The present disclosure relates to a portable podiatric activity tracking system, and more particularly, to an apparatus, system, and computer-implemented method for monitoring the neuromuscular gait, stance, and performance related to the feet of an end user and providing gait correction recommendations to the end user while also providing real time feedback.
Gait disorders are frequently seen in the context of neuromuscular disorders. The most common neurologic causes include Parkinson's disease, frontal gait disorders, cerebral ataxia, and spasticity due to stroke, multiple sclerosis and/or spinal cord injury. For a number of these gait disorders, the first line of treatment is non-surgical. Treatment modalities include medications to decrease muscle tonicity, physical therapy, and bracing. While bracing techniques have been shown to be effective, there are numerous inherent risks posed to the end user utilizing the bracing techniques. For example, modern braces are designed to fit more intimately than traditional braces of the past. Although the use of modern braces has led to improved efficacy, there has been a documented increase in the incidence of lower extremity skin issues related to structural or environmental stresses related to the modern braces.
Furthermore, the CDC estimates that 37.3 million people in the United States are diabetic and nearly 50% of diabetics suffer from some component of peripheral neuropathy (e.g., damaged nerves which impair sensation in the limbs). Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a serious complication of peripheral neuropathy that results in significant morbidity and mortality. Mortality rates associated with the development of a DFU are estimated to be 5% in the first 12 months, and 5-year mortality rates have been estimated at 42%. In addition, patients with DFUs were also found to have a 2.5× increased risk of death compared with their diabetic counterparts without foot wounds. Considering these findings, the medical treatment of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy focuses on ulcer prevention to limit the associated morbidity and mortality risks. Prevention remains the gold standard for reducing DFUs. Common treatment regimens involve blood sugar management, weight loss, tobacco cessation, proper shoe wear and/or frequent skin inspections. However, despite an adherence to a comprehensive ulcer prevention program, a diabetic ulcer may still occur.
Inventors have discovered many technical inefficiencies and shortcomings related to the monitoring and management of the neuromuscular gait, stance, and podiatric performance associated with end users with various podiatric issues. Embodiments of the present disclosure have been designed and implemented to address these technological inefficiencies and shortcomings and have been detailed herein.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a portable podiatry sensing platform with a recommendation and feedback system that can be tailored to particular regions of the feet of an end user. Embodiments herein have been termed the Smart Adjustable FEet activity tracking and Recommendation (SAFER) system. The main components of the SAFER system include podiatric data central (PODAC) module, movable podiatry tracker (MOPT), and an external power unit. The central hub is contained in the PODAC module, which handles primary communication with an end device of the end user as well as the MOPTs. The data gathered by the MOPTs is summarized by the PODAC module and transmitted to the end device associated with the end user.
The MOPT handles signal processing of podiatry-related sensors, including but not limited to, force sensing resistors, shear force sensors, and/or temperature and humidity sensors. In some embodiments, sensors such as the force sensing resistors and the shear force sensors require additional circuitry in the form of signal processing circuits. MOPTs can be designed with multiple arms configured to spread out the sensors to create a better spatial measurement map.
Additionally, an active feedback unit inside a respective MOPT can help guide the end user by using vibration, heat, sound, and/or other types of alerts based at least in part on the appropriateness of the alert relative to the foot activity and condition of the end user. The PODAC module and the MOPTs are built in multiple layers, which include electronic-safe epoxy, surface mount components, flexible PCB substrate, and/or waterproof/skin-safe adhesives. The inclusion of certain layers in the PODAC module and/or MOPTs is dependent on the intended surfaces such as, for example, existing footwear and/or skin (epidermis), as well as the location of the PODAC module and/or MOPTs. For example, in some embodiments an MOPT can be stuck on top of the surface or embedded within the footwear. The flexible and portable design of the PODAC and/or MOPTs enable the end user, professionals, and/or manufactures to place these sensors in particular regions of the foot for personalized monitoring.
A mobile software application associated with an end device (e.g., a smartphone) associated with the end user integrates with an information database configured to store present and previous state-of-foot conditions determined based at least in part on data generated by the PODAC modules and/or the relative locations of the MOPTs. Data measured, gathered, calculated, and/or otherwise obtained by the PODAC module and/or MOPTs can be used in a foot heatmap algorithm, a self-calibration procedure, and/or a recommendation system configured to provide active feedback to the end device associated with a particular end user. The recommendation system configured to provide active feedback notifies, guides, and/or advises the end user on their foot activity. The recommendation system can generate one or more recommendations for a particular end user comprising recommendations to make adjustments to footwear and/or stance, to take rests to avoid overexertion, and/or to alter the gait of the end user in order to mitigate potential damage to the foot and encourage best practices. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to multiple use cases including, but not limited to, localized foot ulcer monitoring for certain patients and/or foot performance monitoring for athletic and fitness applications.
