US20060264730A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20060264730A1
Application number: US11/239,748
Authority: US
Inventors: John Stivoric; Scott Boehmke; Eric Teller; Christopher Kasabach
Original assignee: Bodymedia Inc
Current assignee: JB IP Acquisition LLC
Priority date: 2002-08-22
Filing date: 2005-09-30
Publication date: 2006-11-23
Also published as: MXPA05002024A; IL167045A; US20140180137A1; AU2003259983A1; US20140275813A1; US20040039254A1; AU2003259983A8; BRPI0313705A2; US20140180020A1; US20140276192A1; US9168001B2; EP1534126A2; JP5555398B2; US20160310022A1; US20140180022A1; US20140180023A1; WO2004019172A2; EP1534126A4; WO2004019172A9; US20080287751A1

Abstract

The invention comprises an apparatus for determining the contextual or physiological status of the individual wearing the apparatus. The apparatus is designed to be consumable or disposable. In most embodiments the invention comprises an adhesive housing. In some embodiments, two different sensors are secured to the housing. The apparatus is in electronic communication with a processing unit that can derive analytical status data by using the data received from the two sensors. In some embodiments, the processing unit is programmed to control other devices, or is programmed to trigger an event. In still other embodiments, the apparatus is in electronic communication with a separate computing device, which may contain the processing unit.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/227,575 filed on Aug. 22, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention also relates to a number of embodiments of an apparatus which includes one or more sensors for collecting data relating to an individual's physiological state and various contextual parameters. Specifically, an apparatus containing two sensors that is capable of being disposed of after use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Research has shown that a large number of the top health problems in society are either caused in whole or in part by an unhealthy lifestyle. More and more, our society requires people to lead fast-paced, achievement-oriented lifestyles that often result in poor eating habits, high stress levels, lack of exercise, poor sleep habits and the inability to find the time to center the mind and relax. Recognizing this fact, people are becoming increasingly interested in establishing a healthier lifestyle.

Traditional medicine, embodied in the form of an HMO or similar organizations, does not have the time, the training, or the reimbursement mechanism to address the needs of those individuals interested in a healthier lifestyle. There have been several attempts to meet the needs of these individuals, including a perfusion of fitness programs and exercise equipment, dietary plans, self-help books, alternative therapies, and most recently, a plethora of health information web sites on the Internet. Each of these attempts are targeted to empower the individual to take charge and get healthy. Each of these attempts, however, addresses only part of the needs of individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle and ignores many of the real barriers that most individuals face when trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. These barriers include the fact that the individual is often left to himself or herself to find motivation, to implement a plan for achieving a healthier lifestyle, to monitor progress, and to brainstorm solutions when problems arise; the fact that existing programs are directed to only certain aspects of a healthier lifestyle, and rarely come as a complete package; and the fact that recommendations are often not targeted to the unique characteristics of the individual or his life circumstances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus is disclosed for detecting human physiological or contextual information from the body of an individual wearing the apparatus. The apparatus includes a flexible section that is adapted to engage a portion of the wearer's body, and a housing that is removably attached to the flexible section. The housing supports one or more physiological and/or contextual sensors and a processor in electrical communication with the sensors. According to one embodiment, the apparatus may include multiple flexible sections that may be selectively attached to the housing. The apparatus may also have operating parameters that are adjustable depending on the particular flexible section that is attached to the housing at a particular time. The operating parameters, for example, may be adjusted through the interaction of a switch or switches provided on or in the housing and a switch activator or switch activators provided on or in each of the flexible sections. Various structures for removably attaching the housing to the flexible section are described, including, but no limited to, tongues and grooves, adhesives, magnets, and elastic bands. The apparatus may also include a wireless transceiver for transmitting information to and receiving information from a computing device.

Also described is an apparatus that is adapted to measure heat flux between the body of the wearer and the ambient environment. The apparatus includes a housing and a base member having a preselected, known resistivity mounted within the housing. The base member may comprise a printed circuit board. A first temperature measuring device is attached to a first side of the base member and a second temperature measuring device is attached to a second side of the base member. The temperature measuring devices may comprise, for example, a thermistor, a thermocouple, or a thermopile. The apparatus further includes a thermal energy communicator mounted between a portion of the body of the wearer and the first temperature measuring device. The thermal energy communicator may include one or more of a heat conduit, a thermally conductive interface material or materials, and a thermally conductive interface component in various combinations. The second temperature measuring device is in thermal communication with the ambient environment. The apparatus may include a thermal interface material and/or a thermally conductive interface component for providing thermal communication between the ambient environment and the second temperature measuring device. A processing unit is provided in the housing and is in electrical communication with the temperature measuring devices. The apparatus may further include a flexible section attached to the housing adapted to engage a portion of the body of the wearer, or a plurality of flexible sections adapted to be selectively attached to the housing. According to one embodiment, the apparatus has operating parameters that may be adjusted depending on the particular flexible section that is attached to the housing.

Also described is an apparatus for detecting from the body of a wearer parameters relating to the heart of the wearer including an acoustic-based non-ECG heart parameter sensor that generates a first signal including a first acoustic component generated from the motion of the wearers heart and a second acoustic component generated from non-heart related motion of the body of the wearer, such as, for example, from footfalls. The apparatus also includes one or more filtering sensors, such as an accelerometer, for generating a second signal related to the non-heart related motion of the body. The second signal is used to subtract the second acoustic component from the first signal to generate a third signal, with the third signal being used to generate the heart related parameters. The first signal may also include an acoustic component generated from ambient noise, and the apparatus may include an ambient noise sensor. In this configuration, the signal form the ambient noise sensor is used to subtract out the acoustic component generated from ambient noise from the signal that is used to generate the heart related parameters.

In addition, a method is disclosed for detecting from the body of a wearer parameters relating to the heart of the wearer. The method comprises steps of generating a first acoustic signal including a first acoustic component generated from the motion of the wearer's heart and a second acoustic component generated from non-heart related motion of the body of the wearer, generating a second signal related to the non-heart related motion of the body, generating a third signal by using the second signal to subtract the second acoustic component from the first signal, and generating the heart related parameters from the third signal. The first acoustic signal may further include a third acoustic component generated from ambient noise and the method may further comprise generating a fourth signal related to the ambient noise with the step of generating the third signal further comprising using the fourth signal to subtract the third acoustic component from the first signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a system for monitoring physiological data and lifestyle over an electronic network according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the central monitoring unit shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the central monitoring unit shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the Health Manager web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the nutrition web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the activity level web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the mind centering web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the sleep web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the daily activities web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a representation of a preferred embodiment of the Health Index web page according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front view of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a back view of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a side view of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are front perspective views of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is an exploded side perspective view of a specific embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a side view of the sensor device shown inFIGS. 12 through 18 inserted into a battery recharger unit;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating all of the components either mounted on or coupled to the printed circuit board forming a part of the sensor device shown inFIGS. 12 through 18; and

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an apparatus for monitoring health, wellness and fitness according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a front view of an alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a back view of an alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor device shown inFIG. 22 taken along lines A-A;

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor device shown inFIG. 22 taken along lines B-B;

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor device shown inFIG. 22 taken along lines A-A showing the internal components of the housing of the sensor device;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating the components mounted on or coupled to the printed circuit board forming a part of an embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIGS. 22 through 26;

FIG. 28 is a front view of an alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention including an LCD;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating the components mounted on or coupled to the printed circuit board forming a part of an alternate embodiment of the sensor device shown inFIGS. 22 through 26;

FIGS. 30 and 31 are isometric views of an alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention having a housing adapted to be removably attached to a flexible section;

FIG. 32 is an isometric view of a further alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention having a housing adapted to be removably attached to a flexible section;

FIG. 33 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a sensor device having adjustable operating parameters according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is an isometric view of an alternate embodiment of a sensor device according to the present invention having a housing having an adhesive material on an external surface thereof for removably attaching the housing to the body;

FIGS. 35A and B are cross-sectional views of a housing for a prior art sensor device;

FIGS. 35C through H are cross-sectional views of various embodiments of a housing for a sensor device according to an aspect of the present invention taken along lines C-C inFIG. 23.

FIG. 36A is a cross-sectional view of a housing for a prior art sensor device;

FIGS. 36B through H are cross-sectional views of various embodiments of a housing for a sensor device according to an aspect of the present invention taken along lines D-D inFIG. 23;

FIG. 37 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a housing for a sensor device according to the present invention having a bottom or inner surface having a concavity in one direction and a convexity in another direction;

FIGS. 38A through D are cross-sectional views of a housing for a sensor device having a flat top surface and flat lateral ends;

FIGS. 39A through F are cross-sectional views of various embodiments of a housing for a sensor device having surfaces designed to deflect objects and prevent movement of the housing; and

FIG. 39G is a cross-sectional view of the housing shown inFIG. 39E attached to a flexible section.

FIG. 40A is an elevational drawing of the sensor device mounted within a garment on the upper arm of a wearer.

FIG. 40B is an elevational drawing of the sensor device mounted within a garment on the left chest area of a wearer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In general, according to the present invention, data relating to the physiological state, the lifestyle and certain contextual parameters of an individual is collected and transmitted, either subsequently or in real-time, to a site, preferably remote from the individual, where it is stored for later manipulation and presentation to a recipient, preferably over an electronic network such as the Internet. Contextual parameters as used herein means parameters relating to the environment, surroundings and location of the individual, including, but not limited to, air quality, sound quality, ambient temperature, global positioning and the like. Referring toFIG. 1, located atuser location5 issensor device10 adapted to be placed in proximity with at least a portion of the human body.Sensor device10 is preferably worn by an individual user on his or her body, for example as part of a garment such as a form fitting shirt, or as part of an arm band or the like.Sensor device10, includes one or more sensors, which are adapted to generate signals in response to physiological characteristics of an individual, and a microprocessor. Proximity as used herein means that the sensors ofsensor device10 are separated from the individual's body by a material or the like, or a distance such that the capabilities of the sensors are not impeded.

Sensor device

10 generates data indicative of various physiological parameters of an individual, such as the individual's heart rate, pulse rate, beat-to-beat heart variability, EKG or ECG, respiration rate, skin temperature, core body temperature, heat flow off the body, galvanic skin response or GSR, EMG, EEG, EOG, blood pressure, body fat, hydration level, activity level, oxygen consumption, glucose or blood sugar level, body position, pressure on muscles or bones, and UV radiation exposure and absorption. In certain cases, the data indicative of the various physiological parameters is the signal or signals themselves generated by the one or more sensors and in certain other cases the data is calculated by the microprocessor based on the signal or signals generated by the one or more sensors. Methods for generating data indicative of various physiological parameters and sensors to be used therefor are well known. Table 1 provides several examples of such well known methods and shows the parameter in question, the method used, the sensor device used, and the signal that is generated. Table 1 also provides an indication as to whether further processing based on the generated signal is required to generate the data.

TABLE 1


				Further
Parameter	Method	Sensor	Signal	Processing

Heart Rate	EKG		2 Electrodes	DC Voltage	Yes
Pulse Rate	BVP	LED Emitter	Change in	Yes
		and Optical	Resistance
		Sensor
Beat-to-Beat	Heart Rate		2 Electrodes	DC Voltage	Yes
Variability
EKG	Skin Surface	3-10	DC Voltage	No
	Potentials	Electrodes
Respiration	Chest Volume	Strain Gauge	Change in	Yes
Rate	Change		Resistance
Skin	Surface	Thermistors	Change in	Yes
Temperature	Temperature		Resistance
	Probe
Core	Esophageal	Thermistors	Change in	Yes
Temperature	or Rectal		Resistance
	Probe
Heat Flow	Heat Flux	Thermopile	DC Voltage	Yes
Galvanic	Skin
	2 Electrodes	Change in	No
Skin	Conductance		Resistance
Response
EMG	Skin Surface		3 Electrodes	DC Voltage	No
	Potentials
EEG	Skin Surface	Multiple	DC Voltage	Yes
	Potentials	Electrodes
EOG	Eye Movement	Thin Film	DC Voltage	Yes
		Piezoelectric
		Sensors
Blood	Non-Invasive	Electronic	Change in	Yes
Pressure	Korotkuff	Sphygromaro-	Resistance
	Sounds	meter
Body Fat	Body		2 Active	Change in	Yes
	Impedance	Electrodes	Impedance
Activity in	Body	Accelerometer	DC Voltage,	Yes
Interpreted	Movement		Capacitance
G Shocks			Changes
per Minute
Oxygen	Oxygen	Electro-	DC Voltage	Yes
Consumption	Uptake	chemical	Change
Glucose	Non-Invasive	Electro-	DC Voltage	Yes
Level		chemical	Change
Body	N/A	Mercury	DC Voltage	Yes
Position		Switch Array	Change
(e.g.
supine,
erect,
sitting)
Muscle	N/A	Thin Film	DC Voltage	Yes
Pressure		Piezoelectric	Change
		Sensors
UV	N/A	UV Sensitive	DC Voltage	Yes
Radiation		Photo Cells	Change
Absorption

The types of data listed in Table 1 are intended to be examples of the types of data that can be generated bysensor device10. It is to be understood that other types of data relating to other parameters can be generated bysensor device10 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The microprocessor ofsensor device10 may be programmed to summarize and analyze the data. For example, the microprocessor can be programmed to calculate an average, minimum or maximum heart rate or respiration rate over a defined period of time, such as ten minutes.Sensor device10 may be able to derive information relating to an individual's physiological state based on the data indicative of one or more physiological parameters. The microprocessor ofsensor device10 is programmed to derive such information using known methods based on the data indicative of one or more physiological parameters. Table 2 provides examples of the type of information that can be derived, and indicates some of the types of data that can be used therefor.

