There are several health conditions that are associated with the pooling of blood in the body, particularly in the area of the lower legs, ankles, or feet. For example, individuals with COPD sometimes experience such swelling. In such cases, pulmonary hypertension may be a complication that occurs as a result of an increase in pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. The increased pressure damages the vessels and causes blood to back up in the veins within the body. Excess fluid leaks into the surrounding tissues, and the force of gravity causes the fluid to pool in lower extremities such as the legs, ankles, and feet. Other conditions can also be indicated by such swelling. As another example, congestive heart failure may result in a reduced amount of blood in the kidneys, thereby causing fluid and water retention which results in swollen ankles, legs, or feet.
In many cases, early awareness of the symptomatic swelling may improve the ability to diagnose and treat the health condition. Similarly, close monitoring of swelling in extremities may allow healthcare professionals to determine when the symptoms have worsened, thereby allowing treatment at the earliest opportunity.
Presently, however, there is no ability to track such swelling except to the extent that it is noticed by the affected individual or by a healthcare professional during an examination. In many cases, swelling or pooling of fluids may be at its peak when the individual is sleeping or otherwise unaware of the condition Likewise, the individual may be aware of some amount of swelling but unable to detect changes in the magnitude. Accordingly, there is no current ability to carefully monitor this important symptom associated with significant health issues.
A preferred version of the invention includes at least one band configured to be worn by an individual around a portion of the lower leg such as a foot, ankle, or a portion of the leg just above the ankle. The health monitoring device is configured to track the diameter of the body appendage over time, thereby allowing a healthcare professional to see changes in the diameter that may be caused by the pooling of body fluids. Further investigation by the healthcare professional may facilitate treatment of the cause of the symptom at an earlier time than might have been otherwise possible.
In some versions of the invention, data associated with the tracked parameter such as the circumference of the appendage is stored with the health monitor for later access and review.
In other versions of the invention, data is transferred contemporaneously in a wired or wireless fashion to a remote device which allows for local analysis and evaluation of a health condition.
In some versions, the data is transferred to a remote device such as that of a health care professional for remote, rather than local, analysis.
Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.
In one example of the invention, a health monitoring device includes at least one band configured to be worn by an individual around a portion of the lower leg such as a foot, ankle, or a portion of the leg just above the ankle. The health monitoring device is configured to track the diameter, circumference, or other parameter of expansion or contraction associated with swelling of the body appendage over time, thereby allowing a healthcare professional to see changes that may be caused by the pooling of body fluids. Further investigation by the healthcare professional may facilitate treatment of the cause of the symptom at an earlier time than might have been otherwise possible.
With reference to
In other versions of the invention, the one or more sensing bands may be positioned to encircle the ankle or a portion of the foot of the wearer, rather than the lower leg as illustrated. In some versions, the bands may be located anywhere along the sock or foot covering, including about the ankle or about desired locations encircling the foot covering portion 11.
With reference to
In addition, the strain gauge will detect vertical sag or compression that may be associated with a vertical movement of the bands such as when the sock slides up or down on the leg of the wearer. Although illustrated in
As discussed above and illustrated with respect
In yet other versions of the invention, the sensor or strain gauge may be directly adhered to the skin of the individual. In such a version of the invention, the sensor may be attached to a substrate such as a sticker that may be directly attached to the skin of the wearer. In the same fashion as described above, the strain gauge would be configured to detect expansion or compression of the strain gauge, thereby indicating pooling or swelling in the location where the sensor is attached. Most preferably, the sticker would include more than one strain gauge or sensor for redundancy and to detect changes in multiple directions. Likewise, the sticker is preferably formed from a material such as gauze that has some natural ability to expand and contract such that it will expand and contract with the skin to which it is adhered. In alternate versions, the sticker may be formed from a thin layer of an elastomeric material such as a gel or thin silicone layer that is able to expand and contract with the skin.
The monitor may include onboard components to collect, store, and transmit data from the sensors for evaluation later or in real time. In one example, as seen in
With reference to
In a preferred example of the invention, the monitor is configured to allow data gathered by the monitor to be transferred to a computer for subsequent evaluation (or, alternatively, for contemporaneous real time evaluation). Thus, in one configuration as illustrated in
The local computer may likewise be in communication with a remote computer 70, directly or over a network 60 such as the Internet. In some versions the remote computer 70 may be that of a doctor or other healthcare professional. The remote computer may be configured to evaluate the data in the same fashion as identified above, or may further include similar data aggregated from a multitude of patients in order to allow comparison of individual data or trends from a single-user with aggregated data or trends from a larger population. The circumference of wearer's leg or ankle may be presented on the local or remote computer as a function of time, for example as illustrated in
If desired, a graphic representation of the circumference (or other indicator of expansion) may be presented along with baseline or average data for the user Likewise, if multiple bands are incorporated into a sock or otherwise worn by the user, the graph may illustrate each of the multiple bands at the same time, thereby allowing a simultaneous representation that might indicate expansion or pooling at one location but not in another.
In some versions of the invention, the local computer 50, remote computer 70, or both may include threshold values stored in memory and programming instructions causing the computer to trigger an alarm if certain criteria are met. For example, the local computer may include a value for a diameter or circumference of the leg or ankle of the wearer (or other parameter indicative of swelling) at a particular location, and a further continually compare actual measured values from the sensors with the stored threshold value in real time. If the actual values exceed the threshold, the programming instructions may cause the computer to sound an alarm such as a tone, bell, or other audible or visual signal.
While an actual circumference or diameter may be calculated for a particular appendage as desired, in some versions the invention need not make such actual determinations. Instead, the system may evaluate the attached sensors or gauges for changes from initial positions. For example, in the version in which the sensor is applied as a sticker, the system (such as the local computer 50) may evaluate changes in impedance in order to determine changes in physiology. The computer memory may further contain one or more threshold values representative of acceptable or unacceptable degrees of change from the initial determined impedance value to allow the system to determine degrees of variation and to sound an alarm or otherwise record such changes as being associated with an unhealthy condition. Similarly, the vertical axis labeled “Circ.” indicating “circumference” in
As described above, the sensors may be incorporated into a band or woven or otherwise attached to a sock in some versions of the invention. Thus, in some examples the monitor is formed as a loop, allowing the foot and leg to be inserted into the loop. In other versions, the monitor may be formed as a length of material that may be fastened together to form a loop. As shown in
The monitor may also include a position sensor 25 as shown in
In the above described examples of the invention, a strain gauge is primarily described as the preferred version of a sensor for detecting the diameter or expansion/contraction of the leg or ankle of the wearer. Other forms of sensors may also be used such as piezoelectric sensors, optical sensors, magnetic sensors, capacitive sensors, or yet others.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/706,532 filed Sep. 27, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61706532 | Sep 2012 | US |