Abstract:
A novel basic allergen/particulate data collection device and a novel multi-function personal air quality management device are disclosed. Both devices include sensor sub-assembly detecting and reporting on allergen/particulate data (preferably, for allergen/particulate with sizes smaller than 5 micron) for an indoor location (where the asthma patient is situated). Both devices are communication enabled to allow the allergen/particulate data to be provided to an air/asthma advice server, to generate air/asthma advice for an asthma patient, taking into consideration the allergen/particulate data as well as air quality data for a surrounding outdoor area of the indoor location. In one embodiment of the basic device, the communication interface is tailored for “harsh environment” local area networking. When combined with its streamlined functionality, the device is particularly suitable (especially in terms of economics) for multiple deployment (along with a “base station”), such as in the case of an home application. In one embodiment of the multi-function device, the communication interface is tailored for “controlled environment” wide area networking. When combined with its rich functionality, the device is particularly suitable for standalone deployment, such as in the case of a professional application. Various alterations and modifications of different embodiments are also disclosed.

Description:
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/387,041 filed on Aug. 31, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,133. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of medical devices and advising systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to allergen detection and air or asthma related advising systems. 
     2. Background Information 
     Asthma is a chronic disease that affects among other things, the lung functions of a patient. It is estimated that 6% to 9% of the population of the developed world are affected, and the number of diagnosed cases is growing at 5% per year, ten times the rate of population growth. The number of newly diagnosed cases of pediatric asthma has the health authorities of many countries consider asthma to be an epidemic. In United States, about 15 millions American are affected, making it the sixth ranked chronic disease of the country. About 5,500 people die from asthma related complication each year. The annual medical cost is estimated to be $6 billion. In addition, thousands of work and school days are lost. 
     Lung irritants such as particulates, plants and animal allergens, and certain types of man-made pollution are the usual triggers leading to asthma attacks. Typically, they are 50 microns or smaller. In the home setting, recent research has determined that allergens can accumulate to levels 2×-10× higher than outside levels. More importantly, “respirable” particulates less than 5 microns in size are of particular concern to health authorities. Current asthma treatment guidelines typically advise a patient to, in order of priority, (1) prevent an attack by avoiding asthma triggers, (2) check their lung function regularly and (3) take medication when necessary. 
     Although prevention is a high priority or even preferred aspect of the treatment plan for a patient, currently, very limited help is available to assist a patient to avoid asthma triggers, especially in the home setting. This is because allergenic particles that are 50 microns or smaller in size are too small to see without a microscope. Much of the air monitoring devices known in the art are catered for commercial (i.e. workplace) use, designed to monitor industrial pollutants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,463 and 5,646,597 issued to Hamburger disclosed two allergen detection devices for triggering an alarm when allergen level exceeding certain predetermined threshold is detected. A filter, collection and detection arrangement is employed in the &#39;463 patent, whereas the &#39;597 patent improves on the optical detection of the 463 patent. However, both devices suffer from at least the following disadvantages: 
     (a) neither devices are designed to detect respirable allergens that are smaller than 5 microns, which as mentioned above, have recently been identified by medical research as among the most relevant allergens to avoid; 
     (b) both devices are only capable of generating an alarm based on the amount of allergens detected in the ambient air of the location of the monitoring device, which when located indoor, ignore the critical component of outdoor air quality (i.e. the air quality of the immediate outdoor area surrounding the indoor location); 
     (c) the vertical sampling arrangement requires the use of extensive filtering and purging system; 
     (d) the art ignores the role of humidity and temperature in the lung function; 
     (e) maintaining, including cleaning, and calibrating these devices are difficult, requiring extensive disassembly and instrumentation; and 
     (f) no provisions are provided for storing and communicating the collected data. 
     Thus, an improved approach to allergen monitoring and air/asthma advice generation is desired. 
