Patent Application
20200265701
The present disclosure relates to health hazards control systems and particularly, to geolocation health hazards control system for monitoring and maintaining a geolocation database of potential health hazards endangering users using the system, and for detecting potential health hazards (PHHs) endangering a user, for example a pedestrian, wherein the system may include at least one imaging monitoring sub system having an image capturing and processing units, and wherein the image sensor is situated in the vicinity of a user, for example, by wearing it or is flown by a drone associated with that user.
Falls are common throughout adulthood. Each year in the U.S., approximately 19,000 people die from unintentional falls, 500,000 are hospitalized, and 8 million are treated in Emergency Departments. Injuries from falls are especially common among the elderly; falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among people aged ≥65 years. Direct medical costs for fall-related injuries in people aged ≥65 years exceeded $19 billion (Mertz 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2010.03.013).
Physical activity has many health benefits but may increase falls risk. Associations between physical activity and falls differed by presence of mobility limitations. In an intervention study among 66% of men without mobility limitations the number of falls increased incrementally for every 30 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (Jefferis 2015, doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000635). Falls and in particular fear of falling are important barriers to older people gaining health benefits of walking (Jefferis 2014, doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-14-114). Falls were the most frequently reported accidents in all age brackets in study on 0-12, 12-24, and 24-48-months of age, followed by cuts and burns (Barcelos 2017, doi: 10.1590/0102-311X00139115). In a study on childhood accidents in primary health care the finding were the same. One of the most frequent causes were falls (30.5%) in a study population of 2,543 children 0-14 years old (Galdón 1995, https://www.nbci.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7644887). kids with ADHD were nearly twice as likely to suffer an injury that sent them to the hospital at some point in their lives compared to kids without ADHD. Fractures were 10.4 percent of the injuries (Rettner 2011, https://www.livescience.com/35944-adhd-injuries-kids.html). Recent systematic review and meta-analysis on Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and risk of injuries, have confirmed the results and statement in other group-ages as well. Those with ADHD are nearly two times more likely to be injured. Children, adolescents and adults with ADHD are all at higher risks of various types of mostly unintentional injuries (Amiri 2017, 10.5249/jivr.v9i2.858).
The relationship between higher-level cognitive function and gait disturbances have received considerable attention in recent years. Gait is no longer considered as merely an automated motor activity that utilizes minimal higher-level cognitive input. Instead, the multifaceted neuropsychological influences on walking and the interactions between the control of mobility and related behaviors are increasingly appreciated. This is manifest in part by an individual's awareness of a destination, the ability to appropriately control the limb movements that produce gait, and the ability to navigate within often complex environs to successfully reach the desired location. The role of executive function and attention in gait (Yogev 2008, doi:10.1002/mds.21720).
The number of falls injuries associated with cellular phone use during walking has been increasing. Although walking is thought to be a more automatic motor task compared to driving, cell phone use may cause cognitive distraction, reduced visual attention to the environment, and altered physical demands such as reduced arm swinging and altered head orientation (Schabrun 2014, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084312). Distraction from cell phone use was shown to affect pedestrian behavior, for example, reducing situation awareness and increasing unsafe pedestrian behavior while crossing the street. walking stability might be compromised during cell phone use, which would lead to an increased risk of falls (Kao 2015, doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2015.03.347).
The nature of many occupations' activities includes unsafe environment and fall risk due to not paying attention while focusing on their primary mission. Few examples like first responders, emergency medical service (EMS), fire fighters, special military teams. In the short list of the main hazards in EMS and fire fighters causes of injuries, falls are the primary factor in 18% of the cases (Yoon et al., 2016 DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.10.1546).
About thirty percent of community-dwelling elderly adults 65 years old fall each year, which is often caused by a combination of medical, social and environmental factors (Khow 2017, http://www.geriatric.theclinics.com/article/S0749-0690(17)30016-2/fulltext).
Falls are a leading cause of injury among elderly adults. Approximately 25 percent of persons who fall have moderate to severe injuries, ranging from bruises or lacerations to hip fractures or traumatic brain injury (Yoshida 2007, http://www.who.int/ageing/projecrts/1.Epidemiology_falls_olderage.pdf).
Elderly adults value their independence and a fall can significantly reduce their ability to remain self-sufficient. Falls are responsible for significant disability, limitations in activity, hospitalization, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life and institutionalization.
