Patent Application
20250072671
The present invention relates to a medical equipment for health assessment of an individual. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lavatory equipment configured to assess and diagnosis the vital parameters of a human body.
The overall health of the human subject is primarily assessed with the help of vital parameters such as body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood oxygen saturation, and physical parameters such as weight.
In traditional residential care facilities, these indices are measured and observed by caregivers. The measurements of vital parameters are generally done by individual equipment and charted by the caregivers. The continuous assessment of such data is mainly important for geriatric, cognitive care-based institutions of vulnerable population.
A number of diagnostic equipment are available in the market which carry out measurement of vital human parameters and communicate the same to the user via an interface. Such instruments need to be purchased by the user or a care giver independently for the assessment of various health parameters. Such health checkup instruments work with different electrical connection jacks and receptacles having different voltage and power requirement. Also, the existing diagnostic equipment do not have a facility to store an assessment data to a single data source.
A person undergoes variation in vital parameters while passing faeces/urine. The variation detection can help early diagnose diseases such as Cardiac arrest. Measuring parameters of individuals by doctor or paramedical staff is difficult as toilet is a private area. As per NCBI USA research, 11% of Cardiac arrests (hereinafter may be referred to as ‘CA’) happen in toilet. The part of the research report suggests that, in 63 (62%) events, the concern of family members that a patient had stayed in the toilet “too long” led to their visit to the toilet and subsequent discovery that the individual had sustained CA. In 22 (22%) events, a loud sound/noise due to the patient's collapse onto the floor of the toilet prompted family members to investigate. In ten (10%) events, the CA occurred in the presence of caregivers as the patient had been dependent on the help of caregivers and required assistance in the toilet. The only long-term survivor belonged to this subgroup. The remaining six patients (6%) called or cried for help and were found on the floor by family members who rushed to the toilet. The rates of ROSC in these four subgroups were 30, 55, 70, and 57%, respectively. There were no significant intergroup differences in the frequency of ROSC. In none of the 101 patients was alarm call system available or deployed. (Cardiac arrest in the toilet: clinical characteristics and resuscitation profiles, Inamasu et. al. Environ Health Prev Med. 2013 March; 18 (2): 130-13)
A monitoring and analysis of one or more vital parameters should help in analyzing body response of user while in toilet. Eventually, such an analysis will help diagnose diseases such as constipation, as data for daily pattern of vital parameters stay time, frequency of visits will be available for analysis. The advantages of quick diagnosis of the vitals will also help early detection of cardiac arrest as an abnormal ECG will be immediately conveyed to caregiver/doctor. Therefore, a system should be enabled to enhance safety of the user as early detection of user either through emergency alarm switch or other parameters measurement will reduce time to avail medical help.
Hence, there is a long-standing need of to develop an equipment which is capable of carrying out early detection of variation in vital parameters simultaneously without requiring the user to spend excess time and energy for carrying out the tests by means of separate equipment or by visiting labs. There is also a requirement to develop an equipment which is easy to operate by a human subject without any help from a caregiver.
In view of the above, the present invention introduces a lavatory equipment enabled for early detection of abnormality such as cardiac arrest, quick response, simultaneous assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body, and capable to adapt to obviate the problems/drawbacks of the existing health monitoring equipment in the state of the art.
The main objective of the present invention is to develop a lavatory equipment, which is enabled for simultaneous measurement, recording, assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body in an easy to operate, economical, user-friendly, efficient power consumption enabled and commercially viable manner.
Before the present, system, method, and products are described in the said proposed invention, it is to be understood that the disclosed invention is not limited to the specific system, methods, and products as described herein, as there can be multiple possible embodiments which are not expressly illustrated in the present invention but may still be practicable within the scope of the invention. It is to be understood that the terminology used in the description is to describe the particular versions or embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application.
