Abstract:
The present invention is a personal health management device comprising a processor executing an operating program, input means and output means. The input means receives information about an individual through various sources, including nutritional information about food ingested, biological information, and the caloric expenditure of the individual&#39;s activities. Preferably, input from the various sources occurs in real-time through wireless communications means. Input can also be obtained from internet websites and from health care providers, such as doctors. The operating program uses these inputs to output a health report using the output means, preferably on a display. The report can also be provided to health care providers. In one aspect of the invention, the output is a signal capable of operating a pharmaceutical delivery device carried on the individual. The personal health management device of the present invention provides a convenient means for a user to monitor his health.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates, in general, to personal health software based systems.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Art  
           [0004]    More people are trying to monitor and evaluate their health, both for medical and personal reasons. As part of this effort, many have developed personal health programs monitoring both exercise and diet. Others, such as those with diabetes, must additionally perform tests to monitor specific physiological parameters. Individuals must then compare the data with input from such resources as physicians and other experts to reach a reasonable conclusion regarding existing physical condition.  
           [0005]    Traditionally, monitoring exercise and diet has involved a great deal of data. To assess caloric intake, the individual must document the amount and type of food eaten, go through tables to look up the caloric content of items, and manually track and record totals. To assess caloric output—calories expended—an individual must determine his metabolic rate for each activity undertaken, consult long lists of exercises to determine the amount of calories burned for each activity based on metabolic rate, and manually track and record totals.  
           [0006]    In addition to exercise and diet, many individuals must periodically measure certain physiological parameters. For example, diabetics must measure blood glucose concentration, often several times a day. Similarly, the measurement of blood cholesterol concentration provides important information on coronary artery disease. Once the magnitude of a particular parameter is reported, often the individual must compare it to an acceptable level and take pro-active measures.  
           [0007]    Finally, physicians have traditionally supplied base information that individuals use for comparison, such as ideal weight and acceptable levels of blood glucose. Information received from other sources, such as Internet health-related sites, far exceed the information provided only by doctors.  
           [0008]    The wealth of resource information available, and the amount of information that must be recorded to make a meaningful health assessment, has grown exponentially as scientific knowledge has progressed. For example, mere measurement of caloric content in food is no longer sufficient to assess its affects on human health. Such parameters as fat and sugar content are also important. This information overload has proven to be an all but insurmountable barrier to many individuals, even those considered health-conscious.  
           [0009]    Technology has provided a partial response to this challenge. For example, the personal computer has helped to monitor exercise and diet. Software programs now exist that establish target weights and daily diet and exercise plans using extensive food and exercise information pre-programmed into the computer&#39;s memory. These programs, however, still require that the user document exercise and diet for later manual input. Moreover, they do not generally accept input of real-time biological parameters received through self-testing. Nor do they alarm and/or control a pharmaceutical delivery system.  
           [0010]    Lack of mobility makes desktop computers impracticable for monitoring real-time health. Development of new computers has focused on miniaturization in an effort to support user mobility. In the last few years, this effort has led to the development of the personal digital assistant (PDA). PDAs are light weight, hand-held computers designed to run such applications as word processors, spreadsheets, and calendars and address books. Moreover, PDAs have communications capabilities, typically wireless, for sending and receiving data and messages. A PDA can also be synchronized and backed up to a desktop computer.  
           [0011]    Thus, it would be desirable to develop a software based system capable of receiving various inputs using the wireless communications capability of a PDA, analyzing the inputs to assess user health, and reporting various outputs, including a detailed health report and recommendations. It would also be desirable to include an output signal that would report the need to take a medication and/or control dispensing of the medication through a pharmaceutical delivery system.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    The present invention is a software based system taking advantage of the wireless communications capabilities and easy transportability of a PDA to receive various inputs in real-time or near real-time and produce immediately responsive output related to an individual user&#39;s health. The invention receives as inputs various nutritional, biological and exercise related information and sends as output a customized health report and, optionally, a signal to a pharmaceutical delivery system.  
           [0013]    Specifically, the invention is a personal health management device, comprising a processor executing an operating program; input means, coupled to the processor, for receiving and inputting to the processor at least one of food sample nutritional information, biological information and activity caloric expenditure information of a user; and output means coupled to the processor. The processor is responsive to the input means and executes the operating program to generate a health report and the output means outputs the health report.  