Falls are the leading cause of death from injury in persons elderly than 65 years, and mortality from falls has increased by 42 percent over the past decade. Every second of every day in the US, an elderly adult fall, and every 20 minutes an elderly adult dies from a fall. In 2014, there were 29 million falls, 7 million requiring medical treatment. This makes falls far more common than many health conditions that affect elderly adults (Lee 2017, http://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/0815/p220.html).
Falls also carry a substantial economic burden. The average fall-related hospitalization costs $30,000, and falls rank fifth in terms of highest personal health care spending. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that Medicare spends roughly $31 billion on falls annually. These statistics will only worsen as America's baby boomer population (born between 1946 and 1964) turns 65 years of age. By 2030, one in five Americans will be at least 65 years of age, and without preventive efforts, the CDC estimates there may be 49 million falls and 12 million fall-related injuries annually. In the future new architecture and infrastructures concepts may pose new threats to pedestrians, increasing their risk of falls.
The exponential spread rate of the coronavirus pandemic has pushed a number of countries to use geolocation data to help battle this unsettling outbreak. In many cases, the data has been a boon for authorities looking to track movements across provinces and regions and the overall effectiveness of measures like sheltering in place. In this description a user can be alerted from other users, which update the system that he/she is possible infect. It should be appreciated that an infected person may be viewed as a mobile PHH. Some publications related to the coronavirus pandemic are listed herein:
Governments, local and international agencies and have all using new measures to help contain the spread of the COVID-19, otherwise know as the Coronavirus. Some of these measures impose severe restrictions on people's freedoms, including to their privacy and other human rights. Unprecedented levels of surveillance, data exploitation, and misinformation are being tested across the world. Some may be effective and based on advice from epidemiologists needs. Geolocation become part of fighting endemic now days. American federal, state and local governments are said to have started collecting and scrutinizing data from the mobile advertising industry in an effort to enforce social distancing. The reported steps come as the country struggles to contain the spread of COVID-19. The data is said to be collected from the advertising industry, which receives geolocation data when people sign up for apps. (IsraelDefense, 31 Mar. 2020. https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/42412).
There is therefore a need and it would be advantageous to have a technological solution that identify, alert and prevent falling from physical related hazards in the everyday environments, where elderly people live and engage.
The principle intentions of the present disclosure include providing a geolocation health hazards control system, having at least one personal health hazards monitoring sub-system, for substantially decreasing the number of encountered health hazards by moving users, such as young children, the elderly, and other distractions for users being in a path of motion, such as while walking, running, skiing, and other physical activities.
It should be noted that a user of a personal health hazards monitoring system is typically a pedestrian, and therefore is often described as the user being a pedestrian. However, the present disclosure is not limited to pedestrians and any other moving users may use the system of the present disclosure, including users on wheelchairs, users riding horses or other animals, animals such as, with no limitations, guide dogs and moving controlled objects out door or indoor.
A personal health hazards monitoring system may include at least one image sensor for continuously capturing images in the vicinity of a user, for example, by wearing the image sensor or is flown by a drone associated with that user. The personal health hazards monitoring system further includes a memory unit for storing the captured images and a processing unit for processing the captured images.
Typically, the image sensor is adapted to be worn by the user subject, typically a pedestrian user, for example mounted on a hip belt, or to be carried by a selfie drone associated with the user subject, such that images acquired by the image sensor represent the surroundings of a user subject, the user subject being in motion. The processing unit is configured to process images captured by the image sensor and stored in the memory unit. The processing unit is configured to detect, mark or remotely received including time and place of one or more potentially health hazards (PHHs) in the pathway of the user, during movement of the user, which health hazards may cause a stumble or a fall of the user or the user may be hurt from exposed infected matter, including droplets and or airborne hazards like a bacteria, virus or fungal. One of the PHHs may have a feature that the image processor may detect, such as high temperature detection to diagnose steady fever in airports, while people are on the move. In this case the camera is mobile and serve one to all. Other diseases may be detected like skin contact, respiratory or infection vector. The camera can detect for example droplet sneezing cloud and pathway, which may be infected. Moreover, the optical method may detect high density of fluorescent antibody tagged colored for bacteria, fungal or virus like Coronavirus for COVID-19 diagnosis. Such a PHH may be set in two steps: one discharging the markers nearby, and the second step declare the PHHs.
Upon detecting a health hazard such as a hazardous obstacle, the processing unit is configured to alert the user. Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to provide the user subject with instruction as to how to conduct his movements in order avoid encountering the detected PHH.
