Patent ID: 7771318

Claim:
A system for monitoring position of a user, the system comprising: a wearable device, wearable by the user, comprising: a composite unit comprising at least one tube disposed along the user's spine for providing an indication of a curvature of the user's spine where the tube is placed, said tube comprising: a plurality of disks placed at regular intervals inside the tube, said disks having an oval shape in an un-flexed state such that when the user's spine is bent the disks located near the bend become flexed and a resulting deformation of the disk produces an electrical signal; and a plurality of sensor elements operatively coupled with the plurality of disks; and wherein the composite unit further comprises: a processing unit operatively coupled with the composite unit, the processing unit comprising: a receiver for receiving each indication of position change provided by each of the plurality of sensor elements to provide a composite position signal wherein the plurality of sensor elements are each operatively coupled with the receiver; a transmitter, operatively coupled with the receiver, for transmitting the composite position signal to a processor; an internal memory for receiving an initial placement position for each of the plurality of sensor elements; and the processor, operatively coupled with the receiver, for receiving the composite position signal and computing an indication of the user's posture; and a remote processing unit wirelessly coupled to the wearable device to monitor the position of the user as indicated by the curvature of the user's spine.