As mentioned herein, gait disorders are frequently seen in the context of neuromuscular disorders. The most common neurologic causes include Parkinson's disease, frontal gait disorders, cerebral ataxia, and spasticity due to stroke, multiple sclerosis, or spinal cord injury. For a number of these gait disturbances, the first line of treatment is non-surgical. Treatment modalities include medications to decrease muscle tonicity, physical therapy, and bracing. In this patient population, bracing has been shown to be effective, however, there are risks. Modern braces are designed to fit more intimately than in the past. Although this has led to improved efficacy, there is an increase in the incidence of lower extremity skin issues related to structural or environmental stresses. Embodiments of the present disclosure can alert a physician and/or a patient of the risk of skin compromise in real-time by monitoring moisture, temperature, and/or pressure, as well as other parameters.
Traditional gait analysis for athletes focuses on how the athletes walk and/or run. The information obtained from the gait analysis can provide feedback on the body mechanics and running style of a particular athlete. The gait analysis evaluates the biomechanics of how skeletomuscular joints move in motion in order to diagnose poor running patterns and/or prevent injury. For high performance athletes and weekend warriors alike, gait analyses are often performed in a laboratory by specialists who are focused on the proper alignment and weight distribution of the body of the athlete in order to prevent injury and improve athletic efficiency. However, once the athlete leaves the laboratory, the gait analysis is over. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow continuity of feedback for gait analysis in the real-world environment by directly presenting the feedback to the athlete via an associated end device (e.g., a smartphone associated with the athlete).
As mentioned herein, the CDC estimates that 37.3 million people in the United States are diabetic and nearly 50% of diabetics suffer from some component of peripheral neuropathy (damaged nerves which impair sensation). Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a serious complication of peripheral neuropathy that results in significant morbidity and mortality. Mortality rates associated with the development of a DFU are estimated to be 5% in the first 12 months, and 5-year mortality rates have been estimated at 42%. In addition, patients with DFUs were also found to have a 2.5× increased risk of death compared with their diabetic counterparts without foot wounds. Considering these findings, the medical treatment of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy focuses on ulcer prevention to limit the associated morbidity and mortality risks. Prevention is the gold standard for reducing DFUs. Traditional treatment regimens involve blood sugar management, weight loss, tobacco cessation, proper shoe wear and/or frequent skin inspections.
However, despite an adherence to a comprehensive ulcer prevention program, a diabetic ulcer may still occur. In the presence of an ulcer, removing the pressure from the wound or “wound offloading” is the next best step toward management. Plantar shear stress, which is the horizontal component of ground reaction forces, and, to a lesser degree, vertical plantar pressure are major causative factors in the development and poor healing of DFUs. Relieving plantar pressure and shear stress from a DFU is a vital part of wound care, as it promotes healing and prevents recurrence. Wound off-loading can be achieved by many mechanisms, including shoe modifications, specialized boots, and/or orthotic walkers. Nonetheless, compliance with wound off-loading instructions is noted to be poor in the diabetic population. The neuropathic absence of pain likely makes it easy for patients to convince themselves that they are not significantly injuring their feet during intermittent times of noncompliance. Lack of education may also contribute to non-compliant behavior. To correct this and other problems, embodiments of the present disclosure monitor multiple parameters under an at-risk area of the foot while providing instant feedback (e.g., via a smartphone associated with an end user) to help improve compliance with treatment. Embodiments will also, by extension, promote ulcer prevention and/or healing, as well as assist clinicians with treatment plans.
Some embodiments of this present disclosure may be further understood by the detailed descriptions and corresponding figures.
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, various embodiments of 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 disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements.
Embodiments herein have been termed the Smart Adjustable FEet activity tracking and Recommendation (SAFER) system.
In various embodiments, MOPTs 104a-n can be designed in various respective configurations. For example, in some embodiments, the MOPTs 104a-n can be configured with one or more extended arms for housing each of the respective sensors 206a-n. The designs of the MOPTs 104a-n are highly configurable and can suit different arm lengths and/or geometries in order to create a better spatial measurement map of one or more particular feet 112. The active feedback unit 204 in each MOPT 104a provides haptic, voice, and/or other guiding feedback to the end user. In various embodiments, the active feedback unit 204 engages based at least in part on the activity of the end user and/or one or more parameter values recorded by the whole sensor platform.
