stored retention criteria.

77. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute programmed instructions stored in memory further comprising:

capturing one or more environmental parameters by an atmospheric sensor;

adjusting the stored sensor criteria based on the captured one or more environmental parameters.

80. The apparatus of claim 53 further comprising:

adjusting the obtained sensor readings based upon orientation of the at least one sensor to the blast direction to determine the force of the blast event experienced by the individual; and

applying the adjusted sensor readings to stored injury threshold values to determine an injury risk assessment.

81. The apparatus of claim 80 wherein the adjusting the obtained sensor readings comprises compensating the measured pressure readings based on the relative angle of the pressure sensor in the dosimetry apparatus to the force to improve accuracy and precision of the experienced force.