Floor mat system and associated, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for monitoring and improving health and productivity of employees

• US 9,615,746 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2012
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson, Gary
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAHAKIS, MANOLIS Y
• Application Number:
  US13/540,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20130012787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,744 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/00 Measuring for diagnostic purposes radiation diagnosis A61B6/00; diagnosis by ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/00; Identification of persons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• 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 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1114 Tracking parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/40 Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the nervous system A61B5/4806, A61B5/4821, A61B5/4824 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6897 Computer input devices, e.g. mice or keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/72 : Signal processing specially adapted for physiological signals or for diagnostic purposes character recognition, recognising digital ink, document-oriented image-based pattern recognition G06V30/00; recognition or understanding of postal images G06V30/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 : Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 : Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 : using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 : ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation

Abstract

Provided are embodiments of systems, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for sensing health characteristics of a user using a floor mat including a set of health sensors integrated therewith. The set of health sensors including temperature sensors, body position sensors, and body fat sensors. A method including receiving, from the temperature sensors, temperature data corresponding to a sensed body temperature of the user, receiving, from the body position sensors, body position data corresponding to a sensed body position of the user, receiving, from the body fat sensors, body fat data corresponding to a sensed body fat of the user, and transmitting, to a computer workstation, health data corresponding to the temperature data, the body position data, and the body fat data for use in determining the body temperature, the body position, and the body fat of the user.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring employee health, the system comprising:

an employee workstation associated with an employee of an employer, the employee workstation comprising;

an employee computer comprising a display;

a computer mouse with a computer mouse blood pressure cuff configured to sense a blood pressure of the employee, wherein the computer mouse is configured to output computer mouse data comprising the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

a chair comprising a chair pad, wherein the chair pad comprises a chair pad force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the chair by the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad is configured to output chair pad data comprising the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor; and

a floor mat disposed on a floor of the workstation, wherein the floor mat comprises;

a floor mat force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat by the employee seated in the chair; and

a floor mat body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair, and

wherein the floor mat is configured to output floor mat data comprising the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor and the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor; and

a health monitoring computer server configured to;

continuously collect, from the employee workstation, health data comprising the computer mouse data, the chair pad data and the floor mat data;

determine a blood pressure of the employee based on the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

determine a body weight of the employee seated in the chair based on an addition of the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors;

determine a body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

determine a health profile for the employee, the health profile comprising the blood pressure, the body weight and the body fat of the employee;

predict a health risk for the employee, based on the health profile for the employee;

determine an exercise and a nutrition goal based on and to alleviate the predicted health risk;

serve, to the employee computer, health content comprising the health profile for the employee, the nutrition goal, and a health status avatar that includes an animated demonstration of the exercise,

wherein the employee computer is configured to display, via the display of the employee computer, the health content.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein the chair pad comprises a chair pad body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair,

wherein the chair pad data comprises the body fat sensed by the chair pad body fat sensor, and

wherein determining the body fat of the employee comprises determining the body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the chair pad body fat sensor.

3. The system of claim 1,

wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee grasping the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the computer mouse temperature sensor,

wherein the chair pad comprise a chair pad temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the chair pad temperature sensor,

wherein the floor mat comprise a floor mat temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee seated in the chair, wherein the floor mat data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the floor mat temperature sensor,

wherein the health monitoring server is configured to determine a body temperature of the employee based on the body temperature sensed by the computer mouse temperature sensor, the body temperature sensed by the chair pad temperature sensor, and the body temperature sensed by the floor mat temperature sensor, and

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the body temperature of the employee.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse location sensor configured to sense a location of the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor,

wherein the health monitoring server is configured to determine a body position of the employee based on the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor and the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors, and

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the body position of the employee.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse location sensor configured to sense a location of the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor,

wherein the health monitoring server is configured to determine a muscle tension of the employee based on the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor, and

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the muscle tension of the employee.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein determining the muscle tension of the employee comprises:

determining a length of time that an arm of the employee has been extended to interact with the computer mouse; and

determining the muscle tension based on the length of time that the arm of the employee has been extended to interact with the computer mouse.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the health monitoring server is configured to:

determine, based on the health data collected, a group health report for a group of employees of the employer that are common to a facility, region or team; and

serve, to an employer workstation associated with the employer and comprising a display, the group health report, wherein the employer workstation is configured to display the group health report via the display of the employer workstation.

8. A method for monitoring employee health, the method comprising:

collecting, by an employee computer in an employee workstation associated with an employee of an employer and from a computer mouse in the employee workstation, computer mouse data, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse blood pressure cuff configured to sense a blood pressure of the employee, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

collecting, by the employee computer from a chair pad of a chair in the employee workstation, chair pad data, the chair pad comprising a chair pad force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the chair by the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad data comprises the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor; and

collecting, by the employee computer from a floor mat disposed on a floor of the employee workstation, floor mat data, wherein the floor mat comprises;

a floor mat force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat by the employee seated in the chair; and

a floor mat body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair, and

wherein the floor mat data comprises the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor and the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

continuously collecting, by a health monitoring computer server from the employee computer, health data comprising the computer mouse data, the chair pad data and the floor mat data;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a blood pressure of the employee based on the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a body weight of the employee based on an addition of the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a health profile for the employee, the health profile comprising the blood pressure, the body weight and the body fat of the employee;

predicting a health risk for the employee, by the health monitoring computer server, and based on the health profile for the employee;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a nutrition goal and an exercise based on and to alleviate the predicted health risk;

serving, by the health monitoring server to the employee computer, health content comprising the health profile for the employee, the nutrition goal, and a health status avatar that includes an animated demonstration of the exercise; and

displaying, by the employee computer, the health content.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the body weight of the employee comprises adding the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors.

