Method and system for fall detection

• US 20080129518A1
• Filed: 12/05/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John Carlton-Foss
• Original Assignee: John Carlton-Foss
• Inventors: Carlton-Foss, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,217,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• 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 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0216 Alarm cancellation after generation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A fall detection system includes a wearable monitoring device that monitors the movement of a person. The device monitors a sensor and detects variation from the normal range and duration thereof. The system determines whether the wearer has fallen through an algorithmic analysis technique using parameters to evaluate the accelerations and timings of the events that comprise a fall. If the combination of the timing and variations from the normal ranges are sufficient as compared to preset thresholds, a fall report will be generated. The wearable device optionally allows qualified professionals to adjust or customize the parameters to optimize the evaluation to the requirements of particular users or classes of users. The wearable device generally transmits data and alerts over a short distance to a console or over a long distance using a connection to a long-distance back haul communication system such as cell network or internet or both. The device thus transmit data and alerts to a call center or other designated location.

Claims

1. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system, the wearable device positioned on the body of a person, the wearable device comprising:

a data receiver to receive sensor data transmitted from at least one sensor positioned on the person;

an analysis device to take the sensor data as input, the analysis device to analyze timing and the sensor data and to generate a report; and

a transmitter to transmit the report to an external device.

2. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the analysis device further comprises an algorithm with one or more stored parameters, the analysis device to use the parametrized algorithm to transform the sensor data into a human-meaningful form for interpretation.

3. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 2 wherein the parameters include acceleration thresholds and timing thresholds.

4. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 2 wherein the analysis device is analyzing in relation to a fall condition, and the one or more stored parameters, each having a default value adjustable by qualified professionals to characterize the fall condition for individual people or classes of people, the analysis device to use the parametrized algorithm to interpret the sensor data.

5. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 4 wherein the at least one sensor comprises an accelerometer.

6. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 5 wherein the at least one sensor such as an accelerometer further comprises an impact detector.

7. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 6 wherein the collected data is analyzed data from the analysis device.

8. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the analysis device further comprises an algorithm with one or more stored parameters, each with default values, adjustable by qualified professionals, the analysis device to use the parametrized algorithm to interpret the sensor data.

9. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 8 wherein the analysis device provides an indicator of how closely the sensor data matches data of the at least one stored model.

10. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 9 wherein the analysis device uses reported values to indicate how closely the accelerometry data matches the parameters used by the algorithm.

11. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 3 further comprising a data diary for retaining collected data about falls and near falls to facilitate adjusting parameter settings for the user.

12. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a data diary for retaining outputs of algorithms.

13. A wearable device for a remote monitoring system, the wearable device positioned on the body of a person, comprising:

a data receiver to receive data from at least one sensor positioned in the device;

a parsing device to chunk through the datastream from the data receiver to determine the values of the acceleration in three dimensions;

an analysis device to take the data as input, the analysis device including a set of parameters, the analysis device with an algorithmic function operating on the received data to determine if the person has had a fall on the basis of the truth value of one or more conditions; and

a transmitter to transmit a fall report to an external device.

14. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical situation, comprising:

sampling at least one sensor device carried on the person;

detecting when the sensor indicates a change from a normal range to an alternative range;

continuing to sample the sensor in a first time interval to determine if the sensor is outside of the normal range for over a specified period;

generating a signal regarding change of situation if a specific criteria is met.

15. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical situation of claim 14 further comprising:

detecting when the sensor indicates a change from the second range to a third range; and

continuing to sample the sensor in a second time interval to determine if the sensor is in the third range for over a specified time period prior to generating a signal regarding change of the position.

16. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical situation of claim 15 further comprising:

detecting when the sensor indicates a change from the fourth range to a fifth range; and

continuing to sample the sensor in a third time interval to determine if the sensor is in the fifth range for over a specified time period prior to generating a signal regarding change of the position.

17. A method of determining if a fall has occurred of claim 15 wherein the sensor device is an accelerometer.

18. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical situation of claim 14 wherein the specific criteria is at least one sensor recording a deceleration over a minimum threshold.

19. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical situation of claim 14 where the change of position is the result of a fall.

20. A method for determining a change in a person'"'"'s physical position of claim 14 further comprising communicating the generated signal to an external device.

21. A method for sensing whether a person has had a potentially disabling fall, comprising:

receiving data from a sensor located on the body of the person;

parsing through the datastream from the data receiver to determine the values of the acceleration in three dimensions;

analyzing the data using an implicit set of conditions characterizing one or more events with stored values that are compared to the accelerations in the datastream; and

generating a fall report in response to the analyzing step.

22. A method for sensing of claim 21 further comprising the step of transmitting the fall report to an external device.

23. A method of sensing of claim 21 wherein the receiving data further comprises receiving data from a plurality of sensors or monitors located on the body of the person.

24. A method of sensing of claim 21 further comprising:

transforming the data received from the sensor or sensors to obtain values to logical conditions and variations to those values and conditions to indicate a particular condition of the person.

25. A method of sensing of claim 24 wherein the particular context is a fall.

26. A method of sensing of claim 24 wherein the step of analyzing further comprises analyzing the transformed data using the stored parameters, whether they be the default parameters within the device or the parameters set by a qualified professional.

27. A method of sensing of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

achieving the logical evaluation of at least one condition, and the calculation of at least one statistic to indicate the sureness with which the condition evaluates to true or false based on the data and the parameters; and

making available the data for caregivers to determine the details of the candidate fall event.

29. A system for determining if a user has fallen of claim 27 wherein the local monitoring device further comprises a call button for the user to signal for help.

30. A system for determining if a user has fallen of claim 27 wherein the specific criteria include meeting three distinction conditions for a specific time period wherein the criteria include adjustable threshold parameters.

31. A system for determining if a user has fallen of claim 29 further comprising a call center, wherein the remote signal receiver is a console located in proximity to the local monitoring device and receives the signal transmitted wirelessly and the remote signal receiver transmits a signal to the call center.

42. A system for determining if a user has fallen of claim 29 further comprising a call center, wherein the signal receiver is integral to the wearable device and receives the signal transmitted by wire and the signal receiver transmits a signal to the call center a console located in proximity to the local monitoring device and receives the signal transmitted wirelessly and the remote signal receiver transmits a signal to the call center.

28. A system for determining if a body has fallen, the system comprising:

a local monitoring device carried on the body, the local monitoring device including;

an accelerometer assembly attached to the body for generating signals representative of the body'"'"'s acceleration;

an analysis device to parse the signal from the accelerometer and determine if specific criteria is met; and

a transmitter for transmitting a signal if the specific criteria are met; and

a remote signal receiver configured to receive a signal from the local monitoring device, the remote signal receiver including a data storage device.

32. A fall detection system, comprising:

a wearable device having at least one sensor and at least one stored set of parameters characterizing how to interpret potential fall events, the wearable device able to detect through algorithmic analysis of sensor data with regard to the parameters whether a wearer of the wearable device has fallen, the wearable device further having a transmitter to transmit a report of whether a fall has been detected; and

a console wherein the console has a receiver to receive a report from the wearable device, the console to transmit an alert, and optional additional information, to a call center in response to the report.

33. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the transmitter in the wearable device is a short-range transmitter.

34. A fall detection system of claim 32 further comprising a wireless local area network and wherein the wearable device transmits the report to the console over the wireless local area network.

35. A fall detection system of claim 32 further comprising a wireless node connected to the Internet and wherein the wearable device transmits the report to the call center over the Internet.

36. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the console includes a mobile power source whereby the fall detection system is usable away from a fixed location.

37. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the console is a cellular telephone.

38. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the console further comprises a locator device.

39. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the wearable device further comprises a locator device.

40. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the wearable device monitors the remaining life of the battery, indicating when the available battery power remaining falls below a certain level, indicating that the battery will soon require changing or recharging.

41. A fall detection system of claim 32 wherein the wearable device performs a periodic or on-command self-check to determine if the device is functioning properly, and reports the results of that check to at least the call center.