In one or more embodiments, the sensors 206a-n are configured to execute a self-calibration process. The self-calibration process of the sensors 206a-n uses data from each of the respective sensors 206a-n as well as known references in order to account for the aging of the sensors 206a-n. The self-calibration process also offers the technical benefit of increasing reliability of the SAFER system 100 throughout the lifetime of the sensors 206a-n. The SAFER system 100 is intended to be configured as a portable unit that is powered using solid-state and/or lithium-ion batteries. Such battery types can be comprised within the optional external power unit 202 and provide the benefit of wireless power so that an end user must not be required to use a wired connection at a specialized environment.
The SAFER system 100 is configured to connect wirelessly using various communication standards (e.g., Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and/or the like) to an end device 108 (e.g., a smartphone or cloud-based application) that enables the end user, medical personnel, and/or fitness professionals to access podiatry-related data. Using the SAFER system 100, the end user has control over an information database comprising data related to the respective feet activity associated with the end user. Furthermore, an end user can upload the respective feet activity data to the cloud to allow one or more trusted professionals (e.g., medical personnel and/or fitness professionals) to gain remote access to the respect feet activity data. The mobile software applicate integrated with the end device also recommends feet usage and warns the end user to rest their feet if they are causing potential damage to them based at least in part on their activity.
A mobile software application associated with the SAFER system 100 is configured to integrate with the active feedback unit 204 to provide guidance regarding the foot activity (e.g., related to the foot 112) of a particular end user in order to encourage best treatment practices and/or to discourage activity that can cause injuries or further damage the respective foot 112. Based at least in part on the placement of each of the MOPTs 104a-n on the foot 112 and/or footwear 102 of an end user, the mobile software application associated with the SAFER system 100 can generate respective heatmap representing various parameters (e.g., pressure, temperature, humidity, and/or the like). The heatmap functionality of the mobile software application associated with the SAFER system 100 reflects the activity of one or more portions of the foot 112 and can integrate with a recommendation system associated with the SAFER system 100 to facilitate computing footrest time and/or other relevant health concern mitigation techniques associated with the foot 112 of an end user.
Each component of the SAFER System 100 is constructed using multiple material layers to support the circuitries of the various components (e.g., the PODAC module 106 and/or the MOPTs 104a-n) within an existing footwear 102 or the skin (epidermis) of the end user while retaining their comfort. The material layer design includes, but is not limited to, two primary embodiments of this multi-layered design. The first embodiment of the multi-layered design is illustrated in
As depicted, both embodiments of the multi-layered design detailed in
As shown in
One factor that can be considered when selecting the first or second embodiments of the multi-layered designs (e.g., as provided in
The MOPTs 104a-n are designed to be placed anywhere on, or within, an existing footwear 102 (e.g., embedded in the insole of the footwear 102) to monitor a particular part of the foot 112. The podiatry-related data gathered by one or more MOPTs 104a-n guides the recommendation, active feedback, and/or self-calibration software systems at the end device 108. The podiatry-related data gathered by the one or more MOPTs 104a-n is also configured to facilitate the generation of heatmap associated with the foot 112 of a particular end user so that the particular end user better understands how corresponding foot activity affects particular regions of the foot 112. In various embodiments, an automated algorithm can determine the MOPTs 104a-n placement using visual data (e.g., image data captured by a camera associated with the end device 108) and/or other means. The visual data (e.g., image data) can be configured to facilitate the visualization of the respective placement of MOPTs 104a-n relative to the foot 112 of a particular end user.
