Abstract:
An individual activity monitoring system comprises a microphone configured to receive sounds and convert them to audio signals, a memory configured to store recorded audio signal patterns of water flow events, and a microprocessor coupled to the microphone and configured to receive the audio signals, compare the audio signals to the recorded audio signal patterns, and recognize whether the audio signals represent a water flow event. The microprocessor is configured to reset a reset clock in response to a recognized water flow event, and being further configured to issue an alert notification in response to an absence of a subsequent water flow event after the reset clock exceeds a preprogrammed time period since a last recognized water flow event.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of home medical alert devices and more particularly to an individual activity monitoring system and method. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Existing home medical alert systems typically take the form of a device carried or worn on the person being monitored, usually in the form of a pendant worn around the neck. When the individual experiences a health crisis or an accident, an alert can be activated by, for example, pushing a button on the device. The activation causes the device to transmit a wireless signal to a receiver which then calls or notifies the monitoring company to send help. 
     Many existing medical alert devices can only send a notification if the person using the system remains conscious and is able to push the button on the device. Many health-threatening events may occur that cause the person to lose consciousness or become incapacitated such that they are unable to request assistance. 
     Further, some people who could benefit from a medical alert system choose not to use such a system because they prefer not to carry or wear the required physical device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an individual activity monitoring system and method according to the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 2-6  are simplified flowcharts of an exemplary process of the individual activity monitoring system and method according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an exemplary alert device of the individual activity monitoring system and method according to the present disclosure; and 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are views of exemplary embodiments of a mobile application (app) with a graphical user interface displayed on a screen of a mobile computing device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The individual activity monitoring system and method  10  are capable of automatically determining when a person has experienced a health-threatening event and generating an alert to seek assistance. More specifically, the system and method  10  monitor certain normal and regularly occurring day-to-day activities of an individual. If the system determines that the normal day-to-day activities ceased to occur for a specified time period, the system then sends one or more alert messages to one or more persons and/or monitoring company so that assistance and medical attention may be rendered. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the individual activity monitoring system and method  10  may include at least one local monitor device  12  in communication with a central remote monitoring system  14 . The central remote monitoring system  14  may provide centralized control and monitoring of the at least one local monitor device  12 . A facility or residence may employ one or more local monitor device  12  under the control of one or more remote monitoring system  14 . 
     A local monitor device  12  preferably includes a special-purpose microcontroller  16 , memory  17 , a network interface  18 , at least one microphone  19 , a speaker  20 , an alert button  21 , a reset button  22 , and a light  23 . The local monitor device  12  is installed in a home of an individual who is being monitored. Alternatively, the local monitor device  12  may include a small display screen to display its operating status. The local monitor device  12  is able to access a global computer network such as the Internet  30  via wired and/or wireless means and communicate with the computer-based remote monitoring system  14 . Further, the remote monitoring system  14  and/or local monitor device  12  are coupled to the telecommunications network for sending and receiving messages such as short messages, multimedia messages, etc. 
     The central remote monitoring system  14  also preferably includes a special-purpose microcontroller configured to execute one or more computer programs in coordination with the at least one local monitor device  12 , memory, and a network interface to the telecommunication network and/or the global computer network. The local monitor device  12  and the computer-based remote service  14  are configured to communicate with each other by sending and receiving messages over the Internet  30 . Embodiments may include various steps, which may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a general-purpose or special purpose computer. 
     The individual activity monitoring system and method  10  may deploy more than one local monitor device  12  for a single location or residence, such as large homes with many rooms. Alternatively, more than one microphone in wireless or wired communication with the local monitor device  12  may be placed around the house, such as in the bathrooms and the kitchen where water flow events are being monitored. The individual activity monitoring system and method  10  may include more than one remote monitoring systems  14  distributed geographically. For example, the individual activity monitoring system and method  10  may deploy one or more remote monitoring system  14  in each city or town. The plurality of remote monitoring system instances may or may not be coordinated in operations. 
     A variety of computing devices  32  may be used to communicate with the local monitor device  12  and/or remote monitoring system  14  for programming purposes and setting operating parameters, such as resetting the system, setting the telephone numbers for sending alert notifications, etc. These computing devices  32  may include laptop computers, tablet computers, mobile telephones, desktop computers, and other suitable devices. More details on the operations of these mobile devices  32  in operating with the individual monitoring system and method are set forth below. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an exemplary process of the individual monitoring system and method  10  occurring at the local monitor device  12 . The microcontroller  16  of the local monitor device  12  continually receives an audio signal from the microphone  19 , as shown in block  40 . The system  10  monitors the received audio signal for one or more sound patterns indicating that the user of the system is conscious and moving around. Specifically, the local monitor device  12  may identify sounds made by water flowing from a faucet into a kitchen or bathroom sink, water flowing in a shower, water filling a bathtub, or a toilet flushing. 
