Systems, Computer Medium and Computer-Implemented Methods for Monitoring and Improving Biometric Health of Employees

• US 20130012788A1
• Filed: 07/02/2012
• Published: 01/10/2013
• 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.
• Granted Patent: US 9,844,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/20 Workers
• 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 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6889 Rooms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

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 for monitoring the health of an employee including collecting, from a plurality of biometric sensors disposed throughout an employee workstation, biometric health data indicative of biometric characteristics of the employee. The method including determining an employee biometric health profile including biometric health characteristics, biometric health conditions and/or biometric health risks for the employee based at least in part on the collected biometric health data. The method including generating a health plan for the employee based at least in part on the biometric health profile, and displaying the employee biometric health profile and the health plan to the employee.

Claims

1. A system to monitor an employee'"'"'s health when the employee is working at a workstation, the workstation including a workstation surface located above and parallel to a floor, a computer workstation positioned on top of the workstation surface, and a chair located on the floor adjacent to the workstation surface, the chair having a seat portion and a back portion, the workstation having a test zone defined therein, the test zone being an area including the computer workstation, the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, the chair when the chair is positioned adjacent to the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, and the floor under the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, the system comprising:

a set of biometric health sensors located at the workstation for detecting biometric characteristics of the employee'"'"'s health, the set of biometric health sensors configured to collect health data via a plurality of points of contact with the employee while the employee is located in the employee workstation, a first point of contact comprising a floor mat positioned on the floor in the test zone, a second point of contact comprising a computer mouse positioned on the work surface, a third point of contact comprising one or more of the seat portion and the back portion of the chair, the set of biometric health sensors in communication with a communications network and comprising of one or more temperature transducers, one or more force transducer, one or more pairs of conductive contacts, one or more blood pressure transducers, one or more respiration sensors, and one or more pulse oximeters, the set of biometric sensors configured to output biometric sensor data comprising of temperature data output by one or more of the temperature transducers that is indicative of a body temperature of the employee, force data output by one or more of the force transducers that is indicative of a body weight of the employee, resistance data output by one or more of the pairs of conductive contacts that is indicative of a body fat of the employee, pressure data output by one or more of the blood pressure transducers that is indicative of a blood pressure of the employee, respiration data output by the one or more respiration sensors indicative of the respiration rate of the employee, and blood condition data output by one or more of the pulse oximeters that is indicative of a blood oxygenation of the employee;

the floor mat comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more force transducers, and the one or more pairs of conductive contacts,

the computer mouse comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more blood pressure transducers, and the one or more pulse oximeters,

the chair comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more force transducers, and the one or more pairs of conductive contacts located in at least one of the seat portion and the back portion of the chair, and

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 and configured to serve, to the computer workstation for display to the employee, health profile information for the employee, the computer server comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, an input/output (I/O) device interface and a processor, the I/O device interface connecting the computer server to the communications network, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a set of computer readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor to cause the computer server to perform the steps of;

collecting, via the communications network, the biometric sensor data output by the set of biometric sensors;

determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data;

serving the updated health profile for the employee for display to the employee via the computer workstation; and

updating the health information stored in the database to reflect the updated health profile for the employee,

collecting the biometric sensor data output by the set of biometric sensors comprising the steps of;

activating the set of biometric sensors to conduct a health test of the employee; and

monitoring the set of biometric sensors to collect the biometric sensor data sensor data;

determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprising the steps of;

determining one or more of body temperature, body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, and blood oxygenation for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected; and

determining a health plan for the employee based on one or more of the body temperature, the body weight, the body fat, the heart rate, the blood pressure, the respiration rate, and the blood oxygenation determined for the employee;

the updated employee health profile comprising one or more of the body temperature, the body weight, the body fat, the heart rate, the blood pressure, the respiration rate, the blood oxygenation, and the health plan determined for the employee.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of body temperature, body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, blood oxygenation, body mass index, body composition, fitness level, resting heart rate, maximum heart rate, and target heart rate for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of a risk for obesity, a risk of injury, a risk of diabetes, a risk of infection, a risk of inflammation, a risk of circulation problems, a risk of cardio vascular disease, a risk of cardio vascular accidents, a risk of illness, asthma, a risk of allergies, and a risk of bronchitis for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected,