The present invention describes a lavatory equipment enabled for simultaneous assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body, the said lavatory equipment is operation friendly and may act as a health assistant to a user.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lavatory equipment is enabled for simultaneous assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body. The lavatory equipment may comprise a toilet seat installed with a plurality of sensors to measure and assess the plurality of vital parameters of human body. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a seat ring mounted over a toilet seat. The seat ring may be further attached to a rotatable axis rod enabling swing from a horizontal position to vertical position. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a microcontroller unit configured to store and process data received from the plurality of sensors, said data comprising the plurality of vital parameters of human body. The microcontroller unit may further be configured to compare the plurality of vital parameters with pre-standard parameters. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a display unit configured to display the measured vital parameters values and provide voice enabled interactive information to a user. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a power supply adapter unit configured for receiving domestic A.C power supply along with a small battery unit enabling power backup for a predefined time. The said plurality of sensors may comprise a weight sensor comprising a plurality of load cells positioned symmetrically on a seat ring to bear total weight of a human body. The weight sensor may be further connected to a multi-pin connector which affixed to the microcontroller unit via a plurality of leads. The said weight sensor may be configured to record and analyze total discharge of the user. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a temperature sensor comprising an IR sensor. The said temperature sensor is affixed to the microcontroller unit above a water jet at a predefined height. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a pulse oximeter unit connected to the microcontroller unit by at least one registered jack unit male and a female connector. The said pulse oximeter unit may be positioned in such way that, it enables measurement of pulse from either side of the seat with help of a swing string. The said lavatory equipment may comprise an ECG electrode unit positioned on the seat ring, wherein the ECG electrode unit comprises ECG electrodes positioned on a footrest. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a finger-print sensor. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a blood glucose sensor. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise a blood pressure sensor. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise an electromechanical switch. The said lavatory equipment may further comprise an emergency push switch attached to the microcontroller unit at a predefined height.
In one embodiment, the microcontroller unit may be communicatively coupled with a user device (e.g., a caregiver device) via a central server. The caregiver device may be configured for receiving a health condition data of the user. In one embodiment, the caregiver device may access a mobile and/or web application, stored on the central server, enabled for displaying the health condition data of the user.
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to features and components.
The words “comprising”, “having”, “containing”, “including” and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open-ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
It must be noted that the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictated otherwise, although any methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present invention, the exemplary methods are described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.
Various modifications to the embodiment may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art may readily recognize that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
No terminology in this application should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential or critical. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate example embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the claims appended hereto unless otherwise claimed.
Recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. Where a specific range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range, is included therein. All smaller subranges are also included. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges are also included therein, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range.
The present invention now will be described in total hereinafter. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this invention will satisfy applicable legal requirements.
The present invention discloses a lavatory equipment enabled for simultaneous assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body, the said lavatory equipment is operation friendly and may act as a health assistant to a user.
In one embodiment, referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the toilet seat (101) may be connected to the caregiver device (116) through the network (115). It will be understood that the toilet seat (101) may be implemented in a lavatory equipment (100).
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one implementation, the network (115) may be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network can be accessed by the user device using wired or wireless network connectivity means including updated communications technology.
In an embodiment, the caregiver device (116) may access a mobile and/or web application, stored on the central server 109, which is enabled for displaying health condition data of the user. The health condition data may comprise but not limited to vital parameter details of a user such as weight, temperature, pulse, oxygen level, SpO2 level, fingerprint recognition, user details, emergency alert, blood glucose level, blood pressure, ECG readings, and the like. The said mobile/web application may be communicatively coupled with the microcontroller unit (106) and the central server (109) for transfer and analysis of the health condition data of the user. In one embodiment the caregiver device may be configured to work as a monitoring unit.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the weight sensor unit (202) is connected to the microcontroller (106). The said lavatory equipment (100) is configured to display weight variation parameters on a digital display device such as mobile, and laptop etc. The weight sensor unit (202) may also be configured for sending out indication to a device of a caretaker, a physician, and laboratory for further analysis.
Referring to
In one embodiment of the present invention, the weight sensor unit (202) positioned over a toilet seat ring (104) and integrated with the microcontroller unit (106) may be configured to measure a variation in weight of the user before and after defecation and thereby enabling measurement of total discharge of the user. A regular decrease or increase in weight & body discharge is taken as alert and informed to the user through a lavatory equipment (100) as it may be a symptom of any diseases.
In one embodiment, referring to
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In another embodiment, the weight sensor unit (202) positioned over a toilet seat ring (104) and integrated with the microcontroller unit (106) is configured to measure a stay time by measuring weight after a fixed time interval.
