Personal health management device, method and system

• US 8,571,880 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ideal Life, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ideal Life, Inc.
• Inventors: Goldberg, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, Calvin L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Qayyum, Zeshan
• Application Number:
  US10/913,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,371 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 600/300, 340/870
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/4146 for controlling caloric intake, e.g. diet control
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/50 having additional measuring devices, e.g. for height
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/3728 with wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/3735 using a digital network
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

The present invention generally provides personal health management devices, and corresponding systems and methods. The personal health management device generally include an electronic controller and at least one memory device which cooperate to store at least temporarily weight management data for managing the weight of at least one user, such as a user'"'"'s weight, a user'"'"'s body fat percentage, exercise data, food consumption data, or a combination thereof, obtained from at least one component for obtaining such data, such as a keypad, a body fat percentage sensor for measuring a user'"'"'s body fat percentage, a scale for measuring a user'"'"'s weight, an exercise machine, a food scale, etc, and a communications unit for communicating the data obtained to a healthcare provider for monitoring progress with respect to a weight management program over a communications network.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for use in managing weight of at least one subject, the monitoring system being adapted to communicate with a remote computer over a communications network, the monitoring system comprising a monitoring device and a local base unit,

the monitoring device comprising:

a scale which obtains weight data of a subject;

an input device;

a display device, the monitoring device being configured to display on the display device weight data obtained by the scale; and

at least one communications unit which wirelessly transmits weight data and messages based on input from the input device to the local base unit and which receives at least messages from the local base unit;

the monitoring device being configured to display on the display device messages based on input from the input device and messages received by the at least one communications unit from the local base unit;

the local base unit being configured to (a) receive the weight data and the messages wirelessly from the monitoring device without passing through the communications network, (b) transmit the weight data and the messages received from the monitoring device over the communications network for receipt by the remote computer without the local base unit displaying the weight data and messages received from the monitoring device, (c) receive at least messages over the communications network provided by the remote computer and (d) wirelessly provide at least the messages received over the communications network to the monitoring device without the local base unit displaying the messages received from the remote computer;

wherein the monitoring device and the local base unit are located on a same side of the communications network such that communications therebetween do not pass thorough the communications network and the local base unit communicates over the communications network with the remote computer, and the local base unit is configured to communicate with the monitoring device and with the remote computer without operation of a user interface.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the monitoring device comprises a weight management device incorporating the display device and the input device, and wherein the scale is separate from the weight management device and is configured to wirelessly transmit weight data.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the weight management device includes a wireless communications unit which receives weight data from the scale, an electronic controller and a memory device, the electronic controller causing weight data received by the communications unit to be stored in the memory device at least temporarily, the electronic controller providing weight data and messages for display on the display device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the monitoring device is configured to receive data from at least one sensor in addition to receiving weight data from the scale.

5. The system of claim 1 comprising another monitoring device configured to communicate with the local base unit, the other monitoring device being configured to receive data from at least one sensor.