Abstract:
A system for monitoring and recording the body temperature of a subject includes a thermal sensor adapted to be supported in contact with the subject&#39;s body, a microprocessor based programmable information appliance having a display, and an application program for the appliance adapted to process the electrical signals generated by the sensor and time signals to create a display constituting a plot of body temperature versus time. The information used to generate the display may be transmitted to a remote computer for access by healthcare professionals over a public network and feedback information can be provided over the public network to the display of the information appliance.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/254,911 filed Dec. 11, 2000, and PCT Patent Application PCT/US01/40678 filed May 4, 2001, and is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a system for sensing the body temperature of a subject and transferring the information to a microprocessor based information appliance for display of a time-temperature plot, and more particularly to such a system which can transmit the information to a remote computer over a public network for access by a healthcare professional.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Body temperature is a basic measurement of mammalian wellness since elevated temperature is a common symptom of disease. For a variety of reasons, temperature variation over a period of time is a more meaningful measurement of mammalian condition than a single temperature measurement at a selected time. For example, while 98.6° C. is often referred to as “normal” human body temperature, this normal temperature may vary among individuals over a relatively wide range. Some individuals may have usual or normal body temperatures of 96° C. so that 98.6° C. would be considered an elevated temperature. Moreover, the variation in body temperature over time as a disease progresses is a meaningful measurement to healthcare professionals. Increase in body temperature over time is often associated with an inception of a disease while decrease in body temperature over time may be typical during recovery from a disease. Accordingly, body thermometers have been proposed which can be used to periodically measure temperature and record the temperature and the time of measurement and generate a display of temperature over a period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,791 discloses a system of that type. Other systems utilize a temperature sensor associated with the body which may wirelessly transmit information to a specialized appliance for display, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,619; 6,238,354 and 6,030,342.  
           [0004]    In recent years a number of microprocessor based, programmable devices having displays have been developed for individual use and become widely available within households. These devices include personal computers of both the desktop and laptop variety; Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) which are handheld, microprocessor based devices having displays and storage such as Palm type devices; sophisticated cellular phones with programmable displays and the like; and interactive TV systems usually embodied in set top boxes. All of these devices, hereinafter termed “information appliances”, can be equipped with application programs for performing a variety of tasks. They all have means for receiving data either by means of plug-in ports or wirelessly, and many have means for transmitting data to public networks such as the telephone network or the Internet, to provide data to remote computers.  
         SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention is directed toward a system for monitoring and recording the body temperature of a subject, preferably a human, which employs a thermal sensor supported in contact with the body to generate electrical signals representative of the body temperature, means for transmitting those signals to a standard household type information appliance for generation of a plot representing body temperature over time on the display of the information appliance, and to information appliances equipped with a specialized application program for receiving the data from the sensor and from a clock and for generating the plot. The system of the present invention includes a clock adapted to generate electrical signals as a function of time either in association with a thermal sensor on the subject&#39;s body or as part of the information appliance. This arrangement eliminates the need for a dedicated, special purpose appliance as required by the prior art and utilizes information appliances already available in households for other purposes.  
           [0006]    The information appliance may also include means for connecting to a public network, such as the Internet, either wirelessly or through a wired connection, which allows the time/temperature information to be transmitted to a remote computer, typically a server on the Internet, where it can be made available to healthcare professionals such as physicians.  
           [0007]    Typical use of the system of the present invention would be to monitor the temperatures of infants and small children. Often a parent becomes alarmed by an elevated temperature and phones or visits a healthcare professional. The present invention would make available to the professional a plot of temperature over time either by the parents bringing the information appliance or a printout from the appliance containing the plot during a visit to the physician or through the physician viewing the plot on a website to which the information has been transmitted. This will allow a more informed decision by the physician on the course of treatment.  
           [0008]    In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the system includes a memory associated with the sensor on the body of the subject which receives electrical signals from the temperature sensor and from the clock so as to record the time of occurrence of the electrical signals representative of body temperature and store them. The stored information may then be transferred to the information appliance either by a direct wire connection, by transfer of a memory element from the body mounted unit to the information appliance, or wirelessly. Similarly, communication between the information appliance and a public network such as the Internet may be achieved wirelessly or through a wired connection.  