In yet another embodiment, referring to
In still another embodiment, as illustrated in
Referring to
In one embodiment, the said microcontroller unit (106) may be optionally positioned above a water storage unit (102) unit as microcontroller (103) of the medical equipment (100). The IR temperature sensor (203) is fixed to the microcontroller unit (106 in
In an example, the arrangement of the IR temperature sensor (203) is such that the temperature sensor may measure the temperature values of the user while he is sitting on the toilet seat. A final temperature of the user is calculated as the maximum temperature of all the temperature sensor readings.
Referring to
In another embodiment, the temperature measurement sensor unit (203) is an infrared temperature sensor which is a contact less sensor. The user does not have to opt for any special methods to measure the temperature. When the person sits on the toilet seat (101), the temperature sensor (203) in
Referring to
In one embodiment, the lavatory equipment comprises both type of temperature sensors. The user can select either of the two temperature sensors i.e., contact type (1601) or contactless IR temperature sensor (203) for display on the display (108) or mobile Application of the User/caretakers.
In still another embodiment, as illustrated in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention comprises of an integrated pulse-SpO2 sensor (204) which is used for measuring pulse and oxygen saturation level SpO2 of user.
Referring to
In another embodiment, the lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention comprises of a component configured for measuring SpO2 in a lavatory equipment (100). The pulse oximeter unit is configured for measuring SpO2, analyzing and displaying the SpO2 value on screen analysis of pulse variation parameter on the display device and alerts to the caretaker.
In yet another embodiment, the lavatory equipment (100) may comprise an ECG unit (207) having a plurality of ECG electrodes. The lavatory equipment (100) is configured for plotting and analyzing ECG through an ECG arrangement, display the analysis of ECG and pulse variation parameter on the display unit (108) or to a mobile Application of caretaker/user. In still another embodiment, the lavatory equipment may be configured to read and determine an abnormal ECG and can be used to send an alert on display unit or the mobile Application of the caretaker/user on the caregiver device (116).
In one embodiment, the toilet seat ring (104) of the lavatory equipment (100) is configured to measure an ECG of the user through seat ring mounted ECG electrodes 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D as depicted in
In a scenario, wherein the electrical signals received from thighs are weak, an amplifier unit with noise reduction capabilities is enabled to amplify and process the signals. The microcontroller unit (106) is configured to analyze the signals to determine Heart rate, irregularities in ECG when compared to normal ECG of the user. The microcontroller unit (106) may also be configured to inform the user device/caretaker about the abnormal heart rate and ECG irregularities, if any.
In one embodiment, four ECG electrodes are placed on the toilet seat ring as shown in
In one embodiment, the positioning of a plurality of ECG electrodes 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D of
In one example, the microcontroller unit (106) may be configured to provide the Amplifier output to analog to digital convertor (ADC) which may be further transferred to the microcontroller (106) for analysis, and storage of ECG reading of the user. The microcontroller is configured to send this ECG analytics to the caretaker through the display unit (108) and the mobile application. The bioelectrical signal from thighs is given to amplifier and further to analog to digital convertor (ADC) for conversion to digital form. The microcontroller receives, stores, and processes data to determine the ECG of the user.
In still another embodiment, as illustrated in
In yet another embodiment, the lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention comprises of a blood glucose sensor (208). In another embodiment, the blood glucose sensor is a non-invasive sensor positioned on a toilet seat ring (104). In one embodiment, the blood pressure is also measured by placing blood pressure sensor on toilet seat ring (101). A positioning of the blood pressure sensor is same as that of placing contact type sensor (1601) as disclosed in
In still another embodiment, the toilet seat ring (104) may comprise a bioactive integrated sensor as a single sensor to measure three vitals of human body i.e. blood pressure, heart rate and SpO2 (oxygen level). The said integrated sensor is configured to measure a plurality of parameters of user sitting on the lavatory equipment. The positioning of the integrated bioactive sensor is same as that of the contact type temperature sensor (1601). The bioactive sensor is a single chip integrated sensor to measure three vitals of human body i.e., blood pressure, heart rate, and SpO2 (oxygen level).
In still another embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, referring to
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the said lavatory equipment (100) may comprise a pulse oximeter unit (204) connected to the microcontroller unit (106) by at least one registered jack unit male (1102) and a registered jack unit female connector (1101).