TABLE 2


Derived Information	Data Used

Ovulation	Skin temperature, core temperature, oxygen
	consumption
Sleep onset/wake	Beat-to-beat variability, heart rate, pulse
	rate, respiration rate, skin temperature,
	core temperature, heat flow, galvanic skin
	response, EMG, EEG, EOG, blood pressure,
	oxygen consumption
Calories burned	Heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate,
	heat flow, activity, oxygen consumption
Basal metabolic rate	Heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate,
	heat flow, activity, oxygen consumption
Basal temperature	Skin temperature, core temperature
Activity level	Heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate,
	heat flow, activity, oxygen consumption
Stress level	EKG, beat-to-beat variability, heart rate,
	pulse rate, respiration rate, skin
	temperature, heat flow, galvanic skin
	response, EMG, EEG, blood pressure, activity,
	oxygen consumption
Relaxation level	EKG, beat-to-beat variability, heart rate,
	pulse rate, respiration rate, skin
	temperature, heat flow, galvanic skin
	response, EMG, EEG, blood pressure, activity,
	oxygen consumption
Maximum oxygen	EKG, heart rate, pulse rate, respiration
consumption rate	rate, heat flow, blood pressure, activity,
	oxygen consumption
Rise time or the	Heart rate, pulse rate, heat flow, oxygen
time it takes to	consumption
rise from a resting
rate to 85% of a
target maximum
Time in zone or the	Heart rate, pulse rate, heat flow, oxygen
time heart rate was	consumption
above 85% of a
target maximum
Recovery time or	Heart rate, pulse rate, heat flow, oxygen
the time it takes	consumption
heart rate to return
to a resting rate
after heart rate was
above 85% of a
target maximum

Additionally,sensor device10 may also generate data indicative of various contextual parameters relating to the environment surrounding the individual. For example,sensor device10 can generate data indicative of the air quality, sound level/quality, light quality or ambient temperature near the individual, or even the global positioning of the individual.Sensor device10 may include one or more sensors for generating signals in response to contextual characteristics relating to the environment surrounding the individual, the signals ultimately being used to generate the type of data described above. Such sensors are well known, as are methods for generating contextual parametric data such as air quality, sound level/quality, ambient temperature and global positioning.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment ofsensor device10.Sensor device10 includes at least onesensor12 andmicroprocessor20. Depending upon the nature of the signal generated bysensor12, the signal can be sent through one or more ofamplifier14,conditioning circuit16, and analog-to-digital converter18, before being sent tomicroprocessor20. For example, wheresensor12 generates an analog signal in need of amplification and filtering, that signal can be sent toamplifier14, and then on toconditioning circuit16, which may, for example, be a band pass filter. The amplified and conditioned analog signal can then be transferred to analog-to-digital converter18, where it is converted to a digital signal. The digital signal is then sent tomicroprocessor20. Alternatively, ifsensor12 generates a digital signal, that signal can be sent directly tomicroprocessor20.

A digital signal or signals representing certain physiological and/or contextual characteristics of the individual user may be used bymicroprocessor20 to calculate or generate data indicative of physiological and/or contextual parameters of the individual user.Microprocessor20 is programmed to derive information relating to at least one aspect of the individual's physiological state. It should be understood thatmicroprocessor20 may also comprise other forms of processors or processing devices, such as a microcontroller, or any other device that can be programmed to perform the functionality described herein.

The data indicative of physiological and/or contextual parameters can, according to one embodiment of the present invention, be sent tomemory22, such as flash memory, where it is stored until uploaded in the manner to be described below. Althoughmemory22 is shown inFIG. 2 as a discrete element, it will be appreciated that it may also be part ofmicroprocessor20. Sensor device also includes input/output circuitry24, which is adapted to output and receive as input certain data signals in the manners to be described herein. Thus,memory22 of thesensor device10 will build up, over time, a store of data relating to the individual user's body and/or environment. That data is periodically uploaded fromsensor device10 and sent to remotecentral monitoring unit30, as shown inFIG. 1, where it is stored in a database for subsequent processing and presentation to the user, preferably through a local or global electronic network such as the Internet. This uploading of data can be an automatic process that is initiated bysensor device10 periodically or upon the happening of an event such as the detection bysensor device10 of a heart rate below a certain level, or can be initiated by the individual user or some third party authorized by the user, preferably according to some periodic schedule, such as every day at 10:00 p.m. Alternatively, rather than storing data inmemory22,sensor device10 may continuously upload data in real time.

The uploading of data fromsensor device10 tocentral monitoring unit30 for storage can be accomplished in various ways. In one embodiment, the data collected bysensor device10 is uploaded by first transferring the data topersonal computer35 shown inFIG. 1 by means ofphysical connection40, which, for example, may be a serial connection such as an RS232 or USB port. This physical connection may also be accomplished by using a cradle, not shown, that is electronically coupled topersonal computer35 into whichsensor device10 can be inserted, as is common with many commercially available personal digital assistants. The uploading of data could be initiated by then pressing a button on the cradle or could be initiated automatically upon insertion ofsensor device10. The data collected bysensor device10 may be uploaded by first transferring the data topersonal computer35 by means of short-range wireless transmission, such as infrared or RF transmission, as indicated at45.

Once the data is received bypersonal computer35, it is optionally compressed and encrypted by any one of a variety of well known methods and then sent out over a local or global electronic network, preferably the Internet, tocentral monitoring unit30. It should be noted thatpersonal computer35 can be replaced by any computing device that has access to and that can transmit and receive data through the electronic network, such as, for example, a personal digital assistant such as the Palm VII sold by Palm, Inc., or the Blackberry 2-way pager sold by Research in Motion, Inc.

Alternatively, the data collected bysensor device10, after being encrypted and, optionally, compressed bymicroprocessor20, may be transferred towireless device50, such as a 2-way pager or cellular phone, for subsequent long distance wireless transmission tolocal telco site55 using a wireless protocol such as e-mail or as ASCII or binary data.Local telco site55 includestower60 that receives the wireless transmission fromwireless device50 andcomputer65 connected to tower60. According to the preferred embodiment,computer65 has access to the relevant electronic network, such as the Internet, and is used to transmit the data received in the form of the wireless transmission to thecentral monitoring unit30 over the Internet. Althoughwireless device50 is shown inFIG. 1 as a discrete device coupled tosensor device10, it or a device having the same or similar functionality may be embedded as part ofsensor device10.

Sensor device

10 may be provided with a button to be used to time stamp events such as time to bed, wake time, and time of meals. These time stamps are stored insensor device10 and are uploaded tocentral monitoring unit30 with the rest of the data as described above. The time stamps may include a digitally recorded voice message that, after being uploaded tocentral monitoring unit30, are translated using voice recognition technology into text or some other information format that can be used bycentral monitoring unit30.

In addition to usingsensor device10 to automatically collect physiological data relating to an individual user, a kiosk could be adapted to collect such data by, for example, weighing the individual, providing a sensing device similar tosensor device10 on which an individual places his or her hand or another part of his or her body, or by scanning the individual's body using, for example, laser technology or an iStat blood analyzer. The kiosk would be provided with processing capability as described herein and access to the relevant electronic network, and would thus be adapted to send the collected data to thecentral monitoring unit30 through the electronic network. A desktop sensing device, again similar tosensor device10, on which an individual places his or her hand or another part of his or her body may also be provided. For example, such a desktop sensing device could be a blood pressure monitor in which an individual places his or her arm. An individual might also wear a ring having asensor device10 incorporated therein. A base, not shown, could then be provided which is adapted to be coupled to the ring. The desktop sensing device or the base just described may then be coupled to a computer such aspersonal computer35 by means of a physical or short range wireless connection so that the collected data could be uploaded tocentral monitoring unit30 over the relevant electronic network in the manner described above. A mobile device such as, for example, a personal digital assistant, might also be provided with asensor device10 incorporated therein. Such asensor device10 would be adapted to collect data when mobile device is placed in proximity with the individual's body, such as by holding the device in the palm of one's hand, and upload the collected data tocentral monitoring unit30 in any of the ways described herein.

Furthermore, in addition to collecting data by automatically sensing such data in the manners described above, individuals can also manually provide data relating to various life activities that is ultimately transferred to and stored atcentral monitoring unit30. An individual user can access a web site maintained bycentral monitoring unit30 and can directly input information relating to life activities by entering text freely, by responding to questions posed by the web site, or by clicking through dialog boxes provided by the web site.Central monitoring unit30 can also be adapted to periodically send electronic mail messages containing questions designed to elicit information relating to life activities topersonal computer35 or to some other device that can receive electronic mail, such as a personal digital assistant, a pager, or a cellular phone. The individual would then provide data relating to life activities tocentral monitoring unit30 by responding to the appropriate electronic mail message with the relevant data.Central monitoring unit30 may also be adapted to place a telephone call to an individual user in which certain questions would be posed to the individual user. The user could respond to the questions by entering information using a telephone keypad, or by voice, in which case conventional voice recognition technology would be used bycentral monitoring unit30 to receive and process the response. The telephone call may also be initiated by the user, in which case the user could speak to a person directly or enter information using the keypad or by voice/voice recognition technology.Central monitoring unit30 may also be given access to a source of information controlled by the user, for example the user's electronic calendar such as that provided with the Outlook product sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., from which it could automatically collect information. The data relating to life activities may relate to the eating, sleep, exercise, mind centering or relaxation, and/or daily living habits, patterns and/or activities of the individual. Thus, sample questions may include: What did you have for lunch today? What time did you go to sleep last night? What time did you wake up this morning? How long did you run on the treadmill today?

Feedback may also be provided to a user directly throughsensor device10 in a visual form, for example through an LED or LCD or by constructingsensor device10, at least in part, of a thermochromatic plastic, in the form of an acoustic signal or in the form of tactile feedback such as vibration. Such feedback may be a reminder or an alert to eat a meal or take medication or a supplement such as a vitamin, to engage in an activity such as exercise or meditation, or to drink water when a state of dehydration is detected. Additionally, a reminder or alert can be issued in the event that a particular physiological parameter such as ovulation has been detected, a level of calories burned during a workout has been achieved or a high heart rate or respiration rate has been encountered.

As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, it may be possible to “download” data fromcentral monitoring unit30 tosensor device10. The flow of data in such a download process would be substantially the reverse of that described above with respect to the upload of data fromsensor device10. Thus, it is possible that the firmware ofmicroprocessor20 ofsensor device10 can be updated or altered remotely, i.e., the microprocessor can be reprogrammed, by downloading new firmware tosensor device10 fromcentral monitoring unit30 for such parameters as timing and sample rates ofsensor device10. Also, the reminders/alerts provided bysensor device10 may be set by the user using the web site maintained bycentral monitoring unit30 and subsequently downloaded to thesensor device10.

Referring toFIG. 3, a block diagram of an embodiment ofcentral monitoring unit30 is shown.Central monitoring unit30 includes CSU/DSU70 which is connected torouter75, the main function of which is to take data requests or traffic, both incoming and outgoing, and direct such requests and traffic for processing or viewing on the web site maintained bycentral monitoring unit30. Connected torouter75 isfirewall80. The main purpose offirewall80 is to protect the remainder ofcentral monitoring unit30 from unauthorized or malicious intrusions.Switch85, connected tofirewall80, is used to direct data flow betweenmiddleware servers95athrough95canddatabase server110.Load balancer90 is provided to spread the workload of incoming requests among the identically configuredmiddleware servers95athrough95c.Load balancer90, a suitable example of which is the F5 ServerIron product sold by Foundry Networks, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., analyzes the availability of eachmiddleware server95athrough95c, and the amount of system resources being used in eachmiddleware server95athrough95c, in order to spread tasks among them appropriately.

Central monitoring unit

Middleware servers

95athrough95c, a suitable example of which is the 220OR Dual Processor sold by Sun Microsystems, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., each contain software for generating and maintaining the corporate or home web page or pages of the web site maintained bycentral monitoring unit30. As is known in the art, a web page refers to a block or blocks of data available on the World-Wide Web comprising a file or files written in Hypertext Markup Language or HTML, and a web site commonly refers to any computer on the Internet running a World-Wide Web server process. The corporate or home web page or pages are the opening or landing web page or pages that are accessible by all members of the general public that visit the site by using the appropriate uniform resource locator or URL. As is known in the art, URLs are the form of address used on the World-Wide Web and provide a standard way of specifying the location of an object, typically a web page, on the Internet.Middleware servers95athrough95calso each contain software for generating and maintaining the web pages of the web site ofcentral monitoring unit30 that can only be accessed by individuals that register and become members ofcentral monitoring unit30. The member users will be those individuals who wish to have their data stored atcentral monitoring unit30. Access by such member users is controlled using passwords for security purposes. Preferred embodiments of those web pages are described in detail below and are generated using collected data that is stored in the database ofnetwork storage device100.

