Patent ID: 8618930
Filing Date: 2013-12-31
Classification: A61B,G08B,G16H

Abstract:
1. A monitoring system, comprising: at least one wearable monitor coupled to a user, said at least one wearable monitor having at least one sensor, a memory, and a microcontroller; and at least one gateway having a transceiver; at least one device located at a remote location; at least one server coupled in communication over a wide-area network with the at least one gateway and at least one device; where the at least one wearable monitor incorporates a fall detection capability that determines whether the wearer has fallen based on values from the at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is an accelerometer that measures acceleration on three axes, and the values from the at least one sensor determining whether the wearer has fallen include a first determination of which axis of the accelerometer is likely pointing toward the center of the earth, a second determination when that axis has experienced an acceleration above a threshold, a detection when that axis has next passed through zero, a measurement of the amount of time until that axis reaches a peak magnitude, a measurement of the amount of time from the peak magnitude until that axis passes through zero again; and a determination of whether that axis experiences an acceleration above a second threshold after having passed through zero twice; the at least one wearable monitor transmits fall signals and sensor data to the at least one gateway, and the at least one gateway transmits the signals and data to the least one server; and the at least one server performs complex analysis on the signals and sensor data to filter false positives, predict future events, and generates and sends medical alerts to a caregiver.