Approaches to determining health of a living body through analysis of the pressure of inflatable chambers of a pressure-mitigation device
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Publication Number
US-11801183-B2
Publication Date
2023-10-31
Expiration Date
Abstract
Introduced here are pressure-mitigation systems able to mitigate the pressure applied to a human body by the surface of an object. A system can include a pressure-mitigation device with chambers whose pressure can be varied by a controller that regulates the flow of fluid produced by a pump. The controller may be deployed as part of a closed loop system that autonomously infers information related to the health of a patient based on data related to the pressure of these chambers. For example, the data may be examined to determine whether the values indicate the patient is properly situated. A notification may be presented responsive to determining that the patient is not situated on the pressure-mitigation device, the patient has been improperly situated on the pressure-mitigation device for a certain amount of time, etc. Thus, real-time feedback may be provided to those responsible for monitoring the patient.
Core Innovation
The patent describes a network-enabled pressure-mitigation system in which a pressure-mitigation device is disposed between a human body and a surface and includes a plurality of chambers. A controller includes an ingress interface and an egress interface with multi-channel tubing, where the egress interface has a plurality of outlets, each associated with a different channel of the multi-channel tubing to provide fluid to corresponding chambers. The controller includes a plurality of transducers housed inside a structural body to generate electrical signals representative of a rate at which fluid is flowing into corresponding chambers to maintain a desired inflation pressure.
The controller obtains electrical signals that indicate inflation pressure over an interval of time for each chamber and examines changes that are indicative of movements of the human body. Based on the identified movements, the controller continually estimates a value of a characteristic of the human body over the interval of time and causes display of the value. The estimated value can represent a characteristic such as weight and can additionally include vital signs such as respiration rate and heart rate.
The patent further describes detecting medical events by analyzing temporal series of values indicative of inflation pressure of each chamber. A computer-implemented model is identified and trained to identify seizures using patterns of values known to correspond to confirmed instances of seizures experienced by other individuals, and the model is applied to discover a pattern indicative of a seizure. The system then generates a notification specifying the user experienced a seizure based on the discovery of the pattern of values, and can provide notifications locally and over a network to caregiver-associated computing device(s) and healthcare equipment.
Claims Coverage
The document contains three independent claims (controller, method, and non-transitory medium). Across these claims, the core inventive features are: (1) chamber-specific multi-channel fluid coupling with transducers generating electrical signals representing fluid-flow rate into corresponding chambers, (2) analyzing inflation pressure over time to identify movement-indicative changes and estimating a characteristic of the human body, and (3) applying a trained seizure-detection model to inflation-pressure temporal-series data to generate a seizure notification.
Multi-channel chamber inflation via controller interfaces
A controller having an ingress interface fluidically coupled to an external pump and an egress interface with multi-channel tubing having a plurality of outlets respectively associated with different channels that provide fluid into corresponding chambers of a pressure-mitigation device disposed between a human body and a surface.
Transducers producing electrical signals representing chamber fluid-flow rates
A plurality of transducers housed inside the controller generate electrical signals, where each electrical signal is representative of a rate at which fluid is flowing into a corresponding chamber through a corresponding one of the plurality of outlets to maintain a desired inflation pressure.
Model-based inference of a human-body characteristic from movement-indicative pressure changes
Instructions causing the controller to obtain electrical signals indicating inflation pressure over an interval of time, continually estimate a value of a characteristic of the human body by examining the plurality of electrical signals to identify changes indicative of movements of the human body, and infer the value of the characteristic based on the movements of the human body, and cause display of the value.
Movement-indicative electrical-signal analysis and characteristic estimation in a method
A method in which a controller obtains an electrical signal generated by a transducer over an interval of time, examines the electrical signal to identify changes indicative of movements of the human body, and estimates a value of a characteristic of the human body based on the movements as identified through examination of the electrical signal.
Seizure detection using a trained computer-implemented model over chamber inflation-pressure temporal series
A non-transitory medium with instructions causing a processor to obtain data including a temporal series of values indicative of inflation pressure of each chamber determined through analysis of a rate at which fluid flows into the chamber, identify a computer-implemented model trained to identify seizures using patterns of values known to correspond to confirmed instances of seizures experienced by other individuals, apply the model to discover a pattern of values indicative of a seizure, and generate a notification specifying the user experienced a seizure based on the discovery of the pattern of values.
Across the independent claims, the patent centers on using controller-mounted transducers producing chamber-specific electrical signals tied to maintaining inflation pressure, analyzing inflation-pressure-over-time changes indicative of body movement to estimate a characteristic of the human body, and applying a trained seizure-detection model to inflation-pressure temporal-series patterns to generate a seizure notification.
Stated Advantages
Allows estimating a value of a characteristic of the human body by examining changes indicative of movements based on inflation pressure over an interval of time.
Enables detection of seizures by identifying patterns in temporal series of inflation-pressure values and generating a notification specifying the user experienced a seizure.
Documented Applications
Monitoring and reporting human-body characteristics using a pressure-mitigation device and controller that estimates values from pressure-derived movement-indicative changes and causes display.
Seizure detection and notification based on patterns discovered by applying a trained seizure-detection model to temporal series of chamber inflation-pressure values.
Providing notifications and estimated characteristics to caregiver-associated computing device(s) and/or healthcare equipment for display.
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