Middleware servers

95athrough95calso contain software for requesting data from and writing data to networkstorage device100 throughdatabase server110. When an individual user desires to initiate a session with thecentral monitoring unit30 for the purpose of entering data into the database ofnetwork storage device100, viewing his or her data stored in the database ofnetwork storage device100, or both, the user visits the home web page ofcentral monitoring unit30 using a browser program such as Internet Explorer distributed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., and logs in as a registered user.Load balancer90 assigns the user to one of themiddleware servers95athrough95c, identified as the chosen middleware server. A user will preferably be assigned to a chosen middleware server for each entire session. The chosen middleware server authenticates the user using any one of many well known methods, to ensure that only the true user is permitted to access the information in the database. A member user may also grant access to his or her data to a third party such as a health care provider or a personal trainer. Each authorized third party may be given a separate password and may view the member user's data using a conventional browser. It is therefore possible for both the user and the third party to be the recipient of the data.

When the user is authenticated, the chosen middleware server requests, throughdatabase server110, the individual user's data fromnetwork storage device100 for a predetermined time period. The predetermined time period is preferably thirty days. The requested data, once received fromnetwork storage device100, is temporarily stored by the chosen middleware server in cache memory. The cached data is used by the chosen middleware server as the basis for presenting information, in the form of web pages, to the user again through the user's browser. Eachmiddleware server95athrough95cis provided with appropriate software for generating such web pages, including software for manipulating and performing calculations utilizing the data to put the data in appropriate format for presentation to the user. Once the user ends his or her session, the data is discarded from cache. When the user initiates a new session, the process for obtaining and caching data for that user as described above is repeated. This caching system thus ideally requires that only one call to thenetwork storage device100 be made per session, thereby reducing the traffic thatdatabase server110 must handle. Should a request from a user during a particular session require data that is outside of a predetermined time period of cached data already retrieved, a separate call to networkstorage device100 may be performed by the chosen middleware server. The predetermined time period should be chosen, however, such that such additional calls are minimized. Cached data may also be saved in cache memory so that it can be reused when a user starts a new session, thus eliminating the need to initiate a new call to networkstorage device100.

As described in connection with Table 2, the microprocessor ofsensor device10 may be programmed to derive information relating to an individual's physiological state based on the data indicative of one or more physiological parameters.Central monitoring unit30, and preferablymiddleware servers95athrough95c, may also be similarly programmed to derive such information based on the data indicative of one or more physiological parameters.

It is also contemplated that a user will input additional data during a session, for example, information relating to the user's eating or sleeping habits. This additional data is preferably stored by the chosen middleware server in a cache during the duration of the user's session. When the user ends the session, this additional new data stored in a cache is transferred by the chosen middleware server todatabase server110 for population innetwork storage device100. Alternatively, in addition to being stored in a cache for potential use during a session, the input data may also be immediately transferred todatabase server110 for population innetwork storage device100, as part of a write-through cache system which is well known in the art.

Data collected bysensor device10 shown inFIG. 1 is periodically uploaded tocentral monitoring unit30. Either by long distance wireless transmission or throughpersonal computer35, a connection tocentral monitoring unit30 is made through an electronic network, preferably the Internet. In particular, connection is made to loadbalancer90 through CSU/DSU70,router75,firewall80 andswitch85.Load balancer90 then chooses one of themiddleware servers95athrough95cto handle the upload of data, hereafter called the chosen middleware server. The chosen middleware server authenticates the user using any one of many well known methods. If authentication is successful, the data is uploaded to the chosen middleware server as described above, and is ultimately transferred todatabase server110 for population in thenetwork storage device100.

Referring toFIG. 4, an alternate embodiment ofcentral monitoring unit30 is shown. In addition to the elements shown and described with respect toFIG. 3, the embodiment of thecentral monitoring unit30 shown inFIG. 4 includes a mirrornetwork storage device120 which is a redundant backup ofnetwork storage device100. Coupled to mirrornetwork storage device120 iscontroller122. Data fromnetwork storage device100 is periodically copied to mirrornetwork storage device120 for data redundancy purposes.

Third parties such as insurance companies or research institutions may be given access, possibly for a fee, to certain of the information stored in mirrornetwork storage device120. Preferably, in order to maintain the confidentiality of the individual users who supply data tocentral monitoring unit30, these third parties are not given access to such user's individual database records, but rather are only given access to the data stored in mirrornetwork storage device120 in aggregate form. Such third parties may be able to access the information stored in mirrornetwork storage device120 through the Internet using a conventional browser program. Requests from third parties may come in through CSU/DSU70,router75,firewall80 andswitch85. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 4, aseparate load balancer130 is provided for spreading tasks relating to the accessing and presentation of data frommirror drive array120 among identically configuredmiddleware servers135athrough135c.Middleware servers135athrough135ceach contain software for enabling the third parties to, using a browser, formulate queries for information from mirrornetwork storage device120 throughseparate database server125.Middleware servers135athrough135calso contain software for presenting the information obtained from mirrornetwork storage device120 to the third parties over the Internet in the form of web pages. In addition, the third parties can choose from a series of prepared reports that have information packaged along subject matter lines, such as various demographic categories.

As will be apparent to one of skill in the art, instead of giving these third parties access to the backup data stored in mirrornetwork storage device120, the third parties may be given access to the data stored innetwork storage device100. Also, instead of providingload balancer130 andmiddleware servers135athrough135c, the same functionality, although at a sacrificed level of performance, could be provided byload balancer90 andmiddleware servers95athrough95c.

When an individual user first becomes a registered user or member, that user completes a detailed survey. The purposes of the survey are to: identify unique characteristics/circumstances for each user that they might need to address in order to maximize the likelihood that they will implement and maintain a healthy lifestyle as suggested bycentral monitoring unit30; gather baseline data which will be used to set initial goals for the individual user and facilitate the calculation and display of certain graphical data output such as the Health Index pistons; identify unique user characteristics and circumstances that will helpcentral monitoring unit30 customize the type of content provided to the user in the Health Manager's Daily Dose; and identify unique user characteristics and circumstances that the Health Manager can guide the user to address as possible barriers to a healthy lifestyle through the problem-solving function of the Health Manager.

The specific information to be surveyed may include: key individual temperamental characteristics, including activity level, regularity of eating, sleeping, and bowel habits, initial response to situations, adaptability, persistence, threshold of responsiveness, intensity of reaction, and quality of mood; the user's level of independent functioning, i.e., self-organization and management, socialization, memory, and academic achievement skills; the user's ability to focus and sustain attention, including the user's level of arousal, cognitive tempo, ability to filter distractions, vigilance, and self-monitoring; the user's current health status including current weight, height, and blood pressure, most recent general physician visit, gynecological exam, and other applicable physician/healthcare contacts, current medications and supplements, allergies, and a review of current symptoms and/or health-related behaviors; the user's past health history, i.e., illnesses/surgeries, family history, and social stress events, such as divorce or loss of ajob, that have required adjustment by the individual; the user's beliefs, values and opinions about health priorities, their ability to alter their behavior and, what might contribute to stress in their life, and how they manage it; the user's degree of self-awareness, empathy, empowerment, and self-esteem, and the user's current daily routines for eating, sleeping, exercise, relaxation and completing activities of daily living; and the user's perception of the temperamental characteristics of two key persons in their life, for example, their spouse, a friend, a co-worker, or their boss, and whether there are clashes present in their relationships that might interfere with a healthy lifestyle or contribute to stress.

Each member user will have access, through the home web page ofcentral monitoring unit30, to a series of web pages customized for that user, referred to as the Health Manager. The opening HealthManager web page150 is shown inFIG. 5. The Health Manager web pages are the main workspace area for the member user. The Health Manager web pages comprise a utility through whichcentral monitoring unit30 provides various types and forms of data, commonly referred to as analytical status data, to the user that is generated from the data it collects or generates, namely one or more of: the data indicative of various physiological parameters generated bysensor device10; the data derived from the data indicative of various physiological parameters; the data indicative of various contextual parameters generated bysensor device10; and the data input by the user. Analytical status data is characterized by the application of certain utilities or algorithms to convert one or more of the data indicative of various physiological parameters generated bysensor device10, the data derived from the data indicative of various physiological parameters, the data indicative of various contextual parameters generated bysensor device10, and the data input by the user into calculated health, wellness and lifestyle indicators. For example, based on data input by the user relating to the foods he or she has eaten, things such as calories and amounts of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and certain vitamins can be calculated. As another example, skin temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, heat flow and/or GSR can be used to provide an indicator to the user of his or her stress level over a desired time period. As still another example, skin temperature, heat flow, beat-to-beat heart variability, heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate, core temperature, galvanic skin response, EMG, EEG, EOG, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, ambient sound and body movement or motion as detected by a device such as an accelerometer can be used to provide indicators to the user of his or her sleep patterns over a desired time period.

Located on the opening HealthManager web page150 isHealth Index155.Health Index155 is a graphical utility used to measure and provide feedback to member users regarding their performance and the degree to which they have succeeded in reaching a healthy daily routine suggested bycentral monitoring unit30.Health Index155 thus provides an indication for the member user to track his or her progress.Health Index155 includes six categories relating to the user's health and lifestyle: Nutrition, Activity Level, Mind Centering, Sleep, Daily Activities and How You Feel. The Nutrition category relates to what, when and how much a person eats and drinks. The Activity Level category relates to how much a person moves around. The Mind Centering category relates to the quality and quantity of time a person spends engaging in some activity that allows the body to achieve a state of profound relaxation while the mind becomes highly alert and focused. The Sleep category relates to the quality and quantity of a person's sleep. The Daily Activities category relates to the daily responsibilities and health risks people encounter. Finally, the How You Feel category relates to the general perception that a person has about how they feel on a particular day. Each category has an associated level indicator or piston that indicates, preferably on a scale ranging from poor to excellent, how the user is performing with respect to that category.

When each member user completes the initial survey described above, a profile is generated that provides the user with a summary of his or her relevant characteristics and life circumstances. A plan and/or set of goals is provided in the form of a suggested healthy daily routine. The suggested healthy daily routine may include any combination of specific suggestions for incorporating proper nutrition, exercise, mind centering, sleep, and selected activities of daily living in the user's life. Prototype schedules may be offered as guides for how these suggested activities can be incorporated into the user's life. The user may periodically retake the survey, and based on the results, the items discussed above will be adjusted accordingly.

The Nutrition category is calculated from both data input by the user and sensed bysensor device10. The data input by the user comprises the time and duration of breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks, and the foods eaten, the supplements such as vitamins that are taken, and the water and other liquids consumed during a relevant, pre-selected time period. Based upon this data and on stored data relating to known properties of various foods,central monitoring unit30 calculates well known nutritional food values such as calories and amounts of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc., consumed.

The Nutrition Health Index piston level is preferably determined with respect to the following suggested healthy daily routine: eat at least three meals; eat a varied diet consisting of 6-11 servings of bread, pasta, cereal, and rice, 2-4 servings fruit, 3-5 servings of vegetables, 2-3 servings of fish, meat, poultry, dry beans, eggs, and nuts, and 2-3 servings of milk, yogurt and cheese; anddrink 8 or more 8 ounce glasses of water. This routine may be adjusted based on information about the user, such as sex, age, height and/or weight. Certain nutritional targets may also be set by the user or for the user, relating to daily calories, protein, fiber, fat, carbohydrates, and/or water consumption and percentages of total consumption. Parameters utilized in the calculation of the relevant piston level include the number of meals per day, the number of glasses of water, and the types and amounts of food eaten each day as input by the user.

Nutritional information is presented to the user throughnutrition web page160 as shown inFIG. 6. The preferrednutritional web page160 includes nutritional fact charts165 and170 which illustrate actual and target nutritional facts, respectively as pie charts, and

nutritional intake charts

175 and180 which show total actual nutritional intake and target nutritional intake, respectively as pie charts. Nutritional fact charts165 and170 preferably show a percentage breakdown of items such as carbohydrates, protein and fat, and

nutritional intake charts

175 and180 are preferably broken down to show components such as total and target calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins.Web page160 also includes meal and water consumption tracking185 with time entries,hyperlinks190 which allow the user to directly access nutrition-related news items and articles, suggestions for refining or improving daily routine with respect to nutrition and affiliate advertising elsewhere on the network, andcalendar195 for choosing between views having variable and selectable time periods. The items shown at190 may be selected and customized based on information learned about the individual in the survey and on their performance as measured by the Health Index.

The Activity Level category ofHealth Index155 is designed to help users monitor how and when they move around during the day and utilizes both data input by the user and data sensed bysensor device10. The data input by the user may include details regarding the user's daily activities, for example the fact that the user worked at a desk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then took an aerobics class from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Relevant data sensed bysensor device10 may include heart rate, movement as sensed by a device such as an accelerometer, heat flow, respiration rate, calories burned, GSR and hydration level, which may be derived bysensor device60 orcentral monitoring unit30. Calories burned may be calculated in a variety of manners, including: the multiplication of the type of exercise input by the user by the duration of exercise input by the user; sensed motion multiplied by time of motion multiplied by a filter constant; or sensed heat flux multiplied by time multiplied by a filter constant.

The Activity Level Health Index piston level is preferably determined with respect to a suggested healthy daily routine that includes: exercising aerobically for a pre-set time period, preferably 20 minutes, or engaging in a vigorous lifestyle activity for a pre-set time period, preferably one hour, and burning at least a minimum target number of calories, preferably 205 calories, through the aerobic exercise and/or lifestyle activity. The minimum target number of calories may be set according to information about the user, such as sex, age, height and/or weight. Parameters utilized in the calculation of the relevant piston level include the amount of time spent exercising aerobically or engaging in a vigorous lifestyle activity as input by the user and/or sensed bysensor device10, and the number of calories burned above pre-calculated energy expenditure parameters.