The sensor processing unit 602 is a low-power microprocessor with multiple analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) to translate raw analog sensor data into digital data with relevant units. The sensor processing unit 602 can employ dedicated channels for various sensors 206a-n that utilize a serial communications interface. As described previously, the MOPT 104a uses a physical connection interface (e.g., magnetic connectors, ribbon connectors, and/or the like). Examples of podiatry-related sensors 206a-n can include but are not limited to force sensing resistor (FSR), shear force sensor (SFS), temperature, and/or humidity sensors. It will be appreciated that other podiatry-related sensors can be easily integrated into the design of one or more MOPTs 104a-n while maintaining the features described herein by utilizing the multi-layered material design. The FSR, SFS, and other sensors 206a-n that produce small output signals may require the use of one or more signal conditioning circuits 604a-n. The one or more signal conditioning circuits 604a-n are configured to preprocess the raw analog signals from the sensors 206a-n in order to output manageable analog signals that the analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) from the sensor processing unit 602 can properly digitize. The one or more signal conditioning circuits 604a-n can be calibrated depending on the minutia of the manufacturing processes of various FSRs and SFSs. In various embodiments, other sensors 206a-n feed directly into wired communications interfaces or ADCs of the sensor processing unit 602. In addition to the sensors 206a-n, the sensor processing unit 602 interfaces with the active feedback unit 204 to inform the end user about the effect of the corresponding foot activity of the foot 112. Information related to the foot activity of the foot 112 can comprise information related to both good and bad practices related to the used of the foot 112. For example, if a particular end user has an ulcer associated with foot 112 and is not resting the foot 112 enough, information related to the bad activity related to the foot 112 can be generated and transmitted to the end device 108.
One or more MOPTs 104a-n utilize the system architecture provided in
As shown in
In various embodiments, one or more signal conditioning circuits 604a-n can be connected to the sensors 206a-n of a respective MOPT 104a.
The voltage adjustment circuitry 902 is configured to take the power supply voltage and transform the voltage appropriately for the sensors 206a-n to enable the sensors 206a-n to work in tandem with the resistance-to-voltage converter 904. The resistance-to-voltage converter 904 is configured to transform a resistance value that is observed from the sensors 206a-n to a voltage that is within the range that the ADC of a respective sensor processing unit 602 can handle. The resistance-to-voltage converter 904 can be implemented by various devices including, but not limited to, operational amplifiers associated with the resistance-to-voltage converter 904. Determined by the output signal from the resistance-to-voltage converter 904, the sensing accuracy of a sensor 206a can be finely calibrated using a digital potentiometer 906 controlled by the sensor processing unit 602. In various embodiments, the digital potentiometer 906 controls the feedback resistance of an operational amplifier within the resistance-to-voltage converter 904. The value of the digital potentiometer 906 can be adjusted during the initial calibration phase of a corresponding MOPT 104a as well as during subsequent adjustment calibrations executed throughout the lifetime of the corresponding MOPT 104a.
To keep track of the foot activity related to a particular foot 112 and the locations of the MOPTs 104a-n relative to the foot 112, an information database 1102 at the end device 108 is created that facilitates various operations described herein. For example, the information database 1102 facilitates, in conjunction with the end device 108, the generation of a foot heatmap 1104. The information database 1102 is also configured to integrate with a recommendation system with active feedback 1112 to provide guided active feedback to an end user associated with the end device 108. Furthermore, the data comprised in the information database 1102 is configured to facilitate an active self-calibration procedure 1106 to calibrate one or more sensors 206a-n to read sensor data correctly throughout the operational lifetime of an MOPT 104a.
The information database 1102 is configured to store the present state of the sensors 206a-n as well as summary data related to previous states of the sensors 206a-n generated from historical PODAC module information 1110. In various embodiments, the relative locations of the one or more MOPTs 104a-n associated with each respective PODAC module 106 can be manually inputted via an instance of the mobile software application corresponding to the SAFER system 100 associated with a particular end device 108. The relative locations of the one or more MOPTs 104a-n can also be automatically detected by using image data (e.g., image data captured by a camera associated with the end device 108) associated with the existing footwear 102 related to a particular end user. The mobile software application at the end device 108 is configured to employ various image processing and/or machine learning techniques on the image data to determine the position of one or more MOPTs 104a-n associated with the footwear 102 and/or foot 112 of a particular end user. Additionally, or alternatively, various embodiments can determine the location of one or more MOPTs 104a-n based at least in part on sensor data captured by one or more sensors 206a-n during the calibration phase of the SAFER system 100. In various embodiments, the sensor data captured by one or more sensors 206a-n during the calibration phase of the SAFER system 100 can be used in conjunction with various machine learning techniques in order to determine a close approximation of the locations of the MOPTs 104a-n.
Once the relative locations of the one or more MOPTs 104a-n have been determined, the locations can be inputted into the foot heatmap generation system.
As shown in
Using the data collected from one or more sensors 206a-n that stored in the information database 1102, an end device 108 can monitor the health of one or more modules within the SAFER system 100 and cause the execution of one or more self-calibration procedures throughout the operational lifetime of the one or more components associated with the SAFER system 100. Active self-calibration procedure 1106 increases the reliability and longevity of the SAFER system 100 throughout its operational lifetime. One example approach for self-calibration is executing referential-based calibration. The end device 108 can ping for external information, such as outside temperature, acceleration, rotation, and/or the like. The external information can inform the calibration of one or more sensors 206a-n associated with one or more respective MOPTs 104a-n. Another example self-calibration approach is cross-calibration in which each respective sensor of the one or more sensors 206a-n helps to calibrate the other sensors 206a-n associated with the one or more respective MOPTs 104a-n. The end device 108 can determine whether a respective sensor of the one or more of the sensors 206a-n is producing a different reading than the other sensors 206a-n based at least in part on the relative locations of the sensors 206a-n, the age of the one or more sensors 206a-n, and/or other relevant conditions associated with the sensors 206a-n. Such information can be stored in the information database 1102.
Based at least in part on data comprising in the information database 1102, the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 associated with the end device 108 can provide guidance to an end user based at least in part on whether the end user is performing a foot activity associated with a respective foot 112 in a proper or detrimental manner. The feedback generated by the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 creates a closed-loop recommendation system in which the end user is guided to self-correct various foot actions associated with a respective foot 112 if the end user has been determined to be prone to sustaining injuries and/or causing further damage to a respective foot 112. The recommendation system with active feedback 1112 associated with the end device 108 works in tandem with the active feedback unit 204s inside the one or more MOPTs 104a-n which can provide feedback actuation (e.g., vibration, heat, sound, and/or the like) for guiding the end user on their foot activity. Various embodiments include, but are not limited to, two primary approaches of for generating active feedback via the mobile software application associated with the SAFER system 100 running on a respective end device 108. The first active feedback approach employed in various embodiments is threshold-based feedback in which the readings of each individual sensor 206a-n are compared against referential and/or differential values. The second active feedback approach is pattern-based feedback in which multi-modal sensing data is used to determine a foot activity pattern of a particular end user in order to predict future incidents and/or changes to the foot activity of the particular end user.
Safer System's Recommendation System with Active Feedback
The recommendation system with active feedback 1112 is part of the mobile software application associated with the SAFER system 100 that is executed on one or more end devices 108. Based at least in part on the data generated by one or more PODAC modules 106 stored in the information database 1102 and the foot heatmap output (e.g., heatmap 1104), the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 logs and/or stores certain stages of a particular condition of a respective foot 112 associated with an end user. These stages are configured to facilitate the determination of one or more potentially adverse podiatry issues and/or the generation of one or more potential corrective actions. The recommendation system with active feedback 1112 can also determine positive behaviors regarding the foot activity related to a respective foot 112 associated with a particular end user.
Alternatively, if immediate issues are detected such as, for example, if tremendous pressure on any region of interest associated with a foot 112 is detected, the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 triggers the first level of recommendations in which the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 notifies the end user to case usage of the respective foot 112 and/or to adjust the stance of the respective foot 112. At step 1510, the active feedback unit 204s at the appropriate MOPT 104a locations are activated to guide the end user to self-correct the current detrimental foot activity associated with the respective foot 112. The recommendation system with active feedback 1112 will enter and remain at step 1514 for a certain periodicity of time while the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 continues to monitor for further occurrences of immediate issues and/or potential damage to the foot. At step 1516, possible damage to the respective foot 112 has been detected, the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 will enter step 1518 and recommend extended footrest to the end user for a certain time period. While the end user rests the respective foot 112, the recommendation system with active feedback 1112 will continue to monitor for immediate issues and potential damage whenever the respective foot 112 is being engaged during the rest period. At step 1520, once the prescribed rest period expires, recommendation system with active feedback 1112 will lower the threat level appropriately and continue data collection and/or monitoring of the respective foot 112.
One potential use case for the SAFER system 100 is to monitor for foot ulcers in localized regions of a respective foot 112 of an end user with health conditions including, but not limited to, diabetes, obesity, foot-related injuries, and/or pregnancies. Foot ulcers are caused by placing unnecessary pressure on particular regions of a respective foot 112 which causes blisters and other injuries. In extreme cases, foot ulcers can cause a respective limb of an end user to be amputated. Podiatric physicians are particularly interested in foot ulcers and other foot-related injuries in order to prevent the worst-case scenarios for their patients.
Monitoring the foot performance is another application of the SAFER system 100, and the SAFER system 100 can be configured especially to facilitate the monitoring of each respective foot 112 associated with an athlete.
In some embodiments, the processor 1802 (and/or co-processors or any other processing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated with the processor) may be in communication with the memory 1804 via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus 1800. The memory 1804 may include, for example, one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory 1804 may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) comprising gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processor). The memory 1804 may be configured to store information, data, content, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling the apparatus 1800 to carry out various functions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the memory 1804 could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processor 1802. Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 1804 could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processor 1802.
The processor 1802 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processor 1802 may be embodied as one or more of various hardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing circuitry including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processor may include one or more processing cores configured to perform independently. A multi-core processor may enable multiprocessing within a single physical package. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 1802 may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the bus to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining and/or multithreading. The processor may be embodied as a microcontroller having custom bootloader protection for the firmware from malicious modification in addition to allowing for potential firmware updates.
In an example embodiment, the processor 1802 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 1804 or otherwise accessible to the processor 1802. Alternatively, or additionally, the processor 1802 may be configured to execute hard coded functionality. As such, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof, the processor 1802 may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processor 1802 is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processor 1802 may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processor 1802 is embodied as an executor of software instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor 1802 to perform the algorithms and/or operations described herein when the instructions are executed. However, in some cases, the processor 1802 may be a processor of a specific device (e.g., the PODAC module 106) configured to employ an embodiment of the present disclosure by further configuration of the processor 1802 by instructions for performing the algorithms and/or operations described herein. The processor 1802 may include, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to support operation of the processor 1802. In one embodiment, the processor 1802 may also include user interface circuitry configured to control at least some functions of one or more elements of the user interface 1808.
Meanwhile, the communications interface 1806 may include various components, such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from the apparatus 1800 to a network, a server, or a particular user device operating the software application, for example. In this regard, the communications interface 1806 may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and/or software for enabling communications wirelessly. Additionally, or alternatively, the communications interface 1806 may include the circuitry for interacting with the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s) or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s). For example, the communications interface 1806 may be configured to communicate wirelessly with a head-mounted display, such as via Wi-Fi (e.g., vehicular Wi-Fi standard 802.11p), Bluetooth, mobile communications standards (e.g., 3G, 4G, or 5G) or other wireless communications techniques. In some instances, the communications interface 1806 may alternatively or also support wired communication, which may communicate with a separate transmitting device (not shown). As such, for example, the communications interface 1806 may include a communication modem and/or other hardware/software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms. For example, the communications interface 1806 may be configured to communicate via wired communication with other components of a computing device.
The user interface 1808 may be in communication with the processor 1802, such as the user interface circuitry, to receive an indication of a user input and/or to provide an audible, visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. As such, the user interface 1808 may include, for example, one or more buttons, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a display, a speaker, and/or other input/output mechanisms. The user interface 1808 may also be in communication with the memory 1804 and/or the communications interface 1806, such as via a bus.
The communications interface 1806 may facilitate communication between the apparatus 1800 and various other devices, networks, or servers. The communications interface 1806 may be capable of operating in accordance with various first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, third generation (3G) communication protocols, fourth generation (4G) communication protocols, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communication protocols (e.g., session initiation protocol (SIP)), and/or the like. For example, a mobile terminal may be capable of operating in accordance with 2G wireless communication protocols IS-136 (Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), IS-95 (Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)), and/or the like. Also, for example, the mobile terminal may be capable of operating in accordance with 2.5G wireless communication protocols General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), and/or the like. Further, for example, the mobile terminal may be capable of operating in accordance with 3G wireless communication protocols such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and/or the like.
At operation 1904, the apparatus 1800 comprises the means such as, for example, the processor 1802, the memory 1804, the communications interface 1806, the user interface 1808, the sensor(s) 1801, and/or a combination thereof configured to generate, based at least in part on the one or more portions of podiatry data, summary data related to foot activity related to the respective foot 112 of the end user.
At operation 1906, the apparatus 1800 comprises the means such as, for example, the processor 1802, the memory 1804, the communications interface 1806, the user interface 1808, the sensor(s) 1801, and/or a combination thereof configured to transmit, via a wireless module 208 of the PODAC module 106, the summary data to an end device 108 associated with the end user.
At operation 1908, the apparatus 1800 comprises the means such as, for example, the processor 1802, the memory 1804, the communications interface 1806, the user interface 1808, the sensor(s) 1801, and/or a combination thereof configured to generate, by the end device 108, one or more portions of active feedback, where the one or more portions of active feedback are generated based at least in part on the summary data, and where the one or more portions of active feedback are configured to encourage or discourage the foot activity related to the respective foot 112 of the end user.
This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 63/494,926 filed Apr. 7, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63494926 | Apr 2023 | US |