WO2009057033A2

WO2009057033A2 - Computing a user's condition

Info

Publication number: WO2009057033A2
Application number: PCT/IB2008/054426
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank Wartena; Ronaldus M. Aarts
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2007-11-02
Filing date: 2008-10-27
Publication date: 2009-05-07
Also published as: WO2009057033A3

Abstract

Currently there is no easy way to tell people that they need to take a break and relax, eat or sleep better. A system (100) is described that provides a human low battery warning that indicates to the user in a very simple way that he should change his behavior by sleeping more, eating better or relaxing more to prevent the user from being over-stressed or getting a burnout. This simple warning can help people to take a break when they need it and to make sure that their human battery does not get empty.

Description

COMPUTING A USER'S CONDITION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system, method and a computer program for computing a condition of a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The current world is putting a lot of stress on people. They are working more and more and have less time to relax and enjoy life. Many people get stressed or even experience a burnout. In many cases people only realize their health problem when it is too late to solve easily. People need a simple way to be warned when they are working too hard, are stressed or didn't sleep or eat well for some time. If this message can be conveyed in an easy way and at a time that people can still change their behavior before it is too late, their quality of life can be improved and the number of people that are over-stressed or get a burnout can be reduced. Currently there is no easy way to tell people that they need to take a break and relax, eat or sleep better.

US 2003/0065257 Al discloses a diet and activity-monitoring device including a housing configured to be mounted on the subject and a display integral with the housing for displaying information to the subject. The device also includes a body activity monitor operatively disposed within the housing for monitoring the body activity of the subject, a consumption notation control operable by the subject to indicate food consumption, and a timer operable to output a time indicative signal. The device further includes a processor operable to receive and process the body activity signal, time indicative signal and the food consumption signal, for use in determining a food consumption indicator or a body activity indicator that is stored in a memory portion of the processor for recall by the subject on the display screen.

Although food consumption and body activity are certainly relevant for determining the condition of a user, they represent only a part of the relevant parameters. Furthermore, the device represents the information related to the user's body activity and food consumption separately and gives specific goals for both.

It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for determining the condition of a user in a more intuitive way than according to the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This and other objects of the invention are achieved by a system according to claim 1, a method according to claim 11 and a computer program according to claim 12. Favorable embodiments are defined by the dependent claims 2-10 and 13-14. According to an aspect of the invention a system is provided for computing an energy level of a user. The system comprises computing means for computing the energy level based on an energy capacity of the user and at least one of: a parameter related to the input of energy of the user, and a parameter related to the output of energy of the user.

The energy level of a person in the sense of the present invention is a measure of the current condition of the user. This measure may be considered to relate to the current user ability to deal with stress, which in psychology is called "coping". Additionally, the measure may be considered an indicator of the "balance" of the user, which in physiology is called homeostasis.

Energy input according to the present invention refers to those activities which make a person feel more energetic. Examples of parameters related to the input of energy of the user are:

Sleep quality: duration, sleep-wake cycle, wake up time, movements during the night, subjective quality measure, etc

Food: number of meals per day, type of food, subjective food quality, etc. Energy output according to the present invention refers to those activities which make a person feel less energetic.

Examples of parameters related to the output of energy of the user are:

Stress: working hours, balance between desk work and active work, subjective stress measure, etc

Activity: step counts per day, duration of fitness activities, subjective quality measure, etc

Some or all of these parameters may be used as input to the system.

The energy capacity of a person is a measure of how much energy a user may "accumulate". It may vary considerably from person to person. Some persons still feel energetic after prolonged periods of sleeping little or dealing with a lot of stress. These persons may be considered to have a high energy capacity. Other persons already feel down after one night of bad sleep or can only deal with a very limited amount of stress. Such persons can be considered to have a small energy capacity.