Information regarding the individual user's movement is presented to the user through activitylevel web page200 shown inFIG. 7, which may includeactivity graph205 in the form of a bar graph, for monitoring the individual user's activities in one of three categories: high, medium and low intensity with respect to a pre-selected unit of time.Activity percentage chart210, in the form or a pie chart, may also be provided for showing the percentage of a pre-selected time period, such as one day, that the user spent in each category. Activitylevel web page200 may also include calorie section215 for displaying items such as total calories burned, daily target calories burned, total caloric intake, and duration of aerobic activity. Finally, activitylevel web page200 may include at least onehyperlink220 to allow a user to directly access relevant news items and articles, suggestions for refining or improving daily routine with respect to activity level and affiliate advertising elsewhere on the network. Activitylevel web page200 may be viewed in a variety of formats, and may include user-selectable graphs and charts such as a bar graph, pie chart, or both, as selectable by Activitylevel check boxes225.Activity level calendar230 is provided for selecting among views having variable and selectable time periods. The items shown at220 may be selected and customized based on information learned about the individual in the survey and on their performance as measured by the Health Index.

The Mind Centering category ofHealth Index155 is designed to help users monitor the parameters relating to time spent engaging in certain activities which allow the body to achieve a state of profound relaxation while the mind becomes focused, and is based upon both data input by the user and data sensed by thesensor device10. In particular, a user may input the beginning and end times of relaxation activities such as yoga or meditation. The quality of those activities as determined by the depth of a mind centering event can be measured by monitoring parameters including skin temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, and heat flow as sensed bysensor device10. Percent change in GSR as derived either bysensor device10 orcentral monitoring unit30 may also be utilized.

The Mind Centering Health Index piston level is preferably calculated with respect to a suggested healthy daily routine that includes participating each day in an activity that allows the body to achieve profound relaxation while the mind stays highly focused for at least fifteen minutes. Parameters utilized in the calculation of the relevant piston level include the amount of time spent in a mind centering activity, and the percent change in skin temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, heat flow or GSR as sensed bysensor device10 compared to a baseline which is an indication of the depth or quality of the mind centering activity.

Information regarding the time spent on self-reflection and relaxation is presented to the user through mind centeringweb page250 shown inFIG. 8. For each mind centering activity, referred to as a session, the preferred mind centeringweb page250 includes the time spent during the session, shown at255, the target time, shown at260,comparison section265 showing target and actual depth of mind centering, or focus, and ahistogram270 that shows the overall level of stress derived from such things as skin temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, heat flow and/or GSR. Incomparison section265, the human figure outline showing target focus is solid, and the human figure outline showing actual focus ranges from fuzzy to solid depending on the level of focus. The preferred mind centering web page may also include an indication of the total time spent on mind centering activities, shown at275,hyperlinks280 which allow the user to directly access relevant news items and articles, suggestions for refining or improving daily routine with respect to mind centering and affiliate advertising, and acalendar285 for choosing among views having variable and selectable time periods. The items shown at280 may be selected and customized based on information learned about the individual in the survey and on their performance as measured by the Health Index.

The Sleep category ofHealth Index155 is designed to help users monitor their sleep patterns and the quality of their sleep. It is intended to help users learn about the importance of sleep in their healthy lifestyle and the relationship of sleep to circadian rhythms, being the normal daily variations in body functions. The Sleep category is based upon both data input by the user and data sensed bysensor device10. The data input by the user for each relevant time interval includes the times the user went to sleep and woke up and a rating of the quality of sleep. As noted in Table 2, the data fromsensor device10 that is relevant includes skin temperature, heat flow, beat-to-beat heart variability, heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate, core temperature, galvanic skin response, EMG, EEG, EOG, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption. Also relevant is ambient sound and body movement or motion as detected by a device such as an accelerometer. This data can then be used to calculate or derive sleep onset and wake time, sleep interruptions, and the quality and depth of sleep.

The Sleep Health Index piston level is determined with respect to a healthy daily routine including getting a minimum amount, preferably eight hours, of sleep each night and having a predictable bed time and wake time. The specific parameters which determine the piston level calculation include the number of hours of sleep per night and the bed time and wake time as sensed bysensor device10 or as input by the user, and the quality of the sleep as rated by the user or derived from other data.

Information regarding sleep is presented to the user throughsleep web page290 shown inFIG. 9.Sleep web page290 includes asleep duration indicator295, based on either data fromsensor device10 or on data input by the user, together with usersleep time indicator300 andwake time indicator305. A quality of sleep rating310 input by the user may also be utilized and displayed. If more than a one day time interval is being displayed onsleep web page290, then sleepduration indicator295 is calculated and displayed as a cumulative value, andsleep time indicator300,wake time indicator305 and quality of sleep rating310 are calculated and illustrated as averages.Sleep web page290 also includes a user-selectable sleep graph315 which calculates and displays one sleep related parameter over a pre-selected time interval. For illustrative purposes,FIG. 9 shows heat flow over a one-day period, which tends to be lower during sleeping hours and higher during waking hours. From this information, a person's bio-rhythms can be derived.Sleep graph315 may also include a graphical representation of data from an accelerometer incorporated insensor device10 which monitors the movement of the body. Thesleep web page290 may also includehyperlinks320 which allow the user to directly access sleep related news items and articles, suggestions for refining or improving daily routine with respect to sleep and affiliate advertising available elsewhere on the network, and asleep calendar325 for choosing a relevant time interval. The items shown at320 may be selected and customized based on information learned about the individual in the survey and on their performance as measured by the Health Index.

The Activities of Daily Living category ofHealth Index155 is designed to help users monitor certain health and safety related activities and risks and is based entirely on data input by the user. The Activities of Daily Living category is divided into four sub-categories: personal hygiene, which allows the user to monitor activities such as brushing and flossing his or her teeth and showering; health maintenance, that tracks whether the user is taking prescribed medication or supplements and allows the user to monitor tobacco and alcohol consumption and automobile safety such as seat belt use; personal time, that allows the user to monitor time spent socially with family and friends, leisure, and mind centering activities; and responsibilities, that allows the user to monitor certain work and financial activities such as paying bills and household chores.

The Activities of Daily Living Health Index piston level is preferably determined with respect to the healthy daily routine described below. With respect to personal hygiene, the routine requires that the users shower or bathe each day, brush and floss teeth each day, and maintain regular bowel habits. With respect to health maintenance, the routine requires that the user take medications and vitamins and/or supplements, use a seat belt, refrain from smoking, drink moderately, and monitor health each day with the Health Manager. With respect to personal time, the routine requires the users to spend at least one hour of quality time each day with family and/or friends, restrict work time to a maximum of nine hours a day, spend some time on a leisure or play activity each day, and engage in a mind stimulating activity. With respect to responsibilities, the routine requires the users to do household chores, pay bills, be on time for work, and keep appointments. The piston level is calculated based on the degree to which the user completes a list of daily activities as determined by information input by the user.

Information relating to these activities is presented to the user through dailyactivities web page330 shown inFIG. 10. In preferred dailyactivities web page330, activities chart335, selectable for one or more of the sub-categories, shows whether the user has done what is required by the daily routine. A colored or shaded box indicates that the user has done the required activity, and an empty, non-colored or shaded box indicates that the user has not done the activity. Activities chart335 can be created and viewed in selectable time intervals. For illustrative purposes,FIG. 10 shows the personal hygiene and personal time sub-categories for a particular week. In addition, dailyactivities web page330 may includedaily activity hyperlinks340 which allow the user to directly access relevant news items and articles, suggestions for improving or refining daily routine with respect to activities of daily living and affiliate advertising, and adaily activities calendar345 for selecting a relevant time interval. The items shown at340 may be selected and customized based on information learned about the individual in the survey and on their performance as measured by the Health Index.

The How You Feel category ofHealth Index155 is designed to allow users to monitor their perception of how they felt on a particular day, and is based on information, essentially a subjective rating, that is input directly by the user. A user provides a rating, preferably on a scale of 1 to 5, with respect to the following nine subject areas: mental sharpness; emotional and psychological well being; energy level; ability to cope with life stresses; appearance; physical well being; self-control; motivation; and comfort in relating to others. Those ratings are averaged and used to calculate the relevant piston level.

Referring toFIG. 11, HealthIndex web page350 is shown. HealthIndex web page350 enables users to view the performance of their Health Index over a user selectable time interval including any number of consecutive or non-consecutive days. Using HealthIndex selector buttons360, the user can select to view the Health Index piston levels for one category, or can view a side-by-side comparison of the Health Index piston levels for two or more categories. For example, a user might want to just turn on Sleep to see if their overall sleep rating improved over the previous month, much in the same way they view the performance of their favorite stock. Alternatively, Sleep and Activity Level might be simultaneously displayed in order to compare and evaluate Sleep ratings with corresponding Activity Level ratings to determine if any day-to-day correlations exist. Nutrition ratings might be displayed with How You Feel for a pre-selected time interval to determine if any correlation exists between daily eating habits and how they felt during that interval. For illustrative purposes,FIG. 11 illustrates a comparison of Sleep and Activity Level piston levels for the week of June 10 through June 16. HealthIndex web page350 also includes trackingcalculator365 that displays access information and statistics such as the total number of days the user has logged in and used the Health Manager, the percentage of days the user has used the Health Manager since becoming a subscriber, and percentage of time the user has used thesensor device10 to gather data.

Referring again toFIG. 5, opening HealthManager web page150 may include a plurality of userselectable category summaries156athrough156f, one corresponding to each of theHealth Index155 categories. Eachcategory summary156athrough156fpresents a pre-selected filtered subset of the data associated with the corresponding category.Nutrition category summary156adisplays daily target and actual caloric intake. ActivityLevel category summary156bdisplays daily target and actual calories burned. Mind Centeringcategory summary156cdisplays target and actual depth of mind centering or focus. Sleep category summary156ddisplays target sleep, actual sleep, and a sleep quality rating. Daily Activities category summary156edisplays a target and actual score based on the percentage of suggested daily activities that are completed. The How You Feel category summary156fshows a target and actual rating for the day.

Opening HealthManager web page150 also may includeDaily Dose section157 which provides, on a daily time interval basis, information to the user, including, but not limited to, hyperlinks to news items and articles, commentary and reminders to the user based on tendencies, such as poor nutritional habits, determined from the initial survey. The commentary forDaily Dose157 may, for example, be a factual statement that drinking8 glasses of water a day can reduce the risk of colon cancer by as much as 32%, accompanied by a suggestion to keep a cup of water by your computer or on your desk at work and refill often. Opening HealthManager web page150 also may include aProblem Solver section158 that actively evaluates the user's performance in each of the categories ofHealth Index155 and presents suggestions for improvement. For example, if the system detects that a user's Sleep levels have been low, which suggest that the user has been having trouble sleeping,Problem Solver158 can provide suggestions for way to improve sleep.Problem Solver158 also may include the capability of user questions regarding improvements in performance. Opening HealthManager web page150 may also include aDaily Data section159 that launches an input dialog box. The input dialog box facilitates input by the user of the various data required by the Health Manager. As is known in the art, data entry may be in the form of selection from pre-defined lists or general free form text input. Finally, opening HealthManager web page150 may includeBody Stats section161 which may provide information regarding the user's height, weight, body measurements, body mass index or BMI, and vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure or any of the identified physiological parameters.

Referring toFIGS. 12-17, a specific embodiment ofsensor device10 is shown which is in the form of an armband adapted to be worn by an individual on his or her upper arm, between the shoulder and the elbow. The specific embodiment ofsensor device10 shown inFIGS. 12-17 will, for convenience, be referred to asarmband sensor device400.Armband sensor device400 includescomputer housing405,flexible wing body410, and, as shown inFIG. 17,elastic strap415.Computer housing405 andflexible wing body410 are preferably made of a flexible urethane material or an elastomeric material such as rubber or a rubber-silicone blend by a molding process.Flexible wing body410 includes first andsecond wings418 each having a thru-hole420 located near theends425 thereof. First andsecond wings418 are adapted to wrap around a portion of the wearer's upper arm.

Elastic strap

415 is used to removably affixarmband sensor device400 to the individual's upper arm. As seen inFIG. 17,bottom surface426 ofelastic strap415 is provided withVelcro loops416 along a portion thereof. Eachend427 ofelastic strap415 is provided withVelcro hook patch428 onbottom surface426 andpull tab429 ontop surface430. A portion of eachpull tab429 extends beyond the edge of eachend427.

In order to weararmband sensor device400, a user inserts eachend427 ofelastic strap415 into a respective thru-hole420 offlexible wing body410. The user then places his arm through the loop created byelastic strap415,flexible wing body410 andcomputer housing405. By pulling eachpull tab429 and engagingVelcro hook patches428 withVelcro loops416 at a desired position alongbottom surface426 ofelastic strap415, the user can adjustelastic strap415 to fit comfortably. SinceVelcro hook patches428 can be engaged withVelcro loops416 at almost any position alongbottom surface426,armband sensor device400 can be adjusted to fit arms of various sizes. Also,elastic strap415 may be provided in various lengths to accommodate a wider range of arm sizes. As will be apparent to one of skill in the art, other means of fastening and adjusting the size of elastic strap may be used, including, but not limited to, snaps, buttons, or buckles. It is also possible to use two elastic straps that fasten by one of several conventional means including Velcro, snaps, buttons, buckles or the like, or merely a single elastic strap affixed towings418.

