Method and System for Determining a Potential Relationship between Entities and Relevance Thereof

• US 20090265106A1
• Filed: 04/14/2009
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vecna Technologies, Inc
• Original Assignee: Vecna Technologies, Inc
• Inventors: Bearman, Michael, Stein, Carrie
• Granted Patent: US 8,595,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13095 PIN / Access code, authentication

Abstract

A method and system for identifying a relevance of a relation between at least two entities includes receiving at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities and determining whether a proximity between the at least two entities exists. A level of the proximity between the entities is identified. The relevance of the proximity between the entities is determined based on the level of the proximity and the at least one item of information received.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a relevance of a relation between at least two entities, the method comprising:

receiving at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities;

determining whether a proximity between the at least two entities exists;

identifying a level of the proximity between the entities; and

determining the relevance of the proximity between the entities based on the level of the proximity and the at least one item of information received.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity between the entities results from a co-location of the entities at an instance of time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the proximity is based in part on the separation between the entities.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the proximity is based in part on the duration of time in which the entities are in proximity to each other.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the proximity is based in part on the frequency in which the entities are in proximity to each other.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the proximity is based in part on the time elapsed between successive occasions of contact between the entities.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the proximity is based in part on whether there is a physical contact between the entities.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity between the entities results from a co-location of the entities at different instances of time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the relevance of the proximity is based on a duration of time elapsed from a first time one of the entities is in a location to a second time another of the entities is in the location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the relevance of the proximity includes analyzing the at least one item of information, the proximity, and the level of the proximity to determine the probability that an event will occur.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the event is an infectious disease transmission from one entity to another entity.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the relevance is the determination of whether one of the entities is at risk of transmitting an infectious disease.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein one of the entities is determined to be exposed to an infectious disease.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the relevance of the proximity relates to one or more of a security issue, a theft, an access, and a prediction of behavior.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying one or more indicia representing the proximity between the entities, the indicia indicating a connection between the entities;

modifying an attribute of the indicia in accordance with changes in the extent of the proximity between the entities.

16. A method of visualizing a relation between at least two entities, the method comprising:

defining a physical environment to be mapped;

assigning the at least two entities as objects within the environment;

receiving at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities;

displaying a graphical representation of the at least two entities;

determining whether a proximity between the at least two entities exists;

representing the proximity between the entities on a display as indicia indicating a connection between said entities;

identifying a level of the proximity between the entities;

modifying an attribute of the indicia in accordance with changes in the extent of the proximity between the entities.

17. A method of determining an effect of an interaction between a first entity and a second entity, the method comprising:

identifying a first instance of contact between the first entity and the second entity;

determining a first location of the first entity at the first instance of contact;

determining a second location of the second entity at the first instance of contact;

assigning a first intimacy score to the first instance of contact based on the determined locations of the first and second entities;

identifying a second instance of contact between a third entity and a fourth entity; and

determining the effect of the first instance of contact on at least one of the third entity and the fourth entity based at least in part on an analysis of the first intimacy score and the second instance of contact.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the third entity and the fourth entity is the first entity.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the third entity and the fourth entity are the same as the first entity and the second entity, respectively.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

assigning a second intimacy score to the second instance of contact, wherein the determining the effect of the first instance of contact includes analyzing the second intimacy score.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

identifying an item of information associated with at least one of the first and second instances of contact, wherein the determining the effect of the first instance of contact includes an analysis of the item of information.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the first intimacy score is based on a proximity between the first entity and the second entity at the instance of contact and the duration of time that the first entity and the second entity maintain the proximity.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first intimacy score is further based on the duration of time elapsed between the first instance of contact and the second instance of contact.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

assigning a cumulative intimacy score with respect to the first and second entities, the cumulative intimacy score being based on the first intimacy score and subsequent intimacy scores with respect to subsequent instances of contact between the first and second entities.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

displaying one or more indicia representing the cumulative intimacy score, the indicia indicating a relationship between said first and second entities; and

modifying an attribute of the indicia in accordance with changes in the cumulative intimacy score.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second locations are in or around a healthcare facility.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first and second instances of contact includes a physical contact.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein the locations of the first and second entities are determined using an RFID tag and reader system.

