Systems, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for monitoring and improving biomechanical health of employees

• US 9,808,156 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2014
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Inventors: Horseman, Samantha J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson, Gary
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAHAKIS, MANOLIS Y
• Application Number:
  US14/181,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20140163337A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/00 Measuring for diagnostic purposes radiation diagnosis A61B6/00; diagnosis by ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/00; Identification of persons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1114 Tracking parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/40 Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the nervous system A61B5/4806, A61B5/4821, A61B5/4824 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6897 Computer input devices, e.g. mice or keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/72 : Signal processing specially adapted for physiological signals or for diagnostic purposes character recognition, recognising digital ink, document-oriented image-based pattern recognition G06V30/00; recognition or understanding of postal images G06V30/424
• 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 5/7282 : Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 : using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 : ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation

Abstract

Provided are embodiments of systems, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for monitoring the health of an employee while the employee is located in an employee workstation. A method including collecting, from a plurality of biomechanical sensors disposed throughout the employee workstation, biomechanical health data indicative of biomechanical characteristics of the employee, determining an employee biomechanical health profile based at least in part on the collected biomechanical health data. The employee biomechanical health profile including biomechanical health characteristics, biomechanical health conditions and/or biomechanical health risks for the employee. The method including generating a health plan for the employee based at least in part on the biomechanical health profile, and displaying the employee biomechanical health profile and the health plan to the employee.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring employee health, the system comprising:

an employee workstation comprising;

an employee computer comprising a display;

a computer mouse;

a chair disposed on a floor of the workstation, the chair comprising a seat portion and a back portion configured to support an employee seated in the chair;

a floor mat disposed on the floor of the workstation and configured to support feet of the employee seated in the chair; and

a set of biomechanical health sensors configured to collect health data via a plurality of points of contact with the employee seated in the chair and to output biomechanical sensor data corresponding to the health data collected,

the set of biomechanical health sensors in communication with a communications network and comprising temperature transducers, force transducers and a camera,

the biomechanical sensor data comprising temperature data output by the temperature transducers that is indicative of a body position of the employee, force data output by the force transducers that is indicative of the body position of the employee, and image data output by the camera comprising three-dimensional images indicative of the body position and eye movement of the employee;

the floor mat comprising floor mat biomechanical sensors for detecting biomechanical characteristics of the employee via contact with feet of the employee defining a first point of contact with the employee, the floor mat biomechanical sensors comprising;

a floor mat temperature sensor comprising one of the temperature transducers configured to sense body temperature of the employee; and

a floor mat force sensor comprising one of the force transducers configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat,

the chair comprising chair biomechanical sensors for detecting biomechanical characteristics of the employee via contact with portions of the employee seated in the chair defining a second point of contact with the employee, the chair biomechanical sensors comprising;

a chair temperature sensor comprising one of the temperature transducers configured to sense body temperature of the employee; and

chair force sensors comprising;

a chair seat force transducer located in the seat portion of the chair and configured to sense a force applied to the seat portion of the chair; and

a chair back force transducer located in the back portion of the chair and configured to sense a force applied to the back portion of the chair, and

the camera positioned to capture images of the employee seated in the chair defining a third point of contact with the with the employee, the images of the employee seated in the chair comprising the three-dimensional images indicative of the body position and eye movement of the employee;

a database in communication with the communications network and storing employee health information associated with one or more employees; and

a computer server in communication with the communication network, the computer server configured to;

conduct a health test of the employee comprising collecting, via the communications network, the biomechanical sensor data output by the set of biomechanical health sensors;

determine a body position of the employee seated in the chair based on the temperature data, the force data, and the image data of the biomechanical sensor data collected;

determine at least one of a focal point, a blink rate, and a pupil dilation of an eye of the employee based on the image data of the biomechanical sensor data collected;

determine, based on the body position of the employee determined, a posture analysis for the employee comprising a deviation from a predetermined ergonomic alignment of a head, a torso, arms, and feet of the employee seated in the chair;

determine, based on the at least one of a focal point, a blink rate, and a pupil dilation of the eye of the employee determined, an eye fatigue analysis for the employee comprising an indication of a level of eye fatigue for the employee seated in the chair;

determine a biomechanical health profile for the employee using the biomechanical sensor data collected, the biomechanical health profile for the employee comprising the posture analysis for the employee and the eye fatigue analysis for the employee;

determine, based on the health profile for the employee, a health plan for the employee;

serve, to the employee computer, health content comprising the biomechanical health profile for the employee and the health plan for the employee, wherein the employee computer is configured to display the health content via the display; and

update the health information stored in the database to reflect the biomechanical health profile for the employee.

2. A system according to claim 1, the computer server further configured to determine, based on the body position of the employee seated in the chair, a muscle tension for the employee, wherein the biomechanical health profile for the employee comprises the muscle tension for the employee.

3. A system according to claim 1, the computer server further configured to determine, based on the biomechanical sensor data collected, one or more of a risk of musculoskeletal syndrome, risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, a risk of epicondylitis, a risk of a rotator cuff injury, a risk of eye disease, and a risk of physical fatigue for the employee.

4. A system according to claim 1, the computer server further configured to:

determine one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks for the employee using the biomechanical sensor data collected;

compare one or more of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee to a corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more health characteristics, health conditions and health risks;

determine, based on the comparison, that at least one of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee are outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks; and

in response to determining that at least one of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee are outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks, alert emergency response personnel regarding the at least one of the one or more health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined to be outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein conducting a health test of the employee comprises:

identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times for collection of the biomechanical sensor data from the set of biomechanical health sensors;

in response to identifying a need to initiate a health test, querying the employee computer for the biomechanical sensor data, the employee computer being configured to collect the biomechanical sensor data from the set of biomechanical health sensors in response to the querying; and

receiving, from the employee computer via the communications network, the biomechanical sensor data corresponding to the health test.

