Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Respiratory
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-04
2001-05-15
O'Connor, Cary (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Respiratory
C600S300000, C128S904000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06231519
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to telecommunications, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for using a mobile communication tool to provide air quality analysis based on human reactions and clustering methods.
2. Description of Related Art
Both the prevalence of patients suffering from respiratory diseases, such as pulmonary emphysema, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchitis, and the cost of treating those patients is rising dramatically. For example, about 15 million people in the United States have asthma with more than 100 million days of restricted activity annually. In May 1998, the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States estimated that healthcare costs for asthma was more than $6 billion a year. Further, in January 1997, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases estimated that the loss in productivity by working parents caring for children who miss school due to asthma: was $1 billion a year. In addition, the incidence of asthma has increased dramatically, e.g., in Finland the number of children taking medication for asthma in 1986 was 6,400, but increased to 21,600 by 1996. Therefore, new research in controlling respiratory diseases such as asthma continues to find widespread public and private support.
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. In susceptible individuals this inflammation causes recurrent episodes of coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficult breathing. Inflammation makes the airways sensitive to stimuli such as allergens, chemical irritants, tobacco smoke, cold air, or exercise. When exposed to these stimuli, the airways may become swollen, constricted, filled with mucus, and hyper-responsive to stimuli. The resulting airflow limitation is reversible (but not completely so in some patients), either spontaneously or with treatment. When asthma therapy is adequate, inflammation can be reduced over the long term, symptoms can usually be controlled, and most asthma-related problems prevented.
As suggested above, preventing the development of asthma attacks is a major goal of current research. Evidence now indicates that the strongest risk factors for developing asthma are exposure to environmental factors, such as allergens irritants. The identification and control of triggers, i.e., factors that precipitate symptoms and attacks of asthma, are essential for successful asthma management. For example, at least the following factors have been identified as triggers: tobacco smoke (active and passive), air pollution and smoke in cities, cockroach allergens, dust mites, cat and other pet allergens, pollen, mold spores, low atmosphere ozone, low or high air temperature, low or high air humidity and ambient chemicals and gases.
In addition to the separate risk factors, each individual reacts differently to each of these, and to different combinations of these risk factors. When common allergens and irritants that trigger attacks are removed from the patient's environment, asthma symptoms and hospitalizations can be prevented and medications reduced.
Avoiding triggers means changing behavior, which may be very difficult for some patients or families. Each asthma patient must work to find the most appropriate ways to avoid his or her triggers. Some television networks already provide basic information about pollens (birch tree, hay, etc.) and basic information about ozone levels is available in some locations. However, this information is in very general form, and an individual does not have the means to estimate the overall effects from a subjective point of view. Further, objective measurements are important because patients and physicians often do not recognize asthma symptoms or their severity. Thus, lung function measurements are used to assess airflow limitation and help diagnose and monitor the course of asthma. Accordingly, lung function measurements for asthma management are used in the same manner as blood pressure measurements for diagnosing and monitoring hypertension.
Peak flow meters measure peak expiratory flow (PEF), the fastest rate at which air moves through the airways during a forced expiration. PEF provides a simple, quantitative, reproducible measure of airway obstruction. Peak flow meters are cheap, lightweight and portable. Further, repeated measures are usually highly reproducible with each individual patient.
Nevertheless, the ability of individuals to identify what combinations of risk factors, e.g., location, allergen and irritant, increase the likelihood of an attack is very difficult, if not impossible. However, it would be extremely valuable for each individual with asthma to better identify these situations to better manage their disease and symptoms. In principle, it would be possible to give information about the air quality to each individual, but in practice this is impossible since all the needed measurement devices for all possible risk factors, and in all needed locations are not available.
It can also be seen that there is a need for a method and apparatus to collect risk factor information and location data associated with asthma patients and to provide information to these patients about the air quality.
It can also be seen that there is a need for a system that uses a mobile two-way communication tool to facilitate air quality analysis based on human reactions and clustering methods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome the limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses a method and apparatus to collect risk factor information and location data associated with asthma patients and to provide information to these patients about the air quality.
The present invention solves the above-described problems by providing a system that uses a mobile two-way communication tool to facilitate air quality analysis based on human reactions and clustering methods.
A method in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes measuring predetermined physiological and dynamic parameters associated with a user, transmitting the measured predetermined parameters to an analysis tool, analyzing the measured physiological and dynamic predetermined parameters to determine advisory information associated with the measured predetermined physiological and dynamic parameters and transmitting the advisory information to the user.
Other embodiments of a method in accordance with the principles of the invention may include alternative or optional additional aspects. One such aspect of the present invention is that the measuring predetermined physiological and dynamic parameters associated with a user includes measuring physiological conditions of the user.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the physiological conditions includes respiratory function indications.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the dynamic parameters includes local information.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the local information includes a time of day.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the local information includes geographic locations.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the transmitting is performed using a mobile phone, a mobile 2-way pager, a wireless personal digital assistant or an Internet accessing device.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the analyzing includes mapping the data using a self-organizing map.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the advisory information includes a risk map.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the risk map includes a warning associated with a location of a user, wherein the location is identified as having a high risk associated therewith.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the risk is personal to the user.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the risk is associated with an asthma type.
These and
Blants Lioudmila
Heinonen Pekka
Makipaa Mikko
Wikberg Harri
Altera Law Group LLC
Astorino Michael
Nokia Corporation
O'Connor Cary
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