     The microcontroller  16  of the local monitor device  12  receives a time-domain digital representation of the analog audio signal from one or more microphones  19  and an analog-to-digital converter (not explicitly shown), as shown in block  41 . The local monitor device  12  may then utilize a fast Fourier transform algorithm to produce a digital representation of the received audio signal in the frequency domain from the time-domain digital representation of the received audio signal, as shown in block  42 . The frequency-domain representation of an audio signal is commonly referred to as the “frequency signature” of the audio signal. The local monitor device  12  compares the frequency signature of the received audio signal with a set of stored frequency signatures of sample audio signals to determine if the received audio signal matches any of the sample audio signals, as shown in block  44 . The audio samples include, for example, audio recordings of water flowing from a faucet into a kitchen or bathroom sink, water flowing from a shower, water filling a bathtub, and toilet flushing. Other user activities may also be monitored. For example, the system  10  may be configured to recognize footsteps, and/or utterances of “help” and other vocabulary, for example. These audio samples may be obtained from actual recordings of these water flow events in the same home to ensure a close match to the actual sounds, or the system may use pre-recorded samples of water flow events from a variety of locales. 
     If the local monitor device  12  determines that the frequency signature of the received audio signal matches one of the set of stored frequency signatures of sample audio signals, then a water flow event is said to have occurred. Each time a water flow event occurs, the local monitor device  12  stores a timestamp associated with the water flow event, and sends a reset notification message to the remote monitoring system  14 , as shown in block  45 . In addition as shown in  FIG. 3 , if the user of the system presses the reset button  22  on the local monitor device  12 , as shown in block  47 , then the local monitor device  12  sends a reset notification message to the remote monitoring system  14 , as shown in block  48 . 
     It should be noted that more complex logic or artificial intelligence may be employed to improve the accuracy of situations warranting the alert status. For example, the logic may further monitor the duration of a water flow event. The identification of a prolonged water flow event may indicate a situation where the user may need assistance, such as, for example, when the user has slipped in the shower and becomes incapacitated or unconscious. 
     Further, the local monitoring device  12  may include logic or artificial intelligence that discriminates between day and night time activities to account for the absence of water flow events during the user&#39;s sleep period, for example. Further logic or artificial intelligence may be employed to familiarize the system with the user&#39;s activity pattern, so that durations of sleep time are not mistaken for alert situations, for example. Another embodiment of the system and method provides a way to avoid sending alert notification messages when the user of the system is sleeping. When the remote monitoring system  14  determines that the time period since the last occurring reset event exceeds the preconfigured time period, then the remote monitoring system  14  sends an alert notification message to the local monitor device  12 . However, if the last reset event occurred before 2 a.m. local time at the location of the local monitor device  12 , and the alert notification is scheduled to be sent after 2 a.m., then the remote monitoring system  14  will instead wait until the preconfigured time period after 2 a.m. before sending the alert notification message if no reset event occurs before that time. 
     Another embodiment of the system and method provides a way for the remote monitoring system  14  to automatically adjust or calibrate the configured time period between a reset event and an alert notification for a given local monitor device  12  based on the observed patterns for that user. For example, during the initial two week period that a specific local monitor device  12  is deployed, the remote monitoring system  14  records the time (timestamps) that each reset event occurs for that specific local monitor device  12 . After a two week period of time has passed since the first reset event for the specific local monitor device  12 , the remote monitoring system  14  calculates the time periods between all reset events, ignoring the time periods during typical sleep times. The remote monitoring system  14  may calculate an “alert timeout period” value which represents the longest ninety-fifth percentile (95%) value, for example, for the time periods between recorded reset events. That is, ninety-five percent of the historical time periods between reset events are shorter than the calculated alert timeout period and five percent of the historical time periods between reset events are longer than the calculated alert timeout period. Then the remote monitoring system  14  sets the preconfigured time period between a reset event and an alert notification for the specific local monitor device  12  to the calculated alert timeout period value. This calibration process may be repeated periodically to adapt to the user&#39;s change of habit or lifestyle over time. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an exemplary process of the individual monitoring system and method  10  occurring at the remote monitoring system  14 . When the remote monitoring system  14  receives a reset notification message from a local monitoring device  12 , a reset event is said to have occurred, as shown in block  50 . When a reset event occurs, the remote monitoring system  14  records the reset event such that it is associated with the particular local monitor device  12  that sent the notification message along with the time of the reset event, as shown in block  52 . The remote monitor service  14  keeps track of the amount of time elapsed since the last reset event for each local monitor device  12 , such as by updating a reset clock. If the elapsed time since the last reset event for a particular local monitor device (as indicated by the reset clock) exceeds a preconfigured time limit value, as determined in block  54 , then the remote monitoring system  14  sends an alert notification message to the corresponding local monitor device  12 , as shown in block  56 . 