           [0014]    The input means is responsive to at least one of an exercise device transmitting means external of the processor, for providing activity caloric expenditure information of a user using the exercise device; a real-time oxygen measuring device transmitting means external of the processor, for providing activity caloric expenditure information of the user; a food sample nutritional information measuring device transmitting means external of the processor, for providing food sample nutritional information of a food sample; and a biological information measuring device transmitting means external of the processor, for providing biological information of the user.  
           [0015]    The input means of the invention can further include communication means. In one aspect of the invention, the communications means can communicate with a global telecommunications network. In another aspect, the communications means includes wireless communication means for communicating with at least one external device. For example, the input of information from an exercise device can occur via the wireless communications means.  
           [0016]    In one aspect of the invention, the output means comprises a display that outputs the health report. In another aspect of the invention, the output means further comprises means responsive to a procedure for generating activation signals adapted to control a pharmaceutical delivery system carried on the user.  
           [0017]    In a final aspect of the invention, the processor, the input means and the output means are disposed in a handheld housing. If the invention includes a memory, the memory is also disposed in a handheld housing. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    The various features, advantages, and other uses of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawing in which:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a general block diagram of the various inputs used by and outputs generated by the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of the hardware architecture of the personal digital assistant (PDA) of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating two different methods of calculating nutritional information of food as inputs into the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is block diagram demonstrating a possible method of creating a database of chemicals/nutrients used in calculating the nutritional information of food;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing the various biological information used as inputs into the present invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing how the system of the present invention uses biological information to generate an output regarding the need for pharmaceutical delivery;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram demonstrating the various means of gathering a user&#39;s caloric output as an input into the present invention; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing how the system of the present invention uses the various inputs to generate one potential version of a health report; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing how the dosage information needed to properly signal the pharmaceutical delivery system is input into the system of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0028]    Referring to FIG. 1, there is depicted a diagram of the inputs and outputs of a health management software system according to the present invention. The inventive system includes use of a PDA  10 . As shown in FIG. 2, the PDA  10  is of conventional construction, comprising wireless communication means  26  (hereinafter wireless links) capable of both receiving and transmitting data, a manual input means  28 , either stylus or keyboard, a central processing unit  30  (CPU) with memory  32 , and a display  34 . Typical PDAs are sold by Palm, Psion and Visor, to name a few.  
         [0029]    Referring back to FIG. 1, the system in the PDA  10  receives data from wireless links  26  to input data, such as nutritional information about food  12 , biological information  14 , and calories expended during daily activities  16 . Additionally, wireless links  26  to Internet websites  18  and health care providers  20 , such as doctors and insurance companies, supply input on health goals and needs. The system sends as output to the PDA  10  a personal health report  22  to the user, which can include, for example, an assessment of health goals and recommendations of exercise and diet. The report  22  is produced each time an input changes, or upon a user&#39;s prompt. Optionally, this report  22  could be furnished directly to health care providers  20 . In one aspect of the present invention, the system sends as part of the health report  22  a message that medications are needed. In another aspect, the system signals to activate a pharmaceutical (drug) delivery system  24  through a wireless link  26 .  
         [0030]    The nutritional information  12  regarding food consumed by the user is preferably calculated using techniques including, for example: x-ray holography, ultrasonics, spectrography, such as Raman or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, or calorimetry. Spectroscopy, for example, has already been used in non-invasive methods of measuring biological substances, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,553,616; 5,243,983; and 5,685,300, which patents are incorporated herein by reference. Ultrasonic techniques have also been used widely in biomedical applications. Raman spectroscopy is the preferred technique.  
         [0031]    Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, illustrated are possible procedures by which the aforementioned techniques are used to input nutritional information  12  about food into the system of the present invention. Generally, this involves two main stages: (1) inserting a profile (ultrasonic, spectroscopic, or otherwise) obtained from a food sample into a model developed through profiles of known compositions to determine the proportion of each chemical/nutrient in the sample; and (2) calculating the weight (the nutritional information  12 ) of each chemical/nutrient in the sample by measuring the sample. Whether the procedure of FIG. 3A or FIG. 3B is followed depends upon whether the model is developed using a samples gathered by weight or by volume, but initially the procedures are the same.  
         [0032]    Referring now to FIG. 3A, the procedure begins with the first stage, a determination of the proportion of chemicals/nutrients in a sample, in step  36 . It proceeds to step  38 , where the food sample is scanned by passing a beam from an emitter through the food sample, then to step  40 , where the profile of the reflected beam is detected by a receiver. The emitter could supply a beam from a low-powered laser source or a magnetic field source. Preferably, the emitter and receiver used in steps  38  and  40  are hardware incorporated into the capabilities of the PDA  10 , emitting and receiving signals through the wireless links  26 . In step  42 , the resulting profile is inserted into a model to predict the proportion of each chemical/nutrient in the food sample. The results of this prediction step would be proportions of each chemical/nutrient detected as a percentage by volume of the total food sample.  
