Method and system for monitoring intoxication

• US 9,740,827 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2016
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KHN Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: KHN Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Nothacker, Keith Harry, Basaran, Pauline Anne, Rettus, Stacey Ilene, Strasser, Michael Jurgen, Aziz, Imraan, Walton, John Paul, Saul, Zachary Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullen, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US15/212,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20160327542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 34053912, 600309
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0009 Testing for drug or alcohol abuse
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0087 Breath samples
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• 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 5/097 Devices for facilitating collection of breath or for directing breath into or through measuring devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4023 Evaluating sense of balance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4845 Toxicology, e.g. by detection of alcohol, drug or toxic products A61B5/4848 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4863 Measuring or inducing nystagmus
• 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 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7445 Display arrangements, e.g. multiple display units
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4972 Determining alcohol content for vehicle safety devices B60K28/06
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/98 involving alcohol, e.g. ethanol in breath
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 : Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring a user'"'"'s intoxication including receiving a set of signals, derived from a set of samples collected from the user at a set of time points; providing a sobriety task to the user proximal to a time point of the set of time points; generating a performance dataset characterizing performance of the sobriety task by the user; receiving a supplementary dataset characterizing a demographic profile of the user and/or a physiological state of the user; determining a set of values of an intoxication metric, derived from the set of signals; generating a predicted temporal profile of the intoxication metric for the user based upon the set of values, the set of time points, and the supplementary dataset; generating an analysis of the user'"'"'s sobriety based upon the performance dataset and the predicted temporal profile; and providing a notification to the user based upon the analysis.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring intoxication of a user, comprising:

at a sample receiving module, receiving a signal derived from a breath sample collected from the body of the user at a receipt time point;

receiving a supplementary dataset characterizing the user;

at a processing subsystem, determining a value of an intoxication metric, derived from the signal upon receiving information derived from the signal by way of a data link coupled to the processing subsystem and the sample receiving module;

at the processing subsystem, generating a predicted temporal profile of the intoxication metric for the user based upon the value of the intoxication metric, the receipt time point, and the supplementary dataset; and

at a display of the sample receiving module, providing a notification to the user based upon the predicted temporal profile, the notification indicative of an estimated future intoxication state associated with an estimated future time point later than the receipt time point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the notification to the user comprises providing the user with an indication of when the intoxication metric of the user will return to a zero value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing the user with the indication comprises rendering, at the display of the sample receiving module, an estimated future time point at which the intoxication metric of the user will return to the zero value.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a historical dataset indicative of alcohol elimination characteristics of the user, and generating the predicted temporal profile of the intoxication metric for the user, based upon at least the historical dataset.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the supplementary dataset comprises receiving data characterizing at least one of a demographic profile of the user and a physiological state of the user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the supplementary dataset is received at a mobile device of the user, and wherein the mobile device comprises at least a portion of the processing subsystem.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the supplementary dataset includes receiving supplementary data at an aggregation module of the processing subsystem configured to access and aggregate digital content from digital social network accounts of the user, such that the supplementary dataset comprises at least one of demographic information, location information, and activity information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the supplementary dataset further comprises receiving supplementary data from at least one of an object recognition module and a text recognition module configured to extract supplementary data from at least one of image content and text content indicative of consumables intended to be consumed by the user.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein generating the predicted temporal profile comprises incorporating demographic information of the user, thereby adjusting the predicted temporal profile relative to a population-average profile of intoxication characteristics, based upon demographic information of the user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein demographic information of the user comprises at least one of a height and a bodyweight of the user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a set of signals derived from a set of breath samples at a set of receipt time points, determining a set of intoxication values based on the set of signals, and generating the predicted temporal profile based on the set of intoxication values, the set of receipt time points, and the supplemental data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the set of intoxication values is a BAC value, and wherein generating the predicted temporal profile includes generating the predicted temporal profile of BAC vs. time for the user, based upon the set of BAC values, the set of receipt time points, a predicted alcohol absorption profile, and a predicted alcohol elimination rate.

13. A system for monitoring intoxication of a user, comprising:

a body defining a cavity configured to accept a set of breath samples from the user'"'"'s body at a set of time points;

a sample processing module disposed within the body and coupled to the body, the sample processing module configured to analyze the set of breath samples;

a data link coupled to the sample processing module and configured to communicate a set of signals derived from the set of breath samples; and

a processor that, during operation;

receives the set of signals and a supplementary dataset characterizing the user,

determines a set of values of an intoxication metric, derived from the set of signals,

generates a predicted temporal profile of the intoxication metric for the user based upon the set of values, the set of time points, and the supplementary dataset, and

generates a notification based upon the predicted temporal profile; and

an indicator module coupled to the body, configured to provide the notification to the user.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the cavity includes a first aperture and a second aperture configured to facilitate inflow and outflow of a breath sample of the user, and a disposable mouthpiece coupleable to at least one of the first aperture and the second aperture.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a supplementary sensing module, configured to provide the supplementary dataset, wherein the supplementary sensing module includes at least one of an image sensor, a GPS, a biometric sensor, and an aggregation module configured to access digital content of the user from at least one digital social network account of the user, such that the supplementary dataset provided by the supplementary sensing module comprises at least one of demographic information, physiological information, location information, and activity information associated with the user.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the indicator module is further configured to render and display an estimated future time point at which the intoxication metric of the user will return to a zero value, based on the predicted temporal profile.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the indicator module comprises a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs), each of the set of LEDs operable between an on state and an off state, and wherein the notification provided to the user comprises a subset of the LEDs configured in the on state, based on an estimated time interval between a current time point and the estimated future time point.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the indicator module comprises a display, and wherein the notification provided to the user comprises the value of the intoxication metric rendered on the display.

19. The system of claim 13, further comprising an input module and a data storage module, wherein the supplementary dataset is generated by manual input of data to the input module, and wherein the processor retrieves the supplementary dataset from the data storage module.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the sample processing module is coupled to the processor by way of the data link, wherein the data link comprises a wireless data link.