     When the local monitor device  12  receives an alert notification message from the remote monitoring system  14 , it may display a flashing light and sounds a tone to alert the user of the system. Alternatively, a display screen on the local monitor device  12  may display an alert status. If the user of the system becomes aware of the alert and the user is fine (i.e., a false alarm), the user can press the reset button  22  on the local monitor device  12  to indicate a false alarm. If the reset button is pressed, the local monitor device  12  sends a reset notification message to the remote monitoring system  14 . If the remote monitoring system  14  receives a reset notification message from a local monitor device  12 , a reset event occurs and the event is recorded corresponding to the local monitor device  12  along with the time of the event, as shown in  58 . 
     If the elapsed time since sending the alert notification message to the local monitor device  12  exceeds a preconfigured time limit value, as determined in block  60 , and no reset event has occurred, then an alarm condition has occurred. In response to the alarm condition, the remote monitoring system  14  sends an alert notification message to each successive telephone number in a predetermined or preprogrammed list associated with the particular local monitor device  12 , as shown in blocks  62  and  64 . Using the preprogrammed telephone numbers, friends, family members, caretakers, and monitoring companies may be notified so that immediate action may be taken. If the elapsed time since sending the alert notification message to the prior telephone number exceeds a preconfigured time limit value, and no reset event has occurred, as determined in blocks  66  and  68 , then the remote monitoring system  14  continues to send an alert notification message to the next telephone number in the list of telephone numbers. This process repeats until all of the telephone numbers have been contacted. If a reset event occurs at any time, the reset event is recorded corresponding to the local monitor device  12  along with the time of the reset event, and no further alert notification messages are sent even if uncontacted telephone numbers remain on the list. 
     The alert notification messages sent to telephone numbers include, for example, Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages, a telephone call with a prerecorded voice message, and/or other forms of suitable communications. 
       FIG. 5  is a simplified flowchart of an exemplary process to respond to an alert button press at the local monitor device  12  according to the present disclosure. If the alert button  21  on the local monitor device  12  is pressed, the local monitor device  12  sends an alert notification message to the remote monitoring system  14 , as shown in blocks  70  and  72 . Continuing in  FIG. 6 , if the remote monitoring system  14  receives an alert notification message from the local monitor device  12 , as shown in block  80 , then the remote monitoring system  14  begins to send an alert notification message to all of the telephone numbers in the preconfigured or preprogrammed list of telephone numbers associated with the local monitor device  12 , as shown in blocks  82  and  84 . If the elapsed time since sending the alert notification message to a prior telephone number exceeds a preconfigured time limit value, as determined in block  88 , and no reset event has occurred, as determined in block  86 , then the remote monitoring system sends an alert notification message to the next telephone number in the list of telephone numbers, as shown in block  84 . This process is repeated for each telephone number in the list of telephone numbers until none are left. If a reset event occurs at any time, the reset event is recorded corresponding to the local monitor device  12  along with the time of the event, and no further alert notification messages are sent. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an exemplary local monitor device  12  according to the present disclosure. The local monitor device  12  includes a housing  90  that encloses the microprocessor/microcontroller circuitry shown in  FIG. 1 . The local monitor device  12  is preferably mounted on a wall or can be carried or worn on the person being monitored. As described above, the local monitor device  12  includes an alert button  21 , a reset button  22 , and a light (e.g., light emitting diode)  23 . The light  23  may emit different color light to indicate different operating status. For example, a green light may indicate normal operating status where water flow events are occurring at a normal intervals, and a red light may indicate an alert status where the system has determined that the water flow events are not occurring at the normal interval and that alerts are being transmitted to the list of telephone numbers. As described above, the local monitor device  12  may also or alternately include a display screen for displaying the operating status. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , another embodiment of the individual activity monitoring system and method  10  additionally provide an application computer program (app) installed on a mobile computing device  32  having a computer processor such as a tablet or smartphone. The mobile device application computer program can be downloaded onto the user&#39;s mobile computing device that is associated with the user&#39;s local monitoring device  12  and monitoring account. The mobile device application computer program preferably provides a graphical representation of a more button  92  and a done button  94  to enable the user to enter a telephone number to which an alert notification message may later be sent. If a telephone number is entered and the representation of the more button  92  is tapped, the mobile device application computer program provides a method for entering another telephone number. This process is repeated until the representation of the done button  94  is tapped. The mobile device application computer program then sends a message containing all of the entered telephone numbers to the remote monitoring system  14 . When the remote monitoring system  14  receives the message containing the telephone numbers, the remote monitoring system stores the telephone numbers with the list of telephone numbers associated with the appropriate home monitor device  12 . 