Based on the user's energy capacity the system can calculate the human energy level of a user by subtracting the energy usage of the user from his/her energy capacity. The energy usage is determined by the parameters related to the energy input and energy output of the user. The computed energy level information provides more value to the user than just an indication that the user took 6000 steps or consumed 2000 Kcal as given by prior art systems. Preferably, the system comprises communication means for communicating the energy level, for example by SMS, email, or by means of an icon on a dedicated device.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the communication means are adapted to communicate the energy level by displaying a battery level indicator. There are a lot of devices on the market that run on batteries (e.g. laptops, PDAs, mobile phones, MP3- players, etc). All of these devices have some way to show the amount of energy they have left and give a warning when the battery is almost empty and the device needs to be charged. A similar case can be made for people. When they do their work, they extract energy from their internal "battery". When people sleep, eat, relax or do pleasant activities, or when they are on vacation they charge their "battery". So, the use of a battery metaphor is a very intuitive way of communicating the energy level to the user.

According to a further embodiment the communication means are adapted to communicate a low energy level warning. Such a "human low battery warning" indicates to the user in a very simple way that he/she should change his/her behavior by sleeping more, eating better or relaxing a little bit to prevent the user from being over-stressed or getting a burnout. This simple warning can help people to take a break when they need it and to make sure that their human "battery" does not get empty.

Preferably, the communication means are adapted for communicating the energy level based on preferences of the user. For example, the user can select when he/she wants to receive a low battery warning (e.g. battery level < 25%) and in what way (e.g. SMS, email, icon on dedicated device).

Since the energy or "battery" capacity is person dependent the energy capacity of each user should be assessed in order for the system to work properly. This means that during operation of the system the user should provide input about his/her current state, over time. Based on these data, the system, which is a self learning system, will be able to make an assessment of the user's battery capacity. Inputs to this assessment are demographics as age, sex, fitness level, etc and user input as when he/she feels energetic or very tired.

In a simple version, the computing means are adapted to determine the parameters related to the input and output of energy of the user based on manual input by the user. A more complex version would include observing means for observing the user, in which case the computing means are adapted to determine the parameters related to the input and output of energy of the user based on the observation of the user. Such observing means are for example a sleep duration counter integrated into an alarm clock, a step counter or even a heart rate monitor to measure stress during the day. These observing means may be part of a wearable non-obtrusive - device, e.g. a wrist watch, for both (part of) the measurement as well as the computation of the user's energy level. These measurements can be combined with the manual input to create a better calculation or to reduce the amount of manual input that the system needs.

According to a further aspect of the invention a method is provided for computing an energy level of a user based on: an energy capacity of the user and at least one of: a parameter related to the input of energy of the user, and a parameter related to the output of energy of the user.

Preferably, the method according to the invention is implemented by means of a computer program.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with the accompanying specification, in which:

Figure 1 shows schematically an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 shows an exemplary way of communicating a user's energy level. Throughout the figures like reference numerals refer to like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to figure 1, an exemplary embodiment of the system 100 according to the invention will be described. The system comprises an input 110 for parameters related to the energy input of a user, an input 120 for parameters related to the energy output of the user and an input 130 for information related to the situation of the user at a certain moment or during a certain period. The system furthermore comprises a computing unit 140 for computing an energy level based on the inputs 110, 120, 130 and a communication unit 150 for communicating the energy level to the user. Finally, the system comprises an input 160 for personalizing the settings for the computation and communication of the energy level.

According to a preferred embodiment of the system, the energy level is communicated to the user by means of a battery metaphor, including a "low battery warning" if the energy level is low, which is shown in figure 2.

The energy level or "battery level" of a person in the sense of the present invention is not some physical measure such as kJ but is a measure of the current condition of the user. This measure may be considered to represent the current user ability to deal with stress, which in psychology is called "coping". Additionally or alternatively, the measure may be considered to be an indicator of the "balance" of the user, which in physiology is called homeostasis.

