Systematic distillation of status data relating to regimen compliance

• US 20130043993A1
• Filed: 08/16/2011
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Jung, Edward K.Y., Kare, Jordin T., Levien, Royce A., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,009 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0538 invasively, e.g. using a catheter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14539 for measuring pH
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment

Abstract

Configuration technologies for cost-effectively monitoring indicia of regimen compliance or noncompliance in response to one or more indications of symptoms or actions or other data on data-bearing media or in wireless transmissions, such as implementing techniques for providing or preventing access or otherwise acting on or communicating incremental or definitive indicia of compliance or noncompliance.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

wireless signal transmission circuitry for generating a device-detectable wireless transmission; and

circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material.

3. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for conditioning a regimen compliance determination upon a first compliance-positive indication and upon a second compliance-positive indication, the first compliance-positive indication being the ex situ device detecting the wireless transmission, indicating the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

4. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for conditioning whether a message is sent upon whether a temperature exceeds a threshold, the temperature being at a capsule that includes a temperature sensor and the wireless signal transmission circuitry, the capsule being ingestible by a human being, the threshold being above 37°

C. by at most a few degrees, the message being sent conditionally in response to the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device indicating that the temperature exceeds the threshold.

5. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for conditioning whether a message is sent upon whether a temperature exceeds a threshold, the temperature being at a capsule that includes a temperature sensor and the wireless signal transmission circuitry, whether the message is sent being a result of the wireless transmission being detected by the ex situ device.

6. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for causing a door to become locked or unlocked selectively in response to the wireless transmission being detected by the ex situ device.

8. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material, the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material selectively indicating a component of blood as the biological material.

9. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material, the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material selectively indicating an enzyme as the biological material.

10. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material, the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material selectively indicating stomach acid as the biological material.

11. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material, the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material selectively indicating mucous of a small intestine of a human being as the biological material.

17. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a regimen compliance data distillation by causing an application of one or more sensor measurement thresholds to sensor data.

18. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a regimen compliance data distillation by causing an application of one or more auditory data distillation criteria, at least one of the one or more auditory distillation criteria being configured to determine whether auditory data obtained via the ex situ device includes a compliance-positive indication, the compliance-positive indication being at least one of a swallowing sound or a vocalized assertion.

19. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a regimen compliance data distillation by causing an application of one or more auditory data distillation criteria to auditory data obtained via the ex situ device.

25. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for applying a provider-specified criterion to device-detectable health-indicative data, the provider-specified criterion signaling a data distillation protocol, the device-detectable health-indicative data including a component of the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device.

26. The system of claim 1 in which the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

circuitry for signaling an identifier of a capsule, the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device including the identifier of the capsule.

27. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for conditioning an output upon receiving radio-frequency energy, the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device including the radio-frequency energy, the output indicating the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

28. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for signaling a passive wireless transponder in a capsule, the passive wireless transponder in the capsule being the wireless signal transmission circuitry.

29. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for conditioning an output upon a presence of or an absence of an indication of contraband, the contraband being the biological material, the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material manifesting the presence of the indication of the contraband.

30. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for obtaining an indication of when at least a portion of a vessel moved, the vessel including the wireless signal transmission circuitry.

31. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for detecting whether data from one or more sensors indicate an actuation of a portion of a dispensing device, the dispensing device being large enough to contain a plurality of capsules each containing a therapeutic material, a first one of the plurality of capsules including the wireless signal transmission circuitry, a second one of the plurality of capsules superficially resembling the first one of the plurality of capsules but not containing any wireless signal transmission circuitry.

33. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for indicating a data distillation protocol at least partly based on a demographic attribute of a subpopulation, the specific individual having ingested the device.

34. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for detecting a device associated with an individual, the individual having ingested the device, the device including the wireless signal transmission circuitry.

36. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining whether an event occurred within a normal interval of time and for signaling a regimen compliance data distillation selectively including a compliance-negative indication if the indication of the abnormally late order for the therapeutic component is obtained.

37. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for signaling a regimen compliance data distillation by identifying a data distillation protocol, the data distillation protocol being a component of a user-specified monitoring regimen.

38. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for signaling a regimen compliance data distillation by identifying a data distillation protocol, the data distillation protocol being selected in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

39. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for obtaining an indication of whether an individual remains enrolled in a program requiring a therapeutic regimen, the circuitry for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device being partly based on the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material and partly based on the indication of whether the individual remains enrolled in the program requiring the therapeutic regimen.

2. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

12-16. -16. (canceled)

20-24. -24. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

40. (canceled)

41. A method comprising:

configuring wireless signal transmission circuitry for generating a device-detectable wireless transmission; and

causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material.

47. The method of claim 41 in which the causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

deciding whether a status of an individual has apparently changed, the ex situ device configured to be supported by the individual, the status of the individual including a regimen compliance status signaled responsively to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

51. The method of claim 41 in which the causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

the causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material, the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material selectively indicating mucous of a small intestine of a human being as the biological material.

54. The method of claim 41 in which the causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material comprises:

transmitting a regimen compliance determination as an actuation signal conditionally in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

42-46. -46. (canceled)

48-50. -50. (canceled)

52-53. -53. (canceled)

55-79. -79. (canceled)

80. A system comprising:

means for generating a device-detectable wireless transmission; and

means for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material.

81-98. -98. (canceled)

99. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more physical media configured to bear a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least

obtaining circuitry for generating a device-detectable wireless transmission; and

causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material.

101. The article of manufacture of claim 99 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more signal-bearing media configured to transmit one or more instructions for conditioning a regimen compliance determination upon a first compliance-positive indication and upon a second compliance-positive indication, the first compliance-positive indication being the ex situ device detecting the wireless transmission.

102. The article of manufacture of claim 99 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more signal-bearing media configured to transmit one or more instructions for conditioning whether a message is sent upon whether a temperature exceeds a threshold.

105. The article of manufacture of claim 99 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more signal-bearing media configured to transmit one or more instructions for causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate the wireless transmission detectable by the ex situ device in response to the material-selective in situ detection of the biological material.

100. (canceled)

103-104. -104. (canceled)

106-114. -114. (canceled)

115. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable output indicating an occurrence of

obtaining circuitry for generating a device-detectable wireless transmission; and

causing the wireless signal transmission circuitry in situ to initiate a wireless transmission detectable by an ex situ device in response to a material-selective in situ detection of a biological material.

117. The article of manufacture of claim 115 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable output indicating an occurrence of conditioning a regimen compliance determination upon a first compliance-positive indication and upon a second compliance-positive indication, the first compliance-positive indication being the ex situ device detecting the wireless transmission.

121. The article of manufacture of claim 115 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable output indicating an occurrence of distilling historical data indicative of or contraindicative of a health status transition apparently relating to an infection in an individual, the health status transition apparently relating to the infection in the individual being at least one of a health status improvement or a health status deterioration.

122. The article of manufacture of claim 115 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable output indicating an occurrence of distilling historical data indicative of or contraindicative of a health status transition apparently relating to cardiovascular disease in an individual, the health status transition apparently relating to cardiovascular disease in the individual being at least one of a health status improvement or a health status deterioration.

116. (canceled)

118-120. -120. (canceled)

123-129. -129. (canceled)