Referring to
Referring to
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the said lavatory equipment (100) may comprise a fingerprint sensor (205) configured to identify the user and to store a user specific data. The said fingerprint sensor (205) may also be integrated with the pulse oximeter unit (204), enabling identification of the user and storing the readings of the plurality of sensors for an identified user.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, again referring to
In one scenario, where a user requires to utilize the lavatory equipment (100) solely for urination or defecation without enabling assessment of vital parameters, the user or a caregiver may swing the seat ring (104) to a vertical position with the help of rotatable axis rod (408). In such a scenario, the lavatory equipment (100) may operate in a power saving mode or power off mode.
In another scenario, where the user requires to use the lavatory equipment for excretion as well as to assess and monitor one or vital health parameters the user or a caregiver may swing the seat ring (104) to a horizontal position with the help of rotatable axis rod (408). In such a scenario, the lavatory equipment (100) may operate in a power ON mode to be enabled for simultaneous assessment and diagnosis of a plurality of vital parameters of human body.
The said horizontal and vertical positioning enablement of the seat ring (104) installed with a plurality of sensors (101) reduces the power consumptions of the lavatory equipment. The horizontal and vertical swing enabled by rotatable axis rod (408) to the seat ring (104) may allow the user to use the lavatory equipment (100) with reduced power consumption.
The said lavatory equipment (100) may comprise a microcontroller unit (106) enabled to store and process a data received from the plurality of sensors (201) comprising the plurality of vital parameters of human body and further comparing them with pre-standard parameters. The said plurality of sensors (201) sense the body parameters when the human body comes in contact with the same. In one embodiment the data received from the plurality of sensors (201) and pre-standard parameters are stored in a memory unit (107).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the said lavatory equipment (100) may further comprise a display unit (108) enabled for displaying the measured vital parameters values and providing voice enabled interactive information to a user. The results communicated to the user via a voice enabled interactive information are displayed via interface (210). The interface (210) may further be connected to a transmitter (111). The sensors (201) measure vital human body parameters, which are transmitted to a transducer connected thereto via sensor leads (407). The transducer converts it to analog/electrical signal. The analog signal is converted to digital signal by ADC (analog to digital converter). In one embodiment, the ADC may be provided separately, alternatively it can be in built with a microcontroller unit (106).
In one embodiment, the microcontroller unit is implemented to store received data, which is processed and compared with standard data for communicating the same to a monitoring unit like PC audio/video alarm for caregivers(s) of the user. The said display unit (108) may be positioned at a height of 3-6 ft and preferably 5 ft, enabling viewing comfort to the user or the caregiver. The display unit (108) is enabled to provide an instant reading of the vital parameters. The display unit (108) may further comprise a plurality of compartments having different color display for one or more vital parameters. The display unit (108) is further configured to provide an audio information via an interactive audio unit (not shown in figure). The display unit (108) may be any of an interactive digital display unit wired/wirelessly connected to the lavatory equipment (100) as depicted in
In one embodiment, the display unit (108) is connected to said microcontroller unit (106) installed with a communication mechanism to transmit the data to said monitoring unit such as caregiver device (116) by means of a transmitter antenna. The monitoring unit includes audio/visual alarm, mobile, server, PC, ambulance. The antenna of said display unit (108) forwards data to wi-fi receiver antenna (110) for transmitting the data to the monitoring unit. The transmitter antenna may be enabled as a Bluetooth, wi-fi, NFC, ethernet, wired/wireless communication antenna. The said display unit may be connected with the microcontroller unit (106) enabling the display of the plurality of vital parameters of human body. The said display unit (108) is configured to provide an audio message to the user with help of a virtual assistant.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a power supply adapter unit is enabled for receiving domestic A.C power supply along with a small battery unit enabling power backup for a predefined time of at least for 30 mins. The said small battery unit is configured for auto-charging and providing power back-up in case of power failure. The small battery unit may be an AA, AAA, primary or secondary battery unit. The said small battery unit may be in the form of big storage cell fixed in the microcontroller unit (106) and can be charged after a certain period of time i.e., 2-4 months.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, referring to
In one embodiment, emergency push button/lever (1103) is a push type bright red button identifiable even when the user is semiconscious. The said Emergency push button (1103), when pushed, may be configured to activate emergency alarm switch (802). When the emergency push button (1103) is pressed by a user, the local inhouse/inbuilt alarm (802) may be switched ON and simultaneously a text/SMS/Email/auto generated emergency call may be sent to two or more caregivers and emergency contacts stored in the memory (107) of the lavatory equipment through a wireless/wired signal, IoT, Wi-Fi or similar communication signal. The said emergency push lever (1103) is a distress button for any emergency added to the microcontroller unit (106), and when the emergency push lever/switch (1103) is pressed by the user, an automatic message is sent to a monitoring device of a caregiver (116). In one embodiment, the said emergency alarm (802) may be configured to recognize voice commands. In such scenario, if the user uses a preregistered voice command such as crying three times as ‘Help, Help, Help’, the said emergency alarm (802) may get activated.