     3. Terminology 
     Throughout the remaining specification, including the claims, usage of the term “allergen” is intended to include particulates, plants and animal allergens, man-made pollution, and the like, and usage of the term “air/asthma advice” is intended to cover air quality and/or asthma related information, suggestion, counsel, guidance, recommendation, admonition, direction, instruction, alert, warning, and the like. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A sub-assembly for detecting and reporting on allergen data (preferably, for allergen with sizes smaller than 5 micron) is provided to a basic allergen data collection device as well as a multi-function personal asthma management device. Both devices are communication enabled, to allow the allergen data of the location where the device is situated (typically indoor), to be provided to an air/asthma advice server, that generates air/asthma advice for an asthma patient, taking into consideration allergen condition of a location as well as air quality of the surrounding area. In one embodiment of the basic model, the communication interface is tailored for “harsh environment” local area networking. In one embodiment of the multi-function model, the communication interface is tailored for “controlled environment” wide area networking. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments, but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of the present invention in accordance with one embodiment; 
     FIGS. 2 a - 2   b  illustrate allergen detection arrangement of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with two embodiments; 
     FIGS. 3 a - 3   e  illustrate air/asthma advice receipt arrangement of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with two embodiments; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates an example server suitable for use to practice air/asthma advice server of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the air/asthma advice application of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with one embodiment; 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the patient client database of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with one embodiment; and 
     FIG. 7 illustrates an air/asthma advice method of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following description, various aspects of the present invention will be described, and various details will be set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention, and the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention. 
     Parts of the description will be presented using terminology commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art, including terms of operations performed by a computer system, and their operands, such as transmitting, receiving, retrieving, determining, generating, allergen data, air quality data, and the like. As well understood by those skilled in the art, these operands take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals, and the operations involve storing, transferring, combining, and otherwise manipulating the signals through electrical, magnetic or optical components of a system. The term system includes general purpose as well as special purpose arrangements of these components, that are standalone, adjunct or embedded. 
     Various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps performed in turn in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily performed in the order they are presented, or even order dependent. Lastly, repeated usage of the phrase “in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Referring now FIG. 1, wherein a block diagram illustrating an overview of the present invention in accordance with one embodiment is shown. As illustrated, for the particular embodiment, each patient client  102  is equipped with allergen detection arrangement  104 , as well as air/asthma advice receipt arrangement  106 . Both allergen detection and air/asthma advice receipt arrangements  104  and  106  are communicatively coupled to geographically removed air/asthma advice server  112 ; for the particular embodiment, through communication links  108  and  110  respectively. Air/asthma server  112  includes air/asthma advice application  114  and patient client database  116 . Air/asthma advice server  112  in turn is also communicatively coupled to a number of other remote servers  122 , through a communication link or links  118 . Each of the other remote servers  122  includes at least air quality and other asthma related information databases  124 . 
     Allergen detection arrangement  104  provided to each patient client  102  is used to detect allergen level at a location for the patient client  102 , the location the particular arrangement  104  is located. In a presently preferred embodiment, to be described more fully below, the allergens monitored are allergens with sizes smaller than 5 micron. Typically, a monitored location is a “fixed” indoor location, such as the “home” or the office of a patient client  102 . The term “home” as used herein is intended to cover the primary as well as other temporary residence of a patient client  102 , where the patient client  102  e.g. is an “invitee”, such as someone else&#39;s home, a hotel, and so forth. As will be readily apparent from the description to follow, in alternate embodiments, a monitored location may also be simply a “substantially stationery” enclosed location, such as the patient client&#39;s automobile or a boat, to be described more fully below. 
     In accordance with the present invention, allergen detection arrangement  104  provides the detected allergen level at a monitored location to air/asthma server  112 , more specifically, to air/asthma advice application  114  of server  112 . 
     In response, air/asthma advice application  114  retrieves at least air quality data for a general area of the location monitored, e.g. in the earlier described case of a “fixed” indoor location, an outdoor area surrounding the indoor location being monitored. For the particular embodiment, air/asthma advice application  114  retrieves the air quality data from remote servers  122 . Examples of air quality data include air pollution data (such as ozone, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulphur, photochemical smog), weather data (such as humidity, temperature, and barometric pressure), natural phenomenons (such as pollen level, occurrence of sandstorm, tornado, forest fire,), man made pollution events (such as agricultural burns) and so forth. Examples of remote servers  122  include publicly accessible servers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Weather Services of the United States Government, as well as network or cable news web servers, such as MSNBC.com and CNN.com. In alternate embodiments, air/asthma advice application  114  may further retrieve other asthma related information for the general area from additional other remote servers  122 . Examples of other asthma related information and additional other servers  122  include asthma alerts or warning bulletins posted on free or subscription based servers of educational and research institutions of the like (such as servers of the National Center for Diseases, Harvard Medical School and so forth). In yet other alternate embodiments, air/asthma advice application  114  may cache some of the air quality and other asthma related data (e.g. the most frequently accessed data) on server  112 , i.e. maintaining local copies of the data. For these embodiments, whenever local copies are available, air/asthma advice application  114  may retrieve from the local cache instead. 