It should be appreciated that a PHH may take a myriad of shapes and forms, some of which are listed in the following list:
Optionally, the processing unit of the health hazards monitoring system is further configured to locate, map, update and declare hot spots of health hazards through a Geolocation/Geographic Information System (GIS) designed to locate, analyze and present spatial geographic health hazards data in the indoor or outdoor environments, private, public, country side or urban locations, the data kept in a database with real-time time-stamp. Such a database of mapped health hazards enables to advise the best pathway for a walk/run with minimal potential for health hazards events, for example, by providing a safety score for the selected pathway. Such a database of mapped health hazards data in the geographic public space may also be used by government authorities for mending and removing such health hazards. In some embodiments, the geolocation health hazards data in the urban public space is built manually.
The geolocation health hazards may be used as part of geolocation data assist in monitoring infection control like the COVID-19 pandemic and others in the future. Rather than getting from government agency a message that a user was near by other users, the PHH system enables a positive user with obstacle non-human that may hurt other users, to mark himself as an obstacle. Then while the infected subject moves in the public area, other users may get alerts when a predefine distance from the other users is bridged. This geolocation is not used retrospective to send a message to users that crossed an infective person after one have been diagnosed but used for future potential cross over the infected user. This may be used to eliminate ordering a big population to be isolated as the source of a user acting as a safety hazard is usually not known.
The processing unit of the personal health hazards monitoring system can calculate, for the user, the safest pathway leading from location A to location B without the worry of crossing known health hazards or with known infection user. At the same time, when approaching a zone with known health hazards, the system can alert the user to increase his/her awareness. By generating a virtual GIS health hazards map, the system knows to alert and avoid obstacles, for example, by imbedding the concept of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) technology. The system may also capture Almost Falls Events (AFE) that may be utilized as well. Geolocation real-time feature may eliminate fall into a disease. High PHH of many users with a predefine mark generate red PHH zones that on a GIS map important to public health officers and bio informatics analysis.
Optionally, the processing unit of the health hazards monitoring system is further configured to personalize the processing algorithm, interchangeably referred to as the “health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm”. For example, when detecting a in the user pathway, the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm analyzes the distance of the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm from the user and calculates the number of steps that will take the user to reach the health hazard. To calculate that the algorithm obtains or determines the unique gait (e.g. step length) of that specific user. The user's gait can be calculated per user with an accelerometer sensor and/or the image sensor or any other method known in the art. The health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm may also interface with the personal mobile device of that user or other users. In another example, the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm may obtain information of any cognitive or movement disorders that the user presents or suffers from that may result in a fall, for example, a Parkinson's Disease. Other movements related diseases may include the following medical disorders: Ataxia Telangiectasia, Cerebellar Disorders, Cerebral Vascular Accidents (CVA), Multiple Sclerosis, Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), Dyspraxia. Dystonia, Muscle Disorders, Neuromuscular Disorders, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Tourette Syndrome, Angelman, Chorea, Sydenham Chorea, Fragile X-Associated Tremor and Ataxia Syndrome, Functional Movement Disorder, Myoclonus, Neuroacanthocytosis, Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron, Paroxysmal Choreoathetosis, Paroxysmal Dyskinesias, Huntington's chorea and Tardive Dyskinesia. Neurodevelopmental disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy.
In the same manner the cognitive disorder list includes: Alzheimer's disease and other types of Dementia, Amnesia, Attention Disorders. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Binswanger's disease, Clouding of consciousness, Developmental Cognitive disability, Cognitive deficit, cognitive dysfunction, cognitive impairment, Cognitive slippage, Cognitive vulnerability, conscious awareness, Delirium, Dementia, Dissociative disorders, Disabilities affecting intellectual abilities, Genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome walking awareness.
For example, dizziness and balance problems in children has an overall prevalence of 5.3% in 3-17 year old children and increasing prevalence with age. Children with seizure disorders often have dizziness and balance problems. Hearing difficulty is associated with dizziness and balance problems in children (Li et al., 2016 https://www.nbci.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26826885).
The health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm may also detect cognition awareness problems for normative users who do not pay attention to the pavement while moving thereon, for example when focusing in other tasks such as attending mobile phone related tasks.
