Abstract
A portable, miniature, wearable health monitor device that is capable of accurate measurement of health indicators such as body temperature and heart rate which is useful in determining illness or the onset of illness in a timely way and automatically notifying the appropriate people and organizational staff to take medical action to prevent the spread of disease and protect both the individual with early intervention and also protect the organization the person is associated with through the prevention of disease proliferation within the organization.
Claims
1. A system for providing a health monitoring of an individual person by skin contact, the system comprising: a wearable device comprising: a material in contact with skin with thermal conductivity greater than 1 W/mK; a thermal sensor mounted on a control board; a direct physical connection or connection via thermally conductive media between the thermal sensor and the material in contact with the skin either directly or indirectly to where the thermal sensor is mounted on the control board; a microprocessor connected electrically to the thermal sensor; an adhesive sticker or elastic strap to affix the wearable device to a person; an internet-connected device; and a wireless connection between the wearable device and the internet-connected device, wherein: the accuracy of temperature measurement is within +/−0.2 degrees Fahrenheit or +/−0.1 degrees Celsius; health data such as temperature measurements are transmitted periodically from the wearable device to internet-connected device; and a health indication is conveyed or communicated for human notification on one or more of: the wearable device via lights or graphical display or audible sounds, the internet-connected device via a software application, a database system via an upload of data from internet-connected device, and an organization system where the person wearing the wearable device is a member.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery or electrical capacity of the device is greater than one year.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is no larger than 40 mm by 40 mm by 10 mm in any dimension of size and no greater than 20 grams in weight.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is no larger than 35 mm by 30 mm by 8 mm in any dimension of size and no greater than 10 grams in weight.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein multiple wearable devices connect to a single internet-connected device.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the device recognizes when it is in contact with the human skin based on health measurements which are in a reasonable range for human operation as compared to when device is in box or not in contact with live human skin, wherein, when the microprocessor if first placed in contact with skin, the device goes into setup mode with internet-connected device and thereafter the device works in normal measurement operation mode when in contact with human skin.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the material in contact with skin has a thermal conductivity greater than 10 W/mK.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the device waterproof to IP67 rating or higher.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the device waterproof to IP68 rating.
10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a radio frequency identification chip (RFID) in the possession of the individual wearing the device wherein the RFID chip is part of device, or part of a student or employment ID card of the person, or within the person's possession as a frequency operated button (FOB), and when the person attempts to physically enter onto organization's campus or facility the RFID is automatically read using by an RFID reader and the RFID data is used to look up the person's health records including at least some data or analysis of data uploaded from one of the person's devices, and wherein organization or organization's system makes a determination if the person is allowed to enter campus or alternatively is not allowed to enter campus freely.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein an alarm or notification will be alerted by one or more of: the access point physical location (such as with an alarm sound and/or lights), the organization database, the organization software or web portal system to health date, the organization administrator(s) personal electronic devices, the end-user personal electronic device(s), and the end-user custodial/family member(s) personal electronic device(s), email to any of these people, text to any of these people.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the device records Bluetooth signals from other nearby devices of the same type and logs this data throughout the day, and wherein this data is accessible to determine which other people the person has been in close proximity to over time.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the device records the location either directly through an on-board location measurement circuit such as GPS within the device or indirectly by recording the location via the wireless connection to a nearby internet-connect device which has location measurement and wherein this data is accessible to determine which other people this person has been in close proximity to over time.
14. The system of claim 1, further comprising: vias in the control board under the thermal resister which are filled with thermally conductive material with thermal coefficient greater than 1 W/mK.
15. The system of claim 1, further comprising: vias in the control board under the thermal resister which are filled with thermally conductive material with thermal coefficient greater than 10 W/mK.
16. The system of claim 1, wherein device is mounted underneath the armpit for accurate temperature measurement.
17. The system of claim 1, wherein device is mounted on the arm, ankle, chest, neck, leg or back.
18. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a heart rate monitor or EKG measurement.
19. The system of claim 1, where device health data is uploaded to a central database and analysis may be performed to correlate actual human health measurements to which persons where actually ill and determine the likely limits or more precise limits that correspond to people when they are ill and/or whe they may be infection with a given illness.
20. The system of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor is a silicon bandgap temperature sensor.
21. The system of claim 1, wherein the users temperature is displayed in a graphical format over time and compares their recent temperature over the past several hours to past several days to their historical temperature as derived by time-series averaging for the same hours of the day.
22. The system of claim 1, wherein the system uses only the higher temperatures for a given period of time and omits the lower temperatures for a given period of time to improve the accuracy of the overall temperature display due to the fact that the lower temperatures are likely less accurate due the nature of the temperature being taken on the skin whereby lower temperatures are more likely to be in error than higher temperatures.