29. A method of determining an effect of an interaction between a first entity and a second entity, the method comprising:

identifying a first instance of contact between the first entity and the second entity;

determining a first location of the first entity at the first instance of contact;

determining a second location of the second entity at the first instance of contact;

assigning a first intimacy score to the first instance of contact based on the determined locations of the first and second entities;

tracking a plurality of subsequent instances of contact between subsequent pairs of entities, wherein each subsequent instance of contact is assigned an intimacy score; and

predicting the occurrence of an event based at least in part on an analysis of the first and subsequent instances of contact and the respective intimacy scores corresponding to those instances of contact.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the tracking includes identifying a chain of contact between one of the first and second entities of the first instance of contact and at least one of the entities of one or more of the subsequent pairs of at least one of the subsequent instances of contact.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the chain of contact includes at least one common entity between the first instance of contact and a second instance of contact, wherein the common entity is not the same as another common entity between the second instance of contact and a third instance of contact.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

representing the chain of contact between the first and second entities in the first instance of contact and the pairs of entities in the subsequent instances of contact on a display having indicia indicating a connection between the entities in each instance of contact; and

modifying an attribute of the indicia based on the intimacy score of each instance of contact.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein at least one of the subsequent pairs of entities includes at least one of the first entity and the second entity from the first instance of contact.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the subsequent pairs of entities include one of the first entity and the second entity from the first instance of contact and a different entity in each of the subsequent instances of contact.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein the subsequent instances of contact occur in locations that differ from the first and second locations.

36. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

identifying at least one item of information associated with one or more of the instances of contact, wherein the predicting the occurrence of an event includes an analysis of the at least one item of information.

37. The method of claim 29, wherein the predicted event is an infectious disease outbreak.

38. A method of determining a pattern of contact between a first entity and a second entity, the method comprising:

identifying a first instance of contact between the first entity and the second entity;

determining a first location of the first entity at the first instance of contact;

determining a second location of the second entity at the first instance of contact;

assigning an intimacy score to the first instance of contact based on the determined locations of the first and second entities;

tracking a plurality of subsequent instances of contact between a plurality of other entities, wherein each subsequent instance of contact is assigned an intimacy score; and

predicting the occurrence of a future instance of contact by analyzing the tracked subsequent instances of contact and the respective intimacy scores of each instance of contact.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

identifying at least one item of information associated with one or more of the instances of contact, wherein the predicting the occurrence of a future instance of contact includes an analysis of the at least one item of information.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein at least one of the plurality of other entities is an entity from the first instance of contact.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein at least one of the subsequent instances of contact is between the first entity and the second entity.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein the subsequent instances of contact occur in locations that differ from the location of one of the entities during the first instance of contact.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising detecting a deviation from the predicted occurrence of a future instance of contact based on detecting one of the subsequent instances of contact having an unexpected entity or having an associated intimacy score that differs from a predicted intimacy score associated with the future instance of contact.

44. The method of claim 38, wherein the predicting includes determining which of the plurality of other entities are likely to interact in the future instance of contact.

45. A method of determining an effect of a relation between at least two entities, the method comprising:

receiving at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities;

determining whether a proximity between the at least two entities exists in a first instance of contact at a particular location;

identifying a level of the proximity between the entities;

tracking a plurality of subsequent instances of contact between subsequent pairs of entities, wherein each subsequent instance of contact has associated with it a proximity between the entities, a level of the proximity between the entities, and at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities; and

predicting the occurrence of an event based at least in part on an analysis of the first instance of contact and subsequent instances of contact and the respective proximities corresponding to those instances of contact.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the tracking includes identifying a chain of contact between one of the entities of the first instance of contact and at least one of the entities of the subsequent instances of contact.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the chain of contact includes at least one common entity between the first instance of contact and a second instance of contact, wherein the common entity is not the same as another common entity between the second instance of contact and a third instance of contact.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

