The present application generally relates to nail clipping.
This section illustrates useful background information without admission of any technique described herein representative of the state of the art.
Measuring or monitoring personal health conditions often require analysis of a blood sample. For example personal calcium or vitamin D levels are commonly analysed from a blood sample. Vitamin D adequacy may be determined by measurement of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in the blood sample.
Also characteristics of human or animal nails or changes thereof may be used as an indicator of certain health conditions. Characteristics of nails may be usable for example as an indicator of personal calcium or vitamin D levels.
Various aspects of examples of the invention are set out in the claims.
According to a first example aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising:
In an example embodiment, the one or more strain gauges comprise a first strain gauge configured to sense a transformation that is proportional to displacement of the nail clipping edges.
In an example embodiment, the one or more strain gauges comprise a second strain gauge configured to sense a transformation that is proportional to the force applied to the apparatus.
In an example embodiment, the one or more strain gauges comprise a third strain gauge configured to sense transformation that is proportional to length of free edge of a nail placed between the nail clipping edges.
In an example embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a guiding member configured to guide a nail between the nail clipping edges.
In an example embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a memory configured to store readings of the one or more strain gauges.
In an example embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a communication interface configured to transmit readings of the one or more strain gauges to an external device.
In an example embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a processor configured to obtain a set of readings from the one or more strain gauges and to combine the set of readings into one reading.
In an example embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a processor configured to associate readings of the one or more strain gauges with a time stamp.
In an example embodiment, the one or more strain gauges comprise: a metal thin film based strain gauge, a nanoparticle based strain gauge, an elastomer strain gauge, a piezoelectric polymer strain gauge, a semiconductor strain gauge, or a fiber-optic strain gauge.
In an example embodiment the apparatus is a nail clipper device.
According to a second example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising:
In an example embodiment, the method further comprises using transformations sensed by the one or more strain gauges to determine displacement of clipping edges of the nail clipper device.
In an example embodiment, the method further comprises using transformations sensed by the one or more strain gauges to determine the force applied to the nail clipper device.
In an example embodiment, the method further comprises determining based on readings from the one or more strain gauges at least one of nail thickness, nail strength, changes in nail thickness and changes in nail strength.
Different non-binding example aspects and embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the foregoing. The embodiments in the foregoing are used merely to explain selected aspects or steps that may be utilized in implementations of the present invention. Some embodiments may be presented only with reference to certain example aspects of the invention. It should be appreciated that corresponding embodiments may apply to other example aspects as well.
For a more complete understanding of example embodiments of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Example embodiments of the present invention and its potential advantages are understood by referring to
Persons commonly at risk of calcium or vitamin D deficiency include those with inadequate sun exposure, limited oral intake (e.g. nutrition), or impaired intestinal absorption. According to Cashman, K. D. (2007), Calcium and vitamin D. In Dietary Supplements and Health: Novartis Foundation Symposium 282 (pp. 123-142), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. significant proportions of some population groups fail to achieve the recommended calcium intakes in a number of western countries. Calcium is required for normal growth and development as well as maintenance of the skeleton. Vitamin D is also essential for intestinal calcium absorption and plays a central role in maintaining calcium homeostasis and skeletal integrity. In addition, both micronutrients have important roles in non-skeletal-related physiological processes.
Characteristics of human or animal nails or changes thereof may be used as an indicator of personal calcium or vitamin D levels. Nail characteristics may be usable an indicator of other health conditions or nutritional deficiencies, too. Nail characteristics being affected e.g. by calcium level is discussed for example in the following publication: Pravina, P., Sayaji, D. and Avinash, M. (2013), Calcium and its Role in Human Body, International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Vol. 4 (2) April-June 2013.
In various example embodiments of the invention there is provided a new device suited for monitoring nail characteristics of a subject. The subject may be a human or an animal. The monitoring results or changes thereof over time may then be used for analysing health conditions of the subject and providing feedback concerning the health conditions.
In the following, various example embodiments are mainly discussed in connection with monitoring characteristics of fingernails of a human being. The embodiments are however applicable for monitoring characteristics of toenails or nails of animals, too.
Various example embodiments provide an apparatus that comprises nail clipping edges that are configured to move towards each other when the apparatus is actuated. The apparatus is for example a nail clipper device and in the following disclosure a nail clipper device is used as an example of the apparatus. The nail clipper device is actuated by applying a force to the nail clipper device. In an embodiment a first clipping edge of the nail clipper device is configured to move upwards and a second clipping edge of the nail clipper device is configured to move downwards in response to the force. Furthermore it is to be noted that either both nail clipping edges may move, or only one of the nail clipping edges may be configured to move in response to the force. If a nail is placed between the nail clipping edges, a piece of the nail is clipped in response to a sufficient level force actuating the nail clipper device. The nail clipper device may have a compound lever type structure or a plier type structure.
