Dynamically monitoring environmental and physiological characteristics to generate a medicine ingestion alarm

• US 9,993,209 B1
• Filed: 04/24/2017
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merative US LP
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fujitani, Kanako, Ishige, Mariko, Nishitani, Yusuke, Oishi, Yutaka, Sobue, Tatsuya, Yamana, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bousono, Orlando
• Application Number:
  US15/494,813
• Time in Patent Office: 414 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• 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 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14546 for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4848 Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication
• 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 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system dynamically monitors a patient'"'"'s physiological condition and location information to generate an alarm signal to enable the patient to timely administer a health substance. Initially, the system monitors location information of a health substance and the patient and physiological information of the patient. A processor in the system determines a predicted time when the patient may attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance and may further determine a transit time for the patient to travel to a location of the health substance. Based on the predicted and transit times, the system issues an alarm signal to the patient prior to the predicted time. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for monitoring a patient'"'"'s physiological condition and location information to generate an alarm signal in substantially the same manner described above.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring physiological conditions to generate an alarm signal comprising:

monitoring location information of a health substance;

monitoring location information and physiological information of a user;

determining a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user;

determining a transit time for the user to travel to a location of the health substance based on the predicted time and the location information of the user and the health substance; and

generating an alarm signal at a time derived from the predicted and transit times to enable administration of the health substance prior to the predicted time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the physiological information includes environmental information associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the physiological information of the user includes a blood drug concentration level of the health substance in the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information of the health substance is received from a seller of the health substance.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the physiological condition for receiving the health substance occurs when the health substance becomes ineffective in the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user further comprises:

determining a rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user;

estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective based on the half-life of the health substance and the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective further comprises:

determining the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance decays in the user based on the physiological information of the user and environmental information associated with the user; and

adjusting the estimated time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective by the rate at which the health substance decays in the user.

8. A system for monitoring physiological conditions to generate an alarm signal comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

monitor location information of a health substance;

monitor location information and physiological information of a user;

determine a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user;

determine a transit time for the user to travel to a location of the health substance based on the predicted time and the location information of the user and the health substance; and

generate an alarm signal at a time derived from the predicted and transit times to enable administration of the health substance prior to the predicted time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the physiological information includes environmental information associated with the user.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the physiological information of the user includes a blood drug concentration level of the health substance in the user.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the location information of the health substance is received from a seller of the health substance.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the physiological condition for receiving the health substance occurs when the health substance becomes ineffective in the user.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein determining a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user further comprises:

determining a rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user;

estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective based on the half-life of the health substance and the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective further comprises:

determining the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance decays in the user based on the physiological information of the user and environmental information associated with the user; and

adjusting the estimated time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective by the rate at which the health substance decays in the user.

15. A non-transitory computer program product for monitoring physiological conditions to generate an alarm signal comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to;

monitor location information of a health substance;

monitor location information and physiological information of a user;

determine a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user;

determine a transit time for the user to travel to a location of the health substance based on the predicted time and the location information of the user and the health substance; and

generate an alarm signal at a time derived from the predicted and transit times to enable administration of the health substance prior to the predicted time.

16. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 15, wherein the physiological information includes environmental information associated with the user.

17. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 15, wherein the physiological information of the user includes a blood drug concentration level of the health substance in the user.

18. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 15, wherein the physiological condition for receiving the health substance occurs when the health substance becomes ineffective in the user.

19. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 15, wherein determining a predicted time for the user to attain a physiological condition for receiving the health substance based on the physiological information of the user further comprises:

determining a rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user;

estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective based on the half-life of the health substance and the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance is retained in the user.

20. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 19, wherein estimating a time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective further comprises:

determining the rate at which the efficacy of the health substance decays in the user based on the physiological information of the user and environmental information associated with the user; and

adjusting the estimated time when the concentration of the health substance will become ineffective by the rate at which the health substance decays in the user.