wherein the computer readable instructions are executable by the processor to further cause the computer server to perform the steps of:

comparing one or more of 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.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein collecting the biometric sensor data output by the set of biometric sensors comprises the steps of:

identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times at which the biometric sensor data needs to be collected from the biometric health sensors;

in response to identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times at which the biometric sensor data needs to be collected from the biometric health sensors, querying the computer workstation for the biometric sensor data corresponding to the health test, the computer workstation being configured to collect the biometric sensor data from the set of biometric health sensors located at the workstation; and

receiving, from the computer workstation and via the communications network, the biometric sensor data corresponding to the health test.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the computer readable instructions are executable by the processor to further cause the computer server to perform the steps of:

receiving an employee initiated request to initiate a health test,

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

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein serving the updated health profile for display to the employee via the computer workstation comprises serving an interactive health dashboard for display to the employee via a desktop of the computer workstation, wherein the interactive health dashboard enables the employee to review and edit biometric health information associated with the employee.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein serving the updated health profile for display to the employee via the computer workstation comprises serving a health status widget for display to the employee via a desktop of the computer workstation, the health status widget comprising a graphical display indicative of the current biometric health of the employee, and the health status widget being viewable while the employee is working with other applications on the computer workstation.

9. A system for monitoring the health of an employee while the employee is located in an employee workstation, the system comprising:

the employee workstation comprising;

an employee computer; and

a plurality of biometric sensors disposed throughout the employee workstation, the plurality of biometric sensors configured to sense biometric characteristics of the employee and output corresponding biometric health data indicative of the biometric characteristics of the employee; and

a biometric health monitoring server configured to;

collect the biometric health data indicative of the biometric characteristics of the employee;

determine an employee biometric health profile based at least in part on the collected biometric health data, the employee biometric health profile comprising one or more of biometric health characteristics, biometric health conditions and biometric health risks for the employee;

generate a health plan for the employee based at least in part on the employee biometric health profile; and

serve, to the employee computer for display to the employee, health content comprising the employee biometric health profile and the health plan for the employee.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the employee workstation comprises a chair, and wherein the plurality of biometric sensors comprise a temperature sensor, a body fat sensor and a position sensor disposed in a chair pad positioned in the chair of the employee workstation and that are configured to sense the employee'"'"'s body temperature, body fat and body position while the employee is seated in the chair.

11. A system according to claim 9, wherein the employee workstation comprises a floor, and wherein the plurality of biometric sensors comprise a temperature sensor, a body fat sensor and a position sensor disposed in a floor mat positioned on the floor of the employee workstation and that are configured to sense the employee'"'"'s body temperature, body fat and body position while feet of the employee are positioned on the floor mat.

12. A system according to claim 9, wherein the employee workstation comprises a computer mouse, and wherein the plurality of biometric sensors comprise a temperature sensor, a blood pressure sensor and a blood condition sensor integrated with the computer mouse of the employee workstation and that are configured to sense the employee'"'"'s body temperature, blood pressure, and blood condition while the employee is using the computer mouse.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions for use in monitoring an employee'"'"'s health when the employee is working at a workstation, the workstation including a workstation surface located above and parallel to a floor, a computer workstation positioned on top of the workstation surface, and a chair located on the floor adjacent to the workstation surface, the chair having a seat portion and a back portion, the workstation having a test zone defined therein, the test zone being an area including the computer workstation, the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, the chair when the chair is positioned adjacent to the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, and the floor under the workstation surface in front of the computer workstation, the computer program instructions being executable by a computer processor to cause the steps of:

activating a set of biometric health sensors located at the workstation for detecting biometric characteristics of the employee'"'"'s health, the set of biometric health sensors configured to collect health data via a plurality of points of contact with the employee while the employee is located in the employee workstation, a first point of contact comprising a floor mat positioned on the floor in the test zone, a second point of contact comprising a computer mouse positioned on the work surface, a third point of contact comprising one or more of the seat portion and the back portion of the chair, the set of biometric health sensors in communication with a communications network and comprising of one or more temperature transducers, one or more force transducer, one or more pairs of conductive contacts, one or more blood pressure transducers, one or more respiration sensors, and one or more pulse oximeters, the set of biometric sensors configured to output biometric sensor data comprising of temperature data output by one or more of the temperature transducers that is indicative of a body temperature of the employee, force data output by one or more of the force transducers that is indicative of a body weight of the employee, resistance data output by one or more of the pairs of conductive contacts that is indicative of a body fat of the employee, pressure data output by one or more of the blood pressure transducers that is indicative of a blood pressure of the employee, respiration data output by the one or more respiration sensors indicative of the respiration rate of the employee, and blood condition data output by one or more of the pulse oximeters that is indicative of a blood oxygenation of the employee;