In an embodiment such nail clipper device is furnished with one or more strain gauges configured to sense transformations of the nail clipper device caused by the force. The strain gauges may be configured to sense transformations of the nail clipper device during clipping. Readings from the strain gauges may be used for determining nail characteristics such as nail thickness, nail strength and/or nail length. Nail characteristics and/or changes thereof may then be used as an indicator of certain health conditions.
In general a strain gauge is a device used to measure strain on an object. A strain gauge is a sensor that is attached to the element that is being monitored. The strain in the element is measured by measuring changes in electrical resistance of the sensor. Examples of suitable strain gauge types include: a metal thin film based strain gauge, a nanoparticle based strain gauge, an elastomer strain gauge, a piezoelectric polymer strain gauge, a semiconductor strain gauge, and a fiber-optic strain gauge.
In an embodiment the nail clipper device comprises a first strain gauge configured to sense a transformation that is proportional to displacement of the clipping edges and a second strain gauge configured to sense transformation that is proportional to the force applied to the nail clipper device. The nail clipper device may further comprise a third strain gauge configured to sense transformation that is proportional to length of the free edge of a nail placed between the nail clipping edges (i.e. the piece of nail that is being clipped from the nail). In the following, the example implementations comprise at least two strain gauges, but alternatively only one strain gauge may be used, if there is a need to monitor only thickness, strength or length of the nail. In the following example implementations the two strain gauges are used for monitoring nail thickness and nail strength. In other embodiments, other nail characteristics may be monitored. For example, nail length and nail thickness may be monitored, or nail length and nail strength may be monitored.
The nail clipper device 100 further comprises strain gauges 120 and 121. The strain gauge 120 is attached to the main arm 102 and the strain gauge 121 is attached to the lever arm 105. In an embodiment the strain gauges 120 and 121 are respectively located in the middle of the main arm 102 and the lever arm 105. Alternatively, other placements may be used. The strain gauges 120 and 121 are configured to sense transformations of the nail clipper caused by actuation of the nail clipper by the force 106. Operation of the strain gauges 120 and 121 is discussed in more detail below e.g. in connection with
Initially no force is applied. Then the user starts to press the lever arm of the nail clipper and to apply the force 106 in
The nail clipper device 300 further comprises a strain gauge 120 attached to the spring 305 and strain gauges 121 and 121′ attached to the main arms 301 and 302. The strain gauges 120, 121, and 121′ are configured to sense transformations of the nail clipper device caused by actuation of the nail clipper device by the forces 306 and 306′.
When a nail is placed between the nail clipping edges 303 and 304 and forces 306 and 306′ are being applied, the main arms 301 and 302 and the spring 305 start to bend in response to the forces. The strain gauge 120 senses transformation of the spring 305. Reading of the strain gauge 120 is proportional to the displacement of the clipping edges. The strain gauges 121 and 121′ sense transformation of the main arms 301 and 302. Readings of the strain gauges 121 and 121′ are proportional to the applied forces.
The strain gauges (e.g. strain gauges 120, 121, 121′ and 122 of
In order to produce easily repeatable and thereby comparable monitoring events it may be beneficial to ensure that the nail is placed between the clipping edges in the same way every time. An embodiment provides a guiding member for guiding the nail/finger/toe to a desired clipping position. The guiding member may be an accessory device or an integral part of the nail clipper device.
The strain gauges 501 are configured to monitor transformations of the nail clipper device. The processor 503 is configured to obtain readings from the strain gauges 501 and to store the readings to the memory 502. In practise the nail clipper device 500 comprises a measurement circuitry (not shown in
In certain embodiments the nail clipper device may further comprise a display or other user interface (not shown in
In
In an embodiment the user device 601 or the user application therein does not perform analysis of the readings from the strain gauges of the nail clipper device 500. Instead the user device 601 may send the readings to an external device such as the cloud service 602 over a suitable communication connection, e.g. over a wireless cellular connection or over a wireless local area connection. The cloud service 602 may comprise for example data acquisition functionality, analytics functionality and decision support functionality. In an embodiment the readings from the strain gauges of the nail clipper device are automatically transferred to the cloud service through the user device. The cloud service analyses the readings and provides results of the analysis back to the user device for being output to the user through a user interface of the user device. The cloud service may provide certain monitoring results obtained using the readings from the strain gauges or recommendations or advise derived on the basis of the readings from the strain gauges.