         [0033]    One method of creating this model is illustrated in FIG. 4, starting with step  56 . In step  58 , a calibrating sample with a known composition is chosen, i.e., the volume or weight or both of each chemical/nutrient in the calibrating sample is known. For example, the fat could be 50% and carbohydrates could be 50%. Then, it is scanned by passing at least one beam from an emitter through the calibrating sample in step  60 , and the profile of the reflected beam is detected by a receiver in step  62  and stored. The emitter could supply a beam from a low-powered laser source or a magnetic field source. These steps are then repeated beginning at step  58  for a new calibrating sample of known composition until a statistically significant sample size for each chemical/nutrient is analyzed. Then, in step  64 , the stored profiles are used to build, optimize and test a model. The model would predict the proportions of each chemical/nutrient in an input profile as a percentage by volume or a percentage by weight or both and could be created using a variety of chemometric software programs. Some vendors of chemometric software programs include Infometrix, Inc. of Woodinville, Washington and Applied Chemometrics of Sharon, Mass. Preferably, this model is stored in the memory  32  of the PDA  10 . The creation of the model ends at step  66 .  
         [0034]    Returning now to FIG. 3A, after the proportion of each chemical/nutrient in the food sample is determined in step  42 , it is used in the second stage to determine the weight (the nutritional information  12 ) for each chemical/nutrient in the sample. Determining the weight of each chemical/nutrient begins at step  44 , where the volume of the food sample is measured with a volumetric sensor. The volumetric scanner could be any one of a variety of scanners that uses different techniques to determine volume. One scanner is an image scanner, where the scanner determines the volume based on the profile of the food sample. These scanners are currently used in medical applications to determine the volume of an organ, for example, lungs. Another scanner is a molecular volumetric scanner, which scans for the total volume of all molecules in the sample. Regardless of the scanner used, it is preferred that the volumetric sensor is hardware incorporated into the PDA  10 , using the wireless links  26  to send and receive data. After the total volume is measured in step  44 , the volume of each chemical/nutrient identified in step  42  is calculated in step  46  according to the following formula:  
         volume of chemical/nutrient=percentage of chemical/nutrient (by volume)*volume of food sample.  
         [0035]    By example, if the percentage by volume of chemicals/nutrients identified in step  42  include fat (10%), carbohydrates (20%), vitamin A (3%), sodium (4%) and cholesterol (30%), and the volume of food is 300 cc, then the volumes calculated in step  46  would be: 30 cc of fat, 60 cc of carbohydrates, nine cc of vitamin A, 12 cc of sodium, and 90 cc of cholesterol.  
         [0036]    Once the volume of each chemical/nutrient is calculated in step  46 , the density of each chemical/nutrient is obtained from a database of chemicals/nutrients and their densities in step  48  Preferably, this database would be stored in the memory  32  of the PDA  10 . In step  50 , the densities obtained in step  48  are used to calculate the weights of the individual chemicals/nutrients identified in step  42  according to the following formula:  
         weight of chemical/nutrient=volume of chemical/nutrient*density of chemical/nutrient.  
         [0037]    For example, assuming the volumes calculated in step  46  above and densities of 0.667 g/cc for fat, 0.167 g/cc for carbohydrates, 0.222 g/cc for vitamin A, 0.5 g/cc for sodium, and 0.167 g/cc for cholesterol, the weights calculated in step  50  would be: 20 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of vitamin A, six grams of sodium, and 15 grams of cholesterol. After reporting this nutritional information  12  to the system of the present invention in step  52 , this procedure ends at step  54 .  
         [0038]    Referring now to FIG. 3B, shown is an alternative procedure for determining the nutritional information  12  for input into the present invention when the model described in FIG. 4 predicts chemicals/nutrients as a percentage by weight, not volume as in FIG. 3A. As in FIG. 3A, such a procedure begins with the first stage, a determination of the proportion of chemicals/nutrients in a sample, in step  37  of FIG. 3B. It proceeds to step  39 , where the food sample is scanned by passing a beam from an emitter through the food sample, then to step  41 , where the profile of the reflected beam is detected by a receiver. Again, the emitter could supply a beam from a low-powered laser source or a magnetic field source. Preferably, the emitter and receiver used in steps  39  and  41  are hardware incorporated into the capabilities of the PDA  10 , emitting and receiving signals through the wireless links  26 . In step  43 , the resulting profile is inserted into a model to predict the proportion of each chemical/nutrient in the food sample. The results of this prediction step would be proportions of each chemical/nutrient detected as a percentage by weight of the total food sample.  
         [0039]    In step  45 , the total weight of the food sample is detected using a weight scanner. The weight scanner could be any one of a variety of scanners that uses different techniques to determine weight. One scanner, for example, is a molecular weight scanner, which scans for the total weight of all molecules in the sample. Regardless of the scanner used, it is preferred that the weight sensor is hardware incorporated into the PDA  10 , using the wireless links  26  to send and receive data. After the total weight is measured in step  45 , the weight of each chemical/nutrient identified in step  43  is calculated in step  47  according to the following formula:  
         weight of chemical/nutrient=percentage of chemical/nutrient (by weight)*weight of food sample.  
         [0040]    By example, if the percentage by weight of chemicals/nutrients identified in step  43  include fat (20%), carbohydrates (10%), vitamin A (2%), sodium (6%) and cholesterol (15%), and the weight of food is 100 grams, then the weights calculated in step  47  would be: 20 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of vitamin A, six grams of sodium, and 15 grams of cholesterol. After reporting this nutritional information  12  to the system of the present invention in step  49 , this procedure ends at step  51 .  
         [0041]    As mentioned, the preferred method of inputting nutritional information  12  into the system of the present invention is through direct measurement techniques wherein the emitter, receiver, and sensor used in the measurements are incorporated as hardware into the PDA  10 , and each model and database, if required, used to create the nutritional information  12  from these measurements is stored in the memory  32  of the PDA  10 . Alternately, a stand alone device could use one of the specified techniques to calculate the nutritional information  12  using databases stored in its memory and transmit the results to the PDA  10  through a wireless link  26 . Less preferred is indirect measurement, where the PDA  10  receives input from an external device designed to accept manual inputs of food consumed and to calculate nutritional information  12  from that input. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,128, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a hand held device that accepts manual inputs of food items consumed and calculates caloric and fat content.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 5 illustrates possible biological information available as inputs into the software system of the present invention. Existing health monitoring devices are used to develop inputs transmitted to the PDA  10 , preferably by means of wireless links  26 . The possible devices are those that measure: muscle mass  74 ; body fat  76 ; heart rate  78 ; blood volume  80 ; glucose level  82 ; blood cholesterol  84 ; and other devices  86  such as devices that measure weight and height. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,616 discloses a method and apparatus for determining concentrations of various biological substances. U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,983 discloses a method and apparatus for determining the concentration of a Raman active molecule, preferably glucose  82 . U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,300 discloses a method of measuring the concentration of both glucose  82  and cholesterol  84 . A method and system to measure muscle mass  74  or body fat  76  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,825, which is incorporated herein by reference. Real-time systems used to measure biological substances are not commercially available. However, for the measurement of glucose, for example, the systems closest to Food and Drug Administration approval are the GlucoWatch Biographer by Cygnus, Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. and the CGMS by MiniMed, Inc. of Sylmar, Calif. Preferably, the devices produce readings transmitted to the PDA  10  as inputs by means of wireless links  26 . However, the manual input means  28  of the PDA  10  could also be used to input the information from these devices.  
         [0043]    As one example of the use of the biological information  14 , refer to FIG. 6. Once the biological information  14  is input into the PDA  10  in step  88 , it is compared in step  89  to a database of normal conditions. The database is created using information input from health care providers  20 . If all biological information  14  is normal, the biological information  14  is merely stored in step  90 , and the procedure ends. If any of the biological information  14  is abnormal, then the system checks in step  91  whether it has the capability to signal the pharmaceutical delivery system  24 . If the system does not, the PDA  10  reports the abnormal condition in step  92 . Preferably, the abnormal condition is included in the health report  22 . Alternatively, reporting an abnormal condition in step  92  involves the sounding of an alarm. The procedure then ends.  
         [0044]    Returning to step  91 , if the system can signal the pharmaceutical delivery system  24 , the procedure checks dosage information in step  93 . The dosage information is input into the system of the PDA  10  as shown in FIG. 9. Returning to FIG. 6, based on the dosage information received in step  93 , the system then signals the delivery system  24  to deliver the correct pharmaceutical in step  94 . Such a delivery system  24  could dispense vitamins or medications using a transdermal patch or a pump permanently lodged in the user&#39;s body. Pager-sized insulin pumps controlled by a computer chip designed to be worn 24 hours a day are already available through several manufacturers. The smallest currently available is the Disetronic Dahedi 25 from Disetronic Medical Systems USA, in Minneapolis, Minn. After the signal is sent in step  94 , the procedure ends.  
         [0045]    In FIG. 7, the various sources for calculating calories expended  16  by a user used as inputs into the software system of the present invention are shown. Preferably, the PDA  10  is capable of receiving calories expended  16  through wireless links  26  from existing sensor technology available with many exercise machines  96 , including such devices as treadmills, pedometers and rowing machines, among others.  
         [0046]    The PDA  10  is also capable of receiving calories expended  18  from a separate device  98 , portable or otherwise, that calculates calories expended generally by using as inputs a user&#39;s exercise activities  100 , the amount of time expended in the activities  102  and a database  104  of activities and their related caloric expenditures. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,128. Preferably, the software system of the present invention receives this information from the separate device  98  through a wireless link  26 . In an alternative aspect of the present invention, the PDA  10  incorporates this method of calculating calories expended  16 , which is then used as an input into the software system of the present invention.  
         [0047]    Finally, FIG. 7 shows that the PDA  10  is capable of receiving calories expended  16  by use of a real-time oxygen sensor measurement system  106 . The oxygen sensor measurement system  106  would sense the real-time volume of air expired by the user and the oxygen content of the expired air and calculate the calories expended  16  using the WEIR method  108 , or other methods of indirect calorimetry  110 , such as closed-circuit and open-circuit spirometry. In the WEIR method, for example, the calories expended per minute are calculated using the volume of air expired by the user (Ve) and the oxygen content of the expired air (%Oe) in the following relationship:  
         calories expended per minute ( kcal/min )= Ve *(1.044-0.0499* % Oe ).  
         [0048]    The user would indicate to the oxygen sensor measurement system  106  when to begin and end recording real-time expiration of air, then the calories expended would be calculated by multiplying the total time by the calories expended per minute, as calculated above. For further details on the WEIR system, see McArdle, et al.,  Essentials of Exercise Physiology,  2nd ed. (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins 1999), which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 8 shows how the system of the present invention uses the various inputs to generate a health report  22 , including certain recommendations. The procedure starts with step  112 , and proceeds to step  114 , where nutritional information  12  about food is input. In step  116 , calories expended  16  are input, and in step  118 , biological information  14  is input. In step  120 , health goals of the user are identified. These health goals could include weight loss, strength training or muscle toning, and can be input manually or from other external sources, such as internet websites  18  or health care providers  20 . In step  122 , the health goals identified in step  120  are assessed and adjusted based on the inputs. Then, in step  124 , a health report  22  would be produced containing recommended training exercises and diet, including an assessment of the progress towards the user&#39;s goals. The particular contents of the health report  22  are by example only. As another example of the contents of the health report  22 , the contents could merely summarize the inputs. The health report  22  could be produced upon prompting by a user, or could be produced each time an input changed. The procedure ends at step  126 .  
         [0050]    As previously mentioned, this health report  22  preferably includes the reporting of an abnormal condition In one aspect of the invention, the system would signal a pharmaceutical delivery system  24  in the event of an abnormal condition, as shown in step  94  of FIG. 6. Alternatively, the system could signal a delivery of pharmaceuticals according to a predetermined schedule of delivery. FIG. 9 shows how the system of the present invention would receive dosage information needed to signal the pharmaceutical delivery system  24 . The procedure to gather this information for use by the PDA  10  in signaling the pharmaceutical delivery system  24  begins with step  128 , and proceeds to step  130 , where the PDA  10  receives insurance and history information, preferably through the wireless links  26 , about the patient from health care providers  20 . Alternatively, the information would be manually input through the manual input means  28 . In step  132 , whether a particular doctor authorized under an insurance plan is queried. If the answer is no, such information is reported in the health report  22  or otherwise in step  134 . The procedure then ends at step  136 .  
         [0051]    Returning to step  132 , if the particular doctor is authorized to see the patient, then the patient sees the doctor. Information on pharmaceuticals is then received from the doctor in step  138 . Such information would include name of the pharmaceutical, its dosage amount, and information on when it should be dispensed. For some pharmaceuticals, dispensing information would be a dosage schedule comprising dates and times. For others, dispensing information would indicate which biological information  14  must be reported as abnormal for the particular pharmaceutical to be delivered upon a signal from the PDA  10 . Once this pharmaceutical information is in the system of the PDA  10 , the procedure ends at step  136 .