     The size of the general area is dependent on the granularity of the air quality and other asthma related data being maintained by other servers  122 . For examples, the size of the general area may be an area covered by the same zip code, or it may be an entire statistical metropolitan area, depending on whether the air quality data are maintained by other servers  122  by zip codes or by statistical metropolitan areas. The size of the general area may also be further application dependent. For example, even though the air quality data are available by zip codes, air/asthma application  114  may nevertheless treat all areas with the same m most significant zip code digits as the same general area. 
     Upon retrieving air quality (and optionally, other asthma related data), air/asthma application  114  generates air/asthma advice for each patient client  102 , based at least in part on the allergen level data received from the patient client  102  for a monitored location and the retrieved air quality data for the surrounding general area of the monitored location. Thus, for the purpose of the present invention, as long as the companion outdoor air quality to be taken into consideration in the generation of air/asthma advice is considered invariant (as in the case of a statistical metropolitan area), a monitored location such as the interior space of the patient client&#39;s automobile or boat (when used on a routine “local” basis, as opposed to an exceptional long distance journey) is “substantially stationery”, equivalent to that of a “fixed” location, as in the case of the patient&#39;s home or office. 
     For the particular embodiment, patient client database  116  stores medical as well as basic identification information for each of a number of patient clients  102 . In generating air/asthma advice for each patient client  102 , air/asthma application  114  further takes into consideration the relevant medical information maintained for the patient client  102 . Similarly, what medical information is considered relevant and taken into consideration is also application dependent. That is, in a more sophisticated variation of the embodiment, more medical information may be taken into consideration, and in a less sophisticated variation of the embodiment, less medical information may be taken into consideration. In a most basic alternative embodiment, air/asthma application  114  may simply generate the air/asthma advice without taking into consideration the medical data of a patient client  102 . Additionally, non-medical client data, such as location and construction of “home”, proximity to sources of ambient air pollution (e.g. highways, power plants, chemical facilities, and so forth), may also be collected, and taken into consideration by air/asthma advice application  114 . 
     Upon generating an air/asthma advice response in one of the above described manners, air/asthma advice application  114  provides the generated air/asthma advice response to the patient client  102  through the patient client&#39;s air/asthma advice receipt arrangement  106 . The content of the advice response is application dependent, e.g. the response may be an indoor air quality advisory, an outdoor air quality advisory, a weather advisory and/or a natural/man made pollution event advisory. The advice response may be provided in any one of a number of forms, including but not limited to, a beeping signal, a paging message, a voice message, a fax message, an email, and so forth, so long it is consistent with the capability of the air/asthma advice receipt arrangement  106  provided to the particular patient client  102 . Different types of receipt arrangement  106 , and therefore, different advice response forms may be employed for different patient clients  102 . Multiple receipt arrangements  106  may also be provided for one patient client  102 . In alternate embodiments, the air/asthma advice responses may also be provided to the patient clients&#39; parents, guardians, nurses or doctors, in lieu of or in addition to the patient clients. 
     Having now described an overview of the present invention, various embodiments of allergen detection arrangement  104  as well as air/asthma advice receipt arrangement  106  will be described in more detail below, along with communication link or links  108 , referencing FIGS. 2 a - 2   b  and FIGS. 3 a - 3   e.  Similarly, one embodiment each of server  112 , air/asthma application  114  and patient client database  116  will be described in more detail below, referencing FIGS. 4-6. As to remote servers  122 , the examples described above adequately set forth their nature to practice the present invention. It is readily apparent from these examples., communication link or links  118  may be any one of a number of communication medium known in the art, including but not limited to the Public Switching Telephone Network (PSTN), the Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN), a Frame Relay network, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, or the Internet, depending on the requirement of remote servers  122  accessed. Accordingly, remote servers  122  and communication link or links  118  will not be further described. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2 a - 2   b , wherein two block diagrams illustrating allergen detection arrangement  104  of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with two embodiments, are shown. For the embodiment of FIG. 2 a , arrangement  104  includes one or more “basic” allergen data collection units  202  and a companion base station  242 , coupled to each other through communication link or links  262 . Allergen data collection unit  202  includes filtering arrangement  204 , sensor  206 , analog-to-digital (AID) converter  208 , data buffer  210 , communication interface  212 , and micro-controller  214 , coupled to each other as shown. Base station  242  includes communication interface  244 , data buffer  246 , communication interface  248 , and micro-controller  250 , coupled to each other as shown. 