Alternatively, instead of providing thru-holes420 inwings418, loops having the shape of the letter D, not shown, may be attached to ends425 ofwings418 by one of several conventional means. For example, a pin, not shown, may be inserted throughends425, wherein the pin engages each end of each loop. In this configuration, the D-shaped loops would serve as connecting points forelastic strap415, effectively creating a thru-hole between eachend425 of eachwing418 and each loop.

As shown inFIG. 18, which is an exploded view ofarmband sensor device400,computer housing405 includes atop portion435 and abottom portion440. Contained withincomputer housing405 are printed circuit board orPCB445,rechargeable battery450, preferably a lithium ion battery, and vibratingmotor455 for providing tactile feedback to the wearer, such as those used in pagers, suitable examples of which are the Model 12342 and 12343 motors sold by MG Motors Ltd. of the United Kingdom.

Top portion

435 andbottom portion440 ofcomputer housing405 sealingly mate alonggroove436 into which O-ring437 is fit, and may be affixed to one another by screws, not shown, which pass through screw holes438aandstiffeners438bofbottom portion440 andapertures439 inPCB445 and into threaded receivingstiffeners451 oftop portion435. Alternately,top portion435 andbottom portion440 may be snap fit together or affixed to one another with an adhesive. Preferably, the assembledcomputer housing405 is sufficiently water resistant to permitarmband sensor device400 to be worn while swimming without adversely affecting the performance thereof.

As can be seen inFIG. 13,bottom portion440 includes, on a bottom side thereof, a raisedplatform430. Affixed to raisedplatform430 is heat flow orflux sensor460, a suitable example of which is the micro-foil heat flux sensor sold by RdF Corporation of Hudson, N.H.Heat flux sensor460 functions as a self-generating thermopile transducer, and preferably includes a carrier made of a polyamide film.Bottom portion440 may include on a top side thereof, that is on a side opposite the side to whichheat flux sensor460 is affixed, a heat sink, not shown, made of a suitable metallic material such as aluminum. Also affixed to raisedplatform430 areGSR sensors465, preferably comprising electrodes formed of a material such as conductive carbonized rubber, gold or stainless steel. Although twoGSR sensors465 are shown inFIG. 13, it will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the number ofGSR sensors465 and the placement thereof on raisedplatform430 can vary as long as theindividual GSR sensors465, i.e., the electrodes, are electrically isolated from one another. By being affixed to raisedplatform430,heat flux sensor460 andGSR sensors465 are adapted to be in contact with the wearer's skin whenarmband sensor device400 is worn.Bottom portion440 ofcomputer housing405 may also be provided with a removable and replaceable soft foam fabric pad, not shown, on a portion of the surface thereof that does not include raisedplatform430 and screwholes438a. The soft foam fabric is intended to contact the wearer's skin and makearmband sensor device400 more comfortable to wear.

Electrical coupling betweenheat flux sensor460,GSR sensors465, andPCB445 may be accomplished in one of various known methods. For example, suitable wiring, not shown, may be molded intobottom portion440 ofcomputer housing405 and then electrically connected, such as by soldering, to appropriate input locations onPCB445 and to heatflux sensor460 andGSR sensors465. Alternatively, rather than molding wiring intobottom portion440, thru-holes may be provided inbottom portion440 through which appropriate wiring may pass. The thru-holes would preferably be provided with a water tight seal to maintain the integrity ofcomputer housing405.

Rather than being affixed to raisedplatform430 as shown inFIG. 13, one or both ofheat flux sensor460 andGSR sensors465 may be affixed to theinner portion466 offlexible wing body410 on either or both ofwings418 so as to be in contact with the wearer's skin whenarmband sensor device400 is worn. In such a configuration, electrical coupling betweenheat flux sensor460 andGSR sensors465, whichever the case may be, and thePCB445 may be accomplished through suitable wiring, not shown, molded intoflexible wing body410 that passes through one or more thru-holes incomputer housing405 and that is electrically connected, such as by soldering, to appropriate input locations onPCB445. Again, the thru-holes would preferably be provided with a water tight seal to maintain the integrity ofcomputer housing405. Alternatively, rather than providing thru-holes incomputer housing405 through which the wiring passes, the wiring may be captured incomputer housing405 during an overmolding process, described below, and ultimately soldered to appropriate input locations onPCB445.

As shown inFIGS. 12, 16,17 and18,computer housing405 includes abutton470 that is coupled to and adapted to activate amomentary switch585 onPCB445.Button470 may be used to activatearmband sensor device400 for use, to mark the time an event occurred or to request system status information such as battery level and memory capacity. Whenbutton470 is depressed,momentary switch585 closes a circuit and a signal is sent toprocessing unit490 onPCB445. Depending on the time interval for whichbutton470 is depressed, the generated signal triggers one of the events just described.Computer housing405 also includesLEDs475, which may be used to indicate battery level or memory capacity or to provide visual feedback to the wearer. Rather thanLEDs475,computer housing405 may also include a liquid crystal display or LCD to provide battery level, memory capacity or visual feedback information to the wearer. Battery level, memory capacity or feedback information may also be given to the user tactily or audibly.

Armband sensor device

400 may be adapted to be activated for use, that is collecting data, when either ofGSR sensors465 orheat flux sensor460 senses a particular condition that indicates thatarmband sensor device400 has been placed in contact with the user's skin. Also,armband sensor device400 may be adapted to be activated for use when one or more ofheat flux sensor460,GSR sensors465,

accelerometer

495 or550, or any other device in communication witharmband sensor device400, alone or in combination, sense a particular condition or conditions that indicate that thearmband sensor device400 has been placed in contact with the user's skin for use. At other times,armband sensor device400 would be deactivated, thus preserving battery power.

Computer housing

405 is adapted to be coupled to abattery recharger unit480 shown inFIG. 19 for the purpose of rechargingrechargeable battery450.Computer housing405 includesrecharger contacts485, shown inFIGS. 12, 15,16 and17, that are coupled torechargeable battery450.Recharger contacts485 may be made of a material such as brass, gold or stainless steel, and are adapted to mate with and be electrically coupled to electrical contacts, not shown, provided inbattery recharger unit480 whenarmband sensor device400 is placed therein. The electrical contacts provided inbattery recharger unit480 may be coupled to rechargingcircuit481aprovided insidebattery recharger unit480. In this configuration, recharging circuit481 would be coupled to a wall outlet, such as by way of wiring including a suitable plug that is attached or is attachable tobattery recharger unit480. Alternatively,electrical contacts480 may be coupled to wiring that is attached to or is attachable tobattery recharger unit480 that in turn is coupled to rechargingcircuit481bexternal tobattery recharger unit480. The wiring in this configuration would also include a plug, not shown, adapted to be plugged into a conventional wall outlet.

Also provided insidebattery recharger unit480 isRF transceiver483 adapted to receive signals from and transmit signals toRF transceiver565 provided incomputer housing405 and shown inFIG. 20.RF transceiver483 is adapted to be coupled, for example by a suitable cable, to a serial port, such as an RS232 port or a USB port, of a device such aspersonal computer35 shown inFIG. 1. Thus, data may be uploaded from and downloaded toarmband sensor device400 usingRF transceiver483 andRF transceiver565. It will be appreciated that although

RF transceivers

483 and565 are shown inFIGS. 19 and 20, other forms of wireless transceivers may be used, such as infrared transceivers. Alternatively,computer housing405 may be provided with additional electrical contacts, not shown, that would be adapted to mate with and be electrically coupled to additional electrical contacts, not shown, provided inbattery recharger unit480 whenarmband sensor device400 is placed therein. The additional electrical contacts in thecomputer housing405 would be coupled to theprocessing unit490 and the additional electrical contacts provided inbattery recharger unit480 would be coupled to a suitable cable that in turn would be coupled to a serial port, such as an RS R32 port or a USB port, of a device such aspersonal computer35. This configuration thus provides an alternate method for uploading of data from and downloading of data toarmband sensor device400 using a physical connection.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram that shows the system architecture ofarmband sensor device400, and in particular each of the components that is either on or coupled toPCB445.

As shown inFIG. 17,PCB445 includesprocessing unit490, which may be a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or any other processing device that can be adapted to perform the functionality described herein.Processing unit490 is adapted to provide all of the functionality described in connection withmicroprocessor20 shown inFIG. 2. A suitable example ofprocessing unit490 is the Dragonball EZ sold by Motorola, Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill.PCB445 also has thereon a two-axis accelerometer495, a suitable example of which is the Model ADXL210 accelerometer sold by Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass. Two-axis accelerometer495 is preferably mounted onPCB445 at an angle such that its sensing axes are offset at an angle substantially equal to 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis ofPCB445 and thus the longitudinal axis of the wearer's arm whenarmband sensor device400 is worn. The longitudinal axis of the wearer's arm refers to the axis defined by a straight line drawn from the wearer's shoulder to the wearer's elbow. The output signals of two-axis accelerometer495 are passed throughbuffers500 and input into analog todigital converter505 that in turn is coupled toprocessing unit490.GSR sensors465 are coupled toamplifier510 onPCB445.Amplifier510 provides amplification and low pass filtering functionality, a suitable example of which is the Model AD8544 amplifier sold by Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass. The amplified and filtered signal output byamplifier510 is input into amp/offset515 to provide further gain and to remove any bias voltage and into filter/conditioning circuit520, which in turn are each coupled to analog todigital converter505.Heat flux sensor460 is coupled todifferential input amplifier525, such as the Model INA amplifier sold by Burr-Brown Corporation of Tucson, Ariz., and the resulting amplified signal is passed throughfilter circuit530,buffer535 andamplifier540 before being input to analog todigital converter505.Amplifier540 is configured to provide further gain and low pass filtering, a suitable example of which is the Model AD8544 amplifier sold by Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass.PCB445 also includes thereon abattery monitor545 that monitors the remaining power level ofrechargeable battery450. Battery monitor545 preferably comprises a voltage divider with a low pass filter to provide average battery voltage. When a user depressesbutton470 in the manner adapted for requesting battery level,processing unit490 checks the output ofbattery monitor545 and provides an indication thereof to the user, preferably throughLEDs475, but also possibly through vibratingmotor455 orringer575. An LCD may also be used.

PCB

445 may include three-axis accelerometer550 instead of or in addition to two-axis accelerometer495. The three-axis accelerometer outputs a signal toprocessing unit490. A suitable example of three-axis accelerometer is the μPAM product sold by I.M. Systems, Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. Three-axis accelerometer550 is preferably tilted in the manner described with respect to two-axis accelerometer495.

PCB

445 also includesRF receiver555 that is coupled toprocessing unit490.RF receiver555 may be used to receive signals that are output by another device capable of wireless transmission, shown inFIG. 20 aswireless device558, worn by or located near the individual wearingarmband sensor device400. Located near as used herein means within the transmission range ofwireless device558. For example,wireless device558 may be a chest mounted heart rate monitor such as the Tempo product sold by Polar Electro of Oulu, Finland. Using such a heart rate monitor, data indicative of the wearer's heart rate can be collected byarmband sensor device400.Antenna560 andRF transceiver565 are coupled toprocessing unit490 and are provided for purposes of uploading data tocentral monitoring unit30 and receiving data downloaded fromcentral monitoring unit30.RF transceiver565 andRF receiver555 may, for example, employ Bluetooth technology as the wireless transmission protocol. Also, other forms of wireless transmission may be used, such as infrared transmission.

Vibratingmotor455 is coupled toprocessing unit490 throughvibrator driver570 and provides tactile feedback to the wearer. Similarly,ringer575, a suitable example of which is the Model SMT916A ringer sold by Projects Unlimited, Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, is coupled toprocessing unit490 throughringer driver580, a suitable example of which is the Model MMBTA14 CTI darlington transistor driver sold by Motorola, Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill., and provides audible feedback to the wearer. Feedback may include, for example, celebratory, cautionary and other threshold or event driven messages, such as when a wearer reaches a level of calories burned during a workout.

Also provided onPCB445 and coupled toprocessing unit490 ismomentary switch585.Momentary switch585 is also coupled tobutton470 for activatingmomentary switch585.LEDs475, used to provide various types of feedback information to the wearer, are coupled toprocessing unit490 through LED latch/driver590.

Oscillator

595 is provided onPCB445 and supplies the system clock toprocessing unit490.Reset circuit600, accessible and triggerable through a pin-hole in the side ofcomputer housing405, is coupled toprocessing unit490 and enables processingunit490 to be reset to a standard initial setting.

Rechargeable battery

450, which is the main power source for thearmband sensor device400, is coupled toprocessing unit490 throughvoltage regulator605. Finally, memory functionality is provided forarmband sensor device400 bySRAM610, which stores data relating to the wearer ofarmband sensor device400, andflash memory615, which stores program and configuration data, provided onPCB445.SRAM610 andflash memory615 are coupled toprocessing unit490 and each preferably have at least 512K of memory.