23. The system of claim 1, wherein a device battery or charge cell life is greater than one month under normal use;
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0069] In the accompanying drawings, reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; emphasis has instead been placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Of the drawings:
[0070] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal medical device and adhesive assembly (not shown) mounted together on a person, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0071] FIG. 2 is the system from FIG. 1 with the laser system unmounted from the double-sided adhesive, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0072] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view illustrating the device and double-sided adhesive patch of FIG. 2 in greater detail, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0073] FIG. 4 is a back perspective view illustrating the device and double-sided adhesive patch of FIG. 2 in greater detail, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0074] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view illustrating the device of FIG. 2 and single-sided adhesive patch detail, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0075] FIG. 6 is a back perspective view illustrating the device of FIG. 2 and single-sided adhesive patch detail, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0076] FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the device of FIG. 2;
[0077] FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the device with LCD display in accordance with some embodiments;
[0078] FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the parts of the device of FIG. 8;
[0079] FIG. 10 is a front exploded view of the parts of the device of FIG. 7;
[0080] FIG. 11 is a back exploded view of the parts of the device of FIG. 7; and
[0081] FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method of operation of personal medical devices and associated network systems, in accordance with some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0082] One embodiment of the present invention includes a personal health monitor (PHM) that has a small footprint, typically no larger than 40 mm by 40 mm by 10 mm on any dimension and preferably no larger than 35 mm by 30 mm by 8 mm on any dimension, and has a weight of no more than 20 grams, preferably no more than 10 grams and allowing the health monitoring to be portable, wireless and mounted on the person's body for at least 8 hours at a time and preferably greater than 24 hours at a time. The dimensions are not limited thereto, and other dimensions may equally apply. The preferred embodiment includes one or more of the following attributes: it measures temperature accuracy of +/−0.2 degrees Fahrenheit (or +/−0.1 degrees Celsius), has LEDs or graphic display to indicate health status, has wireless connection to database system to alert user and/or others of health status on a regular basis, takes regular measurement throughout the day, has a battery life of at least one month and preferably one year without charging, is waterproof to IP67 rating and preferably IP68, is shockproof, has an accelerometer or press-button user interface or magnetic sensor.
[0083] FIG. 1 illustrates the device and adhesive assembly (not shown as it is under device) mounted together as a single unitary apparatus 1 as mounted in the armpit of the end-user. FIG. 2 illustrates device (or personal medical device, PHM) 2 and double-sided adhesive part 3 just prior to mounting on end-user. The preferred method of mounting in FIG. 2 is for the end-user to stick the adhesive part 3 on the device 1 first, and then stick that assembly onto the end-user skin in the appropriate place preferably as defined by the FDA for accurate and acceptable measurements.
[0084] FIG. 3 illustrates the front of device 2 in more detail with window 5 for indicator lights to shine through and three indicator lights 4 in this embodiment. FIG. 3 also includes the double-sided adhesive 3 with detail showing the front of adhesive 10 which is preferably an adhesive surface that is covered by a wax-like paper which is peeled off to expose the adhesive just prior to applying to the backside of the device 2. In some embodiments, adhesive 3 has hole 6 cut into it to allow for the metal temperature probe portion of device 2 to contact skin directly. In some embodiments, the contact is indirect, e.g., via an intervening object, material, and so on.
[0085] FIG. 4 illustrates the back of device 2 in more detail with a temperature probe 8, preferably made of material with thermal conductivity greater the 1 W/mK and preferably greater than 10 W/mK such as stainless steel, and optionally ports 7 for battery recharging, or related holes or the like for exposing other components of the device 2. FIG. 4 further illustrates the back of double-sided adhesive 3 with detail showing the back of adhesive 11 which is preferably an adhesive surface that is covered by a wax-like paper which is peeled off to expose the adhesive just prior to applying the device 2 onto the end-user skin. Adhesive 3 has hole 6 cut into it to allow for the metal temperature probe 8 of device 2 to contact skin directly.
[0086] FIG. 5 illustrates the front of device 2 with single-sided adhesive 42 with detail showing the front of adhesive 12 which is preferably a non-adhesive surface that optionally may be covered by design graphics which are appealing to the end-user (such as cartoon characters for your children end-users, for example). Adhesive 42 has hole 9 cut into it to allow for the viewing of device 2 indicators 4. In an alternate embodiment, hole 9 does not exist and the indications either visibly shine through adhesive 42 or there are no indication on the device and indications occur either audibly and/or via the mobile device and/or through the database to the organization and/or apps for the custodial/family members.
[0087] FIG. 6 illustrates the back of device 2 in more detail with temperature probe 8. FIG. 6 further illustrates the back of single-sided adhesive 42 with detail showing the back of adhesive 13 which is preferably an adhesive surface that is covered by a wax-like paper which is peeled off to expose the adhesive just prior to applying onto device 2 such that hole 9 lines up with indicators 4 of FIG. 5, and then adhesive 42 in combination with device 2 is jointly applied to end-user skin with adhesive 42 edges that are wider than device 2 adhering the assembly to end-user's skin. The adhesive 42 may have other larger dimensions than device 2, such as surface area, perimeter size, and so on that permit that device 2 to be partially or completely covered or surrounded by the adhesive 42 (absent hole 9).