6. A system according to claim 1, the computer server further configured to:

receive an employee initiated request to initiate a health test,

wherein collecting the biomechanical sensor data output by the set of biomechanical health sensors is conducted in response to receiving the employee initiated request to initiate a health test.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the health content comprises an interactive health dashboard that enables the employee to review and edit biomechanical health information associated with the employee.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the health content comprises a health status widget comprising a graphical display indicative of the biomechanical health profile of the employee, the health status widget being viewable on the display while the employee is working with other applications on the employee computer.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions for monitoring employee health, the computer program instructions being executable by a computer processor to cause the steps of:

conducting a health test of an employee comprising collecting, via a communications network, biomechanical sensor data output by a set of biomechanical health sensors of an employee workstation, the employee workstation comprising;

an employee computer comprising a display;

a computer mouse;

a chair disposed on a floor of the workstation, the chair comprising a seat portion and a back portion configured to support the employee seated in the chair;

a floor mat disposed on the floor of the workstation and configured to support feet of the employee seated in the chair; and

a set of biomechanical health sensors configured to collect health data via a plurality of points of contact with the employee seated in the chair and to output biomechanical sensor data corresponding to the health data collected,

the set of biomechanical health sensors in communication with the communications network and comprising temperature transducers, force transducers and a camera,

the biomechanical sensor data comprising temperature data output by the temperature transducers that is indicative of a body position of the employee, force data output by the force transducers that is indicative of the body position of the employee, and image data output by the camera comprising three-dimensional images indicative of the body position and eye movement of the employee;

the floor mat comprising floor mat biomechanical sensors for detecting biomechanical characteristics of the employee via contact with feet of the employee defining a first point of contact with the employee, the floor mat biomechanical sensors comprising;

a floor mat temperature sensor comprising one of the temperature transducers configured to sense body temperature of the employee; and

a floor mat force sensor comprising one of the force transducers configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat,

the chair comprising chair biomechanical sensors for detecting biomechanical characteristics of the employee via contact with portions of the employee seated in the chair defining a second point of contact with the employee, the chair biomechanical sensors comprising;

a chair temperature sensor comprising one of the temperature transducers configured to sense body temperature of the employee; and

chair force sensors comprising;

a chair seat force transducer located in the seat portion of the chair and configured to sense a force applied to the seat portion of the chair; and

a chair back force transducer located in the back portion of the chair and configured to sense a force applied to the back portion of the chair, and

the camera positioned to capture images of the employee seated in the chair defining a third point of contact with the with the employee, the images of the employee seated in the chair comprising the three-dimensional images indicative of the body position and eye movement of the employee;

determining a body position of the employee seated in the chair based on the temperature data, the force data, and the image data of the biomechanical sensor data collected;

determining at least one of a focal point, a blink rate, and a pupil dilation of an eye of the employee based on the image data of the biomechanical sensor data collected;

determining, based on the body position of the employee determined, a posture analysis for the employee comprising a deviation from a predetermined ergonomic alignment of a head, a torso, arms, and feet of the employee seated in the chair;

determining, based on the at least one of a focal point, a blink rate, and a pupil dilation of the eye of the employee determined, an eye fatigue analysis for the employee comprising an indication of a level of eye fatigue for the employee seated in the chair;

determining updated biomechanical health profile for the employee using the biomechanical sensor data collected, the biomechanical health profile for the employee comprising the posture analysis for the employee and the eye fatigue analysis for the employee;

determining, based on the health profile for the employee, a health plan for the employee;

serving, to the employee computer, health content comprising the biomechanical health profile for the employee and the health plan for the employee; and

displaying, via the display of the employee computer, the health content.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, the steps further comprising determining, based on the body position of the employee seated in the chair, a muscle tension for the employee, wherein the biomechanical health profile for the employee comprises the muscle tension for the employee.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, the steps further comprising determining, based on the biomechanical sensor data collected, one or more of a risk of musculoskeletal syndrome, a risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, a risk of epicondylitis, a risk of a rotator cuff injury, a risk of eye disease, and a risk of physical fatigue for the employee.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, the steps further comprising:

determining one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks for the employee using the biomechanical sensor data collected;

comparing one or more of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee to a corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more health characteristics, health conditions and health risks;

determining, based on the comparison, that at least one of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee are outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks; and

in response to determining that at least one of the one or more of the health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined for the employee are outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks, alerting emergency response personnel regarding the at least one of the one or more health characteristics, health conditions and health risks determined to be outside of the corresponding predetermined threshold range for the one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein conducting a health test of the employee comprises:

identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times for collection of the biomechanical sensor data from the set of biomechanical health sensors;

in response to identifying a need to initiate a health test, querying the employee computer for the biomechanical sensor data, the employee computer being configured to collect the biomechanical sensor data from the set of biomechanical health sensors in response to the querying; and

receiving, from the employee computer via the communications network, the biomechanical sensor data corresponding to the health test.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, the steps further comprising:

receiving an employee initiated request to initiate a health test,

wherein collecting the biomechanical sensor data output by the set of biomechanical health sensors is conducted in response to receiving the employee initiated request to initiate a health test.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the health content comprises an interactive health dashboard that enables the employee to review and edit biomechanical health information associated with the employee.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the health content comprises a health status widget comprising a graphical display indicative of the biomechanical health profile of the employee, the health status widget being viewable on the display of the employee computer while the employee is working with other applications on the employee computer.