In one embodiment, referring to
In yet another embodiment, referring to
The instant invention is further described by the following experimental section:
The lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention may comprise a weight sensor unit (202) for weight measurement of an individual/user. The weight sensor unit (202) is connected to the microcontroller (106). The lavatory equipment (100) is configured to display weight variation parameters on a digital display device (108) such as mobile, and laptop etc. The weight sensor unit (202) may also be configured for sending out indication to a device of a caretaker for further analysis.
The said lavatory equipment (100) comprising the weight sensor unit (202) follows a specific mechanism of determining weight components of the user. When a user sits on a toilet ring, his/her feet are naturally resting on floor. Therefore, the user cannot be considered to put his weight on the toilet ring. The measurement of weight applied on a toilet ring may cause error. Therefore, a modified mechanism is followed while sensing the weight components of the user via the weight sensor unit (202). The working of the weight sensor unit (202) is configured to follow one or more steps such as:
Step 1: Referring to
Step 2: The user lifts both the feet as illustrated in
Step 3: After completing the defecation/excretion the user can again place his/her feet on the stand shown in
Step 4: Before leaving, again the user may lift the feet above the floor for few seconds. The user further lifts his/her feet for measuring body weight as illustrated in
In an Example, the user is enabled to lift his/her feet by few inches twice for measuring both body weight and body discharge. In an embodiment, the total weight of user may be calculated as sum of readings from all the sensors (401 to 406).
In another example the weight sensor unit (202) may comprise a total 6 sensor arrangement (401-406) bearing the total weight of user. Referring to a flowchart of
The microcontroller unit (106) is configured to receive, store, and process weight data as explained below.
Step 1: The user weigh sensing is carried out after a fixed interval of time (e.g.—1 min)
Step 2: During total stay time (Tstay), weight readings are stored as given below in Table 2.
The above weight data of table 2 is further used to find Max. Weight, Min weight, Difference between two max peaks, avg weight etc.
Referring to
The above data is used to declare body weight of the user & body discharge (BD)
Referring to Table 2, all the 11 readings (considering Tstay=10 min) are stored on ad-hoc basis for short duration of few minutes and automatically deleted.
Desired readings e.g. (Max) 1, (Max) 2, (Min), Body discharge (BD) etc. are stored for a longer duration in memory (107) for few months.
The user display values are:
The values are displayed on the display panel (108) near the toilet seat and easily readable/audible by the user visibility position (303) just after toilet seat use. These values are displayed on the display panel within few seconds of the user leaving the toilet seat. The display panel is at user eye level when the user is in standing as shown in
The microcontroller unit (106) of the lavatory equipment is further configured to analyze the data and informed to the caregiver, user, physician, and laboratory through wired/wireless communication. In one embodiment, entire data may be transferred to mobile app created for this purpose. Table 3 represents details of weight data monitored through a corresponding mobile application.
Referring to
In an example, the body discharge values are also displayed on the said mobile application in same format of
In an example, the said external system connected to the microcontroller unit (106) is configured to store, display, and measure a stay time (Tstay) of the user on a lavatory equipment. The stay time (Tstay) of a user can be measured on a daily basis.
