Disease therapy game technology

• US 9,569,562 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2012
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Utah Research Foundation (State of Utah)
• Original Assignee: University of Utah Research Foundation (State of Utah)
• Inventors: Bulaj, Grzegorz Wlodzimierz, Bruggers, Carol S., Altizer, Roger Alan Jr., Kessler, Robert R., Caldwell, Craig Bernreuter, Patterson, Wade Ray, Coppersmith, Kurt Joseph, Warner, Laura Mae, Davies, Brandon H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Renwick, Reginald
• Application Number:
  US13/475,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20130131846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 463/12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/816 Athletics, e.g. track-and-field sports
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/40 Data acquisition and logging for input to computer G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A video game in possession of and/or in the proximity of a patient. The patient computing system receives an indication that it is to begin a game, and executes the game using identified game parameters that are associated with the patient by a clinician as part of a disease therapy program. As the game executes, game state progresses in response to physical activity of the patient, causing the patient to exercise. The physical activity is received as input into the patient computing system. Such input causes game state to be progressed dependent on the identified game parameters that are associated with the game. Thus, the game is tailored for the patient by a clinician in order to motivate physical activity that is medically beneficial to the patient in order to advance through the disease therapy program.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing a virtual disease therapy environment for a patient, comprising:

a patient computing system comprising;

one or more processors; and

one or more storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors, and that configure the patient computing system to create a clinician-customized virtual disease therapy environment, including computer-executable instructions that configure the computer system to perform at least the following;

execute a game in response to a request,

accessing from a remote computer database game parameters that are associated with a patient, wherein the game parameters were created due to action of a remote clinician as part of a disease therapy program,

execute the game when requested such that when the game is executed, the game is executed using the identified game parameters associated with the patient,

receive heart-rate readings from a heart-rate sensor representing physical activity of the patient, wherein the heart-rate readings are generated by one or more electronic heart-rate sensors that monitor physical attributes of the patient, and

change game state dependent on the game parameters and the heart-rate readings such that the patient'"'"'s heart-rate remains within an ideal range,

wherein the game involves at least one entity that represents a disease, and that the entity becomes weaker or diminishing as a direct result of the patient'"'"'s physical activity, and

activate a cool down timer when the heart-rate readings indicate that a heart-rate of the patient has exceeded a pre-determined rate, wherein once the cool down timer is activated, the patient cannot engage in identical physical activity until the cool down timer expires; and

a clinician computing system comprising;

one or more processors; and

one or more storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors, and that configure the clinician computing system to create a clinician-customized virtual disease therapy environment, including computer-executable instructions that configure the computer system to perform at least the following;

communicatively couple to the patient computing system so as to receive a representation of at least some of the heart-rate sensor readings representing the physical activity of the patient, and configured to cause the representation to be visualized to a clinician; and

the one or more electronic sensors configured to monitor physical activity of the patient, wherein the one or more sensors comprise the heart-rate sensor.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clinician computing system receives at least some of the sensor readings representing physical activity by accessing a store that the patient computing system writes the sensor readings to.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clinician computing system is remotely accessible to the clinician to allow the game parameters to change.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clinical computing system further comprises a user interface that a clinician may use to cause the identified game parameters to be created and associated with the patient.

5. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clinical computing system further comprises a user interface that a clinician may use to cause the identified game parameters to be altered, thereby causing a change in effect of physical activity of the patient on game state.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the physical activity comprises full motion of at least a limb of the patient, which comprises exercise that is between 5 and 10 minutes long.

7. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the physical activity movements are visualized by the game as activities that relate to coping with or/and overcoming the patient'"'"'s disease.

8. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the game parameters is defined by a computing module in response to clinician input.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the game parameters is defined by a computing module in response to dynamically changing conditions measured by the computing module.

10. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the game parameters is defined by a computing module in response to patient compliance.

11. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the game parameters is directly defined by a clinician.

12. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein physical activity that will cause the most progress in game state are physical activities that have been vetted by clinicians to avoid repetitive stress injury.

13. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game includes a cool down timer that is activated when the sensor readings indicate that the physical activity of the patient has reached a pre-determined time duration of the physical activity, wherein once the cool down timer is activated, the patient cannot engage in identical physical activity until the cool down timer expires.

14. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein all end game states of the game result in a reward for the patient.

15. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game involves a plurality of characters that are assisting the patient.

16. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game involves a tool that may be used to fight the entities, the tool represents a drug that the patient is taking.

17. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the tool is labeled with a name of the drug that the tool represents.

18. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game involves overcoming a disease of the disease therapy program without using violence or weapons.

19. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game involves visualized activities that address specific challenges and characteristics of a disease of the disease therapy program.

20. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the game involves an avatar that is associated with the patient, and that becomes stronger as the game progresses.

21. A computer implemented method for disease therapy comprising:

receiving, by a patient computing system, an indicator to start execution of a game;

receiving from a remote computer database game parameters, wherein the game parameters include an ideal heart rate associated with the patient and created due to action by a remote clinician as part of a disease therapy program;

executing the game with the identified game parameters by the patient computing system, wherein the game requires a physical activity by a patient;

receiving, from one or more heart-rate sensors, heart-rate readings related to the physical activity of the patient in response to execution of the game, wherein the one or more heart-rate sensors measure physical attributes of the patient;

activating a cool down timer when the heart-rate sensor readings indicate that the heart-rate of the patient has exceeded a pre-determined rate, wherein once the cool down timer is activated, the patient cannot engage in identical physical activity until the cool down timer expires, and

storing the heart-rate readings for assessment of the performance of the patient when performing the physical activity.

22. A method of using the system in accordance with claim 21, as adjunct therapy to treat neurological and mental disorders.

23. A computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer storage media having thereon one or more computer-executable instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a patient computing system to perform the following:

initiating a game;

accessing, from a remote computer database, game parameters that comprise an ideal range of motion of a particular limb of a patient and that are created due to action by a remote clinician as part of a disease therapy program;

executing the game with the identified game parameters,

receiving sensor readings, from one or more motion sensors, indicating physical activity by a patient, wherein the one or more motion sensors measure a range of motion of the particular limb of the patient;

progressing game state dependent on the measured range of motion and dependent on the identified game parameters, wherein the game involves an avatar that is associated with the patient, and that becomes stronger as the game progresses;

activating a cool down timer when heart-rate sensor readings indicate that the heart-rate of the patient has exceeded a pre-determined rate, wherein once the cool down timer is activated, the patient cannot engage in identical physical activity until the cool down timer expires, and

causing a representation of at least a portion of the received sensor readings to be stored for assessment of the performance of the patient when performing the physical activity.

24. The computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer storage media in accordance with claim 23, wherein the progressing of the game state occurs repeatedly in response to sensor readings representing physical activity of the patient.