the floor mat comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more force transducers, and the one or more pairs of conductive contacts,

the computer mouse comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more blood pressure transducers, and the one or more pulse oximeters,

the chair comprising at least one of the one or more temperature transducers, the one or more force transducers, and the one or more pairs of conductive contacts located in at least one of the seat portion and the back portion of the chair, and

collecting, via the communications network, the biometric sensor data output by the set of biometric sensors;

determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data;

serving the updated health profile for the employee for display to the employee via the computer workstation; and

updating the health information stored in the database to reflect the updated health profile for the employee,

collecting the biometric sensor data output by the set of biometric sensors comprising the steps of;

activating the set of biometric sensors to conduct a health test of the employee; and

monitoring the set of biometric sensors to collect the biometric sensor data sensor data;

determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprising the steps of;

determining one or more of body temperature, body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, and blood oxygenation for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected;

determining a health plan for the employee based on one or more of the body temperature, the body weight, the body fat, the heart rate, the blood pressure, the respiration rate, and the blood oxygenation determined for the employee;

the updated employee health profile comprising one or more of the body temperature, the body weight, the body fat, the heart rate, the blood pressure, the respiration rate, the blood oxygenation, and the health plan determined for the employee.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of body temperature, body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, blood oxygenation, body mass index, body composition, fitness level, resting heart rate, maximum heart rate, and target heart rate for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of a risk for obesity, a risk of injury, a risk of diabetes, a risk of infection, a risk of inflammation, a risk of circulation problems, a risk of cardio vascular disease, a risk of cardio vascular accidents, a risk of illness, asthma, a risk of allergies, and a risk of bronchitis for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein determining an updated health profile for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected comprises determining one or more of health characteristics, health conditions and health risks for the employee using the biometric sensor data collected,

wherein the computer program instructions being executable by a computer processor to further cause the steps of:

comparing one or more of 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.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, the computer program instructions being executable by a computer processor to further cause the steps of:

identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times at which the biometric sensor data needs to be collected from the biometric health sensors;

in response to identifying a need to initiate a health test using a predetermined test schedule that specifies times at which the biometric sensor data needs to be collected from the biometric health sensors, querying the computer workstation for the biometric sensor data corresponding to the health test, the computer workstation being configured to collect the biometric sensor data from the set of biometric health sensors located at the workstation; and

receiving, from the computer workstation and via the communications network, the biometric sensor data corresponding to the health test.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, the computer program instructions being executable by a computer processor to further cause the steps of:

receiving an employee initiated request to initiate a health test,

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

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein serving the updated health profile for display to the employee via the computer workstation comprises serving an interactive health dashboard for display to the employee via a desktop of the computer workstation, wherein the interactive health dashboard enables the employee to review and edit biometric health information associated with the employee.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein serving the updated health profile for display to the employee via the computer workstation comprises serving a health status widget for display to the employee via a desktop of the computer workstation, the health status widget comprising a graphical display indicative of the current biometric health of the employee, and the health status widget being viewable while the employee is working with other applications on the computer workstation.

21. A computer implemented method for monitoring the health of an employee while the employee is located in an employee workstation, the method comprising:

collecting, from a plurality of biometric sensors disposed throughout the employee workstation, biometric health data indicative of biometric characteristics of the employee, the plurality of biometric sensors configured to sense the biometric characteristics of the employee and output corresponding biometric health data indicative of the biometric characteristics of the employee;

determining an employee biometric health profile based at least in part on the collected biometric health data, the employee biometric health profile comprising one or more of biometric health characteristics, biometric health conditions and biometric health risks for the employee;

generating a health plan for the employee based at least in part on the biometric health profile; and

serving, to an employee computer in the workstation for display to the employee, health content comprising the employee biometric health profile and the health plan for the employee.