           [0009]    Information from the temperature sensor, whether transmitted at intervals dictated by the information appliance or stored and then delivered to the information appliance, could be provided directly to an information appliance in the form of a television set top box (which functionality might be built into the television set or, alternatively, information from the body mounted sensor could be provided to an information appliance in the form of a PDA and then transmitted to the interactive TV receiver for display and for transmission to a remote website.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0010]    Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention. The description makes reference to the drawings in which:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrating a temperature sensor supported on an infant and the wireless transmission of temperature information collected by the sensor to a PDA held by an adult, and transmission of the information from the PDA, over the Internet, to a remote computer for review by a professional;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the electronics of the system of FIG. 1, illustrating alternative arrangements for transferring information from a memory supported on the infant&#39;s body to the PDA;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronics within the PDA;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 a  is an illustration of the PDA;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 b  is an illustration of a laptop computer which might be used as an alternative to a PDA;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 c  is an interactive TV receiver which might be used as an alternative to a PDA;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective drawing of a temperature sensor affixed to a strap for attaching it to a body member; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a side view of the sensor of FIG. 5 illustrating details of its construction.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    Referring to the drawings, a typical use of the system of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. An infant  10 , lying in a crib  12 , has a temperature sensor  14  strapped to its arm. The temperature sensor may be of the type illustrated in FIGS.  5  or  6  which involve a Velcro strap adapted to surround the limb. Alternatively, the temperature sensor could be supported on other body parts, such as under the arm, in the groin, or the like with pressure sensitive adhesives, adhesive tape securing devices, or attachment to the inner sides of undergarments such as diapers. The sensors could also be secured to the user&#39;s body by insertion in body orifices such as ears. Alternatively, the temperature sensor could be supported in close separation to a body part so as to detect the temperature thereof by infrared radiation or the like. The following terms such as “. . . supported in contact with the body of the subject . . . ” are intended to refer to any of these support methods.  
         [0020]    In a manner which will be subsequently described, the temperature information, and alternatively time of temperature occurrence information, from the sensor  14  is provided to a personal digital assistant  16 , supported remotely from the crib  12 . In FIG. 1 the PDA  16  is illustrated as being supported by an adult  18  in a room separated from the crib  12  by a wall  20 . The PDA  16  is a species of what will be generically termed hereinafter an “information appliance” or “household information appliance”. Other species of this generic class of device will be detailed subsequently.  
         [0021]    The PDA  16  is adapted to generate a time/temperature plot of the body temperature detected by the sensor  14  on its display  22 . This allows the user  18  to make a diagnostic judgment as to whether the temperature is increasing or decreasing over time or whether the temperature is at what is considered to be an elevated level.  
         [0022]    Electrical signals representative of the time/temperature plot stored in the PDA  16  may be transmitted to a remote computer  24 . FIG. 1 illustrates the transmission through the Internet. The information in the PDA may be transmitted wirelessly to the Internet; the information could be provided from the PDA to a personal computer connected to the Internet; or the transmission might be through an interactive TV receiver connected to the Internet as will be subsequently described. Other forms of networks such as a telephone network might be used to transmit the information from the PDA  16  to a remote computer  24 .  
         [0023]    The computer  24  may be a website on the Internet which may be accessed by an authorized professional such as a pediatrician or the like. The adult  18  supervising the temperature collection might e-mail or phone the professional and advise of the availability of the time/temperature plot for the infant  10  being available in the remote computer  24 . The professional, after reviewing the information on the computer  24 , can communicate with the adult  18  by phone, e-mail or the like and the e-mail message may be generated on the display  27  of the information appliance such as the PDA  16 .  
         [0024]    An electrical schematic diagram of the system of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The sensor  14  provides its electrical output to a microprocessor  16  supported on the body of the infant  10  in association with the sensor. The system also includes a real time clock  30 , which provides its output to the microprocessor  16 . Alternatively, the clock  30  could be an integral part of the microprocessor. The microprocessor senses the output of the sensor  14  at regular intervals, such as each quarter hour, and provides the sensor signals to a memory  32  which also receives signals representative of the time of occurrence of the sensor signal, from the clock  30 . The memory is preferably of a nonvolatile variety such as a flash memory. The body mounted assembly might include a battery, preferably of the strip type, to power the operation (not shown).  
         [0025]    The memory  32  stores a record of temperatures measured by the sensor  14  at periodic times and the time of occurrence of the temperature measurement. This information must be transferred to a receiver  34  associated with the information appliance  16 . The receiver may be formed integrally with the information appliance  16  or may be externally connected thereto. Three methods of transmission of the information from the body supported memory  32  to the signal receiver  34  are contemplated. First, a direct wired connection may be made using a cable  36 . As will be described in detail, the sensor is preferably equipped with a female socket allowing the cable to be interconnected and to retrieve the signals stored in the memory. A second method of communication would be wirelessly. The body mounted unit could be equipped with a data transmitter  38 , which could include the Blue Tooth variety or some other short range radio frequency or infrared communication, to a data receiver  40 , forming part of the signal receiver  34 . The infrared communication may be of the type used to communicate between two Palm type PDAs. A third form of communication would be to remove a memory module  42  from the memory  32  and insert it in a suitable port in the signal receiver. This might be flash memory of the type sold by Sony under the trademark “Memory Stick”. It comprises a compact module which may be inserted into and removed from a receptacle in order to transfer information between two devices. Other forms of memory transfer of the type used with digital cameras could be employed.  
