System and method for detecting inflammation in a foot
Inventors
Ma, Ran • Fu, Jie • Scholten, Henk Jan
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12310700-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-27
Expiration Date
Abstract
One variation of a method for detecting inflammation in a foot includes: accessing a first temperature measured through a left temperature sensor and a second temperature measured through a right temperature sensor at approximately a first time, the left temperature sensor arranged in a left sock and the right temperature sensor arranged in a right sock worn on the user's feet; calculating a baseline difference between the first and second temperatures based on confirmation of absence of inflammation in the user's left and right feet at the first time; accessing a third temperature measured through the left temperature sensor and a fourth temperature measured through the right temperature sensor at approximately a second time; and in response to a second temperature difference—between the third and fourth temperatures—differing from the baseline difference by more than a threshold difference, issuing an alarm through the user interface.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a system for monitoring a user using a foot-worn garment with one or more temperature sensors configured to measure at least one temperature on a sole of the foot. Temperature data are received during first and second time periods, where a first sampling rate is used for first temperature data and a second sampling rate is greater than the first sampling rate for second temperature data. From the first temperature data, a baseline temperature of the foot of the user is calculated or a baseline temperature is established as a linear combination of the first temperature data from the plurality of temperature sensors.
The system determines at least one sampled temperature difference based on the second temperature data. For a target region on the sole of the foot, the sampled temperature difference is determined as a difference between a temperature at the target region during the first time period and a temperature at the target region during the second time period, or as a temperature difference between a region on the sole of the foot and the baseline temperature. The sampled temperature differences are compared to a predetermined threshold difference, and inflammation is predicted in at least the target region and/or one or more of the multiple distinct regions.
Upon predicting inflammation, the system triggers an alarm in response to the predicted inflammation, including an alarm through an interface of the computing device. The system also supports monitoring approaches including calculating a trend line based on the first temperature data and the second temperature data and predicting inflammation based on the magnitude and direction of a slope of the trend line. The garment may include placement-detection capability and may include an anklet that houses a power supply and a memory, and may use temperature sensors arranged in multiple distinct regions of a sole of the foot including ossa digit, phalange, metatarsal, tarsal, and heel regions.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims are clm-00001, clm-00008, and clm-00014. Across these independent claims, the coverage is centered on computing baseline temperature(s) from first temperature data, determining sampled temperature differences and/or trend-line slope, predicting inflammation against a predetermined threshold difference, and triggering an alarm through a computing device interface.
Sampling rate-differentiated baseline and target-region temperature-difference prediction
A system where a garment with one or more temperature sensors measures temperatures on a sole of the foot; first temperature data are received at a first sampling rate during a first time period to calculate a baseline temperature; second temperature data are received at a second sampling rate greater than the first during a second time period; at least one sampled temperature difference is determined as a difference between a temperature at a target region during the first time period and a temperature at the target region during the second time period; inflammation is predicted in at least the target region based on the sampled temperature difference exceeding a predetermined threshold difference; and an alarm is triggered in response to the predicted inflammation.
Linear-combination baseline across multiple distinct sole regions
A system where a garment includes a plurality of temperature sensors arranged in multiple distinct regions of a sole to measure a plurality of temperatures; first temperature data are received at a first sampling rate during a first time period; a baseline temperature is calculated as a linear combination of the first temperature data from the plurality of temperature sensors; second temperature data are received at a second sampling rate greater than the first during a second time period; sampled temperature differences are determined for each temperature sensor as a temperature difference between a region and the baseline temperature; inflammation is predicted in at least one of the multiple distinct regions based on a comparison of the plurality of sampled temperature differences and a predetermined threshold difference; and an alarm is triggered through an interface of the computing device when inflammation is predicted.
Trend-line slope-based inflammation prediction
A system where a garment with one or more temperature sensors measures temperatures on a sole of the foot; first temperature data are received during a first time period and second temperature data are received during a second time period; a trend line is calculated based on the first temperature data and the second temperature data; based on the magnitude and a direction of a slope of the trend line, inflammation in the foot is predicted; and an alarm is triggered in response to the predicted inflammation.
The independent claim set covers three core approaches to inflammation prediction from foot sole temperature measurements: target-region temperature-difference prediction using sampling-rate-differentiated baseline and a predetermined threshold difference, region-by-region prediction using a baseline formed as a linear combination and sampled temperature differences compared to a predetermined threshold difference, and trend-line slope magnitude and direction prediction that triggers an alarm when inflammation is predicted.
Stated Advantages
Enables prediction of inflammation in at least one foot region based on sampled temperature differences exceeding a predetermined threshold difference.
Enables prediction of inflammation based on the magnitude and direction of a slope of a trend line derived from temperature data.
Triggers an alarm in response to predicted inflammation, including triggering an alarm through an interface of the computing device.
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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