Referring toFIG. 21, a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown. This alternate embodiment includes standalone sensor device700 which functions as an independent device, meaning that it is capable of collecting and/or generating the various types of data described herein in connection withsensor device10 andsensor device400 and providing analytical status data to the user without interaction with a remotely located apparatus such ascentral monitoring unit30. Standalone sensor device700 includes a processor that is programmed and/or otherwise adapted to include the utilities and algorithms necessary to create analytical status data from the data indicative of various physiological and/or contextual parameters of the user, the data derived therefrom, and the data input by the user, all of which is stored in and accessed as needed from memory provided in standalone sensor device700. Standalone sensor device700 may comprisesensor device10 shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 that includesmicroprocessor20 andmemory22 orarmband sensor device400 shown inFIGS. 12-17 that includesprocessing unit490 andSRAM610.

As indicated by

reference numbers

720 and725, information comprising data indicative of various physiological and/or contextual parameters and data derived therefrom may be input into standalone sensor device700 through interaction with other devices. In addition, information such as handshake data or data indicative of various physiological and/or contextual parameters and data derived therefrom may be output from standalone sensor device700 to such other devices. According to one embodiment, the interaction is in the form of wireless communication between standalone sensor device700 and another device capable of wireless communication by way of a wireless transceiver provided in standalone sensor device700, such aswireless transceiver565 shown and described in connection withFIG. 20. The device-to-device interaction may, as shown byreference number720, be explicit, meaning that the user of standalone sensor device700 has knowingly initiated the interaction. For example, a user may activate a button on a scale to upload data to standalone sensor device700. The device-to-device interaction may also, as shown byreference number725, be hidden, meaning that the user of standalone sensor device700 does not knowingly initiate the interaction. For example, a gym may have a sensor that wirelessly transmits a signal tosensing device700 when the user enters and leaves the gym to time stamp when the user began and ended a workout.

As shown schematically inFIG. 21, information may be output or transmitted from standalone sensor device700 in a number of ways. Such information may include the data indicative of various physiological parameters and/or contextual parameters, the data derived therefrom, the data manually input by the user, the analytical status data, or any combination thereof. As shown by

reference numbers

730,735 and740, information may be output or transmitted in an audible fashion such as by a series of tones or beeps or a recorded voice by a device such as a speaker, in a visual fashion such as by one or more LEDs, or in a tactile fashion such as by vibration. For example, standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to output a tone or tones, light an LED or LEDs, or vibrate as a reminder for an event, such as a reminder to eat or exercise at a particular time, or when a goal has been reached, such as a target number of calories burned during a workout, or a condition has been sensed, such as ovulation. Alternatively, standalone sensor device700 may be provided with a more sophisticated visual output means such as an LCD similar to those found on commercially available cell phones, pagers and personal digital assistants. With an LCD or a similar device and the expanded visual output capabilities it would provide, standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to output or transmit some or all of the information described in connection withFIGS. 5 through 11 in the same or a similar format. For example, standalone sensor device700 could provide analytical status data in the form of the Health Index to the user. As a further alternative, standalone sensor device700 may be coupled tocomputing device750 such as a personal computer, a cell phone, a pager, a personal digital assistant, another standalone sensor device700 or any other device having a processor by eitherwired connection755 orwireless connection760. For example,battery recharger unit480 shown inFIG. 19 may be used to provide thewired connection755 orwireless connection760. In this configuration, the display of the computing device could be used to visually output information from standalone sensor device700. It will be appreciated that since computingdevice750 includes a sophisticated output means such as an LCD, it may be used to output or transmit to the user some or all of the information described in connection withFIGS. 5 through 11, such as the Health Index, in the same or a similar format.

Also,computing device750 may in turn be used to control other devices, such as the lights or thermostat in a home, based on data output by standalone sensor device700, such as the fact that the wearer has fallen asleep or the fact that the wearer's skin temperature has reached a certain level. In other words, standalone sensor device700, and in particular its processor, may be adapted to cause acomputing device750 to trigger an event upon detection of one or more physiological and/or contextual conditions by standalone sensor device700. Alternatively, standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to cause acomputing device750 to trigger an event based upon information received from anothercomputing device750.

Standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to interact with and influence an interactive electronic media device, such as a video game, or non-interactive electronic media device, such as on a display device such as a DVD or digital video disc player playing a digitally recorded movie. For example, standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to transmit information relating to the physiological state of the wearer to the video game, which in turn adjusts the characteristics of the game, such as the level of difficulty. As another example, standalone sensor device700 may be adapted to transmit information relating to the physiological state of the wearer to the device displaying the digitally recorded movie which in turn adjusts the characteristics, such as the outcome, of the movie.

Furthermore, standalone sensor device700 may includelocation sensing device765, such as an ultrasonic or a radio-frequency identification tag, for enabling acomputing device750 to detect the geographic location of standalone sensor device700, such as the location of standalone sensor device700 within a defined space such as a building. In one embodiment, a location indication causescomputing device750 to trigger an event, such as lowering the temperature in a room corresponding to the indicated location, preferably based on the detection by standalone sensor device700 of one or more physiological conditions of the wearer, such as skin temperature. In another embodiment, the location indication causescomputing device750 to trigger an event, such as lowering the temperature in a room corresponding to the indicated location, if standalone sensor device700 detects one or more physiological conditions, such as a skin temperature of the wearer being above a certain level. In addition, the input means of the computing device, such as the mouse and keyboard of a personal computer, the keypad of a cell phone or pager, or the touch screen of a personal digital assistant, may be used to manually input information into standalone sensor device700.

The different modes of output may be used in combination to provide different types and levels of information to a user. For example, standalone sensor device700 could be worn by an individual while exercising and an LED or a tone can be used to signal that a goal of a certain number of calories burned has been reached. The user could then transmit additional data wirelessly from standalone sensor device700 to acomputing device750 such as a cell phone after he or she is finished exercising to view data such as heart rate and/or respiration rate over time.

Computing device

750 in these alternative embodiments may be connected to an electronic network, such as the Internet, to enable it to communicate withcentral monitoring unit30 or the like. The programming ofcomputing device750 that enables it to generate the derived data and/or the analytical status data may, with such a configuration, be modified or replaced by downloading the relevant data tocomputing device750 over the electronic network.

As still a further alternative embodiment,computing device750 may be provided with a custom written plug-in adapted to provide data display functionality through use of a well known browser program. In this embodiment, standalone sensor device700 collects and/or generates the data indicative of various physiological and/or contextual parameters of the user, the derived data, the data input by the user, data input as a result of device-to-device interaction shown at720 and725, and/or analytical status data based thereon and uploads this data tocomputing device750. The plug-in provided incomputing device750 then generates appropriate display pages based on the data which may be viewed by the user using the browser provided withcomputing device750. The plug-in may be modified/updated from a source such ascentral monitoring unit30 over an electronic network such as the Internet.

Referring toFIGS. 22-26, an alternate embodiment of a sensor device is shown at800.Sensor device800 may be a specific embodiment of eithersensor device10 described in connection withFIGS. 1-11 or standalone sensor device700 described in connection withFIG. 21.Sensor device800 includeshousing805 affixed toflexible section810, which is similar toflexible wing body410 shown inFIGS. 12-17.Flexible section810 is adapted to engage, such as by wrapping around or conforming to, at least a portion of the human body, such as the upper arm, to enablesensor device800, in combination with aremovable strap811 inserted throughslots812 provided inflexible section810, to be worn on the body. Preferably,flexible section810 is made of a material having a durometer of between 75 and 85 ShoreA. Flexible section810 may take on a variety of shapes and may be made of a cloth material, a flexible plastic film, or an elastic material having an adhesive similar in structure to a Band-Aid® disposable adhesive bandage. In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 22-26,housing805 is permanently affixed toflexible section810, such as by an over molding or co-molding process, through the use of an adhesive material, or by a fastening mechanism such as one or more screws.Housing805 includestop portion815 affixed tobottom portion820 by any known means, including, for example, an adhesive material, screws, snap fittings, sonic welding, or thermal welding. According to a preferred embodiment, a watertight seal is provided betweentop portion815 andbottom portion820. Such a water-tight seal is provided when sonic welding or thermal welding is used. Alternatively, an O-ring could be provided betweentop portion815 andbottom portion820 to create the water-tight seal.

GSR Sensors

825, heat flux,skin interface component835, skin temperatureskin interface component840, or any other sensing component that comes into contact with the skin may be provided with a plurality of microneedles for, among other things, enhancing electrical contact with the skin and providing real time access to interstitial fluid in and below the epidermis, which access may be used to measure various parameters such as pH level of the skin through electrochemical, impedance based or other well known methods. Microneedles enhance electrical contact by penetrating the stratum corneum of the skin to reach the epidermis. Such microneedles are well known in the art and may be made of a metal or plastic material. Prior art microneedles are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,612 owned by the Procter and Gamble Company. Based on the particular application, the number, density, length, width at the point or base, distribution and spacing of the microneedles will vary.

Referring toFIG. 26, which is a cross-section taken along lines A-A inFIG. 22, the internal components ofsensor device800, housed withinhousing805, are shown. Printed circuit board orPCB860 is affixed totop portion815 ofhousing805 and receives and supports the electronic components provided insidehousing805. Affixed to a bottom side ofPCB860 and electronically coupled toGSR sensors825 arecontacts865, which preferably comprise gold plated contact pins such as the Pogo® O contacts available from Everett Charles Technologies in Pomona, Calif. Also affixed to the bottom side ofPCB860 isskin temperature thermistor870, a suitable example of which is the model 100K6D280 thermistor manufactured by BetaTherm Corporation in Shrewsbury, Mass.Skin temperature thermistor870 is, according to a preferred embodiment, thermally coupled to skin temperatureskin interface component840 by a thermallyconductive interface material875. Thermallyconductive interface material875 may be any type of thermally conductive interface known in the art, including, for example, thermally conductive gap fillers, thermally conductive phase change interface materials, thermally conductive tapes, thermally conductive cure-in-place compounds or epoxies, and thermal greases. Suitable thermally conductive interface materials include a boron nitride filled expanded polytetrafluoroethylene matrix sold under the trademark PolarChip CP8000 by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and a boron nitride and alumina filled silicone elastomer on an adhesive backed 5 mil. (0.013 cm) thick aluminum foil carrier called A574, which is available from the Chomerics division of Parker Hannefin Corp. located in Woburn, Mass. Provided on top ofPCB860 is near-bodyambient temperature thermistor880, a suitable example of which is the model NTHS040ZN0IN 100KJ thermistor manufactured by Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. in Malvern, Pa. Near-bodyambient temperature thermistor880 is thermally coupled to ambienttemperature interface component850 by thermallyconductive interface material875.

Still referring toFIG. 26, a preferred embodiment ofsensor device800 includes a particular embodiment of an apparatus for measuring heat flux between a living body and the ambient environment described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,929 B2 owned by the assignee hereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Specifically,heat conduit885 is provided withinhousing805. As used herein, the term heat conduit refers to one or more heat conductors which are adapted to singly or jointly transfer heat from one location to another, such as a conductor made of stainless steel.Heat conduit885 is thermally coupled to heat fluxskin interface component835 by thermallyconductive interface material875. Provided on the bottom side ofPCB860 is a firstheat flux thermistor890A, and provided on the top side ofPCB860 is a secondheat flux thermistor890B.PCB860 acts as a base member for supporting these components. It will be appreciated that a base member separate and apart fromPCB860 may be substituted therefor as an alternative configuration. A suitable example of both

heat flux thermistors

890A and890B is the model 100K6D280 thermistor manufactured by BetaTherm Corporation in Shrewsbury, Mass.

Heat flux Thermistor

890A and890B are soldered to pads provided onPCB860. The secondheat flux thermistor890B is thermally coupled to heat fluxambient interface845 by thermallyconductive interface material875. As is well-known in the art,PCB860 is made of a rigid or flexible material, such as a fiberglass, having a preselected, known thermal resistance or resistivity K. The heat flux off of the body of the wearer can be determined by measuring a first voltage VI withheat flux thermistor890A and a second voltage V2 withheat flux thermistor890B. These voltages are then electrically differenced, such as by using a differential amplifier, to provide a voltage value that, as is well known in the art, can be used to calculate the temperature difference (T2-T1) between the top and bottom sides ofPCB860. Heat flux can then be calculated according to the following formula:
Heat Flux=K(T2−T1)
The combination ofPCB860 and

heat flux thermistors

890A and890B are thus a form of a heat flux sensor One advantage of the configuration of the apparatus for measuring heat flux shown inFIG. 26 is that, due to the vertical orientation of the components, assembly of the apparatus for measuring heat flux, and thussensor device800 as a whole, is simplified. Also adding to the simplicity is the fact that thermally conductive interface materials that include a thin adhesive layer on one or both sides may be used for thermallyconductive interface materials875, enabling components to be adhered to one another. In addition,

thermistors

890A and890B are relatively inexpensive components, as compared to an integral heat flux sensor such as those commercially available from RdF Corporation of Hudson, N.H., thereby reducing the cost ofsensor device800. Although

heat flux thermistors

890A and890B are described as being provided onPCB860 in the embodiment shown inFIG. 26, it will be appreciated that any piece of material having a known resistivity K may be used. Furthermore, other temperature measuring devices known in the art, such as a thermocouple or thermopile, may be substituted for

heat flux thermistors

890A and890B. As a further alternative,heat conduit885 may be omitted such that thermal communication betweenheat flux thermistor890A and heat fluxskin interface component835 is provided by one or more pieces of thermallyconductive interface material875. As still a further alternative, heat fluxskin interface component835 may be omitted such that thermal communication betweenheat flux thermistor890A and the skin is provided by either or both ofheat conduit885 and one or more pieces of thermallyconductive interface material875. In any of the embodiments described herein, the combination of one or more ofheat conduit885, one or more pieces of thermallyconductive interface material875, and heat fluxskin interface component835 act as a thermal energy communicator for placingheat flux thermistor890A in thermal communication with the body of the wearer ofsensor device800.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram that shows an embodiment of the system architecture ofsensor device800, and in particular each of the components that is either provided on or coupled toPCB860.

