“Behavior Change System” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20240112589): Patent Application

2024 APR 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventors Kand, Khanderao (San Jose, CA, US); Lawrence, David McKinnon (Geyserville, CA, US); Lee, Eugene H. (Palo Alto, CA, US), filed on October 5, 2023, was made available online on April 4, 2024, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application has not been assigned to a company or institution.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “There are multiple approaches to facilitating changes in behavior to improve health and well-being. However, an approach that works for one person may not work for others. What is needed is a system that can select and provide a personalized approach to facilitating behavior change that is tailored to the qualities and needs of each individual.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The following implementations and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools, and methods that are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not necessarily limiting in scope. In various implementations one or more of the above-described problems have been addressed, while other implementations are directed to other improvements.

“In various implementations, a method includes receiving user data for a user indicating a behavior-specific behavior change phenotype of the user including values of behavior-specific behavior change phenotype variables for the user; selecting a behavior change model to apply in facilitating a behavior change in the user based on the behavior-specific behavior change phenotype of the user; receiving one or more of activity data of the user and location data of the user from one or more of a monitoring device of the user and an application executing on a device of the user; determining a context associated with the user from the one or more of the activity data of the user and the location data of the user; applying the behavior change model to the user based on the context associated with the user by applying at least one behavior change technique (“BCT”) of the behavior change model according to the context associated with the user; generating behavior change communication instructions for use in facilitating the behavior change in the user based on application of the at least one BCT of the behavior change model according to the context associated with the user; and controlling communication with the user according to the behavior change communication instructions to facilitate the behavior change in the user based on the behavior-specific behavior change phenotype of the user.

“In various implementations, a method includes identifying an experimental population for purposes of testing a behavior change model; applying the behavior change model to the experimental population; and updating the behavior change model according to behavior change outcomes observed through application of the behavior change model to the experimental population.

“In various implementations, a system includes engines and/or means configured to perform the methods described above.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. (canceled)

“2. A system comprising: a plurality of activity and context monitoring devices of a user, each of the plurality of activity and context monitoring devices of the user including an ultra thin client for monitoring and transmitting activity data of the user and context data of the user, the activity data including heart rate readings of the user, whether a user has taken their blood pressure medication, and a distance the user has walked, and the context data including a user location of the user at a particular time and a plurality of activities the user is performing at the particular time; a plurality of behavior nudge devices of the user for receiving and producing content for the user as part of facilitating a desired behavior change in the user, the content including an auditory message and a visual message, each of the plurality of behavior nudge devices including a speaker for producing the auditory message to the user and a display for presenting the visual message to the user, and the plurality of behavior nudge devices further for receiving and presenting contextual notifications based on the desired behavior change in the user, health data of the user, the activity data of the user, and the context data of the user, the contextual notifications including a reminder to the user of the desired behavior change in the user; one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform: receiving first user data for the user, the first user data including the desired behavior change in the user; receiving the health data for the user from an Electronic Health Record and a health insurance claims system; receiving, from the plurality of activity and context monitoring devices of the user, the activity data of the user and the context data of the user; maintaining a user profile of the user, the user profile including the desired behavior change in the user, behavior changes that have occurred in the user, goals of the user, and communication preferences of the user; determining the content to produce for the user, the content being determined based on the desired behavior change in the user, the health data of the user, the activity data of the user, and the context data of the user; selecting a form in which to produce the content; generating content data to be used to produce the content in the selected form; providing the content data to the plurality of behavior nudge devices of the user for use in producing the content in the selected form in order to facilitate the desired behavior change in the user; receiving second user data for the user, the second user data indicating one or more additional desired behavior changes in the user; and updating the user profile based on the one or more additional desired behavior changes in the user.

“3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user data is received from the user directly and from an application utilized by the user.

“4. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of activity and context monitoring devices comprises a wearable device.

“5. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of activity and context monitoring devices is coupled to a wearable device.

“6. The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the system to perform: providing an interface to a caregiver of the user through which the caregiver can view the activity data of the user, the health data of the user, and the context data of the user; and receiving from the caregiver, via the interface, motivation rules and recommendation rules to facilitate the behavior change in the user, the motivation rules and recommendation rules being based on the desired behavior change in the user, the activity data of the user, the health data of the user, and the context data of the user.

“7. The system of claim 6, wherein the desired behavior change in the user is a reduction in calories consumed, and the recommendation rules comprise a recommendation of a restaurant.

“8. The system of claim 6, wherein the desired behavior change in the user is an increase in physical fitness, and the recommendation rules comprise a recommendation of a gym.”

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Kand, Khanderao; Lawrence, David McKinnon; Lee, Eugene H. Behavior Change System. U.S. Patent Application Number 20240112589, filed October 5, 2023 and posted April 4, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20240112589)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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