Energy input refers to those activities which make a person feel more energetic. Examples of parameters related to the energy input of a user are:

Sleep quality: duration, sleep-wake cycle, wake up time, movements during the night, subjective quality measure , etc

Food: number of meals per day, type of food, subjective food quality, etc

For the sleeping pattern the system should calculate an optimum sleeping period. Sleeping too short or too long is not good for the human energy level and will thus reduce it. Energy output refers to those activities which make a person feel less energetic. Examples of parameters related to the energy output of a user are:

Of course also other parameters related to energy input or output may be envisaged for use in the system.

Some activities consume energy in a physiological sense but create energy in a mental sense. For example doing fitness is very tiring for a person's body, but it can give him/her a lot of mental energy. Both aspects may be included into the calculated energy level. Alternatively, the two energy levels of a human (physiological and mental) may be separated, although they are of course related and the one influences the other.

The user can select which inputs to use. The more inputs the system gets, the more reliable the computation of the energy level will be.

The energy capacity or "battery capacity" of a person is a measure of how much energy a user may "accumulate". It may vary considerably from person to person.

Since the energy or "battery" capacity is person dependent the energy capacity of each user should be assessed in order for the system to work properly. This means that during operation of the system the user should provide input about his/her current state, over time, as further explained herein after. Based on these data, the system, which is a self learning system, will be able to make an assessment of the user's battery capacity. Inputs to this assessment are demographics as age, sex, fitness level, etc and user input as when he/she feels energetic or very tired. Due to the fact that the energy level is computed based on the user's energy capacity the system can calculate the human energy level of that user by subtracting the energy usage of the user from his/her energy capacity. The energy usage is determined by the parameters related to the energy input and energy output of the user. The following formulas may be used: Energy_level = Capacity - Energy_usage (1)

wherein

Energy_usage = - (aAi + bBi + cCi + ... - kKo - ILo - mMo - ...) (2)

wherein

Ai,Bi,Ci are parameters related to input energy of the user Ko, Lo, Mo are parameters related to output energy of the user a, b, c and k, 1, m are personalization parameters to reflect the contribution of the above parameters to the user's energy input and output. These personalization parameters will be adjusted over time as the system learns the user's energy behavior.

The system will need to be calibrated by the user so that the system is able to deal with the specific situation of a user. This calibration is done by means of input 130 by letting the user indicate a particularly relaxing period or a particularly stressful period during an initial training period. Alternatively or additionally, the user can indicate to the system at the end of the day how he/she felt that day to train the system. The user can also calibrate the system by adjusting the computed battery level, for example if the user feels much better than the calculated battery level.

Furthermore, the user needs to personalize the settings for the computation of the energy level by means of input 160. Examples of personalization of the computation are age, sex and other personal data, questionnaires with questions such as "what is your normal sleeping pattern", "how active are you". The settings for the computation of the energy level may also comprise information on the relation between certain parameters and the perceived energy level of the user, for example I need 7 hours of sleep to feel good or I need to play sports at least twice a week in order to feel good, etc.

Based on the various inputs in the different topics, the history of inputs and personalized settings by the user, the system can compute a "human battery level" which can range for instance from 0% to 100%.

The energy level cannot become negative or become larger than 100%. If the energy level becomes larger than 100%, the user's energy capacity has not been estimated correctly and the system should be recalibrated.

By means of input 160 the user can personalize the settings for the communication of his energy level. He/she can select for example when a low battery warning should be communicated (for example if battery level < 25%) and in what way (e.g. SMS, email, icon on dedicated device). Based on this warning the user can take appropriate action to "charge the battery" and prevent health issues.

The system can exist in various shapes. The simplest version will be a PC or Web application that only gets manual inputs from the user in the categories described herein above, sleep, activity, food and stress. Based on these manual inputs and personalization settings by the user the system will compute an energy level and display this to the user.