In another embodiment, the user can feed a stay time limit as an input data in the mobile Application. A default stay time can be set to any value. In one case the default stay time is 40 mins. If on any day, the user's stay time is more than 40 mins default time, an alert can be sent to caretaker/physician device (112, 113, 114) through a notification system such as email or SMS. The notification is configured to alert the caretaker/physician device (114) that the lavatory equipment user needs an attention as the user's stay time has exceeded than the predefined stay time. In one embodiment, an audio/visual alarm (110) is kept ON informing nearby caretakers in case stay time is more than the stay time limit.
In another embodiment, the microcontroller unit (106) is also configured to convey readings of other vital parameters of users e. g. temperature, pulse, and SpO2 along with “overstay alert” to identify immediate logical reason for an overstay alert.
In one example, the lavatory equipment (100) may comprise a fingerprint sensor (205) as shown
The lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention may also comprise an overstay alarm. In one embodiment, user presence on the toilet seat is detected by one or more of the following methods.
In an example, the lavatory equipment (100) may be configured to recognize the overstay by calculating recorded weight readings of all the load cells and sum of all the readings of the load cell is utilized for further calculation. If sum>=10 kgwt, the system detects the presence of the user of the toilet seat. The lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention comprises of a stay time of the user on the toilet seat on each use.
In another example, to further inform the caretakers, if stay time is more than present stay time. So, it is used to activate “overstay alarm” (110) and send alerts via SMS/email/audio alarm etc. to caretaker/physician. If user stays on toilet seat for a time more than pre-set time (say 40 min.), the emergency alarm switch (802) gets activated and SMS/email/audio alarm etc. is sent to caretaker/physician. The said lavatory equipment (100) is set in an active mode i.e., full power if user presence is detected by any one method. In yet another example, if no user presence is detected, then the system is enabled to activate sleeping mode with minimum power consumption. A presence of user is checked by three possible methods discussed in weight and overstay detection process explained earlier.
In one embodiment, referring to
Step 1: User temperature sensing is done reportedly after a fixed interval of time (say 1 min).
Step 2: During total stay time (Taxy), temperature reading is stored as given below.
(Example: Tstay=10 min)
The above temperature data is used to find Maximum Temperature, Minimum temperature, Average temperature, etc. The graph for above body temperature data is shown in
The above temperature data is used to find Maximum body Temperature, Minimum body temperature, and Average body temperature of the user. All the 11 readings (During stay time of 10 min) are stored on an ad-hoc basis.
Referring to
Referring to
Through wired/wireless communication, entire recorded temperature data is stored, analysed, and transferred to mobile application created for this purpose via a microcontroller unit (106) of the lavatory equipment (100).
Variation of temperature is analyzed, and graph is plotted (
Step 1: The user is advised to sit on a toilet seat ring with both feet touching the floor as illustrated in
Step 2: User should sit at a fix distance from the temperature sensor almost constant distance should be maintained for accurate temperature readings.
For contact type temperature sensors (1601 in
As illustrated in
The pulse oximeter is fitted to the toilet seat as shown in
The user inserts his/her finger in clamp sensor which can be connected to any one of the connections RJ11 which can have fitment locations (1101) as shown in
Referring to
Step 1: User pulse and SpO2 sensing is done for about a minute till the reading stabilizes.
Step 2: During total time for which the user measures his pulse, readings are stored as given below.
The Graphical analysis of for above pulse measurement data is depicted in
The user display values are:
Through wired/wireless communication, all the data is transferred to mobile application created for this purpose.
In one embodiment, the measurement of value equal to or above 102 bpm on a particular day is taken as alert (permissible range is considered between 50 bpm to 120 bpm). In another embodiment, variation of pulse is analyzed, and graph is plotted for Daily heart rate v/s day or date. Rise in heart rate is taken as alert and informed to the user as it may show that the person is not well.
Step 1: User to sit on a toilet seat with both feet touching the floor.
Step 2: An oximeter is fitted at the back of the toilet seat. It is attached with a string (1104) so that user can easily access it. User will put his index or middle finger in the pulse-oximeter clamp sensor for about a minute.
Step 3: The user can further keep the pulse-oximeter steady for above a minute till the reading on the pulse oximeter is stable.
Step 4: The user can check the final stable reading and remove the pulse-oximeter.
As illustrated in
The pulse oximeter unit (204) is connected to the microcontroller unit and may be positioned in such a way that the oximeter enables measurement of SpO2 from either side of the seat with help of a string swing. An arrangement of the oximeter unit is such that the oximeter can measure the SpO2 values while sitting on the toilet seat.