Optionally, if the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm determines, when a known or detected health hazard in the user pathway, the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm analyzes if that specific user will pass that health hazard safely, the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm will not alert the user. Even if the health hazard may be between two following steps the health-hazard-detection-and-monitoring algorithm can calculate based on the personal gait and walking predefined and updated in real-time that the user will pass and not step on the health hazard and will eliminate the need to activate the alert mode. In the same health hazard that a specific user is handling well with low risk to fall may not as well generate an alert to minimize the falls alarms of the system.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The materials, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. The present disclosure can be implemented in the testing or practice with methods and materials equivalent or similar to those described herein.
As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.
Implementation of the example methods and systems of the present disclosure can involve performing or completing certain selected tasks or steps manually, automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actual instrumentation and equipment of the example methods and systems of the present disclosure, several selected steps could be implemented by hardware and/or by software. Actual instrumentation is not hardware or firmware specific and can be realized by using operating systems, firmware, and combinations thereof as would be appreciated and understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art according to the principles of the present disclosure. For example, as hardware, selected steps of the present disclosure can be implemented as a chip, a circuit, a distributed computing system, or a network of such systems and devices. As software, selected steps of the present disclosure could be implemented as a plurality of software instructions being executed by a computing system, computing device, and/or network thereof using any suitable operating system. In any case, selected steps of the example methods and systems of the present disclosure can be described as being performed by a data processor, such as a computing platform for executing a plurality of instructions.
Although the present disclosure is described with regard to a “computing device”, a “computer”, or “mobile device”, it should be noted that optionally any device featuring a data processor and the ability to execute at least one instruction may be described as a computer, including but not limited to a personal computer (PC), a server, a distributed server, a digital server, a cloud computing platform, a collection of servers, load balanced microservices, or redundant architecture servers, a cellular telephone, or a PDA (personal digital assistant), and the like. Any two or more of such devices in communication with each other may optionally define a “network” or a “computer network”.
The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, module executing on data processors (“processors”), circuits and algorithm steps described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been described generally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, module executing on a processors, circuits and steps described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, module executing on a processors and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a single- or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor may be a microprocessor, or, any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implemented as a combination of electronic devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some implementations, particular steps and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.
In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents thereof, or in any combination thereof. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification also can be implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one or more module executing on a processors of computer program instructions, encoded on a computer storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.
If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor-executable software module executing on a processor which may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media can include computer storage media and/or communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be media that can be accessed by a computer. Storage media can include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable tangible, physical media implemented in technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. By way of example, and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electronically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible, physical medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions, information, or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection can be properly termed a computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above also may be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and instructions on a machine readable medium and computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.
According to the teachings of the present disclosure there is provided a health hazards geolocation control system for monitoring and maintaining potential health hazards endangering a user using the system, the system including a remote geolocation-server; a user warning-device coupled with each user; a health hazards geographic map; and a user's-module configured to communicate with at least one user warning-device,
The health hazards geographic map includes dynamically mapped potential health hazards (PHHs), wherein each PHH is assigned a safety score; the remote geolocation-server is configured to provide the user warning-device with a regional segment of the health hazards geographic map based on location received from the remote geolocation-server; and the user warning-device is configured to alert the coupled user or others upon approaching at least one PHH. Typically, with no limitations, the user is a pedestrian.
The safety score of a PHH may be rated on a preconfigured hazard-scale that includes at least two types of PHHs.
The remote geolocation-server is configured to manage, update, report PHHs and generate safe path plan using a geolocation or Geographic Information System (GIS), upon receiving a request from a user warning-device.
Upon the pedestrian user being a person that carries a none-human subject selected from a group including bacteria, fungal, virus and astrobiology mater, the pedestrian user reports his/her PHH state, being a mobile PHH, to the remote geolocation-server, to thereby facilitate real-time and future avoidance of the mobile PHH by other users.
In some embodiments, the user warning-device may further include at least one image sensor; and a memory unit, wherein the image sensor is adapted to be worn by a user or to be carried by a selfie-drone associated with the user, such that images captured by the image sensor represent the surroundings of the user. The processing unit is configured to store the captured images in the memory unit. Upon the user identifying a PHH in the pathway of the user, the user reports and sends one or more captured images of the PHH to the remote geolocation-server.
According to the teachings of the present disclosure there is provided an independent, personal health hazards monitoring system, wherein the user warning-device includes at least one image sensor; a memory unit; and a processing unit for processing images. The image sensor is adapted to be worn by a user or to be carried by a selfie-drone associated with the user, such that images captured by the image sensor represent the surroundings of the user. The processing unit is configured to store the captured images in the memory unit, and is further configured to process the captured images to thereby detect one or more PHHs in the pathway of the user, during movement of the user, which health hazards may cause a stumble or the fall of the user.