     Filtering arrangement  204  (of allergen data collection unit  202 ) is used to filter out large allergens in the ambient air that are not relevant to the issue of asthma trigger, allowing only allergens smaller than certain sizes that are relevant to the issue of asthma trigger to pass through. In one embodiment, filter arrangement  204  filters out allergens with sizes 5 micron or larger, allowing only allergens with sizes smaller than 5 micron to pass through. In one embodiment, filter arrangement  204  is a collection of successive filters. In other embodiments, filter arrangement  204  may be a cyclone separator, or a virtual impactor. 
     Sensor  206  (of allergen data collection unit  202 ) monitors and detects the amount of allergens present in the filtered air, and outputs signals representative of the amount detected. In one embodiment, sensor  206  is of the optical type, capable of detecting and outputting signals to denote the amount of allergens (smaller than 5 microns) in the filtered air. An example of such sensor is the GP2U06 High Sensitivity Dust Sensor available from Sharp Electronics Corporation of Camas, Wash. Other sensors or sensor modules with similar capability or built along similar principles may also be used. 
     Analog-to-digital (A/D) converter  208  digitizes the allergen level signals output by sensor  206 , and data buffer  210  stores the digitized allergen data. Communication interface  212  facilitates provision of the buffered allergen data (via communication link or links  262 ) to base station  242  for transmission to air/asthma advice server  112 . Micro-controller  214  controls the operation of these elements. A/D converter  208 , data buffer  210 , communication interface  212  and micro-controller  214  are intended to represent a broad range of these elements known in the art. For examples, data buffer  210  may be SRAM, DRAM, and memory of other like kinds, and micro-controller  214  may be 8-bit, 16-bit, or &gt;16-bit micro-controller. Communication interface  212  may be a serial or parallel interface, a serial bus interface, a “harsh environment” wired network controller or a wireless transceiver. Examples of serial bus interfaces are bus interfaces designed for the Universal Serial Bus (USB) as specified by USB Specification R1.0, Jan. 15, 1996, or the “Firewire” serial bus as specified by IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus. Examples of “harsh environment” network controllers are network controllers designed for the consumer electronics bus as specified by The CEBus Standard EIA-600, for phone line based networking (as AnyPoint™ Home Networking controllers available from Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.), or for power line based networking (as controllers available from Intelogis of American Fork, Utah). Examples of wireless transceivers are transceivers designed in accordance with the Draft Specification of Bluetooth: A Global Specification for Wireless Connectivity, promulgated by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, and wireless network controllers designed in accordance with IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard. 
     Communication interface  244  (of base station  242 ) facilitates receipt of the collected allergen data (via communication links  262 ) from allergen data collection unit or units  202 . Communication interface  244  is an interface of like kind that complements communication interface  212  (of allergen data collection unit  202 ). Similar to data buffer  210  (of allergen data collection unit  202 ), data buffer  246  (of base station  242 ) temporarily stores the received allergen data, and staged them for transmission to geographically removed air/asthma advice server  112 . Communication interface  248  (of base station  242 ) facilitates the actual transmission to air/asthma advice server  112 . Likewise, micro-controller  250  controls the operations of these elements. Again, data buffer  246 , communication interface  248 , and micro-controller  250  are intended to represent a broad range of these elements known in the art. Data buffer  246  may be SRAM, DRAM and memory of other like kinds, and micro-controller  250  may be 8-bit, 16-bit or &gt;16-bit micro-controllers. Communication interface  248  may be a modem, an ISDN adapter, a DSL adapter and the like, depending on whether the communication link between base station  242  and air/asthma advice server  112  is a PSTN connection, an ISDN connection or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection, and so forth. Other communication interfaces consistent with the communication media may also be used. 
     As alluded to earlier in the description of communication interface  212  of allergen data collection unit  202 , communication link  262  may be a wired or a wireless communication connection. In the case of a wired communication connection, link  262  may be a serial or a parallel link, a serial bus, as well as a “harsh environment” local area network segment, as set forth above. In the case of a wireless communication link, link  262  may be any one of the example wireless medium set forth above. 
     In alternate embodiments, base station  242  may be replaced with a computer, properly equipped with the dual communication interfaces. These alternate embodiments are particularly useful in a home or office settings where the required computer already exist, thereby advantageously allowing the patient client to leverage on his/her past equipment investment. Alternatively, in like manner, base station  242  may be replaced with a cell phone. Such alternate arrangement is particularly useful in the above described automobile or boat settings, where the patient client is already equipped with a cell phone, thereby also advantageously allowing the patient client to leverage on his/her past equipment investment. 
     The embodiment of FIG. 2 b  is a “full” function integrated embodiment of allergen detection arrangement  104 . That is, the data collection unit and the base station transmission unit of FIG. 2 a  have been combined into a single unit, and additional functional units are provided. Thus, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2 a,  under the embodiment of FIG. 2 b,  arrangement  104  still includes filter arrangement  272 , allergen sensor  274  and A/D converter  276 , performing like functions as described earlier. However, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 2 a,  a single communication interface  278 , capable of directly facilitating provision of the buffered allergen data to the geographically removed air/asthma advice server, as opposed to the dual communicative interfaces and base station approach, is used instead. In other words, communication interface  278  is analogous to the communication interface of the base station of FIG. 2 a,  and the communication interface of the “basic” allergen data collection unit has been eliminated. 
     Additionally, arrangement  104  is further provided with peak flow meter  280 , a spirometer  282 , a thermometer  284 , a humidity meter  286 , and chemical sensors  288  to measure various asthma related metrics. Peak flow meter  280  measures peak expiratory flow rate of a patient client, whereas spirometer  282  measures the forced expiratory volume and other lung function metrics of a patient client. Thermometer  284  measures the temperature of the ambient air and humidity meter  286  measures the humidity of the ambient air. Chemical sensors  288  measure various gas levels, e.g. carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and so forth. These elements are known in the art. Arrangement  104  also includes display and input interface  290  to interact with the patient client, to facilitate provisions of inputs from, and feedback to the patient client. Display and input interface  290  may be any end-user input/output device known in the art. Larger memory  292  and more powerful microprocessor  294  are provided to buffer allergen and other asthma related (like peak expiratory flow rate) data, and to control the operation of the various elements. For the illustrated embodiment, the various elements are coupled to each other through bus  296 , which may be one or multiple buses bridged together. Bus  296  may be any one of a number of system or peripheral buses known in the art, such as the I 2 C bus, the ISA bus, the EISA bus, and the like. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 3 a - 3   e , wherein a number of example air/asthma advice receipt arrangements, suitable for use with the allergen detection arrangements of FIGS. 2 a - 2   b , in accordance with a number of embodiments, are shown. FIG. 3 a  illustrates a conventional beeper known in the art. Under this embodiment, patient client  102  is provided with beeper, which in turn is employed by air/asthma advice server  112  to deliver a beeping signal to alert patient client  102  of an undesirable air/asthma condition. FIG. 3 b  illustrates a conventional pager known in the art. Under this embodiment, patient client  102  is provided with pager, which in turn is employed by air/asthma advice server  112  to page patient client  102  to call a particular telephone number for air or asthma advice, in view of an undesirable air/asthma condition. 
     FIG. 3 c  illustrates a conventional PSTN or cellular telephone known in the art. Under this embodiment, patient client  102  is provided with telephone, which in turn is employed by air/asthma advice server  112  to deliver a verbal advice to patient client  102  in view of an undesirable air/asthma condition. If a cell phone is employed in lieu of base station  242  for allergen detection arrangement  104  (under the embodiment of FIG. 2 a ), phone may be the same phone. Air/asthma advice server  112  may wait till phone is not in use (e.g. not providing allergen data) before calling patient client  102  to provide the verbal advice. 
     FIG. 3 d  illustrates a conventional fax machine known in the art. Under this embodiment, patient client  102  is provided with fax machine, which in turn is employed by air/asthma advice server  112  to deliver a written advice to patient client  102  in view of an undesirable air/asthma condition. FIG. 3 e  illustrates a conventional computer (equipped with communication and email capability) known in the art. Under this embodiment, patient client  102  is provided with computer, which in turn is employed by air/asthma advice server  112  to deliver an electronic written advice to patient client  102  in view of an undesirable air/asthma condition. If a computer is employed in lieu of base station  242  for allergen detection arrangement  104  (under the embodiment of FIG. 2 a ), computer may be the same computer. For this embodiment, communication links  108  and  110  may be the same communication link. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, wherein a block diagram illustrating an example server suitable for use as air/asthma advice server  112  of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment, is shown. As illustrated, server  400  includes a number of processors  402  and system memory  404  coupled to each other via system bus  406 . System bus  406  is intended to represent a single bus implementation as well as a multi-bus implementation (where the buses are bridged together). Coupled to system bus  406  are non-volatile mass storage  408 , such as hard disks, floppy disk, and so forth, input/output devices  410 , such as keyboard, displays, and so forth, and communication interfaces  412 , such as modem, ISDN adapters, DSL adapters, T1 DSU/CSU, cellular transceivers, satellite transceivers, Ethernet controllers, and so forth. For the illustrated embodiment, server  400  also includes voice response unit  414 , which is also coupled to system bus  406 . In alternate embodiments, server  400  may be a uni-processor system instead. 