A final SpO2/oxygen level of the user is proportional to the stable reading shown by the oximeter after predefined period of 1 min.
An SpO2 output from the oximeter is given to analog to digital convertor (ADC) for conversion to digital form. The microcontroller unit (106) is configured to receive, store, and process the data as described in below steps:
Step 1: A user oxygen level sensing is done for about a minute till the reading stabilizes.
Step 2: During total time for which the pulse oximeter measures an oxygen level of user, the SpO2 readings are as described in Table 10.
The above SpO2 data as shown in table 10 is used to find maximum oxygen level, and minimum oxygen level of the user. A graph of above data is plotted and depicted as shown in
The pulse oximeter unit (204) is connected to the user display device or may be configured with an inbuilt display unit (108).
These values are displayed on the display panel (108) near the toilet seat and easily readable/audible by the user a few minutes after the toilet seat use. These values are displayed on the display panel within a few seconds of the user leaving the toilet seat.
Through a wired/wireless communication, all data is transferred to a mobile application created for the analysis purpose. In one embodiment, the said lavatory equipment (100)
may integrated with a system comprising a wired/wireless communication system.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the oxygen level measurement such as 94% on a particular day may be considered as an alert (permissible value >=94%). A variation of oxygen level is analyzed and drop in oxygen level is taken as alert and further configured for alarming to the user as the reading of 94% may considered as a threshold to determine that the user is unwell.
The lavatory equipment (100) comprises an ECG unit (207) comprising one or more ECG electrodes as illustrated in
Plotting and analyzing ECG from the ECG unit (207) comprises a predefined step route. The ECG unit (207) is configured to perform an ECG analysis through one or more ECG electrodes, amplifier and the microcontroller unit. The one or more steps may involve:
Step 1: The user is advised to sit on a toilet seat ring
Step 2: measuring an ECG of the user through seat ring (104) mounted ECG electrodes 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D as depicted in
Step 3: The microcontroller unit (106) is configured to analyze the signals to determine
Heart rate, irregularities in ECG when compared to normal ECG of the user.
Step 4: Informing the user/caretaker about abnormal heart rate and ECG irregularities, if any.
As shown in
The bioelectrical signal from thighs is given to amplifier and further to analog to digital convertor (ADC) for conversion to digital form. The microcontroller receives, stores, and processes data as explained below.
Step 1: The user sits on the toilet ring making good contact with EGC electrodes mounted on a toilet seat ring (104) as shown in
Step 2: The ECG readings are taken intermittently (e.g.—3 min OFF, 1 min ON for ECG)
Step 3: The microcontroller unit (106) is configured to store 1 min ON ECG reading data. Further, 3 ECG readings can be availed for the user sitting on a toilet seat for 15 minutes. Thereby, 3 different heart rate readings may be taken from the intermittent ECG readings and are stored in the following manner in a microcontroller or server.
The following Table 13 describes intermittent ECG reading pattern.
In one scenario, referring to table 13 wherein a lowest and highest average heart rate may be transferred and displayed on the mobile Application. All the ECG readings taken at the time of lavatory equipment use may be further stored and used for analysis of the health condition of the user by the caregiver.
In another scenario, wherein one ECG reading is taken by the ECG unit when the weight passes through the maxima. The microcontroller will take care of this logic i.e. to take ECG for 1 minute whenever weigh reading passes through a maxima.
The following Table 14 describes intermittent ECG reading pattern observed over a display unit (108).
In the table 9, minimum heart rate measured is 70, maximum heart rate measured is 72, and an average heart rate is 72. In one embodiment, the lavatory equipment (100) may enable clicking on any of the ECG electrode unit to, view, store and send ECG to any digital assistant device. In another embodiment, the user can send all ECGs to a caretaker by default whenever the user uses the toilet seat.
In an embodiment, a practical circuit along with major components is shown in
The said lavatory equipment (100) as described in the present invention provides following non-limiting advantages:
In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, the disclosed lavatory equipment (100) may further be used in multiple applications including but not limited to:
The embodiments, examples, and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs or the description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination thereof. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments unless such features are incompatible.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2021/061677 | 12/14/2021 | WO |