As shown inFIG. 27,PCB860 includesprocessing unit900, which may be a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or any other processing device that can be adapted to perform the functionality described herein, in particular the functionality described in connection withmicroprocessor20 shown inFIG. 2, processingunit490 shown inFIG. 20, or standalone sensor device700 shown inFIG. 21. A suitable example ofprocessing unit900 is the Dragonball EZ sold by Motorola, Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill. Also provided onPCB860 isaccelerometer905, which may be either a two-axis or a three-axis accelerometer. A suitable example of a two-axis accelerometer is the Model ADXL202 accelerometer sold by Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass., and a suitable example of a three-axis accelerometer is the model ACH-04-08-05 accelerator sold by Measurement Specialties Incorporated in Norristown, Pa. The output signals ofaccelerometer905 are passed throughbuffers910 and input analog to digital, referred to as A/D,converter915 that in turn is coupled toprocessing unit900.GSR sensors825 are coupled to A/D converter915 throughcurrent loop920,low pass filter925, andamplifier930.Current loop920 comprises an opamp and a plurality of resistors, and applies a small, fixed current between the twoGSR sensors825 and measures the voltage across them. The measured voltage is directly proportional to the resistance of the skin in contact with the electrodes. Similarly,

heat flux thermistors

890A and890B are coupled to A/D converter915 andprocessing unit900, where the heat flux calculations are performed, throughlow pass filter935 andamplifier940.

Battery monitor

945, preferably comprising a voltage divider with low pass filter to provide average battery voltage, monitors the remaining power level ofrechargeable battery950.Rechargeable battery950 is preferably a LiIon/LiPolymer 3.7 V Cell.Rechargeable battery950, which is the main power source forsensor device800, is coupled toprocessing unit900 throughvoltage regulator955.Rechargeable battery950 may be recharged either usingrecharger960 orUSB cable965, both of which may be coupled tosensor device800 throughUSB interface970. Preferably,USB interface970 is hermetically sealable, such as with a removable plastic or rubber plug, to protect the contacts ofUSB interface970 when not in use.

PCB

860 further includesskin temperature thermistor870 for sensing the temperature of the skin of the wearer ofsensor device800, and near-bodyambient temperature thermistor880 for sensing the ambient temperature in the area near the body of the wearer ofsensor device800. Each of these components is biased and coupled toprocessing unit900 through A/D converter915.

According to a specific embodiment ofsensor device800,PCB860 may include one or both of an ambient light sensor and an ambient sound sensor, shown at975 inFIG. 27, coupled to A/D converter915. The ambient light sensor and ambient sound sensor may be adapted to merely sense the presence or absence of ambient light or sound, the state where a threshold ambient light or sound level has been exceeded, or a reading reflecting the actual level of ambient light or sound. A suitable example of an ambient sound sensor is the WM-60A Condenser Microphone Cartridge sold by Matsushita Electric Corporation of America located in Secaucus, N.J., and suitable examples of an ambient light sensor are the Optek OPR5500 phototransistor and the Optek OPR5910 photodiode sold by Optek Technology, Inc. located in Carrollton, Tex. In addition,PCB860 may includeECG sensor980, including two or more electrodes, for measuring the heart rate of the wearer, andimpedance sensor985, also including a plurality of electrodes, for measuring the impedance of the skin of the wearer.Impedance sensor985 may also be an EMG sensor which gives an indication of the muscular activity of the wearer. The electrodes forming part ofECG sensor980 orimpedance sensor985 may be dedicated electrodes for such sensors, or may be the electrodes fromGSR sensors825 multiplexed for appropriate measurements.ECG sensor980 andimpedance sensor985 are each coupled to A/D converter915.

PCB

860 further includesRF transceiver990, coupled toprocessing unit900, andantenna995 for wirelessly transmitting and receiving data to and from wireless devices in proximity tosensor device800.RF transceiver990 andantenna995 may be used for transmitting and receiving data to and from a device such as a treadmill being used by a wearer ofsensor device800 or a heart rate monitor worn by the wearer ofsensor device800, or to upload and download data to and from a computing device such as a PDA or a PC. In addition,RF transceiver990 andantenna995 may be used to transmit information to a feedback device such as a bone conductivity microphone worn by a fireman to let the fireman know if a condition that may threaten the fireman's safety, such as hydration level or fatigue level, has been sensed bysensor device800. As described in detail in connection withFIG. 21, stand alongsensor device700 may be coupled tocomputing device750 to enable data to be communicated therebetween. Thus, as a further alternative,RF transceiver990 andantenna995 may be used to couplesensor device800 to a computing device such ascomputing device750 shown inFIG. 21. Such a configuration would enablesensor device800 to transmit data to and receive data from thecomputing device750, for example a computing device worn on the wrist. The computing device could be used to enable a user to input data, which may then be stored therein or transmitted tosensor device800, and to display data, including data transmitted fromsensor device800. The configuration would also allow for computing tasks to be divided betweensensor device800 andcomputing device750, referred to herein as shared computing, as described in detail in connection withFIG. 21.

As shown inFIG. 27,PCB860 may includeproximity sensor1000 which is coupled toprocessing unit900 for sensing whethersensor device800 is being worn on the body.Proximity sensor1000 may also be used as a way to automatically power on and offsensor device800. Proximity sensor preferably comprises a capacitor, the electrical capacitance of which changes assensor device800 gets closer to the body.PCB860 may also includesound transducer1005, such as a ringer, coupled toprocessing unit900 throughdriver1010.

Sensor device

800 may also be provided with sensors in addition to those shown inFIG. 27, such as those taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The '005 patent teaches a sound transducer coupled to a pad containing an acoustic transmission material. The pad and sound transducer may be used to sense acoustic signals generated by the body which in turn may be converted into signals representative of physiological parameters such as heart rate or respiration rate. In addition, rather than being integrated insensor device800 as part of one or more ofhousing805,flexible section810 orstrap811, a sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent may be provided separate fromsensor device800 and be coupled, wired or wirelessly, tosensor device800. According to the '005 patent, the sound or acoustic transducer is preferably a piezoelectric, electret, or condenser-based hydrophone, similar to those used by the Navy in sonar applications, but can be any other type of waterproof pressure and motion sensing type of sensor.

The sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent is an example of what shall be referred to herein as a non-ECG heart parameter sensor, meaning that it has the following two qualities: (1) it does not need to make measurements across the torso using at least two contacts separated by some distance; and (2) it does not measure electrical activity of the heart. The sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent has been shown to be capable of detecting heart rate information and information relating to individual beats of the heart with high reliability under certain circumstances, depending primarily on factors including the proximity of the apparatus to the heart, the level of ambient noise, and motion related sound artifacts caused by the movement of the body. As a result, the sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent is most reliable when worn in an ambient environment with a low level of ambient noise and when the body is not moving.

Certain characteristics, sensors and sensing capabilities ofsensor device800 are able to improve the reliability and accuracy of an acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 such as the sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent that is incorporated therein or coupled thereto. For example, in one specific embodiment,sensor device800 is particularly suited to be worn on the upper arm. The upper arm is a good location for asensor device800 having an acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 incorporated therein because it is near the heart and provides a space for sensor device that allows it to be unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. In addition, ambient sound sensor shown at975 inFIG. 27 may be used to filter out ambient noise from the signals detected by the acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 in order to isolate the sound signals originating from the body. Filtering of the signal produced by an acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 such as the sensing apparatus as taught by the '005 patent in this manner may be used both in the case where such an apparatus is incorporated insensor device800 and in the case where it is separated from but coupled tosensor device800 as described above. Furthermore, the sound generated from the motion of the body that is not created by the heart can be accounted for and adjusted for through the use of a sensor or sensors that detect or that may be used to identify body sounds generated as a result of motion of the body, such asaccelerometer905 shown inFIGS. 27 and 29 or the body position or muscle pressure sensors identified in Table 1. For example, footfalls create sound within the body that can lower the signal to noise ratio of an acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012, which will likely result in false positive and false negative heart beat identifications. As is well known in the art,accelerometer905 may function as a footfall indicator.Accelerometer905 may thus be used to filter or subtract out from the signal detected by the acoustic-based non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 signals related sound motion artifacts caused by the movement of the body such as by footfalls.

Several methodologies for performing the filtering or subtracting of signals described herein are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such filtering or subtracting of signals used in connection with the monitoring of disparate signals, some used for noise cancellation and some used for their direct measure, is also known as data integration.

Sensor device

800 may also be used to put parameters around and provide a context for the readings made by a non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 so that inaccurate readings can be identified and compensated for. For example,sensor device800 may be used to detect real time energy expenditure of the wearer as well as the type of activity in which the wearer is engaging, such as running or riding a bike. Thus, as another example of how the sensors and sensing capabilities ofsensor device800 may be used to increase the reliability and accuracy of a non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 through data integration, the energy expenditure and activity type information can be used to provide a context in which the heart related parameters detected by the non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 can be assessed and possibly filtered. For example, ifsensor device800 detects that a person is burning13 calories per minute and is biking, and the non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 is indicating that the wearer's heart rate is 60 beats per minute, then it is highly likely that further filtration of the signal from the non-ECGheart parameter sensor1012 is necessary.

Other well known non-ECG heart parameter sensing devices include, for example, those based on micro-power impulse radar technology, those based on the use of piezo-electric based strain gauges, and those based on plethysmography, which involves the measurement of changes in the size of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood in that part. It will be appreciated that the performance of these devices may also be enhanced through the use of data integration as described herein.

Another sensor that may be incorporated into thesensor device800 measures the pressure with whichsensor device800 is held against the body of the wearer. Such a sensor could be capacitive or resistive in nature. One such instantiation places a piezo-resistive strain gauge on the back of the enclosure to measure the small deflection of the plastic as increasing force is applied. Data gathered from such a sensor can be used to compensate the readings of other sensors insensor device800 according to the readings of such as a sensor.

Also provided onPCB860 and coupled toprocessing unit900 isswitch1015.Switch1015 is also coupled tobutton1020 provided onhousing805.Button1020, by activatingswitch1015, may be used to enter information intosensor device800, such as a time stamp to mark the occurrence of an event such taking medication. Preferably,button1020 has a tactile, positive d-tent feedback when depressed, and a concave shape to prevent accidental depression. Also, in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 22-26,flexible section810 includesmembrane1022 that covers and sealsbutton1020. In the embodiments shown inFIGS. 30-32, asimilar membrane1022 may be provided onflexible section810, and, preferably, also onhousing805 such thatbutton1020 is sealed whenhousing805 is removed fromflexible section810. Alternatively, a hole may be provided inflexible section810 exposingbutton1020 andmembrane1022 whenhousing805 is attached toflexible section810. In addition, coupled toprocessing unit900 onPCB860 are LCDs and/orLEDs1025 for outputting information to the wearer.FIG. 28 shows an alternate embodiment ofsensor device800 in whichLCD1025 is provided on a top face ofhousing805. As an alternative to LCDs orLEDs1025,sensor device800 may include a prior art electrochemical display that retains its ability to display information even when power is no longer being provided thereto. Such a display is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,287 B1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and includes a plurality of markers comprising a miniature heating element and a coating of heat sensitive material. When current is passed through one of the heating elements, it heats up, thereby inducing a change in the color of the coating material. The color change is permanent, even after the heating element cools down. Such displays are relatively inexpensive and thus are well adapted for use in embodiments ofsensor device800 that are designed to be disposable, possibly single use, items.

Oscillator

1030 is provided onPCB860 and supplies the system clock toprocessing unit900.Reset circuit1035 is coupled toprocessing unit900 and enables processing unit to be reset to a standard initial setting.

Finally, non-volatiledata storage device1040, such as a FLASH memory chip, is provided for storing information collected and/or generated bysensor device800. Preferably,data storage device1040 includes at least 128K of memory. Non-volatileprogram storage device1045, such as a FLASH ROM chip, is provided for storing the programs required to operatesensor device800.

As an alternative, a microprocessor with integral A/D converters, data storage, and program storage may be substituted forprocessing unit900, A/D converter915,data storage device1040 andnon-volatile memory1045. A suitable example of such a microprocessor is the Texas Instruments Model MSP430 processor.

Any component forming a part ofsensor device800 that comes in contact with the wearer's skin should not, in a preferred embodiment, degrade in durometer, elasticity, color or other physical or chemical properties when exposed to skin oils, perspiration, deodorant, suntan oils or lotions, skin moisturizers, perfume or isopropyl alcohol. In addition, such components preferably are hypoallergenic.

FIG. 29 shows an alternate embodiment ofPCB860 in whichrechargeable battery950,voltage regulator955,recharger960 andUSB cable965 have been replaced bydisposable AAA battery1050 and boostconverter1055.Boost converter1055 uses an inductor to boost the voltage ofAAA battery1050 to the 3.0-3.3 V required to run the electronics onPCB860. Asuitable boost converter1055 is the model MAX1724 sold by Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. of Sunnydale, Calif.