In a more complex version the inputs 110, 120 would include observing units for observing the user. The observing units may be measurement devices such as a sleep duration counter integrated into an alarm clock, a step counter or even a heart rate monitor to measure stress during the day. Preferably, such measurement devices would be arranged in a wearable, non-obtrusive device, such as a wrist watch, for both (part of) the measurement as well as the computation of the energy level.

The advantage is that with such a device important physiological parameters, like SPO2 and heart rate, or even blood pressure can be measured. These measurements can be combined with the manual input to create a better calculation or to reduce the amount of manual input that the system needs.

A further physiological parameter that can be used is the Heart Rate

Variability (HRV). HRV is an important measure for emotions and physical exercise and can be used as another input parameter. An example embodiment would determine the time between heart beats (inter beat intervals - IBIs) and average these with a low pass filter with cut off frequency of 1 Hz. If the resulting signal contains a lot of low frequency energy (e.g. below 0.04 Hz) it is an indication of a high activity of the sympatic part of the autonomic nerve system (ANS) which is not good because it indicates that the user is in a stressed state. This has a negative influence on the human energy level. If there is relatively much high frequency energy say above 0.15 Hz then this indicates a high activity of the parasympatic part of the ANS which gives bonus points because this denotes the user as being in a relaxed state.

An even more advanced embodiment is to measure the levels of certain hormones and muscle tension. The former can be measured by blood samples, both in vitro as well in vivo, the latter is preferred. In particular the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is central to the endocrine component of the neuroendocrine response to stress. CRF induces secretion of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), in turn stimulates the secretion of other glucocorticoid hormones (e.g., Cortisol). Measuring of these hormones gives a good measure of the stress level of a subject.

The observing units may also comprise a camera, which may be stationary or built into a mobile phone, as an extra input to the system. When the camera is aimed at the face of the user it can analyze facial expressions. This can help to identify if the user is relaxed, stressed or tired. Specifically the area around the eyes and the eyebrows shows this very well. Facial expression analysis is known in literature however it has not been used in the context of a human energy level.

All the inputs need to be gathered in one location where the computation is done. This could be on a web server, on a PC or on a standalone device, for example an alarm clock or an intelligent wrist watch. The output of the computation can be given also on a variety of devices such as a PC, the alarm clock or your mobile phone.

The invention could be applied as a standalone device, as a web or PC application or as part of a larger health management application. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications.

Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed, but is instead defined by the following claims.

Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. System (100) for computing an energy level of a user comprising: computing means (140) for computing the energy level based on: an energy capacity of the user and at least one of: a parameter related to the input of energy of the user, and - a parameter related to the output of energy of the user.

2. System according to claim 1 wherein the system furthermore comprises communication means (150) for communicating the energy level.

3. System according to claim 2 wherein the communication means are adapted to communicate the energy level by displaying a battery level indicator.

4. System according to claim 2 wherein the communication means are adapted to communicate a low energy level warning.

5. System according to claim 2 wherein the communication means are adapted for communicating the energy level based on preferences of the user.

6. System according to claim 1 wherein the computing means are adapted to assess the energy capacity based on demographics of the user.

7. System according to claim 1 wherein the computing means are adapted to assess the energy capacity based on input of the user regarding his perceived energy state.

8. System according to claim 1 wherein the computing means are adapted to determine the parameters related to the input and output of energy of the user based on manual input by the user.

9. System according to claim 1 wherein the system furthermore comprises observing means (110,120) for observing the user and that the computing means are adapted to determine the parameters related to the input and output of energy of the user based on the observation of the user.

10. System according to claim 9 wherein the observing means are adapted for measuring physiological parameters of the user.

11. Method for computing an energy level of a user based on: - an energy capacity of the user and at least one of: a parameter related to the input of energy of the user, and a parameter related to the output of energy of the user.

12. A computer program comprising computer program code means adapted to perform the steps of claim 11 , when said program is run on a computer.

13. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 embodied on a computer readable medium.

14. A carrier medium carrying the computer program of claim 12.