A safety/danger-score of a PHH is calculated, based on paraments including the type of PHH, size, unlevel, angle, un-stable, slipped surface, contrast, moving object, approaching speed, the time of day, the total number of occurrences, duration from appearing, re-occurrence, number of occurrence by the same user and number of occurrences by other users. The processing unit is further configured to alert the user upon detecting at least one PHH.
Typically, the safety score of a PHH is rated on a preconfigured hazard-scale that includes two or more of the various PHHs.
The processing unit of the personal health hazards monitoring system may be configured to provide the user with instruction as to how to conduct his/her movements in order avoid encountering the detected PHH, and wherein the instruction include suggesting a stop of movement, slowing down of walk or a preferred walking deviation path to detour the detected PHH. A pedestrian user of the personal health hazards monitoring coupled with a tactile-related device may receive an automatic alert, wherein the alert is an automatic tactile sensing alert.
The personal health hazards monitoring system may be configured to interact with a health hazards geolocation control system for monitoring and maintaining potential health hazards endangering pedestrians using the system. The health hazards geolocation control system includes a remote pedestrians-server; a user warning-device coupled with each pedestrian user; a health hazards geographic map; and a users-module configured to communicate with at least one user.
The health hazards geographic map includes dynamically mapped potential health hazards (PHHs), wherein each PHH is assigned a safety score. The remote pedestrians-server is configured to provide the user warning-device with a regional segment of the health hazards geographic map based on location received from the remote pedestrians-server, wherein the user warning-device is configured to alert the coupled pedestrian user upon approaching at least one PHH.
In this embodiment, the remote pedestrians-server may be configured to manage, update, report PHHs and generate safe path plan using a Geographic Information System (GIS), upon receiving a request from a pedestrian user.
In this embodiment, upon the pedestrian being a persons that carries a none-human subject selected from a group including bacteria, fungal, virus and astrobiology mater, the pedestrian user reports his/her PHH state, being a mobile PHH, to the remote pedestrians-server, to thereby facilitate real-time and future avoidance of the mobile PHH by other pedestrian users.
According to the teachings of the present disclosure there is provided a personal health hazards monitoring method for detecting health hazards. The method includes the following steps:
The health hazards monitoring method may further include the step:
Upon detecting two or more potential health hazards, the hazardous obstacle monitoring method further includes the step of discriminating between the detected potential health hazards, using a preconfigured danger-scale that predefines the danger level of potential health hazards.
Optionally, the alerting is performed automatically using a tactile-related device, wherein the tactile alert may be in the form of a vibration or other tactile sensing to the foot that mimics the feeling of an unbalanced safe step, that results with a quick stop of the user and maintaining the full body weight on the table foot.
The alerting may be transmitted to a remote center by wireless or by other communication means.
The alerting is transmitted to a typically cloud based health hazards geolocation control system and/or data storage, typically a by wireless or by other communication means.
The detected PHH detection may include detecting a falling incident or a near-falling incident of the user, wherein the detecting of a falling incident or a near-falling incident of the user may use image frames captured by the image sensor flown by the drone.
The health hazards monitoring method of claim 15, wherein the health hazards monitoring system is at least partially embodied on a personal mobile device.
The user may be a person, an animal or a none-human subject, on earth or on other planets.
each of the persons carrying a contagious virus may be reported to either the health hazards monitoring system, or to a health hazards geolocation control system or both, by the person or by a third party.
According to the teachings of the present disclosure there is provided a health hazards geolocation control method for monitoring and maintaining potential health hazards endangering users, the method including the steps of:
The present disclosure is herein described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present disclosure only, and are presented in order to provide what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the present disclosure in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the present disclosure, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present disclosure may be embodied in practice. In the figures:
The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the disclosure are shown. This disclosure may, however, 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 be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
An embodiment is an example or implementation of the disclosures. The various appearances of “one embodiment,” “an embodiment” or “some embodiments” do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments. Although various features of the disclosure may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the disclosure may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the disclosure may also be implemented in a single embodiment.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “some embodiments” or “other embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment, but not necessarily in all embodiments, of the disclosures. It is understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is not to be construed as limiting and are for descriptive purposes only.
Methods of the present disclosure may be implemented by performing or completing manually, automatically, or a combination thereof, selected steps or tasks. The order of performing some methods step may vary. The descriptions, examples, methods and materials presented in the claims and the specification are not to be construed as limiting but rather as illustrative only.
