System and method for medical diagnosis using geospatial location data integrated with biomedical sensor information

In at least one embodiment, a method and system for accumulating geospatial location data and biomedical data for an individual during his/her travels is provided. In at least one embodiment, a device uses at least one location signal to determine geospatial data and receives a plurality of biomedical signals with both data types being stored for possible later retrieval for providing a diagnosis for the individual if a medical condition arises. An embodiment of the invention provides a method of operation of a device having at least a memory and a communications module where the method includes receiving at least one location signal with the communications module; storing geospatial data obtained at least from the at least one location signal with a time stamp in memory; receiving a plurality of biomedical signals over time from at least one sensor with the communications module; storing biomedical data from the received biomedical signal with a time stamp in memory; and repeating the receiving at least one location signal and storing geospatial data from the at least one location signal in different geographic locations.

I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in at least one embodiment provides a system and method for monitoring and storing one or more biomedical readings of an individual along with a correlated temporally-based, geospatial location data such that known health issues and diseases associated with the geospatial locations visited by the individual can be used to assist medical professionals with diagnosis of the individual.

II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern medical professionals have to contend with illnesses from all over the world. Due to the speed and accessibility of international travel, the spread of disease can be very fast and prolific. When performing a diagnosis, medical doctors often take into account diseases that they are familiar with and the diseases that they believe to be common, e.g., to the presenting symptoms. This information can be sufficient to correctly diagnose a patient, however this does not hold true for all cases. For example, doctors may be unaware of a known illness or outbreak in a distant location recently traveled to by a patient, which may result in a misdiagnosis that could have been easily made given the knowledge of the illness or outbreak. Further, doctors are known to be influenced by recent cases that they have seen and consequently more rare or atypical illnesses with similar symptoms to a common, recently observed case presents a heightened possibility for misdiagnosis.

III. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention provides a method of operation of a device having at least a memory and a communications module where the method includes receiving at least one location signal with the communications module; storing geospatial data obtained at least from the at least one location signal with a time stamp in memory; receiving a plurality of biomedical signals over time from at least one sensor with the communications module; storing biomedical data from the received biomedical signal with a time stamp in memory; and repeating the receiving at least one location signal and storing geospatial data from the at least one location signal in different geographic locations. In a further embodiment, the method further includes determining the geographic location of the device based on contemporaneously received location signals, the geographic location is the geospatial data stored. In a further embodiment, the method further translates the location signal into a geographic location for storage as the geospatial data. In a further embodiment, the method further receives the series of biomedical signals from one sensor at predetermined times. In a further embodiment, the method further receives from memory the predetermined time period for obtaining a biomedical signal from the one sensor, determines based on the time the last biomedical signal was received when to request the next biomedical signal from the one sensor, and requests the biomedical signal from the one sensor in response to the time determined to request the next biomedical signal from the one sensor. In a further embodiment, the method further determines when a new geographic location has been reached by the device, requests a biomedical signal from each sensor associated with the device, and stores the received at least one biomedical signal with a time stamp and the geographic location in memory. In a variety of embodiments the data is stored in a database resident in memory of the device. In at least one embodiment, the method transfers the geospatial data, the biomedical data and associated time stamp data to an external computer. In at least one embodiment, the method converts the biomedical signals into biomedical data representing a biomedical reading for the sensor that provided the biomedical signal. In a further embodiment, the method further correlates the biomedical readings with the geospatial data based on the respective time stamps; derives at least one geographic location from the geospatial data; retrieves supplemental data for the at least one geographic location present in the data for time periods that the biomedical readings were gathered for that respective geographic location; and displays an interface to provide the correlated data and supplemental data to a user. Further to the previous embodiment, displaying includes displaying a map showing where the individual traveled recently with each discrete geographic location illustrated having a selection element for displaying information about the individual including a name of that geographic location, time information about the geographic location, at least one biomedical reading associated with that geographic location, and supplemental data for that geographic location.

An embodiment of the invention provides a method including receiving a data set for an individual having geospatial data including a time stamp and biomedical readings correlated with at least one time stamp, the data set representative of recent travels of the individual; correlating the biomedical readings with the geospatial data based on the respective time stamps; retrieving supplemental data for the at least one geographic location corresponding to the geospatial data for time periods that the biomedical readings were gathered for that geographic location; and displaying an interface to provide the correlated data and supplemental data to a user.

An embodiment of the invention provides a device including a communications module; a location module connected to the communications module, the location module processes information received by the communications module associated with location of the device; a monitoring module connected to the communications module, the monitoring module processes information received by the communications module associated with biomedical readings received from at least one external sensor; and a memory connected to the location module and the monitoring module, the memory stores data outputted by the location module and the monitoring module. In at least one embodiment, the device further includes a clock connected to the monitoring module, and wherein the monitoring module determines when to have the communications module request at least one biomedical signal from the at least one external sensor based on time information received from the clock and at least one sampling period stored in the memory. In a further embodiment, the device also includes a display; and an interface engine connected to the display and the memory, the interface engine retrieves data from the memory including stored biomedical readings, geospatial location data representing at least one geographic location, and associated temporal data to display a map on the display showing where the individual traveled recently with each discrete geographic location illustrated having a selection element for displaying information about the individual including a name of that geographic location, time information about the geographic location, at least one biomedical reading associated with that geographic location, and supplemental data for that geographic location. In at least one further embodiment, the device further includes a medical facility detector connected to the memory and the location module, the medical facility detector determines whether the device is present at a medical facility based in part upon the geographic location determined by the location module and when present at the medical facility, the medical facility detector allows access to biomedical and geospatial data stored in the memory.

An embodiment of the invention provides a method of operation of a device having memory and a communications module where the method includes receiving a plurality of biomedical signals over time from at least one sensor with the communications module; storing data from the received biomedical signal with a time stamp in memory; obtaining at least one location signal for each received biomedical signal with the communications module; determining geospatial data based on the at least one obtained location signal, storing geospatial data in memory correlated with the data from the received biomedical signal; and repeating the receiving at least one location signal and storing geospatial data from the at least one location signal in different geographic locations.

An embodiment of the invention provides a computer program product for content management, the computer program product including: a computer readable storage medium; first program instructions to obtain at least one location signal; second program instructions to translate the at least one location signal into a geographic location and store the geographic location in memory; third program instructions to receive a plurality of biomedical signals over time from at least one sensor; fourth program instructions to translate each received biomedical signal into a biomedical reading and store the biomedical reading with a time stamp in memory; and the first program instructions, the second program instructions, the third program instructions, and the fourth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.

Given the following enabling description of the drawings, the system and method should become evident to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

V. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention in at least one embodiment provides a system and method for real-time monitoring, tracking, and storing of information related to the biomedical condition and health characteristics of an individual with respect to date, time, and geographic location such that the causes and/or sources of illnesses and/or diseases can be more efficiently and reliably determined by medical professionals. In at least one embodiment, the present invention allows the stored biomedical data of the individual to be used with or mapped to known health issues and/or diseases associated with the geographic locations visited by the individual. The stored biomedical data provides medical professionals with a full and clear representation of the biomedical history of the individual along with temporally related geospatial information such that known health issues and illnesses of particular locations can be quickly and reliably identified.

The present invention in at least one embodiment provides a medical diagnosis system and method that monitors and stores biomedical readings of an individual with respect to date, time, and geographic location. The present invention in at least one embodiment enables the improved diagnosis of illnesses and/or diseases to be made based on the logged health characteristics of the individual and the known health issues and diseases associated with the geographic locations visited by the individual. In at least one further embodiment, the stored data can provide relevant information to medical professionals when the individual is unable to communication, for example, when he/she is unconscious or speaks a different language.

FIG. 1illustrates an example of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for monitoring and gathering the biomedical condition of an individual with respect to the temporal geospatial location data for the individual. The illustrated example includes a device110in communication with one or more biomedical sensors150. The device110includes a location module112, a communications module114, a memory (or storage)116that in at least one embodiment includes a database, and a monitoring module118. Examples of the device110include mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cameras, electronic book readers, tablet computers, netbooks, laptops, mp3 or other music players, global positioning system (GPS) devices, application specific devices, and the like that include computing capability such as a processor programmed to run the modules.

The location module112receives signals from the communications module114for use in determining location. Examples of these types of signals include GPS satellite signals, signals from nearby cellular telephone towers, and radio frequency identification (RFID) (or similar type) signal data identifying location. In an embodiment that uses signals from GPS satellites and cellular telephone towers, those signals are processed by the location module112to identify the location where the device110is located based on relative signal strength received from at least two signal emitters. In an embodiment that uses the RFID signal or similar signal having that information, the signal itself will include information identifying the geographic location in which the device110is or passes through. An example of this type of signal is that a signal source present at a checkpoint identifying the city where the checkpoint is located. A further possible source of geospatial data is from a WLAN signal including identification information as to the location of a hub or router such as at a hotspot location where the IP address is converted into a geographical location of the hub/router. The location module112stores the geospatial location information into the memory116to be associated with biomedical readings.

The communications module114is preferably capable of supporting a variety of communications platforms and protocols such as wireless protocols, Bluetooth or other infrared short range wireless communication, Short Message Service (SMS) messaging, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications standard, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communication, Global Positioning System (GPS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), wireless local area networks, wire network connection, etc. The communications module114in at least one GPS embodiment is capable of communicating on one or more GPS communication platforms such as the United States NAVSTAR system, the Chinese Compass system, the French Galileo system, the Russian GLONASS system, and other similar systems. The communications module114also provides the connection to the sensors150associated with the individual being monitored. Examples of the connections to the sensors150include wireless and wired. The wireless connections in at least one embodiment would use existing protocols to establish the connection between the device110and the sensor150. Alternatively, the sensor150could be connected to the device110with a cable or other wire. In a further embodiment, the device110may include a built-in sensor150. In a still further embodiment, the data produced by the sensor150is read from a memory card or entered into the device110using, for example, the screen and/or keypad/keyboard on the device110.

As illustrated, the device110further includes a monitoring module118in communication with the communications module114. The communications module114provides the biomedical signals from the one or more sensors150to the monitoring module118for processing and interpretation of what the signal represents. In at least one embodiment, the communications module114also provides identification of the source of the biomedical signal to aid in interpreting the signal by the monitoring module118. The data obtained from the signal is provided to the memory116for storage with a time-stamp representing the time the biomedical reading was obtained.

In at least one embodiment, the monitoring module118pings one or more sensors150in communication with the device110to provide the current biomedical reading of the sensor150for storage in the memory116. In this embodiment as illustrated inFIG. 2, the monitoring module118is in communication with a clock220and/or timer to provide a time signal to be used in determining whether a predetermined time has passed and at least one new biomedical reading is to be obtained from one or more sensors150. In a further embodiment, the monitoring module118sets a predetermined time period between readings for each sensor150where the time periods may be the same for all sensors, the same for some sensors and different for at least one other sensor, or different for each of the sensors in communication with the communications module114. The predetermined time periods may be stored in memory116for retrieval by the monitoring module118. Once the predetermined time has been reached, the monitoring module118has the communications module114ping the relevant sensor(s)150for a reading(s). In at least one embodiment where the sensor150is built into the device110or the sensor150requires the individual to provide the reading, the monitoring module118provides an alert or other notification to the user that a reading is needed. Examples of an alert/notification include an audio queue like a beep, bell, or music through a speaker; a tactical queue like vibration of the device110; a visual queue like a light; or some combination of these different queues.

In a still further embodiment, at least one predetermined time period is shorten when the reading from the associated sensor150changes in excess of a predetermined change for the particular sensor stored in the memory116. An example of the predetermined change using temperature is a percentage change in temperature or a fixed amount such as two degrees over a period of time or between the two most recent temperature readings.

In another embodiment, the monitoring module118determines whether the most recent biomedical reading is substantially similar to the previous reading such that it can be omitted from being stored in memory116and that upon retrieval of the stored data the device110will insert the reading from the previous reading in time into any display or transfer of the information.

In at least one further embodiment, the monitoring module118is integrally incorporated into the communications module114.

The memory (or storage)116is in communication with the location module112and the monitoring module118for storing the data produced by these two modules. In at least one embodiment, the data is stored in a database residing in the memory116. The memory116provides storage of any predetermined time periods or changes used by the monitoring module118for those relevant embodiments. The temporally based information related to the biomedical reading(s) and geospatial location of the individual allows medical professionals to quickly and reliably access and use the information at a later time. This stored information greatly enhances the ability of medical professional to accurately diagnose illness and disease related to the individual by providing a full and clear temporal representation of the recent travel and health of the individual.

Once the stored information related to the recent travel and health of the individual is accessed, this information can be correlated with other information to assist with diagnosis. The correlation of the information can be done, for example, by a programmed external computer in embodiments where the data is transferred from the device110or by the communications module114(or a separate search module connected to the communications module114and the memory116). Other sources of information (or supplemental data), such as health organization reports, may also be used including known illnesses, diseases, and health issues in the areas traveled to by the individual. In embodiments where the device110performs the search, the supplemental data may be stored in memory116and correlated to the geospatial location data. These reporting sources may include various entities that adhere to proscribed standards of reliability such as private medical facilities, e.g., hospitals and clinics, governmental organizations, e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO), etc. The information obtained through these reporting sources may include, for example, current epidemic alerts, the scale of each active epidemic based on a standard, e.g., the phase level number, per location around the world, and the number of affected people reported. The alerts could be archived by the medical professional and searched using the geospatial information associated with the patient.

FIG. 3illustrates a further embodiment according to the invention. The illustrated embodiment adds a display330and an interface engine332to the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1. The interface engine332pulls data from the memory116to display data on the display330. Examples of how the data may be displayed are discussed later in connection withFIGS. 9 and 10. The interface engine332retrieves the data from the memory116that includes, for example, biomedical readings, geospatial location data, and temporal information for the biomedical readings. In at least one further embodiment, the interface engine332also provides any supplemental data that is located during a search performed by the communications module114.

At least one of the sensors150is a biomedical sensor(s) that monitors one or more physiological conditions, e.g., body temperature, sugar levels, breathing rate, pulse rate, heart rate, blood oxygenation, level of activity, blood pressure, etc. The sensors150may be, for example, non-invasively attached to the body or located in clothing of the individual and in communication with the device110. In a further embodiment, at least one sensor150is implanted in the individual. In a still further embodiment, the sensor150is incorporated into the device110. The communications module114of the device110is programmed to receive signals from the sensors150representative of at least one physiological condition to obtain a biomedical reading. The communications module114provides the signal to the monitoring module118for processing. The device110stores the received signals such that the temporal health of the individual can be determined later based on the stored information.

The sensors150for use as part of the system can take a variety of forms. Examples of biomedical sensors include: heart rate (or pulse) sensors, respiration sensors, oximeters, thermometers, blood glucose monitors, blood pressure cuff systems, actigraphs, and any combination of these sensors. One or more of these sensors could be built into the device110to have the individual grasp or place a thumb/finger on the sensor to detect, for example, pulse rate or temperature. The sensors also could be non-invasive and incorporated into clothing, placed on straps, or incorporated into wrist bands worn by the individual. In at least one embodiment, the sensor is incorporated into medical equipment used by the individual such as a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine or a pacemaker.

In an alternative embodiment, the device110is replaced with a card410having a memory (or storage)416and a communications module414as illustrated inFIG. 4. In this embodiment, the card410will obtain location information from wireless transmitters or data readers/writers490that identify the location such as a RFID transmitter located at a passport control booth, a RFID transmitter at a toll booth or subway station, a card reader/writer at a passport control booth that is able to write to the card, etc. The sensors150in such a system would provide their respective readings wirelessly for storage on the card410to enable the data to be read (or transmitted) and correlated with temporal data and the respective geospatial data. In this embodiment, the sensors would have additional processing responsibility to provide the data in the appropriate form for storage on the card410. The communications module414in this embodiment is a RFID (or other wireless) transmitter/receiver or a magnetic medium such as a magnetic strip built into the card410. In a further embodiment, the card410would include a power supply522as illustrated inFIG. 5.

FIG. 6illustrates an example of a method in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention for monitoring and tracking the biomedical condition of an individual with respect to temporal geospatial location. The device110,410is prompted to begin monitoring and storing geospatial and biomedical information (610).

The device110,410monitors (620) and stores (630) the geospatial position of the device using, for example, GPS location, location determined based on proximity to cellular (or other wireless) towers (or access points), and entry and departure through identification check points such as passport (or border) control. Additional discussion of how the geospatial data and geographic location is obtained is discussed above in connection with the device and card embodiments.

At predetermined time periods (or continuously depending on the parameter being measured), the device110,410receives (or obtains) at least one biomedical signal (640) and stores at least one biomedical reading (or parameter) of the individual (650) based on the signal from one or more biomedical sensors150associated with the device110,410as discussed above. The sampling rate in a further embodiment is set and/or adjusted based on the advice of one or more medical professionals. In at least one embodiment, the device110pings the at least one biomedical sensor to provide the current reading of the parameter it is measuring. The timing of the monitoring can be at predetermined intervals such as hourly, every few hours, daily, weekly, etc. The timing can vary between biomedical readings being monitored by the device110, for example, the temperature may be recorded every six hours while blood pressure is measured daily. In at least one embodiment, the frequency of monitoring of a biomedical reading changes if the change between the two most readings is in excess of a predetermined threshold. In at least one embodiment, the trigger for pinging the at least one biomedical sensor150is based on a change in geographic location such as entering/leaving a population center, city, or country. In at least one embodiment, the device110stores the biomedical data only when it is different from the previous reading, for example, when it changes or changes in excess of a predetermined threshold for the biomedical parameter being measured resulting in reduced storage requirements in the device from a reduction in data. The biomedical data is associated with the geospatial data.

Each entry of data, in at least one embodiment, is time stamped by the device. The time used could, for example, be the local time of where the individual is located, the time of where the individual lives, or a standard time such as Greenwich Mean Time. The monitoring of biomedical parameters and time stamping are repeated based on the timing of the biomedical parameter monitoring. The determination of geographic location can occur, for example, in conjunction with the biomedical reading monitoring, be continuously checked, be checked at predetermined times, or done on an ad hoc basis such as manual entry of the data or manual request by the individual.

FIG. 7illustrates an example of a method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for diagnosing the cause of the illness and/or the disease. An individual making use of an embodiment described above feels ill seeks the care of a medical professional.

The medical professional is granted access to the stored biomedical data and geospatial location information related to the individual (710) and performs an analysis of the stored information in an effort to determine the location of infection. The medical professional is granted access to the stored biomedical and geospatial location data through, for example, the device110used by the individual or by downloading the information from the device110or the card410to a computer for reviewing the information.

The medical professional checks (or searches) reports of known illnesses and diseases (or supplemental data) provided by health organizations and other trusted sources (720). The checking of the report in at least one embodiment the medical professional causes a search to be done using the geospatial location data to select the relevant alerts and further limits the search results based on the temporal information. In an embodiment where the data is downloaded, the downloading of the data may trigger a search to be performed by the computer (or other processor system) that has downloaded the data. In a further embodiment, the geospatial location data is converted into a geographic place name such as a region or city to correlate with the supplemental data.

The medical professional is then able to crosscheck relevant reports and rare diseases with corresponding symptoms manifested in the individual by reviewing the information provided (730), for example, in an interface similar to that shown inFIGS. 5 and 6by the computer or the device110. The medical professional uses the provided information to assist in making a diagnosis based on the provided information.

An example of a known analytical method that would be suitable for the disclosed method is Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). MCA is a data analysis technique for nominal or categorical data, used to detect and represent underlying structures in a data set. It does this by representing data as points in a low-dimensional Euclidean space. Associations between variables are uncovered by calculating the chi-square distance between different categories of the variables and between the individuals (or respondents). These associations are then represented graphically as “maps”.

FIG. 8illustrates an example of an example interface in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention as discussed above with respect toFIG. 7.FIG. 8depicts a graphical representation800of the health and geospatial location information of an individual stored by the device110,410. The graphical representation800provides a depiction of the temporal health and geospatial location information of the individual such that the correlated information can be used by a medical professional(s) to perform a more accurate diagnosis of the cause(s) for the illness and/or the disease inflicting the individual (or patient). By viewing the graphical representation800, the medical professional(s) can quickly determine the recent travel of the individual and gain possible insight into the recent health of the individual. The illustrated biomedical readings can be representative readings such as an average for that biomedical parameter, a median of the readings at that geographic location for that biomedical parameter, and a range with the end points representing the lowest and the highest readings for that biomedical parameter for that geographic location.

The graphical representation800illustrated inFIG. 8shows that the individual recently visited four locations including Location A, Location B, Location C, and Location D depicted as880,882,884, and886, respectively. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate based on this disclosure that the number of locations could be other than four as used in this example. In the illustrated interface for example purposes: Location A represents a location in Mexico; Location B represents San Francisco, Calif., US; Location C represents Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada; and Location D represents Syracuse, N.Y., US. The geographic location may be set to provide the country, state, and city or the exact positional coordinates such as the latitude and the longitude. By clicking on links (or selection element)870associated with each of the respective locations the computer used by the medical professional or the device110provides the medical professional with additional information872related to that location. For example, the link at Location A—Mexico indicates that the patient, John Doe, visited Mexico on Apr. 1, 2010 for a period of two (2) days. The stored biomedical condition of the patient includes a temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit, a blood pressure of 122/81, and a pulse of 78. The health alerts reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) for this location on that date is shown to be H1N1 (Influenza A virus) and Dengue virus (DENV). The medical professional may also access additional stored health information and location alerts by accessing provided links874. This information assists the medical professional in quickly and accurately performing clinical diagnosis of the individual. The medical professional may then report any diagnosed illnesses or diseases including location(s) to a central collection entity.

In a further embodiment, the system and method include the ability to limit the amount of medical information retained in memory. One way to accomplish this is to allow the individual to set a time limitation such that medical data older than a threshold is deleted. Examples of the threshold include, but are not limited to, a few days, one or more weeks, a month, three months, four months, six months, a year, multiple years, etc. A second way to accomplish this is to allow the individual to set a number of locations where only the most recent locations traveled to our retained, for example a number following in one of these ranges (including the end points): 1-50, 2-25, 1-10, 2-5, and 2-4. A third way to accomplish this is to use a hybrid approach between the two other ways using the way that would provide the smallest or the largest data set.

FIG. 9illustrates an alternative interface for use with at least one embodiment of the present invention as depicted inFIG. 8.FIG. 9depicts a table900of the tracked health and geospatial location information of an individual. The table900provides an alternative depiction of the temporal health and geographic location of the individual over a period of time. The table900allows the correlated information to be viewed and used by medical professions to perform a more accurate diagnosis of the cause(s) of the illness and/or the disease. By viewing the table900, medical professionals can quickly compare the various recently visited locations and health of the patient by being able to view how the stored medical readings change over time (although a table is illustrated, this embodiment could illustrate line graphs, bar graphs or other pictorial representation of the underlying data). The table900provides various rows and columns of relevant information including, for example, the Location, Date, Duration, Health Parameters, Other Health Parameters, WHO Alerts, and Other Alerts. The table900is organized based on location, for illustration purposes the locations include Location A—Mexico, Location B—San Francisco, Location C—Saskatchewan, and Location D—New York fromFIG. 8. Alternatively, the rows and columns could be switched with each other from that shown inFIG. 9along with a different set of data being provided depending on the available data from the device110,410. As with the previous illustrated interface fromFIG. 5, the same type of summaries could be used in the illustrated table.

The following scenario illustrates the usefulness of at least one embodiment using the data obtainable by the interfaces illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9, the Mexican government or some other health organization, e.g., the World Health Organization (WHO), issue a health alert for Dengue virus and H1N1 in Mexico that were in effect on Apr. 1, 2010. Patient John Doe traveled to Mexico on Apr. 1, 2010 for two (2) days. The patient made stops in San Francisco, Calif. and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan before returning home to Syracuse, N.Y. on Apr. 7, 2010. The patient began to feel ill during his trip and visited a doctor in his hometown on Apr. 8, 2010. The doctor accesses the stored information of the patient and upon receiving the alerts realizes that the patient is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the alert for the H1N1 virus. The doctor is able to quickly and reliably diagnosis John Doe as having been exposed to the H1N1 virus while in Mexico and provide prognosis for recovery.

Another scenario illustrating the usefulness of at least one embodiment, John Doe visits Mexico on Apr. 1, 2010. There is a slight change in his blood pressure but he does not realize the change. After leaving Mexico John Doe travels to the United Kingdom where he gets very little sleep and feels a bit uneasy. John Doe then returns to the United States and his condition worsens. John Doe then visits his doctor. Upon reviewing the stored biomedical condition and geospatial location information related to John Doe, the doctor realizes that John Doe visited western Mexico on Apr. 1, 2010, that there was a slight increase in his blood pressure on that date and there was a health alert for Dengue virus in effect at that time. The system provides the doctor with the exact biomedical and location information related to John Doe including known diseases from regions to which he traveled. Utilizing this information, the doctor realizes that the onset on Dengue was the likely cause of the increase in blood pressure and avoids a misdiagnosis based on a lack of sleep and travel.

In a further embodiment, the device further includes a medical facility detector1040connected to the location module112as illustrated inFIG. 10. The medical facility detector1040determines when the device is present at a medical facility based on current geospatial data translated by the location module112and comparison of that data to available data such as that obtained from a wide area network or a medical facility database present in the memory116. The medical facility detector1040than in at least one embodiment makes the medical and geospatial data stored on the device110available for viewing and/or transferring from the device110. In a further embodiment, the medical facility detector1040prompts the individual for allowing access to the data based on the determination that the device110is present at a medical facility.

In a further embodiment, the medical facility detector1040receives a signal detected by the communications module114requesting access to the stored information and in response to the request provides access to the geospatial and medical data with or without additional information stored on the device110. Examples of the source of the signal include attachment of an external device for retrieving information from the device110, a wireless signal transmitted from the medical facility directed at the device110, manual entry of a code or passcode by a medical professional on the device110, starting of an application installed on the device110, and the entry of a biometric identifier of the individual.

An example of the usefulness of at least one of the medical facility detector embodiments is an individual is traveling abroad, becomes ill and is taken to a local hospital. The individual becomes unconscious (or there is a language barrier) and therefore unable to provide the medical professionals with any information. The hospital has no means for quickly locating or contacting the family of the individual. The health of the individual is deteriorating quickly and time is of the essence—both to save his life and to determine if he poses a threat of contagion. The individual is carrying his mobile phone (or other device110,410) that is equipped with at least one of the embodiments of the present invention. The medical professionals access the mobile phone which provides a complete log of the recent travel and physiological condition of the individual. The correlated physiological condition and geospatial location information of the individual provide the medical professionals with enough information to determine that the individual has likely come in contact with an outbreak or “hot spot” identified that he recently visited. Using this information, the medical professionals are able to save the life of the individual. The medical professionals are also able to quarantine the individual to prevent a localized outbreak. The present invention not only greatly assisted in saving the life of the individual but also assisted in determining that a quarantine was necessary—thereby potentially saving the lives of countless others.

Referring now toFIG. 11, a representative hardware environment for practicing at least one embodiment of the invention is depicted. This schematic drawing illustrates a hardware configuration of an information handling/computer system in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention. The system comprises at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU)70. The CPUs70are interconnected with system bus72to various devices such as a random access memory (RAM)74, read-only memory (ROM)76, and an input/output (I/O) adapter78. The I/O adapter78can connect to peripheral devices, such as disk units71and tape drives73, or other program storage devices that are readable by the system. The system can read the inventive instructions on the program storage devices and follow these instructions to execute the methodology of at least one embodiment of the invention. The system further includes a user interface adapter79that connects a keyboard75, mouse77, speaker84, microphone82, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen device (not shown) to the bus72to gather user input. Additionally, a communication adapter80connects the bus72to a data processing network85, and a display adapter81connects the bus72to a display device83which may be embodied as an output device such as a monitor, printer, or transmitter, for example.

The exemplary embodiments described above may be combined in a variety of ways with each other. Furthermore, the steps and number of the various steps illustrated in the figures may be adjusted from that shown.

It should be noted that the present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, the embodiments set forth herein are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments, it is not limited to those embodiments. Alternative embodiments, examples, and modifications which would still be encompassed by the invention may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. The various described embodiments may be combined in a number of ways depending upon the implementation that is desired and the sensors that are available.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the embodiments described above can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.