Conversational virtual healthcare assistant

• US 9,536,049 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2012
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Next IT Corporation (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Brown, Fred A., Lawrence, Mitchell G., Morrison, Victor O'Brien
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Timothy
• Application Number:
  US13/607,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20140074454A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 704/9
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

A conversation user interface enables patients to better understand their healthcare by integrating diagnosis, treatment, medication management, and payment, through a system that uses a virtual assistant to engage in conversation with the patient. The conversation user interface conveys a visual representation of a conversation between the virtual assistant and the patient. An identity of the patient, including preferences and medical records, is maintained throughout all interactions so that each aspect of this integrated system has access to the same information. The conversation user interface presents allows the patient to interact with the virtual assistant using natural language commands to receive information and complete task related to his or her healthcare.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

causing display of a conversation user interface in conjunction with a content from a healthcare entity, the conversation user interface being associated with a virtual assistant that is configured with a persona;

receiving input from a patient while the patient consumes the content from the healthcare entity, the input comprising at least one of verbal input, keypad input, or touch input;

causing display of the input in the conversation user interface;

determining an intent of the patient based at least in part on the input and first context;

determining a response to the input based at least in part on medical records of the patient and second context that is different than the first context; and

causing display of the response in the conversation user interface as a message from the virtual assistant.

2. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the input is verbal input, and the verbal input is displayed in the conversation user interface in a text format through a speech recognition engine.

3. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the input is verbal input, and the determining a response comprises a combination of interpreting the verbal input through speech recognition techniques and ascertaining a suitable response for the verbal input through natural language processing techniques.

4. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 3, wherein the response is determined based at least in part on first assumptions pertaining to speech recognition of the verbal input and second assumptions pertaining to natural language processing of the verbal input.

5. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 4, wherein the acts further comprise representing the first and second assumptions in association with the response in the conversation user interface.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the input is verbal input;

and

the acts further comprise authenticating an identity of the patient through analysis of voice patterns contained in the verbal input.

7. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first context or the second context comprises past behavior of the patient.

8. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first context or the second context comprises a status of the patient as checked in or checked out of a healthcare facility.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise receiving a request from the patient to expose assumptions used in determining the response;

and

exposing the assumptions in the conversation user interface.

10. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the displaying the input and displaying the response comprises graphically presenting a series of dialog bubbles that visually distinguish between the input from the patient and the response from the virtual assistant.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the determining the response to the input is based at least in part on one of medical research results, nutrition information, or insurance information.

12. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise, in response to receiving the input:

parsing the input to identify one or more concepts expressed therein;

wherein the intent is determined based at least in part on the one or more concepts.

13. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein identifying the one or more concepts comprises identifying one or more keywords within the input and mapping the one or more keywords to the one or more concepts.

14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the determining of the intent comprises mapping the one or more concepts to one of multiple different intents associated with the one or more concepts based at least in part on at least one of the first context or the second context.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the acts further comprise mapping the intent to one of multiple different responses associated with the intent based at least in part on at least one of the first context or the second context.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first context or the second context comprises:

whether or not the patient has checked in with a healthcare entity;

a status of a medical device used by the patient;

a level of insurance coverage available to the patient;

a prescription medication used by the patient;

a diagnosed condition of the patient;

a time of day at which the patient provides the query to the virtual assistant;

a date on which the patient provides the query to the virtual assistant;

an age of the patient;

a location of the patient;

or

a device type from which the patient accesses the content.

17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the acts further comprise causing an action on behalf of the patient, the action comprising one of:

scheduling a medical appointment on behalf of the patient;

initiating a prescription refill request on behalf of the patient;

accessing data from a medical device on behalf of the patient;

communicating with an insurance provider on behalf of the patient;

or

altering a previously initiated action on behalf of the patient.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the acts further comprise learning over time that certain words of the input map to certain vocabulary terms.

19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the acts further comprise learning over time that certain phrases of the input map to corresponding concepts.

20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise, in response to receiving the input:

forwarding the input to a human assistant; and

presenting a response received from the human assistant in the conversation user interface.

21. A portable computing device comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1; and

one or more processors to execute the computer-executable instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media to perform the acts.

22. A computing system comprising:

one or more servers for hosting the content;

the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 1; and

one or more processors to execute the computer-executable instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media to perform the acts.

23. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

causing display of a conversation user interface having first dialog representations associated with input from a patient and second dialog representations associated with a response from a virtual assistant;

receiving speech input from the patient;

processing the speech input;

based at least in part on processing the speech input, determining that the patient requests a technique to treat a medical condition;

determining, based at least in part on the medical condition, a cognitive or physical game for the patient; and

presenting, via the conversation user interface, direction from the virtual assistant to the patient to perform the cognitive or physical game.

24. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the speech input includes a request for a recommendation of a game.

25. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the speech input indicates a symptom.

26. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the game comprises a cognitive game designed to improve mental acuity.

27. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the game comprises a physical game designed to improve motor function.

28. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the patient has a user profile, and the acts further comprise choosing the cognitive or physical game based at least in part on the user profile.

29. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the acts further comprise displaying a response from the virtual assistant in the conversation user interface when the patient performs an action associated with the game.

30. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 29, wherein the response from the virtual assistant encourages further game play.

31. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the acts further comprise audibly outputting the direction from the virtual assistant.

32. A portable computing device comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 23; and

one or more processors to execute the computer-executable instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media to perform the acts.

33. The portable computing device of claim 32, wherein the game is played at least in part on the portable computing device.

34. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

causing display of a conversation user interface that represents a conversation between a patient and a virtual assistant;

adding, for display in the conversation user interface, first dialog representations associated with input from the patient and second dialog representations associated with responses from the virtual assistant to visually convey the conversation;

receiving, via interaction with the conversation user interface, a query from the patient about a medical condition; and

displaying, in a dialog representation associated with a response from the virtual assistant, a response to the query that includes comparative information about factors related to the medical condition for a typical individual.

35. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 34, wherein the input from the patient is verbal input, and the verbal input is represented in the conversation user interface in a text format through speech recognition techniques.

36. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 34, wherein the responses from the virtual assistant are rendered as audio output in addition to display in the conversation user interface.

37. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 34, wherein the medical condition comprises a medical condition of the patient.

38. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 34, wherein the comparative information presents a comparison between a metric of the patient with the metric for the typical individual.

39. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 38, wherein the metric of the patient is obtained from one of electronic medical records of the patient, input provided by the patient, the result of a test administered to the patient, or data from a medical device used by the patient.

40. A portable computing device comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 34; and

one or more processors to execute the computer-executable instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media to perform the acts.