FIG. 33 shows an alternate embodiment ofsensor device800 as shown inFIGS. 30 and 31 that is adapted to automatically adjust or alter the operating parameters ofsensor device800, such as its functionality, settings or capabilities, depending on the particular flexible section to whichhousing805 is attached. For example, the calculation of a parameter, such as energy expenditure, may depend on information that is particular each individual, such as age, height, weight, and sex. Rather than having each individual enter that information insensor device800 each time he or she wants to wear the device, each individual that is going to wear the device could enter the information once and have their own flexible section that causes sensor device to make measurements based on his or her particular information. Alternatively, the memory insensor device800 for storage of user data may be divided into several compartments, one for each user, so as to avoid co-mingling of user data.Sensor device800 may be adapted to alter where collected data is stored depending on the particular flexible section that is being used. In addition,sensor device800 may be calibrated and recalibrated differently over time depending on the particular flexible section to whichhousing805 is attached as it learns about each particular wearer and his or her habits, demographics and/or activities.

According to a particular embodiment,housing805 is provided with firstmagnetic switch1070 and secondmagnetic switch1075, each onPCB860. Provided on or insideflexible section810, such as by an insert molding technique, ismagnet1080.Magnet1080 is positioned on or insideflexible section810 such that it aligns with and thereby activates one of firstmagnetic switch1080 and secondmagnetic switch1075 whenhousing805 is attached toflexible section810. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 33, secondmagnetic switch1075 will be activated. A secondflexible section810 similar toflexible section810 shown inFIG. 33 will also be provided, the difference being that themagnet1080 provided therewith will be positioned such that firstmagnetic switch1070 is activated whenhousing805, thesame housing805 shown inFIG. 33, is attached to the secondflexible section810.Housing805, and inparticular processing unit900, may be programmed to alter its functionality, settings or capabilities depending on which one of firstmagnetic switch1070 and secondmagnetic switch1075 is activated, i.e., which particularflexible section810 is being used. Thus, a husband and wife may share asingle housing805 but have differentflexible wings810 withmagnets1080 located in different places. In such a case,housing805 may be programmed to operate with functionality, settings or capabilities particular to the husband when firstmagnetic switch1070 is activated, and with functionality, settings or capabilities particular to the wife when secondmagnetic switch1075 is activated. Although only two magnetic switches are shown inFIG. 33, it will be appreciated that multiple magnetic switches and multiple flexible sections may be used to allowsensor device800 to be programmed for multiple wearers, such as an entire family, with each family member having his or her own flexible section. As still a further alternative, multiple flexible sections may be provided that are adapted to be worn on different parts of the body, each having a magnet placed in a different location.Housing805 may then be programmed to have functionality, settings or capabilities particular to the type of sensing to be done on each different part of the body, with magnetic switches placed so as to be activated whenhousing805 is attached to the appropriate flexible section.Sensor device800 according to this embodiment is thus a “smart” device. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, many alternatives to first and second

magnetic switches

1070 and1075 andmagnet1080 may be used to provide the functionality described in connection withFIG. 33. Such alternatives include, without limitation, mechanical switches provided inhousing805 that are activated by a protruding portion, such as a pin, provided at a particular location onflexible section810, optical switches comprising an array of light sensors provided inhousing805 that are activated when the surrounding light is blocked, reflected or filtered in a particular way with one or more translucent sections and a single opaque, reflective or filtering section being selectively provided onflexible section810 at particular locations, the translucent sections not activating the corresponding optical switches and the opaque, reflective or filtering section activating the corresponding optical switch, electronic switches provided inhousing805 activated by a conductor provided in particular locations inflexible section810. As still a further alternative,housing805 may be provided with multiple switches and eachflexible section810 may be provided with one or more switch activators positioned to activate certain selected switches. The operating parameters ofhousing805 would in this embodiment be adapted to change depending upon the particular set of one or more switches that are activated. This embodiment thus employs an encoding scheme to alter the operating parameters ofhousing805 depending on whichflexible section810 is used. As still a further alternative,housing805 may be provided with a single switch adapted to alter the operating parameters ofhousing805 depending upon the way in which or state in which it is activated, such as by the properties of the switch activators. For example, the switch may be a magnetic switch that is activated a plurality of different ways depending upon the magnetic level or strength of the magnet provided in eachflexible section810. A plurality offlexible sections810 could then be provided, each having a magnet of a different strength. In addition, any particularflexible section810 may be provided with a plurality of magnets having different strengths with each magnet being able to activate the switch inhousing805 in a different manner. Such aflexible section810 would be able to selectively trigger different operating parameters ofhousing805, such as by rotating a portion offlexible wing805 to align a particular magnet with the switch. As an alternative, the switch could be an electrical switch and the switch activators could be conductors having different resistances. The switch would, in this embodiment, be activated in different ways depending on the measured resistance of the switch activator that closes the circuit.

Referring toFIG. 34, as still a further embodiment ofsensor device800,housing805 may be provided withadhesive material1085 on a back side thereof to enablehousing805 to be removably attached to selected portions of the body, such as the upper left chest over the heart, withoutflexible section810.Adhesive material1085 may be any well-known adhesive that would securely attachhousing805 to the body and enable it to be worn for a period of time, but that would also readily enablehousing805 to be removed from the body after use.Adhesive material1085 may comprise, for example, a double sided adhesive foam backing that would allow for comfortable attachment ofhousing805 to the body. Furthermore,housing805 may be made of a well-known flexible plastic film or the like, such as that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,287B 1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, that would, due to low cost, enablesensor device800 to be disposable. Such a disposable sensor device may also include an electrochemical display described above to enhance its disposability. In an embodiment adapted for placement over the upper left chest or any other appropriate region for detecting heart related parameters,sensor device800 would include one or more sensors described herein for sensing heart related parameters such as heart rate, beat-to-beat or interbeat variability, ECG or EKG, pulse oximetry, heart sounds, such as detected with a microphone, and mechanical action of the heart, such as detected with ultrasound or micro-pulse radar devices.

FIGS.35A-H and36A-H illustrate aspects of the present invention relating to the ergonomic design ofsensor device800. Referring toFIGS. 35A and 35B, ahousing1100 of a prior art sensor device having a rectangular cross-section is shown resting on thebody1110 of a wearer of the prior art sensor device. As seen inFIG. 35B, whenbody1110 flexes and forms a concavity, as may happen many times each minute on various parts of the body or for extended periods of time depending on the position of various body parties during particular activities, a significant portion ofhousing1100 is caused to be removed frombody1110. Whenhousing1100 is caused to be removed in this manner, the ability of the prior art sensor device to accurately make measurements and collect data will be jeopardized, especially for any readings to be taken near the center of the cross-section indicated by the arrows inFIG. 35B.

FIGS.35C-H illustrate a cross-section ofhousing805 ofsensor device800 taken along lines C-C shown inFIG. 23 according to various aspects of the present invention. The cross-section shown in FIGS.35C-H is taken near the middle portion ofhousing805 shown inFIG. 23 betweenGSR sensors825. As seen inFIG. 35C,bottom surface1115 ofhousing805 is provided with a generally convex shape such that, whenbody1110 flexes and forms a concavity, a substantial portion ofbottom surface1115 ofhousing805 remains in contact withbody1110 by fitting into the concavity. As seen inFIG. 35D, whenbody1110 flexes in the opposite direction so as to create a convexity, the center portion ofhousing805, indicated by the arrow inFIG. 35D, remains in contact withbody1110. As shown inFIG. 35E, this is true even ifhousing805 were to rock within the concavity formed inbody1110. Referring toFIG. 35F,body1110 may, at times, flex to an extreme degree, i.e., more than the anticipated maximum that it was designed for, such that, even ifbottom surface1115 is provided with a convex shape, it may still causebottom surface1115 to be removed frombody1110. A solution to this problem is illustrated inFIG. 35G, wherein the lateral ends1120A and1120B ofhousing805 are provided with

radiused portions

1125A and1125B, respectively adjacent to and including opposite lateral ends ofbottom surface1115.

Radiused portions

1125A and1125B enablehousing805 to sit lower and fit into the concavity created whenbody1110 flexes to an extreme degree. In addition, radiused

portions

1125A and1125B provide for more comfortable wear as they eliminate

sharp edges

1130A and1130B shown inFIG. 35F thatcontact body1110.FIG. 35H shows howbody1110 will tend to conform to the shape ofhousing805 due at least in part to the viscosity of the skin whenbody1110 is in a relaxed condition.

FIG. 36A shows a cross-section ofhousing1100 of prior art sensor device taken along a line perpendicular to the line on which the cross-section shown inFIGS. 35A and 35B was taken. As seen inFIG. 36A, whenhousing1100 is placed on a convex portion ofbody1110, significant portions ofhousing1100, specifically the lateral ends thereof indicated by the arrows inFIG. 36A, are not incontact body1110. FIGS.36B-H show a cross-section ofhousing805 according to various aspects of the present invention taken along lines D-D shown inFIG. 23. As seen inFIG. 36B,bottom surface1115 ofhousing805 is provided with a generally concave shape adapted to receive the convex portion ofbody1110. Referring toFIG. 36C, lateral ends1130A and1130B may be provided with

radiused portions

1135A and1135B adjacent to and including opposite lateral ends ofbottom surface1115, which allowhousing805 to rest in closer contact withbody1110, even whenbody1110 flexes to an extreme degree, i.e., more than the anticipated maximum that it was designed for, and remove

sharp edges

1140A and1140B shown inFIG. 36B, providing for more comfortable wear. As shown inFIG. 36D,body1110 will tend to conform to the shape ofhousing805 whenbody1110 is in a relaxed condition. As shown inFIGS. 36E and 36F, good contact withbody1110 is maintained at the points illustrated by the arrows whenbody1110 is flexed in a manner that decreases the convex shape thereof or that creates a convexity therein. Thus, it will be appreciated that it is advantageous to place sensors or sensing elements at the points indicated by the arrows because those points will tend to remain in contact withbody1110.FIGS. 36G and 36H, showing, for example, heat fluxskin interface component835 and skin temperatureskin interface component840 placed at the points indicated by the arrows, illustrate this point. As seen inFIGS. 36G and 36H, there is more than point contact betweenbody1110 and skin temperatureskin interface component840.

FIG. 37 is an isometric view ofhousing805 according to an embodiment of the present invention in whichbottom surface1115 has both the generally convex shape shown in FIGS.35C-H and the generally concave shape shown in FIGS.36B-H. Specifically,bottom surface1115, which is the inner surface ofhousing805 for mounting adjacent to the body of the wearer, includes alongitudinal axis1141 and atransverse axis1142.Bottom surface115 has a generally concave shape having an axis ofconcavity1143 that is coincident withlongitudinal axis1141, meaning that it runs in a first direction from firstlateral end1144 ofinner surface1115 to secondlateral end1145 ofinner surface1115.Bottom surface1115 has a generally convex shape having an axis ofconvexity1146 that is coincident withtransverse axis1142, meaning that it runs in a second direction from thirdlateral end1147 ofinner surface1115 to fourthlateral end1148 ofinner surface1115. As seen ifFIG. 37, the first and second directions, andlongitudinal axis1141 andtransverse axis1142, are generally perpendicular to one another.

Referring to FIGS.38A-D, it will be appreciated thathousing805 having a flattop surface1150 and flat lateral ends1130A and1130B may tend to be jostled and bumped byobject1155, such as a wall or door or the corner or edge of a drawer, cabinet or desk, thereby movinghousing805 onbody1110 because such flat surfaces are not well adapted to deflectobject1155. Movement ofhousing805 onbody1110 will detrimentally effect the ability ofsensor device800 to accurately make measurements and collect data. FIGS.39A-G illustrate various aspects of the present invention that are adapted to deflectobject1155 and substantially prevent movement ofhousing805 onbody1110. In addition, the forms shown in FIGS.39A-G increase the durability ofsensor device800 and make it easier to put on and wear clothing and the like, such as a wetsuit, oversensor device800. As seen inFIG. 39A,housing805 may have tapered

sides

1160A and1160B such that the width ofhousing805 decreases in the direction frombottom surface1115 totop surface1150. Alternatively, referring toFIG. 39B,top surface1150 ofhousing805 may have a convex shape. As a further alternative, as seen inFIG. 39C,housing805 may be provided with

radiused portions

1165A and1165B that meet with

radiused portions

1135A and1135B such that the lateral ends ofhousing805 have a substantially semicircular shape. As shown inFIG. 39D,housing805 may have both tapered

sides

1160A and1160B and atop surface1150 with a convex shape.FIG. 39E is a modification ofhousing805 shown inFIG. 39E in which the

points

1170A and1170B where

radiused portions

1135A and1135B meet tapered

sides

1160A and1160B, respectively, are themselves radiused.FIG. 39F is a variation ofhousing805 shown inFIG. 39E having elongated tapered

sides

1160A and1160B.FIG. 39G shows how the ability ofhousing805, such as the embodiment shown inFIG. 39E, to deflectobject1155 may be enhanced by the addition offlexible section810 having a substantially convex outer surface. In addition, an air channel is provided betweenflexible section810 andbody1110 to allow for heat to flow away frombody1110.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not as limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the foregoing detailed description, it is to be further understood that the present invention is not to be limited to just the embodiments disclosed, but that they are capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions.