WO2016040137A1

WO2016040137A1 - Integration of personal context information into a healthcare system

Info

Publication number: WO2016040137A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/048455
Authority: WO
Inventors: Florian Michahelles; Mareike KRITZLER
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft; Siemens Corporation
Priority date: 2014-09-10
Filing date: 2015-09-04
Publication date: 2016-03-17

Abstract

Embodiments include methods, systems and computer program products for integrating personal context information into a professional healthcare system. Aspects include receiving physical condition data for an individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individuals health status, receiving environment data for the individual and receiving personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling. Aspects also include correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information and filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary and actionable data for the individual.

Description

INTEGRATION OF PERSONAL CONTEXT INFORMATION INTO A

HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

DOMESTIC PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application

No. 62/048,556, which was filed on September 10, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates to healthcare systems and more specifically, to methods, systems and computer program products for integrating personal context information into professional healthcare systems.

[0003] Currently many available wearable devices are used to monitor one or more physical conditions of individuals for analysis by a healthcare professional. For example, individuals with a chronic disease such as diabetes may wear a blood glucose monitor that monitors the blood sugar of the individual. These monitors may store the collected data and provide the collected data to a healthcare professional for analysis, diagnosis, and treatment decisions. One drawback of using these types of monitors is that they create a large amount of unfiltered data that must be reviewed by the healthcare professional. While the collected data is useful for the healthcare professional, it often does not provide the healthcare professional with enough actionable data or information regarding the individual to be able to make diagnosis and treatment decisions without additional consultation with the individual to gather additional information from the individual about the effectiveness of their current treatment protocol. [0004] Accordingly, what is needed is a method for reducing (filtering) the amount of data that the healthcare professional must review in making analysis, diagnosis, and treatment decisions and for annotating the data collected by the monitors with personal context information of the individual.

SUMMARY

[0005] In accordance with an embodiment, a method for integrating personal context information into a professional healthcare system is provided. The method includes receiving physical condition data for an individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual's health status, receiving environment data for the individual, and receiving personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling at a certain moment in time. The method also includes correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information and filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary for the individual.

[0006] In accordance with another embodiment, a healthcare system having integrated personal context information includes a processor in communication with one or more types of memory. The processor is configured to receive physical condition data for an individual from a sensor configured to monitor the individual, receive environment data for the individual and receive personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling. The processor is further configured to correlate the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information and filter the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary for the individual.

[0007] In accordance with a further embodiment, a method for monitoring a health status of an individual is provided. The method includes receiving physical condition data for the individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual's health, receiving environment data for the individual and prompting the individual to provide personal context information, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling at this moment in time. The method also include receiving the personal context information from the individual, correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information, and creating a health status summary for the individual.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a processing system for practice of the teachings herein;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a healthcare system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for monitoring a health status of an individual in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; and [0012] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for integrating personal context information into a healthcare system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, methods, systems and computer program products for integrating personal context information into a healthcare system are provided. In exemplary embodiments, the healthcare system is configured to receive sensor data from sensors monitoring biometric measurements of an individual, environmental data for the individual and personal context information from the individual. The personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling. In exemplary embodiments, the healthcare system correlates the sensor data, the environmental data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the data and information. In exemplary embodiments, the healthcare system is configured to create a health status summary for the individual by filtering the sensor data, the environmental data and the personal context information. The health status summary can be provided to a healthcare professional for analysis, diagnosis, and treatment decisions.

[0014] In exemplary embodiments, the personal context information enriches the biometric sensor data and environmental data by annotating the collected data with the patients' perceptions or feelings. As a result, healthcare professionals can be provided with a more complete picture of patients' health statuses. In addition, the healthcare system can be configured to engage patients to pay closer attention to their body functions and to express how they feel during a particular sensor measurement or health condition.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown an embodiment of a processing system 100 for implementing the teachings herein. In this embodiment, the system 100 has one or more central processing units (processors) 101 a, 101b, 101c, etc. (collectively or generically referred to as processor(s) 101). In one embodiment, each processor 101 may include a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. Processors 101 are coupled to system memory 1 14 and various other components via a system bus 1 13. Read only memory (ROM) 102 is coupled to the system bus 1 13 and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls certain basic functions of system 100.

[0016] FIG. 1 further depicts an input/output (I/O) adapter 107 and a network adapter 106 coupled to the system bus 1 13. I/O adapter 107 may be a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with a hard disk 103 and/or tape storage drive 105 or any other similar component. I/O adapter 107, hard disk 103, and tape storage device 105 are collectively referred to herein as mass storage 104. Operating system 120 for execution on the processing system 100 may be stored in mass storage 104. A network adapter 106 interconnects bus 1 13 with an outside network 1 16 enabling data processing system 100 to communicate with other such systems. A screen (e.g., a display monitor) 1 15 is connected to system bus 1 13 by display adaptor 1 12, which may include a graphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics intensive applications and a video controller. In one embodiment, adapters 107, 106, and 1 12 may be connected to one or more I/O busses that are connected to system bus 1 13 via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically include common protocols, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI).

Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to system bus 1 13 via user interface adapter 108 and display adapter 1 12. A keyboard 109, mouse 1 10, and speaker 1 1 1 all interconnected to bus 1 13 via user interface adapter 108, which may include, for example, a Super I/O chip integrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit. [0017] In exemplary embodiments, the processing system 100 includes a graphics processing unit 130. Graphics processing unit 130 is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display. In general, graphics processing unit 130 is very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing, and has a highly parallel structure that makes it more effective than general-purpose CPUs for algorithms where processing of large blocks of data is done in parallel.

[0018] Thus, as configured in FIG. 1 , the system 100 includes processing capability in the form of processors 101 , storage capability including system memory 1 14 and mass storage 104, input means such as keyboard 109 and mouse 1 10, and output capability including speaker 1 1 1 and display 1 15. The system 100 may be, but is not limited to, a mainframe computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a wireless tablet or the like.

[0019] Referring now to FIG. 2, a healthcare system 200 includes one or more body sensors 202, one or more environmental sensors 204 and a user interface 206. In exemplary embodiments, the body sensors 202 may include, but are not limited to, a blood glucose sensor, a heart rate sensor, a blood pressure sensor, a thermometer, a pulse oximeter, and the like. The one or more body sensors 202 may be embodied as wearable devices that are configured to monitor one or more parameters of the individual. In exemplary embodiments, the environmental sensors 204 may include, but are not limited to, an altimeter, a thermometer, a humidity sensor, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, and the like. The user interface 206 may be any suitable user interface for receiving personal context information from an individual. For example, the user interface may include a keyboard, a microphone, a touch screen device or the like. [0020] In exemplary embodiments, the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling. In exemplary embodiments, the user interface 206 may be configured to allow a user to enter the personal context information in free form or it may be configured to allow the user to select from a set of available choices. For example, the user may be provided with an option to select one of "I am fine," "I am tired," "I am in pain," "I feel dizzy/lightheaded," "I am short of breath," etc. In exemplary embodiments, the user interface 206 may be configured to collect additional personal context information from the user based on their selection. For example, if the individual selects "I am in pain," the user interface 206 may prompt the user to provide a rating of their pain level on a 1-10 scale. In exemplary embodiments, the personal context information choices that are provided to the individual for selection may be based on a medical condition of the individual.

[0021] In exemplary embodiments, the one or more body sensors 202, one or more environmental sensors 204 and the user interface 206 may each be disposed in physically separate devices or they may be disposed in one or more combined devices. For example, a smart watch may be configured to include a body sensor 202, such as a heart rate monitor, an environmental sensor 204, such as a GPS sensor, and a user

interface 206, such as a touch screen display. In another embodiment, the body sensor 202 may be a separate blood glucose monitor and the environmental sensor 204 and the user interface 206 may be disposed in a smartphone.

[0022] As illustrated, the healthcare system 200 also includes a processing system 208, which may be a processing system similar to the one shown and described with reference to FIG. 1. The processing system 208 is configured to receive sensor data from the one or more body sensors 202, environmental data from the one or more environmental sensor 204 and personal context data from the use interface 206. The processing system 208 is configured to correlate the sensor data, environmental data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with received data/information. The processing system 208 is also configured to filter the sensor data, the environment data, and the personal context information to create a health status summary 210. The health status summary 210 can be provided to a healthcare professional for analysis, diagnosis, and treatment decisions. In exemplary embodiments, the health status summary 210 includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information.

[0023] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface 206 may be configured to prompt the user to enter personal context information periodically or based on a signal from a processing system 208 which is configured differently by a health care

professional for each individual. The processing system 208 may instruct the user interface 206 to obtain personal context information based on the sensor data exceeding a maximum threshold value or falling below a minimum threshold value. For example, if the individual's heart rate is too high or if their blood pressure or blood sugar is too low. In other embodiments, the user interface 206 may be configured to prompt an individual to enter the personal context information every half hour, every hour or at any other suitable interval, which may be set by a healthcare professional. In addition, the personal context information may be entered at any time and at any frequency by the individual.

[0024] Referring now to FIG. 3 a flow diagram of a method 300 for monitoring a health status of an individual in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown. As shown at block 302, the method 300 includes receiving physical condition data for the individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual's health status. Next, as shown at block 304, the method 300 includes receiving environment data for the individual. In exemplary embodiments, the environment data includes data regarding the environment that the individual is in, such as the temperature, humidity or the GPS coordinates. The method 300 also includes prompting the individual to provide personal context information, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling, as shown at block 306. In exemplary embodiments, the prompting may be based on one of the physical condition data exceeding a maximum threshold value, the physical condition data being less than a minimum threshold value, and the environment data exceeding a maximum deviation from an expected value. In exemplary embodiments, the prompting may be periodic.

[0025] Next, as shown at block 308, the method 300 includes receiving the personal context information from the individual. The method 300 also includes correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information, as shown at block 310. Next, as shown at block 312, the method 300 includes creating a health status summary for the individual based on one or more of the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information. In exemplary embodiments, the health status summary includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information.

[0026] Referring now to FIG. 4 a flow diagram of a method 400 for integrating personal context information into a healthcare system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown. As shown at block 402, the method 400 includes receiving physical condition data for an individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual's health status. In exemplary embodiments, the sensor may include, but is not limited to, a blood glucose sensor, a heart rate sensor, a blood pressure sensor, a thermometer, a pulse oximeter, and the like. Next, as shown at block 404, the method 400 includes receiving environment data for the individual. In exemplary embodiments, the environment data is received from an environmental sensor that may include, but is not limited to, an altimeter, a thermometer, a humidity sensor, a GPS sensor, and the like. The method 400 also includes receiving personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling, as shown at block 406. In exemplary embodiments, the personal context information is received from a user interface that may include a keyboard, a microphone, a touch screen device or the like. Next, as shown at block 408, the method 400 includes correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information.

[0027] The method 400 also includes filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary for the individual, as shown at block 410. In exemplary embodiments, the health status summary includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information. In exemplary embodiments, filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information includes removing all of the physical condition data and the environment data that corresponds to personal context information that indicates that the individual is feeling normal. For example, the filtering removes all of the data except the data that corresponds to the individual not feeling normal.

[0028] The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

[0029] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

[0030] Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.

[0031] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

[0032] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.

[0033] These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a

programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0034] The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0035] The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for integrating personal context information into a professional healthcare system, the method comprising:

receiving physical condition data for an individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual's health status; receiving environment data for the individual; receiving personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling at a certain moment in time; correlating the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information; and filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary for the individual.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the health status summary includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information includes removing all physical condition data and the environment data that corresponds to personal context information that indicates that the individual is feeling normal.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting the individual to provide the personal context information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the prompting is performed periodically.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the prompting is based on one of the physical condition data exceeding a maximum threshold value, the physical condition data being less than a minimum threshold value, and the environment data exceeding a maximum deviation from an expected value which is determined by a medical professional for each monitored individual.

7. A method for monitoring a health status of an individual, the method comprising: receiving physical condition data for the individual from one or more sensors configured to monitor the individual; prompting the individual to provide a personal context information, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling at a certain moment in time; and receiving the personal context information from the individual; correlating the physical condition data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data and the personal context information; and creating a health status summary for the individual.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the prompting is based on one of the physical condition data exceeding a maximum threshold value, and the physical condition data being less than a minimum threshold value which is determined by a medical professional for each monitored individual.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the prompting is performed periodically

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the health status summary includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving environment data for the individual and correlating the environment data with the physical condition data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the prompting is based on the environment data exceeding a maximum deviation from an expected value which is determined by a medical professional for each monitored individual.

13. A healthcare system having integrated personal context information includes a processor in communication with one or more types of memory, the processor is configured to: receive physical condition data for an individual from a sensor configured to monitor the individual; receive environment data for the individual; receive personal context information from the individual, wherein the personal context information includes a perception of how the individual is feeling; correlate the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information based on timestamps associated with the physical condition data, the environment data and the personal context information; and filter the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information to create a health status summary for the individual.

14. The healthcare system of claim 13, wherein the health status summary includes a graph of the sensor data annotated with the personal context information.

15. The healthcare system of claim 13, wherein filtering the physical condition data and the environment data based on the personal context information includes removing all physical condition data and the environment data that corresponds to personal context information that indicates that the individual is feeling normal.

16. The healthcare system of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to prompt the individual to provide the personal context information.

17. The healthcare system of claim 16, wherein the prompting is based on one of the physical condition data exceeding a maximum threshold value, and the physical condition data being less than a minimum threshold value which is determined by a medical professional for each monitored individual.

18. The healthcare system of claim 16, wherein the prompting is performed periodically