Haptic health feedback monitoring

• US 9,754,078 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2007
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Ramsay, Erin B., Heubel, Robert W., Olien, Neil Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Flory, Christopher A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Steinberg, Amanda
• Application Number:
  US11/766,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20080319279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,729 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7455 characterised by tactile indication, e.g. vibration or electrical stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A haptic health feedback monitor includes a health parameter monitor that detects a health parameter. A haptic feedback generator receives the health parameter and compares it to a predetermined level. If the health parameter reaches or exceeds the level, a type of haptic feedback to generate is determined. The type of feedback may depend on which predetermined level is reached or exceeded. The haptic feedback generator then generates the determined type of haptic feedback.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring health of a person comprising:

detecting a first health parameter and a second health parameter of the person with a health parameter monitor;

comparing the first health parameter to a first predetermined level;

determining a first type of haptic feedback to generate based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters,

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter, and

at least one of the plurality of parameters varying based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level;

generating a first haptic effect, based on the first type of haptic feedback, for a user with a first haptic feedback generator, the user being different from the person with the health parameter monitor;

comparing the second health parameter to a second predetermined level;

determining a second type of haptic feedback to generate based on the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level;

generating a second haptic effect, based on the second type of haptic feedback, with the first haptic feedback generator; and

guiding the user to the person after the generating the first haptic effect by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the first haptic effect for the person with a second haptic feedback generator.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a signal that indicates the location of the person with the health parameter monitor.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving one or more third haptic effects for the person indicating a distance of the user from the person based on the location of the person.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more third haptic effects for the person indicating that the first haptic effect has been communicated to the user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indicating that the first haptic effect has been communicated to the user comprises at least one of:

(i) indicating that the first haptic effect has been sent to the user, (ii) indicating that the first haptic effect has been received by the user, (iii) indicating that help is on the way, (iv) indicating that a global positioning system has been activated, and (v) indicating a relative position or a distance of the user.

15. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first type of haptic feedback is different than the second type of haptic feedback,

the at least one of the plurality of parameters varies based on a respective one of the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level, and

the generating the first haptic effect includes combining the first type of haptic feedback with the second type of haptic feedback.

5. A haptic health feedback monitor comprising:

a health parameter monitor that detects a first health parameter and a second health parameter of a person; and

a haptic feedback generator coupled to the health parameter monitor,

the haptic feedback generator including a processor that performs the operations of

receiving the first health parameter,

performing a comparison of the first health parameter to a first predetermined level,

determining a first type of haptic feedback based on the comparison of the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

generating a first haptic effect, based on the first type of haptic feedback, to a user different from the person,

receiving the second health parameter,

performing a comparison of the second health parameter to a second predetermined level,

determining a second type of haptic feedback based on the comparison of the second health parameter to the second predetermined level,

generating a second haptic effect, based on the second type of haptic feedback, to the user, and

guiding the user to the person after the first haptic effect is generated by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters,

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter, and

at least one of the plurality of parameters varying based on the comparison of the first health parameter to the first predetermined level.

6. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 5, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

7. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 5, further comprising:

a location determiner that determines a location of the health parameter monitor.

16. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 5, wherein

the first type of haptic feedback is different than the second type of haptic feedback,

the at least one of the plurality of parameters varies based on a respective one of the comparison of the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparison of the second health parameter to the second predetermined level, and

the haptic feedback generator is configured to generate the first haptic effect by combining the first type of haptic feedback with the second type of haptic feedback.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the operations of:

receiving a first health parameter of a person;

comparing the first health parameter to a first predetermined level;

determining a first type of haptic feedback based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters,

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter, and

at least one of the plurality of parameters varying based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level;

generating a first haptic effect, based on the first type of haptic feedback, for a user who is different from the person;

receiving a second health parameter;

comparing the second health parameter to a second predetermined level;

determining a second type of haptic feedback to generate based on the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level;

generating a second haptic effect, based the second type of haptic feedback, for the user; and

guiding the user to the person after the generating the first haptic effect by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the operation of generating the first haptic effect for the person.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the operation of transmitting a signal that indicates the location of the person.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein

the first type of haptic feedback is different than the second type of haptic feedback,

the at least one of the plurality of parameters varies based on a respective one of the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level, and

the generating the first haptic effect includes combining the first type of haptic feedback with the second type of haptic feedback.

18. A method of monitoring health of a person comprising:

detecting a first health parameter and a second health parameter of the person with a health parameter monitor;

comparing the first health parameter to a first predetermined level;

determining a first type of haptic feedback to generate based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters, and

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter;

detecting a second health parameter of the person with the health parameter monitor;

comparing the second health parameter to a second predetermined level;

determining a second type of haptic feedback to generate based on the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level;

generating a first haptic effect, by combining the first type of haptic feedback with the second type of haptic feedback, for a user with a first haptic feedback generator, the user being different from the person with the health parameter monitor; and

guiding the user to the person after the generating the first haptic effect by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person,

wherein the first type of haptic feedback is different than the second type of haptic feedback, and

at least one of the plurality of parameters varies based on a respective one of the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating a third haptic effect, based on the second type of haptic feedback, with the first haptic feedback generator.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating the first haptic effect for the person with a second haptic feedback generator.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

transmitting a signal that indicates the location of the person with the health parameter monitor.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving one or more third haptic effects for the person indicating a distance of the user from the person based on the location of the person.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving one or more third haptic effects for the person indicating that the first haptic effect has been communicated to the user.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the indicating that the first haptic effect has been communicated to the user comprises at least one of:

(i) indicating that the first haptic effect has been sent to the user, (ii) indicating that the first haptic effect has been received by the user, (iii) indicating that help is on the way, (iv) indicating that a global positioning system has been activated, and (v) indicating a relative position or a distance of the user.

27. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 25, wherein

the processor further performs the operation of:

generating a third haptic effect, based on the second type of haptic feedback, to the user.

26. A haptic health feedback monitor comprising:

a health parameter monitor that detects a first health parameter and a second health parameter of a person; and

a haptic feedback generator coupled to the health parameter monitor,

the haptic feedback generator including a processor that performs the operations of

receiving the first health parameter,

performing a comparison of the first health parameter to a first predetermined level,

determining a first type of haptic feedback based on the comparison of the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

receiving the second health parameter,

performing a comparison of the second health parameter to a second predetermined level,

determining a second type of haptic feedback based on the comparison of the second health parameter to the second predetermined level,

generating a first haptic effect, by combining the first type of haptic feedback with the second type of haptic feedback, to a user different from the person, and

guiding the user to the person after the first haptic effect is generated by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters,

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter,

at least one of the plurality of parameters varying based on a respective one of the comparison of the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparison of the second health parameter to the second predetermined level, and

the first type of haptic feedback being different than the second type of haptic feedback.

28. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 26, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

29. The haptic health feedback monitor of claim 26, further comprising:

a location determiner that determines a location of the health parameter monitor.

30. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the operations of:

receiving a first health parameter of a person;

comparing the first health parameter to a first predetermined level;

determining a first type of haptic feedback based on the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level,

the first type of haptic feedback being vibrotactile haptic feedback,

the vibrotactile haptic feedback having a plurality of parameters, and

the plurality of parameters including a magnitude parameter, a frequency parameter, and a duration parameter;

receiving a second health parameter;

comparing the second health parameter to a second predetermined level;

determining a second type of haptic feedback based on the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level;

generating a first haptic effect, by combining the first type of haptic feedback and the second type of haptic feedback, for a user who is different from the person; and

guiding the user to the person after the generating the first haptic effect by providing a series of haptic effects to assist in pinpointing a location of the person,

the first type of haptic feedback being different than the second type of haptic feedback, and

at least one of the plurality of parameters varying based on a respective one of the comparing the first health parameter to the first predetermined level or the comparing the second health parameter to the second predetermined level.

31. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein said processor further performs the operation of:

generating a third haptic effect, based the second type of haptic feedback, for the user.

32. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein the first health parameter is at least one of heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose level, respiratory level, temperature, blood alcohol level, blood iron level, blood salinity, blood electrolyte level or hormone level.

33. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the operation of generating the first haptic effect for the person.

34. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the operation of transmitting a signal that indicates the location of the person.