     Each of these elements perform its conventional functions known in the art, i.e. processors  402  are used to execute programming instructions, system memory  404  and non-volatile mass storage  408  are used to store working and permanent copies of the programming instructions and data, and so forth. In particular, system memory  404  and non-volatile mass storage  408  are employed to store a working copy and a permanent copy of the programming instructions implementing air/asthma advice application  114  and patient client database  116 . The constitution of elements  402 - 414  are well known, and accordingly will not be further described. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, wherein a block diagram illustrating air/asthma advice application  114  of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with one embodiment, is shown. As illustrated, air/asthma advice application  114  includes registration module  502 , air/asthma advice response generation module  504 , and air/asthma advice delivery module  506 . For the illustrated embodiment, air/asthma advice application  114  further includes aggregate statistical reporting module  508 . These modules  502 - 508  are operationally “coupled” to each other and patient client database  116  as shown. 
     Registration module  502  is used to enroll and register patient client  102 . In response to a registration request, registration module  502  creates a patient client record, along with the proper patient client information, to be described more fully below, in patient client database  116 . For the illustrated embodiment, registration module  502  supports direct on-line registration by the patient client or the patient client&#39;s representative (in particular, through the Internet), as well as registration by an agent of the air/asthma advice server  112 . Examples of the patient client&#39;s representative are the patient client&#39;s doctor, nurse, parent, guardian, and so forth, as described earlier. 
     Air/asthma advice generation module  504  is used to generate air/asthma advice for the patient clients, taking into consideration at least collected allergen data provided by the patient clients, and the air quality and related data for the surrounding areas of the allergen data collection locations. As described earlier, in response to the receipt of allergen data of a monitored location, generation module  504  retrieves air quality and related data from remote servers  122 , and produces the air/asthma advice as set forth earlier. 
     For the illustrated embodiment, generation module  504  stores the advice generated for a patient client in an advice portion of the patient client&#39;s record in patient client database  116 . Additionally, generation module  504  schedules the stored advice for delivery by delivery module  506 . Scheduling is made by creating a delivery entry in a delivery job queue (not shown). Alternate approaches may also be employed. 
     For the illustrated embodiment, an identifier of the monitored location (e.g. a zip code, an identifier of a statistical metropolitan area, a telephone number area code, a global positioning coordinate, and so forth) may be dynamically provided along with the collected allergen data. However, an identifier of the patient client is always directly or indirectly provided (e.g. through a phone number or a unique network address of the patient client). If the identifier of the monitored location is not dynamically provided along with the collected allergen data, generation module  504  assumes the monitored location is a defaulted location (e.g. the patient client&#39;s home) previously identified and stored in patient client database  116 , and retrieves the pre-stored default location identifier for the patient client accordingly. 
     For the illustrated embodiment, generation module  504  caches local copies for the air quality and related data for various surrounding areas. Accordingly, generation module  504  retrieves the air quality and related data for a surrounding area from the local cache, if the data are available locally and valid. Various application dependent validity policies, such as “not older than 7 days” or “not older than 24 hours” may be employed. That is, cache data are invalidated or considered to be invalid, once their “shelf lives” have exceeded the validity policy limits. 
     For the illustrated embodiment, generation module  504  also takes into consideration medical history of a patient client (including various allergen trigger thresholds), and employs artificial intelligence (AI) to generate the air/asthma advice responses. The precise policies to be employed for the AI reasoning portion of generation module  504  is application dependent. It may vary from a small set of simple rules to a large complex collection of interdependent rules. 
     Air/asthma advice delivery module  506  is used to make the actual delivery of the generated air/asthma advice to the patient clients (or their representatives, i.e. doctors, nurses, parents, guardians and so forth). As described earlier, the advice may be delivered in a variety of forms, beeping signals, pager messages, and so forth, and the patient clients may be equipped with different advice receipt arrangements. For the illustrated embodiment, delivery module  506  is equipped to support delivery in a wide range of forms, including in particular a beeping signal, a pager message, a voice message, a fax message, and an email. The preferred delivery form or forms of a patient client (and/or the representative) is pre-stored in patient client database  116 . In response to the scheduling of a delivery job, delivery module  506  ascertains the appropriate delivery form or forms for the advice, and makes the delivery accordingly. 
     In addition to the “push” model for delivering generated advice, delivery module  506  also supports a “pull” model for delivering generated advice. That is, delivery module  506  also “delivers” the generated advice to the patient client or his/her representative (e.g. doctor, nurse and so forth) in response to their queries (in particular, through the Internet). 
     Aggregated statistical reporting module  508  is used to compile and report on various advice related statistics. Examples of these aggregated statistics include cumulative exposures to indoor or outdoor allergens, correlation between individual or cumulative exposure data and lung function measurements, minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation of exposure and lung function data by single and multiple unit dwellings and by geographical areas, multiple dwellings aggregated by common “medical” as well as non-medical characteristics, and so forth. The compiled statistics may be provided to interested third parties as well as operator of air/asthma advice server  112 . Examples of interested third parties are educational and research institutions, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, distributors and retailers, and marketing research organizations. For the illustrated embodiment, reporting module  508  supports batch delivery of the compiled statistics as well as on-line inquiry of the compiled statistics (in particular, through the Internet). 
     Modules  502 - 508  may be implemented in a variety of programming languages known in the art, including but not limited to, C, C++, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Java, JavaScript, and so forth. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, wherein a block diagram illustrating patient client database  116  of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with one embodiment, is shown. As illustrated, patient client database  116  includes various patient client records  602 . Each patient client record  602  includes patient client identifier  604  identifying the patient client. In addition, each record  602  also includes basic information  606  about the patient client, medical related information  608  of the patient client, allergen data collected  610 , and advice generated/delivered  612 . Examples of basic information  606  include the patient client&#39;s address, phone number, doctor&#39;s name, address and phone number, pharmacist&#39;s name address and phone number, identifier and characteristics of the defaulted monitored location, password for accessing the patient client&#39;s information, and so forth. Where applicable, it may also include parent or guardian information. Examples of medical related information  608  include the patient client&#39;s birthday, age, allergens allergic to, trigger thresholds for various allergens and related matters, medication currently taking, and so forth. Allergen data collected  610  includes related data such as temperature, humidity, level of various gases in the ambient air, as well as in some embodiments, the patient clients&#39; peak expiratory flow rate, and forced expiratory volume. Air/asthma advice generated/delivered  612  includes the advice, and the date and time the advice are generated and delivered, as well as to whom and in what form the advice were delivered. 
     Referring now to FIG. 7, wherein a flow chart summarizing an air/asthma advice method of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment, is shown. As illustrated, at  702 , a patient client is registered or enrolled with an operator of the air/asthma advice server described earlier, resulting in the creation of a patient client record in the patient client database for the patient client. The registration may be made by the patient client or a representative (doctor, nurse, and so forth) on behalf of the patient client. The registration may be made directly on-line or by an agent of the operator. 
     At  704 , a registered patient client, using an allergen detection arrangement, provides collected allergen data for a monitored location to the air/asthma advice server. The monitored location may be a default location, or a temporal location (dynamically identified for the air/asthma advice server). At  706 , air/asthma advice server retrieves air quality and related data for a general area surrounding the monitored location. The data are either retrieved from local cached copies or directly from remote servers (operated by various public or private institutions). At  708 , air/asthma advice server generates air/asthma advice for the patient client based at least on the allergen data provided and the air quality and related data retrieved. In one embodiment, the air/asthma advice is generated based also on the medical history of the patient client. 
     At  710 , performed immediately or in due course, the air/asthma advice server delivers the air/asthma advice for the patient client. The delivery may be made to the patient client and/or his/her representative, in one or more of a number of forms, as described earlier. 
     Epilogue 
     Various embodiments for methods and apparatuses for detecting allergen and generating/providing air/asthma advice for patient clients have been described. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and their detail described, instead, the present invention can be practiced with modifications and alterations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present invention.