It is to be noted that the user device may perform some analysis or pre-processing of the reading of the strain gauges or the analysis may be fully performed in the cloud service 602. Likewise some pre-processing may take place already in the nail clipper device. Additionally, it is possible that at least part of the functionality of the user device 601 and the user application therein is implemented in the nail clipper device.
In
It is to be noted that the nail clipper device may perform some analysis or pre-processing of the reading of the strain gauges or the analysis may be fully performed in the cloud service 602. Additionally, the user device 601 may comprise a user application configured to perform some post processing of the results of the analysis provided by the cloud service 602. Such post processing may concern for example processing the results for display purposes.
Above mentioned certain monitoring results obtained using the readings from the strain gauges or recommendations or advise derived on the basis of the readings from the strain gauges may include for example analysis of nail thickness, strength and/or length, trends in nail thickness, strength and/or length, estimation of vitamin D or calcium or other vitamin intake and related recommendations (whether the level is e.g. appropriate or too low), guidance on recommended actions (e.g. changes in nutrition).
In an embodiment readings are recorded from several clipping sessions over time and the recorded readings are used for determining changes in nail thickness, nail strength, and/or nail length. The determined changes may then be used for determining changes in vitamin or calcium intake or other health conditions. Individual readings may be used if personal baseline information is available for the analysis.
701: A force is being applied to the nail clipper device.
702: One or more strain gauges comprised in the nail clipper device are used to sense transformations of the nail clipper device. The sensed transformations may then be processed in the nail clipper device or elsewhere to determine nail characteristics and further to analyse certain health conditions.
801: The process is started. A nail clipping session is started. A nail clipper device according to embodiments of the invention is used for this purpose. The nail clipper device comprises strain gauge(s).
802: The strain gauge(s) are used for sensing transformations of the nail clipper device during the nail clipping session.
803: Sensed readings are recorded. The readings may be stored e.g. in a memory in the nail clipper device. A time stamp may be recorded with each session or with each reading. In order to be able to provide the time stamp, the nail clipper device comprise a clock, or the nail clipper device may have access to a clock via a remote connection. The time stamps may be later used for monitoring nail characteristics over time.
804: The sensed readings are used for determining nail characteristics. If multiple readings are obtained over time, changes in nail characteristics may be determined. It is to be noted that this phase may be implemented in the nail clipper device but that in an alternative implementation this is performed outside the nail clipper device, e.g. in an external user device, such as smart phone, or in a cloud service.
901: The process is started. A nail clipping session is started. A nail clipper device according to embodiments of the invention is used for this purpose. The nail clipper device comprises strain gauge(s) and the strain gauge(s) are used for sensing transformations of the nail clipper device during the nail clipping event.
902: Several readings are obtained per finger or toe. For example only part of a nail is clipped at a time.
903: Set of readings obtained per finger or toe are combined into one reading per finger or toe e.g. by taking average, mean, minimum or maximum over the set of readings.
904: The combined readings are recorded in memory with a time stamp. There may be one time stamp for the session or each combined reading may be provided with an individual time stamp. In order to be able to provide the time stamp, the nail clipper device comprise a clock, or the nail clipper device may have access to a clock via a remote connection. The time stamps may be later used for monitoring nail characteristics over time.
905: The process moves to the next finger or toe and back to phase 802 to obtain several readings for that one.
It is to be noted that phases 903 and 904 may be implemented in the nail clipper device but that in an alternative implementation this is performed outside the nail clipper device, e.g. in an external user device, such as smart phone, or in a cloud service.
Nail clipper device of various embodiments may be configured to give guidance of which nail to clip or there may be a user interface through which the user may indicate which nail is being clipped.
Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is an easy to use health monitoring arrangement. According to various embodiments the monitoring takes place at the same time with nail clipping event and thereby processing of any samples is not needed. The monitoring may take place automatically during a clipping event without requiring further actions.
Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is a device that enables vitamin D level monitoring without blood samples. Likewise the device may enable also monitoring levels of other vitamins and/or calcium level monitoring.
Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is easy repeatability of the measurement event.
Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that the arrangement of various embodiments enables personalized coaching (e.g. nutrition recommendations) based on the monitoring results. Personalized coaching may for example instruct to increase calcium or vitamin D intake to enhance personal overall health. Such instructions may be automatically generated on the basis of the monitoring results.
If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the before-described functions may be optional or may be combined.
Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.
It is also noted herein that while the foregoing describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications, which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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17202083.6 | Nov 2017 | EP | regional |