Meanings of technical and scientific terms used herein are to be commonly understood, unless otherwise defined. The present disclosure can be implemented for testing or practice with methods and materials equivalent or similar to those described herein.
Throughout this document, numerous textual and graphical references are made to trademarks, and domain names. These trademarks and domain names are the property of their respective owners, and are referenced only for explanation purposes herein.
Reference is now made to the drawings.
In some embodiments, personal health hazards monitoring system 100 is integrated into a single device, for example, without limitations, using PSoC technology, with or without the alarm device. The communication module 130 may use wired communication, wireless communication, mobile, Bluetooth, satellite, communications modes or a combination thereof.
User warning-device 120 includes a processing unit 122 having a CPU 126 coupled to operate with a memory unit 124, and an energy source. Processing unit 122 may be local, remote or a combination thereof.
Optical camera device 110 maybe a wearable device, for example, mountable on the hip belt of the subject, embedded in any kind of natural or synthetic fibers, filaments (e.g. cloth) and/or similar material, including glass, metal or combinations of any of the mentioned here such that images captured by said image sensor represent the surroundings of the user subject. Alternatively, or in addition to, optical camera device 110 may be carried by a selfie-drone associated with the user subject, such that images captured by said image sensor represent the surroundings of the user subject.
Preferably, personal health hazards monitoring system 100 further includes a geographical location device, such as a GPS 128, Wi-Fi, Vector mobile phone positioning system inertial navigation system (INS) indoor positioning system (IPS), shared sensor community Navigation Information System (NIS), configured to calculate and transmit the current geographical location of the user subject, or a combination thereof.
Image sensor 112 is adapted to be worn by a user subject or to be carried by a selfie-drone associated with the user subject, such that images captured by said image sensor represent the surroundings of the user subject. Processing unit 122 of user warning-device 120 is configured to store the captured images in memory unit 124. Processing unit 122 is further configured to process the captured images to thereby detect one or more potential hazardous pedestrian obstacles in the pathway of the user subject, during movement of the user subject, which health hazards may cause a stumble or the fall of the user subject. User warning-device 120 is further configured to alert the user subject upon detecting at least one potential PHH.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, personal monitoring system 100 includes a local database 118 for storing, some of which data may be stored either in memory unit 124 or in an users DB 146 of a remote geolocation-server 140 or at both locations. For example, each user 20 has a movements profile that is typically, with no limitations, kept in the local memory unit 124. Such a portfolio may include illnesses that affect user's 20 movements, for example Parkinson's Disease. Such a portfolio may include the steps sizes of user subject 20 that are used to determine how many steps will take to reach a known or detected health hazard 99, situated ahead of user subject 20. Data containing a geographical map of urban public space, on which map of known potentially health hazards 99 are mapped, is typically, with no limitations, kept in a remote geolocation-server, such as remote geolocation-server 140, in a GIS based database 142.
Reference is now also made to
It should be noted that the green/orange/red conventional danger markings are used here for illustrative purposes only. However, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, such warning annotations may be present to the user, for example, as an image projection on smart glasses worn by user 20, or displayed on any other personal device such as personal mobile device 150 and/or personal smart watch 160.
In
Reference is now also made to
Step 210: continuously monitoring/sensing movements of the user, having a predefined motion pattern.
Processing unit 122 of user warning-device 120 continuously monitors movements of the user, having a predefined motion pattern, as kept and updated in his/her stored personal portfolio.
Step 215: checking if the sensed motion matches the predefined motion pattern.
Processing unit 122 continuously checks if the sensed motion matches the predefined motion pattern as defined in his/her stored personal portfolio.
Step 220: recording and/or transmitting the user's geographical location.
Processing unit 122 records in memory unit 124 and/or transmits to remote geolocation-server 140 the user's geographical location, as obtained from GPS 128.
Step 225: checking if approaching a known health hazard.
Processing unit 122 checks in local database 118 and/or in GIS based database 142 if the user's geographical location and his/her path of motion leads towards a known potential health hazard (PHH) 99.
If the user's geographical location and his/her path of motion leads towards the known PHH 99, go to Step 250.
Step 230: capturing a sequence of images of the pathway of the user.
Processing unit 122 activates optical camera device 110 to thereby capture a sequence of images of the pathway of the user.
Step 240: processing the captured images to detect potential health hazards.
