Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Automated Health Data Acquisition, Processing And Communication System”, for Approval (USPTO 20230019375): Patent Application

2023 FEB 08 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Heuer, Manuel (Zollikon, CH); Leason, David (Chappaqua, NY, US); Naef, Andre (Zurich, CH); Ohnemus, Peter (Herrliberg, CH), filed on September 15, 2022, was made available online on January 19, 2023.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Despite advances in many areas of technology, there are still barriers to assessing the relative health of a person in a rapid, cost effective and timely manner. With the increase in health care costs and prevalence of diseases related to unhealthy lifestyles, such as diabetes and heart disease, it is important to assess the relative health of individuals, and this has not been adequately addressed. Moreover, in many areas of the world, access to doctors is limited. Even in areas of the world where access to physicians is considered excellent, a doctor’s time is considered a precious commodity and there are often long waiting lists and doctor-to-specialist referral systems have to be navigated before a patient is seen. In more developed countries the ratio of doctors to the population can be on the order of 1:1,000 persons, while in less developed countries the ratio can be 1:100,000. There are also cost barriers to having access to a doctor because an appointment with a doctor can be very expensive, especially if an individual does not have any health insurance or lacks sufficient coverage. Accordingly, it can be very difficult to gain access to medical professionals in order to receive information about one’s health.

“Even individuals that have access to his or her health information, the mechanisms for conveying that information to others is lacking or non-existent. Privacy laws restrict the type of information that can be shared and the manner in which it can be shared. Privacy laws relating to health information are particularly strict in regard to the information that can be shared. This is to protect a person from disclosure of sensitive information. Accordingly, the sharing of health related information is generally discouraged. It is also difficult to share health related information with friends and family. Often health information is only verbally conveyed by a doctor to a patient, or the patient will only receive paper copies of lab test results. Systems are lacking for easily sharing such information with others, especially with large groups of persons located in geographically remote locations.

“Furthermore, programs aimed at improving an individual’s diet are usually based on an assessment of the type and the amount of food consumed using so called Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs). Based on the results, the programs give a “roadmap.” For most users, this “roadmap” is relatively easy to follow and many of them achieve their nutritional goals. Unfortunately, many changes fail to become second nature to the user, and he or she often reverts back to ‘old’ behaviors. Another limitation of FFQs is that people tend to forget when and what they eat and often underestimate the amount and frequency of eating. Accurate documentation is also a laborious and time-consuming task, which often leads to loss of motivation.

“The present application addresses these and other concerns.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In one or more implementations, the present application includes a system and method for computing a Health Score of an individual. Health data and extrinsic data are received that are parameters for computation of the Health Score. The received data can be combined using an algorithm being implemented as code executing in a processor so as to compute the Health Score of the individual wherein parameters comprising one portion of the data interacts with parameters comprising another portion of the data. Further, the computed Health Score is output to an interface of the user device. Information concerning the parameters’ interaction are selectively output to the interface that explain which changes in the parameters are significant drivers of the change in the Health Score.

“In one or more implementations, the Health Score is presented in the interface as falling in one of a plurality of predefined bands. Moreover, the bands can comprise a relative scale in comparison to fixed percentile criteria. Alternatively (or in addition), the bands are presented in a color-coded manner within the interface.

“In one or more implementations, code is executed in the processor to configure the processor to simulate score evolution using a trend in the extrinsic data. Additionally, an analytical engine is provided that comprises code executing in the processor to configure the processor to set, combine, arrange and/or calculate values for one or more of the parameters. The analytical engine can utilize one or more mathematical models in computing the Health Score, which can include a cardiovascular risk model or a lifestyle model.

“Various features, aspects and advantages of the invention can be appreciated from the following Description of Certain Embodiments of the Invention and the accompanying Drawing Figures.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for computing a health score of an individual, comprising: receiving health data and extrinsic data as parameters for computation of the health score; combining the received data using an algorithm being implemented as code executing in a processor so as to compute the health score of the individual wherein parameters comprising one portion of the data interacts with parameters comprising another portion of the data; outputting the computed health score to an interface of the user device; and selectively outputting information concerning the parameters’ interaction to the interface that explain which changes in the parameters are significant drivers of the change in the health score.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the health score is presented in the interface as falling in one of a plurality of predefined bands.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein the bands comprise a relative scale in comparison to fixed percentile criteria.

“4. The method of claim 2, wherein the bands are presented in a color-coded manner within the interface.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing code in the processor to configure the processor to simulate score evolution using a trend in the extrinsic data.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising using an analytical engine comprising code executing in the processor to configure the processor to set, combine, arrange and/or calculate values for one or more of the parameters.

“7. The method of claim 6, wherein the analytical engine utilizes one or more mathematical models in computing the health score.

“8. The method of claim 7, wherein one of the mathematical models is a cardiovascular risk model or a lifestyle model.

“9. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback engine includes at least one of a user challenge, a group challenge and facts.

“10. A system for computing a health score of an individual, comprising: a communication unit operable to receive health data and extrinsic data as parameters for computation of the health score; a memory arranged to store the received data; a processor arranged to combine the received data using an algorithm being implemented as code executing in the processor so as to compute the health score of the individual wherein parameters comprising one portion of the data interacts with parameters comprising another portion of the data; the processor being further arranged to execute additional code to output the computed health score to an interface of the user device; and the processor being further arranged to execute additional code to selectively output information concerning the parameters’ interaction to the interface that explain which changes in the parameters are significant drivers of the change in the health score.

“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the health score is presented in the interface as falling in one of a plurality of predefined bands.

“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the bands comprise a relative scale in comparison to fixed percentile criteria.

“13. The system of claim 11, wherein the bands are presented in a color-coded manner within the interface.

“14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further arranged to execute additional code to configure the processor to simulate score evolution using a trend in the extrinsic data.

“15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further arranged to execute additional code to configure the processor to set, combine, arrange and/or calculate values for one or more of the parameters.

“16. The system of claim 15, wherein the analytical engine utilizes one or more mathematical models in computing the health score.

“17. The system of claim 16, wherein one of the mathematical models is a cardiovascular risk model or a lifestyle model.

“18. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving user goal data concerning activity and participation; using a feedback engine to monitor data concerning at least one from a group consisting of movement, nutrition, sleep and stress; processing, by at least one processor configured to execute instructions stored on computer readable media, the monitored data using a behavioral algorithm; and providing notifications to a user in view of the behavioral processing so as to recommend activity participation that is consistent with the user goals.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Heuer, Manuel; Leason, David; Naef, Andre; Ohnemus, Peter. Automated Health Data Acquisition, Processing And Communication System. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230019375, filed September 15, 2022 and posted January 19, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230019375)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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