[0088] FIG. 7 illustrates the front of device 2 in more detail with clear top shell 14 acting as a window for indicator lights 4, in this embodiment. Also visible in this view top shell 14 is the button cell and electronic chips in this embodiment. In some embodiments, the entire top shell 14 is formed of a clear material such as plastic. In other embodiments, portions of the top shell 14 are clear, in particular, a region of the shell positioned over the indicator lights 4.
[0089] FIG. 8 illustrates a different embodiment where device 17 front view shows a graphical visual display indicating temperature numbers and graphical health indications 16 and optional light indicators 15 as well.
[0090] FIG. 9 illustrates an exploded view of the parts of device of FIGS. 8 with cover 18, display 20, light indicators 19, printed circuit board 21, case back 23 and skin temperature probe 24.
[0091] FIG. 10 illustrates the front exploded view of the parts of the device of FIG. 7 with cover 14, light indicators 4, printed circuit board 25, thermal sensor 26 (the electrical element that indicates temperature and is wired to signal the microprocessor), battery/button cell 29, case back 28, battery recharging pins 7, and skin temperature probe 8. The cover 14 and case back 28 are constructed and arranged for collectively positioned about the printed circuit board 25 and battery/button cell 29. A preferential attribute of this embodiment is to have highly thermal conducting vias (or through elements, which are typically metal such a copper; see 27 of FIG. 11) in the printed circuit board 25 under the thermal sensor 26 and thermal media (e.g., paste or epoxy or thermal grease or similar) is added onto the inside of temperature probe 8 such that when device 2 is assembled, the thermal paste physically connects the temperature probe 8 to the thermal vias (27 of FIG. 11) under thermal sensor 26 such that the heat from the end-user efficiently travels from the skin through the thermal probe 8 through the thermal paste through the vias (27 of FIG. 11) to the thermal resister 26. Alternatively, the printed circuit board 25 may be made of highly thermally conductive material and this may be used instead of the vias under the thermal sensor 26 may be a thermal resistor element or preferably an integrated thermal sensor such as a silicon bandgap temperature sensor. Thermal conductivity of material in vias is greater than 1 W/mK and preferably greater than 10 W/mK.
[0092] FIG. 11 illustrates the back exploded view of the parts of the device of FIG. 7 with cover 14, printed circuit board 25, thermal vias 27 (the hole or holes through the printed circuit board that are filled with metal or highly thermally conductive material), battery/button cell 29, case back 28, battery recharging pins 7, and skin temperature probe 8.
[0093] FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method for administering PHM devices in the context of an organization that manages a group of end-users with the intent to provide some level of safety through the monitoring and management of PHMs. End-user personal heath monitors (PHMs) are shown using symbol 30, mobile electronic devices (MEDs), such as cell phones are shown with symbol 31. Communications between the PHMs 30 and MEDs 31 are shown in dashed lines 42. Communications between MEDs 31 and the internet 36 are shown in dotted lines 35. Communications between the internet 36 and the database 40 and an organization systems' application programming interface (API) 41, organization 38, and access points 37) are shown in solid lines 39. Groups of many devices 30 may connect through a single MED 31 such as in grouping 33 and grouping 34 or a single device 30 may connect through the end-user's personal MED 31 as in the one-to-one pairing in 32. In the preferred method, groupings many devices 30 may connect through one MED 31 as shown in groupings 33 and 34. It is highly preferable that all data communications are done with appropriate prior legal permission and data is encrypted and transmitted in a secure way. In the preferred method, the internet 36 is used to connect device data from MEDs 31 to the database 40. Likewise, the database may communicate back down to the device using the same pathway to send updated operating parameters or software/firmware to the devices 30. Similarly, the application or “app” on the MED 31 may be updated from the database (or app provider such as Google Play or Apple App Store). In addition, database may update parameters in the device 30 (transmitting through MED 31) and/or MED 31 such as health information, warning language, parameters to determine when warnings are triggered, device firmware, and historical data. An application program interface (API) 41 is used for the organization 38 to access data from the database to monitor constituents of the organization who have given permission for organization to access such data or for which organization has legal right to view data. API 41 may also be a website portal with security and login that provides a user interface to administrators of the organization 38 to see the status and history and data of end-users from its organization. Physical access points to the organizations such as door entries 37 may be equipped with RFID readers (or similar technology) which read end-user identification data (such as student ID number or employee ID number) as the end-user enters or approaches the organization. The access point 37 preferably relays the end-user ID information and the access location to the organization system 38 and/or database 40 where the person ID is matched up with that person's end-user PHM health status from the database (either directly or through API) and if end-user/person entering access point is deemed by database (or organization system) to be a health risk, then an alarm or notification will be alerted by one or more of: the access point physical location (such as with an alarm sound and/or lights), the organization API, the organization web portal, the organization administrator(s) MEDs, the end-user MED, and the end-user custodial/family member(s) MEDs. Email and text notification may also be send to any of the persons mentioned.
[0094] It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
