Bio-Medical Sensing Platform

• US 20170011223A1
• Filed: 07/08/2015
• Published: 01/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Maria, Joana Sofia Branquinho Teresa, Dang, Bing, Knickerbocker, John U., Zafar, Sufi
• Granted Patent: US 9,798,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/33 using wearable devices, e.g. using a smartwatch or smart-glasses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Methods, devices, systems, and computer program products for implementing a bio-medical sensing platform are provided herein. A method includes receiving one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information from one or more sensor devices via a communication link established with the one or more sensor devices, wherein the one or more sensor devices are associated with a given user; analyzing the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information to perform one or more characterization functions pertaining to the one or more items of biological data and/or the given user; and transferring the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information and/or a result of the one or more characterization functions to a private storage component via a communication link established with the private storage component, wherein said transferring comprises implementing one or more security functions in conjunction with said transferring.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information from one or more sensor devices via a communication link established with the one or more sensor devices, wherein the one or more sensor devices are associated with a given user;

analyzing the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information to perform one or more characterization functions pertaining to the one or more items of biological data and/or the given user; and

transferring the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information and/or a result of the one or more characterization functions to a private storage component via a communication link established with the private storage component, wherein said transferring comprises implementing one or more security functions in conjunction with said transferring.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing comprises comparing the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information to one or more items of reference data.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

providing a set of one or more instructions to the one or more sensor devices.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set of one or more instructions comprises specification of a given lower bound and a given upper bound for a given type of sensed data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information comprise heart rate data, temperature data, glucose level data, blood pressure data, oxygen level data, ion level data, carbon dioxide level data, nitrogen gas level data, alcohol level data, disease level data, radiation level data, and/or stress level data.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

transferring the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information and/or the result of the one or more characterization functions to a third-party system for guidance pertaining to an action to be taken in response to the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or the result of the one or more characterization functions.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising:

verifying the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information received from the one or more sensor devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the private storage component is associated with the given user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the private storage component comprises a private cloud.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link established with the one or more sensor devices comprises a wireless communication link and/or a wired communication link.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link established with the private storage component comprises a wireless communication link and/or a wired communication link.

12. The method of claim 1, comprising:

controlling timing of (i) said receiving, (ii) said analyzing, and/or (iii) said transferring.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said controlling comprises activating the one or more sensor devices on demand.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said controlling comprises activating the one or more sensor devices according to a timed schedule.

15. The method of claim 1, comprising:

implementing one or more analytics to identify the onset of a failure of the one or more sensor devices.

16. The method of claim 1, comprising:

implementing at least two sensing methods in connection with the one or more sensor devices for measuring a common analyte from a common fluid to identify a sensor-related error.

17. The method of claim 1, comprising:

implementing a common reference electrode for each respective one of the one or more sensor devices in a single cavity.

18. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:

receive one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information from one or more sensor devices via a communication link established with the one or more sensor devices, wherein the one or more sensor devices are associated with a given user;

analyze the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information to perform one or more characterization functions pertaining to the one or more items of biological data and/or the given user; and

transfer the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information and/or a result of the one or more characterization functions to a private storage component via a communication link established with the private storage component, wherein said transferring comprises implementing one or more security functions in conjunction with said transferring.

19. A device comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured for;

receiving one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information from one or more sensor devices via a communication link established with the one or more sensor devices, wherein the one or more sensor devices are associated with a given user;

analyzing the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information to perform one or more characterization functions pertaining to the one or more items of biological data and/or the given user; and

transferring the one or more items of sensed biological data and/or sensor-related information and/or a result of the one or more characterization functions to a private storage component via a communication link established with the private storage component, wherein said transferring comprises implementing one or more security functions in conjunction with said transferring.

20. A system comprising:

one or more sensor devices comprising at least (i) a processor, (ii) a memory, (iii) a sensing mechanism, (iv) an energy source, and (v) a communication mechanism;

an integration device comprising at least (i) a processor (ii) a memory, and (iii) a communication mechanism; and

a private storage component;

wherein the one or more sensor devices (i) capture, in accordance with one or more instructions provided by the integration device, one or more items of biological data and/or sensor-related information associated with a given user and (ii) transfer said one or more items of biological data and/or sensor-related information to the integration device via a link established between the communication mechanism of the one or more sensor devices and the communication mechanism of the integration device; and

wherein the integration device (i) analyzes the one or more items of biological data and/or sensor-related information via the processor of the integration device and (ii) transfers the one or more items of biological data and/or sensor-related information to the private storage component via the communication mechanism of the integration device.