Ketone measurement system capable of validating measurements against behavioral rules

• US 9,314,204 B1
• Filed: 07/23/2015
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Invoy Holdings, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Invoy Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Ahmad, Lubna M., Ahmad, Salman A., Smith, Zachary
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Jerry
• Application Number:
  US14/807,813
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 702/19
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0087 Breath samples
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0431 Portable apparatus, e.g. comprising a handle or case
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/045 with a separable interface unit, e.g. for communication
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0015 characterised by features of the telemetry system
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/082 Evaluation by breath analysis, e.g. determination of the chemical composition of exhaled breath A61B5/083, A61B5/091 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/083 Measuring rate of metabolism by using breath test, e.g. measuring rate of oxygen consumption
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/097 Devices for facilitating collection of breath or for directing breath into or through measuring devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7267 involving training the classification device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2033/4975 other than oxygen, carbon dioxide or alcohol, e.g. organic vapours
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/497 : of gaseous biological material, e.g. breath
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/64 : involving ketones
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 : Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 : Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 : Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 : Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 : Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 : for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Systems and related methods are provided for measuring a ketone in the fluid of a patient or other user. The systems include a portable measurement device for analyzing a plurality of fluid samples and for generating a corresponding plurality of ketone measurement results. The systems also include an electronic or communications device, for example, such as a cell phone or smartphone, configured to communicate with the measurement device. The system further includes a software application. The systems and related methods according to one aspect provide reminders, preferably interactive reminders that facilitate user compliance with a weight management or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) monitoring or prevention program. The systems and related methods according to another aspect incorporate ketone tags and/or trigger points to improve accuracy of results and to advance user compliance.

Claims

1. A system for measuring a ketone in breath of a user, the system comprising:

a portable ketone measurement device configured to analyze breath samples of a user and generate ketone measurements based on the breath samples, the portable ketone measurement device comprising a breath input port that fluidly couples a breath input device to a ketone sensor, and additionally comprising a wireless transceiver that enables the portable ketone measurement device to communicate wirelessly with a mobile communications device of the user; and

a mobile application that, when executed on the mobile communications device, directs the mobile communications device to at least;

receive, via a wireless link, a ketone measurement generated by the portable ketone measurement device based on a breath sample of the user;

determine, based at least partly on a time associated with the ketone measurement, whether the ketone measurement complies with a rule set of one or more rules, the rule set specifying at least a daily time window during which ketone measurements are permitted; and

display an indication of whether the ketone measurement complies with the rule set.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile application directs the mobile communications device to generate a graph in which an icon representing the ketone measurement indicates whether the ketone measurement complies with the rule set.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule set additionally specifies a food intake constraint relative to the daily time window.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule set specifies a ketone measurement timing constraint relative to medication intake.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule set specifies a ketone measurement timing constraint relative to exercise.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule set specifies a heart rate constraint for ketone measurement generation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile application directs the mobile communications device to determine whether the ketone measurement complies with the rule set based additionally on user input specifying whether the user engaged in a particular user activity within a defined timeframe of generation of the ketone measurement.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile application directs the mobile communications device to determine whether the ketone measurement complies with the rule set by communicating with a remote system that checks for rule compliance.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule set specifies first and second daily time windows for ketone measurements, and the mobile application is configured to generate and concurrently display (1) a first graph of ketone measurements taken during occurrences of the first daily time window, and (2) a second graph of ketone measurements taken during occurrences of the second daily time window.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the breath input device is a breath sample container.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the portable ketone measurement device includes a presence sensor that senses whether the breath sample container is inserted into the breath input port.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the portable ketone measurement device includes a pump that moves a breath sample from the breath sample container along a fluid path to the ketone sensor.

13. A ketone measurement system, comprising:

a portable ketone measurement device configured to analyze bodily fluid samples of a user and to generate ketone measurements based on the analyses of the bodily fluid samples, the portable measurement device comprising;

an input port that receives a component that contains or carries a bodily fluid sample to be analyzed;

a presence sensor that senses whether the component is present; and

a ketone sensor that senses ketone levels in the fluid samples;

a memory which stores a representation of a rule set comprising one or more rules, the rule set specifying at least a daily time window for generating the ketone measurements; and

an executable program that directs a processor to determine whether ketone measurements generated by the portable ketone measurement device comply with the rule set.

14. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the rule set additionally specifies a user activity that is not permitted within a defined time period of ketone measurement generation.

15. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the bodily fluid samples are breath samples.

16. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the executable program is part of a mobile application that runs on a mobile communications device that is separate from the portable ketone measurement device.

17. The ketone measurement system of claim 16, wherein the portable ketone measurement device includes a wireless transceiver capable of communicating with the mobile communications device and mobile application.

18. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the executable program runs on a server system that is separate from the portable ketone measurement device.

19. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the executable program runs on the portable ketone measurement device.

20. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, further comprising an executable component that generates a graph of the ketone measurements in which the graph visually depicts, for each ketone measurement, whether the respective ketone measurement complies with the rule set.

21. The ketone measurement system of claim 13, wherein the input port is configured to receive a test strip carrying the bodily fluid sample.

22. A ketone measurement system, comprising:

a portable ketone measurement device configured to measure ketone levels in breath samples, the portable ketone measurement device comprising a breath input port that fluidly couples a breath input device to a ketone sensor, and a wireless transceiver that enables the portable ketone measurement device to communicate with a mobile communications device of a user of the portable ketone measurement device; and

a mobile application that, when executed by the mobile communications device, determines whether individual ketone measurements generated by the portable ketone measurement device comply with a rule set of one or more rules, the rule set specifying at least one timing constraint for generating the ketone measurements, wherein the mobile application is capable of generating and displaying a graphical representation of a plurality of ketone measurements in which ketone measurements complying with the rule set are visually distinguished from ketone measurements that do not comply with the rule set.

23. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the rule set specifies a daily time window for generating ketone measurements.

24. The ketone measurement system of claim 23, wherein the rule set additionally specifies a food intake constraint relative to the daily time window.

25. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the rule set specifies a ketone measurement timing constraint relative to medication intake.

26. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the rule set specifies a ketone measurement timing constraint relative to exercise.

27. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the graphical representation includes a graph of ketone measurements over time.

28. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the rule set specifies first and second daily time windows for ketone measurements, and the mobile application is configured to generate and concurrently display (1) a first graph of ketone measurements taken during occurrences of the first daily time window, and (2) a second graph of ketone measurements taken during occurrences of the second daily time window.

29. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the mobile application determines whether a ketone measurement complies with the rule set based at least partly on a time of day at which the ketone measurement is generated.

30. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the mobile application determines whether a ketone measurement complies with the rule set based at least partly on user input specifying whether a particular user action was performed within a defined time period of generation of the ketone measurement.

31. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the mobile application determines whether a ketone measurement complies with the rule set at least partly by communicating with a remote system that checks for rule compliance.

32. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the mobile application is configured to use the rule set to generate reminders for generating ketone measurements.

33. The ketone measurement system of claim 22, wherein the breath input device is a breath sample container.

34. The ketone measurement system of claim 33, wherein the portable ketone measurement device includes a presence sensor that senses whether the breath sample container is inserted into the breath input port.

35. The ketone measurement system of claim 33, wherein the portable ketone measurement device includes a pump that moves a breath sample from the breath sample container along a fluid path to the ketone sensor.