Processing unit 122 processes the captured images to detect potential health hazards 99, if such hazards 99 do exist in the pathway of the user.
Step 245: checking if a potentially health hazard has been detected.
Processing unit 122 checks if a potentially health hazard has been detected and if user subject 20 approaches the detected health hazard 99.
If a potentially health hazard has been detected and it has been determined that user subject 20 approaches, in a collision course, the detected health hazard 99, continue with Step 250.
Else, go back to Step 230.
Step 250: issue an alert to the user subject.
Processing unit 122 has determined that user subject 20 approaches, in a collision course, a health hazard 99.
Therefore, processing unit 122 issues an alert to user subject 20. The warning can be in any way known in the art, including using a speaker 180, a personal mobile device 150, a personal smart watch 160 and/or a foot bracelet 170. The warning may be in an audible, visual and/or tactile form.
Step 252: optionally, provide the user with movement instructions.
Processing unit 122 may provide a user 20 with movement instructions, in order to move away from the obstacle 99 and thereby safely bypass health hazard 99.
Step 260: compute and transmit the hazard's score.
Processing unit 122 evaluates health hazard 99 to thereby determine a danger score of that health hazard 99 on a predefined danger scale.
Processing unit 122 may then transmit the determined danger score associated with that health hazard 99 to remote geolocation-server 140 and/or local database 118.
Step 270: transmit the location of the health hazard.
Processing unit 122 may transmit the location of that health hazard 99 to remote geolocation-server 140 and/or local database 118.
Step 280: update/reevaluate the database of potential health hazards.
Processing unit 122 updates and/or reevaluate the database of potential health hazards 99, including in local database 118 and/or in GIS based database 142.
Go back to Step 210.
Step 299: exit.
(end of health hazard monitoring method 200)
Reference is now made to
Reference also to
In variations of the present disclosure, when a user approaches a known obstacle 99, as informed by a health hazards geolocation control system 600 (see
The webserver application may be a cloud base web application to manage, service and monitor the active health hazards monitoring systems.
The webserver application may be used by users, organizations, agencies, city or national teams responsible to monitor, allocate or fix public PHHs. as a tool to prioritize their tasks.
The cloud base database can be used to generate big data analyses, which may provide new information not known currently like what kind of users fall where, when, from what and other matrix parameters which may have value and can be utilized in Geolocation Data directly between activated users.
The processing unit 122 of the personal health hazards monitoring system 100 is further configured to locate, map, update and declare hot spots of health hazards through a Geographic Information System (GIS) designed to locate, analyze and present spatial geographic health hazards data in the indoor or outdoor environments, private, public, country side or urban locations, the data kept in a database. Such a database of mapped health hazards enables to advise the best pathway for a walk/run with minimal potential for health hazard events, for example, by providing a safety score for the selected pathway. Such a database of mapped health hazards data in the geographic public space may also be used by government authorities for mending and removing such health hazards. In some embodiments, the geographic health hazards data in the urban public space is built manually.
In the consideration for PHH obstacle safety/danger, many parameters are taken into account in formulating the function to achieve an accurate scale of PHH scores, including, for example, the type, size, unlevel, angle, un-stable, slipped surface, contrast, moving object, approaching speed, up to 5 steps away. Moreover, the time of day of total number of occurrences, duration from appearing, re-occurrence, number of occurrences by the same user, number of occurrences by other users. On top of this the personal risk, Morse fall scale and historical score which are taken into account to calculate the PHH score.
The PHH score may be refined base on the health-related conditions of the user receiving the PHH score. For example, visually impaired person vs. a sighted person, a young person vs. a senior citizen, a well walking person vs. a person using a walker, healthy vs. infected or sick person, animal, none-human, etc.
Referring back to
Remote geolocation-server 140 is configured to provide a user warning-device 120 with a regional segment of the health hazards geographic map based on location received from the remote geolocation-server 140 via users-module 144. The user warning-device 120 is configured to alert the coupled user 20 or others upon approaching at least one PHH. It should be appreciated that the alert is issued, in the above embodiment, without the need for warning-device 120 to carry or activate an image sensor 112.
The safety score of a PHH can be rated on a preconfigured hazard-scale that includes at least two types of PHHs.
The remote geolocation-server 140 is configured to manage, update, report PHHs and generate safe path plan using a geolocation or Geographic Information System (GIS), upon receiving a request from a user warning-device 120.