representing the chain of contact between the entities in the first instance of contact and the entities in subsequent instance of contact on a display having indicia indicating a connection between the entities in each instance of contact; and

modifying an attribute of the indicia based on the proximity and the level of proximity of each instance of contact.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein at least one of the entities in the subsequent instance of contact includes at least one of the entities from the first instance of contact.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein at least one of the entities in a subsequent instance of contact includes one of the entities from the first instance of contact and different entities in each of the subsequent instances of contact.

51. The method of claim 45, wherein the subsequent instances of contact occur in locations that differ from the location of the first instance of contact.

52. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

identifying at least one item of information associated with one or more of the instances of contact, wherein the predicting the occurrence of an event includes an analysis of the at least one item of information relating to the one or more instances of contact.

53. The method of claim 45, wherein the predicted event is an infectious disease outbreak.

54. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

mapping the entities in a computer program;

drawing the proximity score as indicia indicating a connection between the entities; and

modifying the attributes of the indicia as the proximities change.

55. A method of determining a pattern of contact between at least two entities, the method comprising:

receiving at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities;

determining whether a proximity between the at least two entities exists in a first instance of contact at a particular location;

identifying a level of the proximity between the entities;

tracking a plurality of subsequent instances of contact between a plurality of other entities, wherein each subsequent instance of contact has associated with it a proximity between the entities, a level of the proximity between the entities, and at least one item of information relating to one or more of the entities; and

predicting the occurrence of a future instance of contact by analyzing the tracked subsequent instances of contact and the respective proximities corresponding to each instance of contact.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

identifying at least one item of information associated with one or more of the instances of contact, wherein the predicting the occurrence of a future instance of contact includes an analysis of the at least one item of information associated with one or more of the instances of contact.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein at least one of the plurality of other entities is an entity from the first instance of contact.

58. The method of claim 55, wherein at least one of the subsequent instances of contact is between the entities in the first instance of contact.

59. The method of claim 55, wherein the subsequent instances of contact occur in locations that differ from the location of one of the entities during the first instance of contact.

60. The method of claim 55, further comprising detecting a deviation from the predicted occurrence of a future instance of contact based on detecting one of the subsequent instances of contact having an unexpected entity or having an associated proximity that differs from a predicted proximity associated with the future instance of contact.

61. The method of claim 55, wherein the predicting includes determining which of the plurality of other entities are likely to interact in the future instance of contact.

62. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

mapping the predicted future instances of contact in a computer program;

drawing the proximities as indicia indicating connections between the entities;

modifying the attributes of the indicia as the proximities change.

63. A method of determining whether a relation exists between at least two entities, the method comprising:

gathering one or more items of information with regard to the at least two entities;

determining whether the at least two entities have been in proximity to each other at least on one occasion and if so the level of proximity based on the information gathered; and

determining whether or not the level of proximity is relevant.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the level of proximity is determined based at least in part on the nearness in distance between the at least two entities.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the level of proximity is determined based at least in part on the duration of time in which the at least entities are in proximity to each other.

66. The method of claim 63, wherein the level of proximity is determined based at least in part on the frequency the at least two entities are in proximity to each other.

67. The method of claim 63, wherein the level of proximity is determined based at least in part on the time between successive occasions of proximity between the at least two entities.

68. The method of claim 63, wherein the level of proximity is determined based at least in part on one or more items of information of an isolate.

69. The method of claim 63, wherein the relevancy relates to at least one of a disease or infection.

70. The method of claim 63, wherein the relevancy relates to at least one of a security issue, theft, access or behavior prediction.

71. A method of visualizing a relation between at least two entities, the method comprising:

determining the level of proximity between the at least two entities;

providing a graphical representation of the at least two entities; and

providing a visual indication of at least one relation between the at least two entities wherein the characteristics of the visual indication vary depending on the level of proximity.