10. The method of claim 8,

wherein the chair pad comprises a chair pad body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair,

wherein the chair pad data comprises the body fat sensed by the chair pad body fat sensor, and

wherein determining the body fat of the employee comprises determining the body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the chair pad body fat sensor.

11. The method of claim 8,

wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee grasping the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the computer mouse temperature sensor,

wherein the chair pad comprise a chair pad temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the chair pad temperature sensor,

wherein the floor mat comprise a floor mat temperature sensor configured to sense a body temperature of the employee seated in the chair, wherein the floor mat data comprises the body temperature of the employee sensed by the floor mat temperature sensor,

the method further comprising:

determining a body temperature of the employee based on the body temperature sensed by the computer mouse temperature sensor, the body temperature sensed by the chair pad temperature sensor, and the body temperature sensed by the floor mat temperature sensor,

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the body temperature of the employee.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse location sensor configured to sense a location of the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor,

the method further comprising:

determining a body position of the employee based on the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor and the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors,

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the body position of the employee.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse location sensor configured to sense a location of the computer mouse, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor,

the method further comprising:

determining a muscle tension of the employee based on the location sensed by the computer mouse location sensor,

wherein the health profile for the employee comprises the muscle tension of the employee.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the muscle tension of the employee comprises:

determining a length of time that an arm of the employee has been extended to interact with the computer mouse; and

determining the muscle tension based on the length of time that the arm of the employee has been extended to interact with the computer mouse.

15. The method of claim 8, the method further comprising:

determining, based on the health data collected, a group health report for a group of employees of the employer that are common to a facility, region or team; and

serving, by the health monitoring server to an employer computer associated with the employer, the group health report; and

displaying, the employer computer, the group health report.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor to cause the following operations comprising:

collecting, by an employee computer in an employee workstation associated with an employee of an employer and from a computer mouse in the employee workstation, computer mouse data, wherein the computer mouse comprises a computer mouse blood pressure cuff configured to sense a blood pressure of the employee, wherein the computer mouse data comprises the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

collecting, by the employee computer from a chair pad of a chair in the employee workstation, chair pad data, the chair pad comprising a chair pad force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the chair by the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad data comprises the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor; and

collecting, by the employee server computer from a floor mat disposed on a floor of the employee workstation, floor mat data, wherein the floor mat comprises;

a floor mat force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat by the employee seated in the chair; and

a floor mat body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair, and

wherein the floor mat data comprises the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor and the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

continuously collecting, by a health monitoring computer server from the employee computer, health data comprising the computer mouse data, the chair pad data and the floor mat data;

determining a blood pressure of the employee based on the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a body weight of the employee based on an addition of the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a health profile for the employee, the health profile comprising the blood pressure, the body weight and the body fat of the employee;

predicting a health risk for the employee, by the health monitoring computer server and based on the health profile for the employee, a predicted health risk for the employee;

determining, by the health monitoring server, a nutrition goal and an exercise based on and to alleviate the predicted health risk;

serving, by the health monitoring server to the employee computer, health content comprising the health profile for the employee, the nutrition goal, and a health status avatar that includes an animated demonstration of the exercise; and

displaying, by the employee computer, the health content.

17. A system for monitoring employee health, the system comprising:

a plurality of employee workstations for a plurality of employees of an employer, each of the employee workstations associated with an employee of the plurality of employees, and each of the employee workstations comprising;

an employee computer comprising a display;

a computer mouse with a computer mouse blood pressure cuff configured to sense a blood pressure of the employee, wherein the computer mouse is configured to output computer mouse data comprising the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

a chair comprising a chair pad, wherein the chair pad comprises a chair pad force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the chair by the employee seated in the chair, wherein the chair pad is configured to output chair pad data comprising the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor; and

a floor mat disposed on a floor of the workstation, wherein the floor mat comprises;

a floor mat force sensor configured to sense a force applied to the floor mat by the employee seated in the chair; and

a floor mat body fat sensor configured to sense a body fat of the employee seated in the chair, and

wherein the floor mat is configured to output floor mat data comprising the force sensed by the chair pad force sensor and the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor; and

a health monitoring server configured to, for each of the employee workstations;

continuously collect health data comprising the computer mouse data, the chair pad data and the floor mat

determine

a blood pressure based on the blood pressure sensed by the computer mouse blood pressure cuff;

determine a body weight of the employee seated in the chair based on an addition of the forces sensed by the chair pad and floor mat force sensors;

determine a body fat of the employee based on the body fat sensed by the floor mat body fat sensor;

determine a health profile for the, the health profile comprising the blood pressure, the body weight and the body fat of the employee;

predict a health risk for the employee based on the health profile for the employee,

determine an exercise and a nutrition goal based on and to alleviate the predicted health risk;

serve, to the employee computer, health content comprising the health profile for the employee, the nutrition goal, and a health status avatar that includes an animated demonstration of the exercise,

wherein the employee computer is configured to display, via the display of the employee computer, the health content.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the health monitoring server is configured to:

determine, based on a health profile for a first employee associated with a first employee workstation of the plurality of employee workstations, a predicted health risk for the first employee;

determine an exercise to alleviate the predicted health risk;

serve, to the first employee workstation, an indication of the exercise;

wherein the employee computer of the first employee workstation is configured to display an animated demonstration of the exercise.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the health monitoring server is configured to:

determine, based on the health data collected, a group health report for a group of employees of the employer that are common to a facility, region or team; and

serve, by the health monitoring server to an employer computer associated with the employer, the group health report,

wherein the employer computer is configured to display the group health report.