Upon a pedestrian user 20, being a person that carries a none-human subject selected from a group including bacteria, fungal, virus and astrobiology mater, for example a Corona virus, the pedestrian user 20 may reports his/her PHH state, being a mobile PHH, to the remote geolocation-server 140, to thereby facilitate real-time and future avoidance of the mobile PHH by other users 20. It should be appreciated that a mobile PHH can be blocked when entering into specific zones, services, stores. For example, if a mobile PHH is screened to a positive harm factor, a medical clinic or commercial zone may request from the mobile PHH not to enter by a verbal order from, a safety user official or an electronic system.
Reference is now also made to
Step 710: continuously monitoring/sensing movements of the user, having a predefined motion pattern.
Remote geolocation-server 140 of health hazards geolocation control system 600 continuously monitors movements of active users 20 via respective user warning-devices 120.
Step 715: checking if a received a desired geographical motion path from a user.
Users module 142 checks if received a desired geographical motion path from the user warning-devices 120 of a particular user 20.
if a desired geographical motion path from a user warning-device 120 of a particular user 20 was not received return to Step 710.
Step 720: the remote geolocation-server transmits the regional health hazards geographic map to the user.
If a desired geographical motion path from a user warning-device 120 of a particular user 20 has been received by users module 142, geolocation-server 140 transmits a respective regional health hazards geographic map, based on the received desired geographical motion path, back to the respective warning-device 120.
Step 725: checking if a potentially health hazards is approached by the user.
Remote geolocation-server 140 of health hazards geolocation control system 600 checks the user approach a PHH.
If a potentially health hazards is being approached by the user subject 20, in a collision course, the detected health hazards 99, continue with Step 730.
Else, go back to Step 710.
Step 730: issue an alert to the user subject.
Remote geolocation-server 140 (or processing unit 122) has determined that user subject 20 approaches, in a collision course, a health hazard 99.
Remote geolocation-server 140 (with/or processing unit 122) issues an alert to user subject 20. The warning can be in any way known in the art, including using a speaker 180, a personal mobile device 150, a personal smart watch 160 and/or a foot bracelet 170. The warning may be in an audible, visual and/or tactile form.
(end of health hazards monitoring method 700)
It should be appreciated that the user warning-device 120 may further include at least one image sensor 112 and a memory unit 124, wherein the image sensor 112 is adapted to be worn by the coupled user 20 or to be carried by a selfie-drone associated with the user, such that images captured by the image sensor 112 represent the surroundings of user 20. The processing unit 122 is configured to store the captured images in memory unit 124.
Upon user 20 identifying a PHH in his/her pathway, user 20 may report/send one or more captured images of the PHH to the remote geolocation-server 140.
A webserver application may be a cloud base mobile or web application for the user to manage, update, report PHHs and generate safe path plan. The webserver application may retrospectively allocate in which incidents the user had fallen, for example, where the system did not detect the PHH. By recalculating the images, the machine learning system can calibrate the methods and update the calculating logarithms and scoring of the PHH.
The health hazards monitoring system may be utilized by a leader or an accompanied accompanier to a user or a group of users. For example, a walking guided tour of elderly people can wear and activate the health hazards monitoring system on his/her belt while touring with the group. Although he/her may not fall from a set of predefined PHH the health hazards monitoring system can bring to his/her attention potential risks for the group in real-time, which can be even transmitted to a specific user in the group or to all group members which fits to a PHH definition.
In the same manner this can be used in family trips and other activities while one member my benefit from the health hazards monitoring system.
In a similar manner the optical camera device 110 of the personal health hazards monitoring system (100) can be attached to a service guide dog (25)/horse/dolphin/any other animal, as shown by way of example in
Equestrian sports are one of the most popular forms of sport in many parts of the world which is considered as one of the most accident-prone sports. Furthermore, riding accidents are frequently associated with a high degree of severity of injuries and mortality. Nevertheless, there are insufficient data regarding incidences, demographics, mechanisms of accidents, injury severity patterns and outcome of injured persons in amateur equestrian sports. The health hazards monitoring system may be used to alert the rider when a predefined PHH can be safely crossed or not. Based on real-time monitoring of the achievement and abilities to jump the next barrier and alert the user if needed.
Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment and examples thereof, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosure as defined in the following claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/IL2018/051160 filed on Oct. 31, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/579,160 filed on Oct. 31, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62579160 | Oct 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/IL2018/051160 | Oct 2018 | US |
| Child | 16862229 | US |