     In another embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIG. 9 , the mobile device application computer program may further present a graphical user interface on the device screen including representations of an alert button  100 , a reset button  102 , and an off button  104 . The alert button  100  and reset button  102  of the mobile device application computer program provide the same functionality as the alert button  21  and reset button  22 , respectively, on the local monitor device  12 . 
     If the representation of the off button  104  of the mobile device application computer program is tapped, then the mobile device application computer program provides a method for the user to enter a numeric value indicating the number of days the system is to be temporarily disabled. The mobile device application computer program then sends a disable notification message to the remote monitoring system  14 . The disable notification message includes the numeric value entered by the user that indicates the number of days the system  10  is to be temporarily disabled. When the remote monitoring system  14  receives a disable notification message associated with a local monitoring device  12 , a disable event is said to have occurred. When a disable event occurs, the remote monitoring system records a reset event such that it is associated with the particular local monitor device  12  that sent the disable notification message along with the time the number of days in the future indicated by the numeric value sent in the disable notification message. The disable operating condition has the effect of preventing the remote monitor system  14  from sending alert notifications during the period of time that the system is to be disabled. The disable operating condition can be used when the user will be absent from the home or monitored facility, such as during vacation or a hospital stay, for example. 
     In yet another embodiment of the individual activity monitoring system and method  10 , the mobile device application computer program continually monitors the operation of the mobile device  32  on which it is running. When the screen of the mobile device  32  is switched on by the user, then the mobile device application computer program sends a reset notification to the remote monitoring system  14 . 
     Another embodiment of the individual activity monitoring system and method  10  provides a means for a recipient of an alert notification message to acknowledge that the recipient has received the alert notification. If the remote monitoring system  14  has sent an alert notification message to all the telephone numbers in the preconfigured list of telephone numbers, then the remote monitoring system  14  proceeds to send a second alert notification message to the first telephone number in the preconfigured list of telephone numbers associated with the specific local monitor device  12 . The content of the second alert notification message instructs the recipient of the message to acknowledge that they have received the message either by responding with an SMS message or by pressing a dial pad key on the telephone. If the elapsed time since sending the alert notification message to the first telephone number exceeds a preconfigured time limit value, and no reset event has occurred, and no acknowledgement has been received from the alert notification message recipient, then the remote monitoring system  14  sends a second alert notification message to the next telephone number in the list of telephone numbers. The recipient of the alert notification message is provided with an opportunity to acknowledge receipt of the message in the same fashion as the first recipient. This process is repeated for each telephone number in the list of telephone numbers. If a reset event occurs at any time, or if an acknowledgement is received from any alert notification message recipient at any time, the event is recorded corresponding to the local monitor device  12  along with the time of the event, and no further alert notification messages are sent. 
     It should be noted that the individual activity monitoring system and method  10  may be implemented in alternative arrangements than what is described in detail herein. For example, the local monitoring device  12  may be a stand-alone device that is operable to perform all of the aforementioned functions without having to contact a remote monitoring system  14 . In other words, the functions of the local monitoring device  12  and the remote monitoring system  14  may be merged and performed by one locally-positioned monitor device. For example, the local monitoring device  12  may monitor for and record water flow events, identify a period lacking a water flow event exceeding a predetermined time period, and make a determination that the situation warrants alert notification. The local monitoring device  12  may include the list of preconfigured telephone numbers and perform the alert notification transmissions without cooperation with the remote monitoring system. 
     The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth below with particularity in the appended claims. However, modifications, variations, and changes to the exemplary embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the individual activity monitoring system and method described herein thus encompasses such modifications, variations, and changes and are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein.