Patent Description:
Currently, there is no widely deployed system to dose the exposure to explosive blast. Given the nature of TBI, the wide variability in explosions and physical configurations during a blast, and variability in human response to each blast, a widely deployed system to all personnel in a theater is needed to build a database of sufficient size to allow real-time dosimeter data to be used for triage. <CIT> discloses a mouthpiece assembly for use in detecting impact forces on the neck and head of a user and provides a visual and/or audible indication when the magnitude of an impact exceeds a threshold value. <CIT> discloses a method for using an earpiece in a work environment, which monitors sounds pressure levels periodically, and later downloads that information so that any potential noise compliance issues in the work environment can be identified.

A dosimetry device not explicitly covered by the claims of this application includes at least one sensor in a housing and a dosimetry processing device with a memory. The dosimetry processing device is coupled to the at least one sensor in the housing. The dosimetry processing device is configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory comprising: obtaining readings from the at least one sensor; storing the readings; conducting an analysis of the stored readings to determine an injury risk assessment and outputting at least one of the stored readings or the conducted analysis of the determined injury risk assessment.

A method for using at least one dosimetry device includes securing at least one dosimetry device to one or more different locations on or about a person. The at least one dosimetry device includes a dosimetry processing device with a memory coupled to at least one sensor in a housing. The at least one sensor is configured to derive either a) acceleration readings generated from movement of the person, or b) pressure readings, resulting from an event. The method further comprises obtaining, by the at least one dosimetry device, readings from the at least one sensor, and storing, by the at least one dosimetry device, the readings. The method further comprises conducting, by the at least one dosimetry device, an analysis of the stored readings to determine an injury risk assessment comprising providing individualized injury threshold data based on personal medical history data and aggregate medical history data and comparing the individualized injury threshold data to the readings from the at least one sensor, and outputting, by the at least one dosimetry device, at least one of the stored readings or the conducted analysis of the injury risk assessment.

A dosimetry device not explicitly covered by the claims of this application includes at least one sensor in a housing, a global positioning device coupled to the dosimetry processing device, and a dosimetry processing device with a memory. The dosimetry processing device is coupled to the at least one sensor and the global positioning device in the housing. The dosimetry processing device is configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory comprising: obtaining readings from the at least one sensor; storing the readings; storing location data from the global positioning device with the obtained readings; and outputting the stored readings and the location data.

A method for using at least one dosimetry device not explicitly covered by the claims of this application includes securing at least one dosimetry device to one or more different locations on an object. The dosimetry device includes a dosimetry processing device with a memory coupled to at least one sensor in a housing. The dosimetry device obtains readings from the sensor, stores location data from the global positioning device with the obtained readings, and outputs the stored readings and the location data.

This technology provides a number of advantages including providing a more effective and efficient event monitoring dosimetry apparatus. With this technology, event data from an explosion, blast, blow or other event can be captured and utilized to provide real time information on obtained readings and/or conducted analyses with or without location data. The analyses can include determination of an injury risk assessment that can be used for triage. Additionally, this technology can capture and provide event data that will help to provide a better understanding the mechanisms of traumatic and other brain injuries resulting from an explosion, blast, blow or other event.

This technology can be used in a variety of different applications, such as for the military, sporting activities, and other daily activities by way of example only. For military applications, this technology could be helmet mounted, helmet strap mounted, worn on the torso, mounted within vehicle cabins, on vehicle exteriors, and/or on buildings by way of example only. For sporting activities, this technology could be mounted within helmets, helmet straps, headbands, caps, and/or on uniforms by way of example only. For daily activities, this could be mounted to helmets used for bicycles and motorcycles by way of example.

An exemplary event monitoring dosimetry apparatus <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>-. The event monitoring dosimetry apparatus <NUM> includes a housing assembly <NUM> with a dosimetry processing device <NUM> with a memory <NUM>, an interface device <NUM>, a pressure sensor <NUM>, an inertial monitoring unit <NUM>, a power system <NUM>, a global positioning system <NUM>, an engagement device <NUM>, and display <NUM>, although the apparatus <NUM> could include other types and numbers of systems, devices, components and elements in other configurations. This technology provides a number of advantages including provide a more effective and efficient event monitoring dosimetry apparatus.

Referring more specifically to <FIG>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> comprises one or more processors internally coupled to the memory <NUM>, although other numbers and types of systems, devices, components, and elements in other configurations and locations can be used. The one or more processors in the dosimetry processing device <NUM> executes a program of stored instructions for one or more aspects of the present technology as described and illustrated by way of the examples herein, although other types and numbers of processing devices and logic could be used and the processor could execute other numbers and types of programmed instructions. A variety of different types of processors can be used.

The memory <NUM> in the dosimetry processing device <NUM> stores these programmed instructions for one or more aspects of the present technology as described and illustrated herein, although some or all of the programmed instructions could be stored and executed elsewhere. A variety of different types of memory storage devices, that are coupled to the one or more processors in the dosimetry processing device <NUM>, can be used for the memory <NUM> in the dosimetry processing device <NUM>, such as a solid state memory by way of example. The flow chart shown in <FIG> is representative of example steps or actions of this technology that may be embodied or expressed as one or more non-transitory computer or machine readable instructions stored in memory <NUM> that may be executed by the one or more processors.

The interface device <NUM> in the dosimetry processing device <NUM> is used to operatively couple and communicate between the dosimetry processing device <NUM> and one or more external computing or storage devices, although other types and numbers of communication networks or systems with other types and numbers of connections and configurations can be used. In this example, the interface device <NUM> is a USB port, although other types and numbers of hard wired or wireless interfaces can be utilized.

Although an example of the dosimetry processing device <NUM> is described herein, it can be implemented on any suitable computer system or computing device. It is to be understood that the devices and systems of the examples described herein are for exemplary purposes, as many variations of the specific hardware and software used to implement the examples are possible, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art(s).

Furthermore, the system of the examples may be conveniently implemented using one or more general purpose computer systems, microprocessors, digital signal processors, and micro-controllers, programmed according to the teachings of the examples, as described and illustrated herein, and as will be appreciated by those ordinary skill in the art.

The examples may also be embodied as a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for one or more aspects of the present technology as described and illustrated by way of the examples herein, as described herein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps necessary to implement the methods of the examples, as described and illustrated herein.

The pressure sensor <NUM> is coupled to the dosimetry processing device <NUM>, although the pressures sensor <NUM> could be coupled to other types and numbers of devices. In this example, the pressure sensor <NUM> is a single pressure sensor, although other types and numbers of pressure sensors could be used.

Referring back to <FIG>, the inertial monitoring unit <NUM> is a low-g (for example < <NUM>) three -axis accelerometer to capture linear acceleration in three axes, although other types such as a high-g (for example > <NUM>) and numbers of inertial measurement units could be used in other combinations. For example, the inertial measurement unit <NUM> could be a higher-g accelerometer or a gyroscope which records rotational acceleration.

The power system <NUM> includes a battery <NUM> coupled between a regulator <NUM> and an energy harvester device <NUM>, although other types of power systems with other types and numbers of components, such as one without an energy harvester and/or without a regulator <NUM> could be used. In this example, the battery <NUM> is non-rechargeable and non-user replaceable so the dosimetry apparatus is designed to be disposable by way of example only, although other types of batteries can be used, such as a user-replaceable and rechargeable batteries. With this exemplary disposable design and the associated lower cost, multiple dosimetry apparatuses <NUM> may be utilized on each person which improves the quality of the collected data and the resulting injury risk assessments. Additionally, with this disposable design for this example of the dosimetry apparatus it is easier to incorporate design changes and update algorithms as the dosimetry apparatus is rolled out for product shipments. As a result, with this exemplary design the latest version always is being delivered out to customers in the field, while traditional (non-disposable) systems would have to somehow incorporate an upgrade. The regulator <NUM> is coupled to regulate power provided by the battery <NUM> to the dosimetry processing device <NUM>. The energy harvester device <NUM>, such as solar or vibration energy device by way of example only, can be used to supply power to the system and/or recharge the battery <NUM>, although other types and numbers of energy harvester devices could be used.

An optional global position system (GPS) <NUM> is coupled to the dosimetry processing device <NUM> to provide location data for the dosimetry apparatus which can be correlated with and stored with the obtained sensor readings, although other types and numbers of location determination systems could be used.

The engagement device <NUM> is coupled to the dosimetry processing device <NUM>, although the engagement device could be coupled in other manners and other types and numbers of engagement devices, such as a button, could be used. The engagement device <NUM> can be used to request an output of readings including of identified events and analyses of the readings to provide immediate triage. Additionally, other types and numbers of mechanisms for engaging the dosimetry processing device <NUM> can be used.

The display device <NUM> is used to provide a status indication for the output stored readings and/or of the analysis of the stored readings associated with identified events to provide immediate triage of the severity of an event, although other types and numbers of displays which provide other types of outputs can be used.

Referring to <FIG>, an exemplary method for monitoring events with the exemplary event monitoring dosimetry apparatus will now be described. At step <NUM>, at least one dosimetry apparatus <NUM> is secured to a location on an object, although other manners for securing the one or more dosimetry apparatuses <NUM> to the object can be used, such as detachable securing can be used.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device in the dosimetry apparatus <NUM> obtains readings from the at least one of the pressure sensor <NUM> or the inertial measurement unit <NUM>, although the dosimetry apparatus <NUM> can obtain readings from both as well as from other types and numbers of sensors. In this example, the pressure sensor <NUM> is a single pressure sensor which obtains pressure readings. Additionally, in this example, the inertial measurement unit <NUM> is a three-axis accelerometer which obtains linear acceleration readings in real time, although other types of inertial measurement units can be used, such as a gyroscope which obtains rotational acceleration readings.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> optionally may obtain location data from the global positioning system <NUM> which is correlated with the obtained sensor readings, although other types of positional information could be obtained.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> stores the obtained pressure readings from the pressure sensor <NUM> and/or acceleration readings from the inertial measurement unit <NUM> with the location data from the global positioning device <NUM> (if obtained) in memory <NUM>, although other types and amounts of readings and other data could be stored in other locations and manners. For example, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> may select a smaller subset of the information, such as portions of the obtained pressure readings from the pressure sensor <NUM>, the acceleration readings from the inertial measurement unit <NUM>, and/or the location data from the global positioning device <NUM> for storage. Additionally, the global positioning device <NUM> also may be coupled to an emergency beacon or other transmitter or transceiver <NUM> in the dosimetry apparatus <NUM> that provides a coded or other data report to a designated device or other system about a blast or other exposure event, such as blast location and severity for an entity with the dosimetry apparatus <NUM>.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> also may conduct a real time analysis of the obtained pressure and/or acceleration readings to determine an injury risk assessment based on the conducted analysis, although other types and numbers of analyses based on other types and numbers of sensors can be performed, such as conducing the injury risk assessment based on obtained readings from multiple sensors. In this example, the obtained readings may be compared by the dosimetry processing device <NUM> against stored tables of threshold readings in memory <NUM> to identify when one or more of the obtained readings are above the corresponding stored threshold reading in the table to identify an event. Additionally, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> conduct an analysis of the severity of the event based on an amount the one or more of the obtained readings are above the corresponding stored threshold reading in the table, although other manners for conducting an analysis can be used. The dosimetry processing device <NUM> stores the conducted analysis in memory <NUM>, although the conducted analyses can be stored in other locations and manners and other types of processing of the conducted analyses and data could be executed. For example, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> may utilize captured readings and conducted analyses associated with particular individuals to tailor and adjust criteria and thresholds for each of these individuals, based on historical medical data, such as individual medical history data, individual injury historical data, or historical group medical data, such as readings and resulting assessments obtained by other dosimetry apparatuses <NUM> over a period of time, by way of example only. The criteria, thresholds and other metrics could be automatically adjusted by the dosimetry processing device <NUM> based on the data obtained above, although other manners for making these adjustments could be made, such as presenting a GUI to an operator to enter adjustments.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> determines whether an output is requested, such as by activation of the engagement device <NUM> or a request via the interface <NUM>, such as a USB, from another computing device, although other manners for output requests could be used. The activating of the engagement device could trigger a display on display device <NUM>, although other types of outputs could be triggered, such as an output of data and other information. The engagement device <NUM> also can have other functions, such as outputting different information based on a number of times the button is pressed or the length of time the button is pressed or powering on or off the dosimetry apparatus <NUM>. The request for data through the interface <NUM> from another computing device can be for all or requested portions of the stored data. If in step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> determines an output has not been requested, then the No branch is taken back to step <NUM> as described earlier. If in step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> determines an output has been requested, then the Yes branch is taken to step <NUM>.

In step <NUM>, the dosimetry processing device <NUM> provides the requested output, such as a display on one of the display device <NUM> or via a request and response via the interface <NUM> and processed by dosimetry processing device <NUM>, comprising at least a portion of one or more of the stored readings, the identified event, a determined injury risk assessment based on the conducted analysis, data relating to output requests, and/or any related data by way of example only, although the information could be output to other devices, other types and amounts of information and other data could be provided and the information and data can be obtained in other manners, such as through a connection with another computing device interacting with the dosimetry processing device <NUM> via the interface <NUM>. Next, this method can return back to step <NUM> until theexemplary dosimetry apparatus <NUM> is turned off or the power runs out.

Accordingly, as illustrated and described with reference to the examples herein this technology provides a more effective and efficient event monitoring dosimetry apparatus. With this technology, event data from an explosion, blast, blow or other event can be captured and utilized to provide real time information on obtained readings and/or conducted analyses with or without location data. The technology can provide a real time assessment of risk injury to guide triage immediately post event. The detailed event information can be used for post-event analysis to guide medical treatment. Additionally, this technology can capture and provide event data that will help to provide a better understanding the mechanisms of traumatic and other brain injuries resulting from an explosion, blast, blow or other event.

Claim 1:
A method for using at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>), the method comprising:
securing at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>) to one or more different locations on or about a person, the at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>) comprising a dosimetry processing device (<NUM>) with a memory (<NUM>) coupled to at least one sensor in a housing (<NUM>), the at least one sensor being configured to derive either a) acceleration readings generated from movement of the person, or b) pressure readings, resulting from an event;
obtaining, by the at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>), readings from the at least one sensor;
storing, by the at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>), the readings;
conducting, by the at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>), an analysis of the stored readings to determine an injury risk assessment comprising providing individualized injury threshold data based on personal medical history data and aggregate medical history data and comparing the individualized injury threshold data to the readings from the at least one sensor; and
outputting, by the at least one dosimetry device (<NUM>), at least one of the conducted analysis of the injury risk assessment or the stored readings.