         [0026]    The signal receiver  34  provides the time stamped temperature signals to the information appliance  16 . As will be subsequently noted, the information appliance  16  includes an application program which operates under the control of the operating system for the information appliance to generate a time/temperature plot of the signals transferred from the body supported unit. The plot is schematically illustrated at  46  in FIG. 1. The information appliance  16  displays the time/temperature plot on its display screen  22 . It also preferably includes an application program which allows the information to be transmitted to the remote computer  24  via the Internet.  
         [0027]    The electronic internal arrangement of the information appliance  16  is illustrated in FIG. 3 which shows the data receiver  34  as being integral with the information appliance. Input information from the receiver  34  is provided to a microprocessor  50  which controls the operation of the information appliance. The microprocessor  50  operates in conjunction with an operating system  52 . The information appliance includes some number of application programs. Application programs  54   a  and  54   b  are illustrated. For example, if the information appliance  16  were a PDA, one of these programs might constitute an address program and another a calendar program. If the information appliance  16  were an interactive TV receiver, one of the application programs would constitute a program schedule and another might constitute a preferred programs list. If the information appliance  16  were a personal computer, the application programs might include word processing, spreadsheet and the like. In accordance with the present invention, the information appliance  16  includes another application program  56  which generates a plot of temperatures on the display  22  based on data from the receiver  34 . The application program  56  may be loaded into the information appliance in any conventional way, such as loading from the Internet or via a CD. The information appliance  16  further includes a modem  60  which can be used to transmit the stored temperature/time signals to the remote computer  24  through the Internet or other public networks.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIGS. 4 a,    4   b  and  4   c  illustrate typical forms of information appliances. FIG. 4 a  illustrates the PDA  16  with its display screen  22  and operator control buttons  62 . Certain cell phones operate like PDAs or have PDAs incorporated within them and are contemplated as the type of information appliances which could be used with the present invention. FIG. 4 b  illustrates a personal computer  64 , which might constitute either a laptop or a desktop unit. When equipped with an appropriate temperature plot application program such as  56 , the personal computer  64  could be used with the present invention. FIG. 4 c  illustrates a television receiver  66  with a set top box  68  that converts it into an interactive TV receiver. The set top box will typically have a data receiver, either in the form of RF or IR, for receiving data and will have a connection with the Internet for providing the data to the remote computer  24 . The temperature sensor and its associated assembly  14  might transmit directly to the set top box  68  or to an information appliance such as PDA  62  which in turn communicates with the interactive television receiver set top box  68  to communicate to the Internet and to generate a display of the time/temperature on the television receiver. Each of the information appliances can also display messages received through the Internet from a healthcare professional who has reviewed the time/temperature plot  46 , providing medical advice.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 illustrates one form of body mounted temperature sensor. The sensor itself  70  might constitute a thermistor, temperature sensitive semiconductor or other form of device for generating an electrical signal as a function of temperature. The sensor might include an oscillator having a frequency which is a function of the temperature and an integrator to generate a DC signal proportional to the oscillation frequency. Alternatively, the frequency itself can be used as a temperature dependent signal by the subsequent circuitry. The sensor is attached to the middle of a flexible strap, preferably elastic,  72  which has opposed Velcro sections  74  in a complementary manner on its ends for securement to a limb. The memory, associated electronics and transmitter  76  are electrically connected to the sensor  70  and also supported on the strap  72 . As illustrated in FIG. 6, the electronics  76  could include a female receptacle  78  for direct electrical connection to an information appliance and a pushbutton  80 . The pushbutton might be used to initiate temperature measurements or to turn the device on and off. A battery, such as a flexible strip type, might also be associated with the electronics  76 .  
         [0030]    In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the sensor  14  could only take temperature measurements when prompted by a signal from the information appliance  16 . That signal could be provided either through wired connection or wirelessly, and the clock  30  could be incorporated in the information appliance. The temperature signal could be provided to the information appliance receiver  34  immediately upon generation, eliminating the need for the memory  32  in the sensor assembly. The temperature measurement could be triggered by the pushbutton  80 , by an electrical signal provided through wired connection, or through a wireless connection.