Multiple sensors for monitoring health and wellness of an animal

• US 10,149,617 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: i4c Innovations Inc. (One Health Group, LLC)
• Original Assignee: i4c Innovations Inc. (One Health Group, LLC)
• Inventors: Couse, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Niketa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kong, Qingjun
• Application Number:
  US13/838,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20140275824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,097 Days
• Field of Search: 600301, 606 1, 606 2- 19, 702141
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/005 Monitoring or measuring activity, e.g. detecting heat or mating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/40 Animals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/07 Home care
• 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 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6802 Sensor mounted on worn items
• 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 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence
• 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: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring the health of an animal using multiple sensors is described. The wearable device may include one or more sensors whose resultant signal levels may be analyzed in the wearable device or uploaded to a data management server for additional analysis.

Claims

1. A wearable device for an animal comprising:

a processor;

an accelerometer;

a microphone;

a clock;

an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar system including a first inward-facing antenna through which a UWB signal is transmitted and a second inward-facing antenna through which a return UWB signal is received; and

memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to;

receive a signal from the accelerometer;

determine if the signal received from the accelerometer is over an acceleration threshold associated with a high impact;

after determining the signal received from the accelerometer is over the acceleration threshold associated with the high impact, retrieve microphone data that was collected before a time of the signal received from the accelerometer that is over an acceleration threshold associated with the high impact;

weight the signal received from the accelerometer and the microphone data;

determine, based on a combination of the weighted signal received from the accelerometer and the weighted microphone data, whether a probability that a high-impact event has occurred is over a threshold associated with the high-impact event;

based on determining that the probability that the high-impact event has occurred is over the threshold associated with the high-impact event;

generate a UWB signal by the UWB radar system and output the UWB signal through the first inward-facing antenna;

receive a return UWB signal from the second inward-facing antenna;

determine whether the return UWB signal received from the second inward-facing antenna indicates an abnormal condition; and

provide an alert that the UWB signal indicates the abnormal condition; and

in response to determining the signal received from the accelerometer is below a minimum threshold amount of acceleration over a time period;

receive a clock signal;

determine whether a current time is at night; and

in response to determining the signal received from the clock indicates the current time is at night;

generate a UWB signal by the UWB radar system and output the UWB signal through the first inward-facing antenna;

receive a return UWB signal from the second inward-facing antenna; and

process the return UWB signal to determine a baseline measurement of a vital sign of the animal.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

return a second alert in response to determining the signal received from the accelerometer is over the acceleration threshold associated with the high impact.

3. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising one of a light meter or a sound meter, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

receive a signal from a sensor in response to determining the signal received from the accelerometer is over the acceleration threshold associated with the high impact;

determine if the signal received from the sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

in response to determining the signal received from the sensor exceeds the predetermined threshold, provide the alert via the output to a user device.

4. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

in response to determining that the signal received from the accelerometer exceeds a first predetermined threshold, identify, from a plurality of events, one or more events associated with the animal that may have occurred based on information associated with the signal, the one or more events associated with the animal comprising a first event associated with the animal.

5. The wearable device of claim 4, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

in response to determining that data received from the UWB radar system does not exceed a second predetermined threshold, determine, from the plurality of events, a second event that has occurred based on information associated with the signal and on the data received from the UWB radar system.

6. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

in response to determining the signal received from the accelerometer exceeds a first predetermined threshold, trigger the UWB radar system to operate in a first mode.

7. The wearable device of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

after triggering the UWB radar system to operate in the first mode receive the return UWB signal associated with determining whether a first event associated with the animal has occurred.

8. The wearable device of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

receive, from the UWB radar system, data collected in a second mode different from the first mode.

9. The wearable device of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine whether a first event associated with the animal has occurred based on data collected in the first mode and on the data collected in the second mode.

10. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

operate the UWB radar system in a mode comprising an intermittent operation to collect data associated with determining whether a first event associated with the animal has occurred.

11. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

in response to determining the signal received from the accelerometer exceeds a first predetermined threshold, trigger the UWB radar system to operate in a mode comprising continuous operation to transmit data associated with determining whether a first event associated with the animal has occurred.

12. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine a respiration rate of the animal from the return UWB signal.

13. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the UWB signal is directed toward a neck of the animal to collect physiological data associated with the animal.

14. The wearable device of claim 1, comprising a light meter, and wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

retrieve light-meter data associated with the time of the signal received from the accelerometer that is over the acceleration threshold associated with the high impact;

weight the signal received from the accelerometer, the microphone data, and the light-meter data; and

determine, based on a combination of the weighted signal received from the accelerometer, the weighted microphone data, and the weighted light-meter data, whether the probability that the high-impact event has occurred is over the threshold associated with the high-impact event.

15. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine, based on the return UWB signal, a loss of blood volume by the animal.

16. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine a gait of the animal based on the signal from the accelerometer.

17. The wearable device of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine, based on comparing the gait of the animal to stored attributes for a plurality of animals, an identity of the animal from among the plurality of animals.

18. The wearable device of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine, based on comparing the gait of the animal to a stored profile for the animal, whether the gait of the animal changed after the high-impact event.

19. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine, based on the return UWB signal, whether the animal is experiencing an abnormal respiration condition.

20. The wearable device of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to:

determine, based on the return UWB signal, whether the animal is experiencing one or more of panting while resting, labored breathing, asymmetrical breathing, increased breathing rate, decreased breathing rate, wheezing, coughing, or choking.