Methods and systems for sensing equilibrium

Abstract

Systems and methods for monitoring equilibrium of a user are presented. A stability monitoring device in a shoe insole area utilizes pressure sensors to measure pressure information in real-time. The pressure information is transmitted over an RF network to a device for analyzing the pressure information and calculating postural state information including the current postural state, next postural state, and/or a range of postural stability. The person or a third party may be notified if the postural state information indicates an unstable state. Additionally, the postural state information may be analyzed to determine activity level of the user, diagnostic information, or performance information. Metrics may be displayed by the system for assisting physical therapy or training regimens.

1 . A system for determining postural stability comprising:
 a shoe insole;   one or more input sensors housed in the shoe insole, wherein the one or more input sensors are configured to produce pressure information proportional to mechanical pressure placed on the one or more input sensors;   a communications module housed within the shoe insole and coupled with the one or more input sensors, the communications module including a first communications transceiver and configured to receive the pressure information from the one or more input sensors and transmit the pressure information using the first communications transceiver;   a communications medium coupled with the first communications transceiver, the communications medium configured to transmit and receive communications signals; and   a computing device including a second communications transceiver coupled with the communications medium, wherein the computing device is configured to receive the pressure information from the communications module using the second communications transceiver and determine postural stability from the pressure information.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the communications module further comprises a buffer memory; and   the communications module is further configured to buffer the pressure information using the buffer memory for a predetermined amount of time before transmitting the pressure information using the first communications transceiver.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more input sensors are piezoelectric force sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communications medium comprises a wireless communications medium. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the wireless communications medium comprises a Bluetooth communications link. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device determines postural stability using at least one of the following: a Hidden Markov Model, a forward algorithm, a Viterbi algorithm, a forwards-backwards algorithm, and a Baum-Welch algorithm. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe insole is one of a medical scale or a mat. 
     
     
         8 . A system for determining postural stability comprising:
 an article of footwear including an insole portion;   one or more input sensors housed in the insole portion of the article of footwear, wherein the one or more input sensors are configured to produce pressure information proportional to mechanical pressure placed on the one or more input sensors;   a communications module including a first communications transceiver, wherein the communications module is housed in the article of footwear, coupled with the one or more input sensors, and configured to receive the pressure information from the one or more input sensors and transmit the pressure information using the first communications transceiver; and   a computing device including a second communications transceiver, wherein the computing device is configured to receive the pressure information from the communications module using the second communications transceiver and the computing device contains instructions on a computer-readable medium to determine postural stability from the pressure information.   
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 8  wherein
 the communications module further includes a buffer memory; and   the communications module is further configured to buffer the pressure information in the buffer memory for a predetermined amount of time before transmitting the pressure information using the first communications transceiver.   
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the article of footwear is a horseshoe. 
     
     
         11 . A method for determining postural stability of a person, comprising:
 providing an article of footwear worn by the person with an insole portion;   providing one or more pressure sensing transducers in the insole portion of the article of footwear;   reading the one or more pressure sensing transducers;   generating pressure information proportional to the mechanical pressure placed on the one or more pressure sensing transducers;   transmitting the pressure information;   receiving the transmitted pressure information; and   calculating postural state information for the person based on the received pressure data information.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 notifying the person if the postural state information indicates a predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition includes one of the following: a stable postural state, an unstable postural state, and a partially stable postural state.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 notifying a third party monitoring person if the postural state information indicates a predetermined condition, wherein the predetermined condition includes one of the following: a stable postural state, an unstable postural state, and a partially stable postural state.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the third party monitoring person is one of a doctor, a physician assistant, a nurse, a physical therapist, a personal trainer, or a recreation therapist. 
     
     
         15 . A method for determining postural stability in a person, the method comprising:
 receiving a first pressure information from one or more pressure sensors, the first pressure information proportional to the mechanical pressure placed on the one or more pressure sensors;   storing the first pressure information;   calculating a range of postural stability for the person from the first pressure information;   receiving a second pressure information from the one or more pressure sensors, the pressure information proportional to the mechanical pressure placed on the one or more pressure sensors;   calculating a current postural state for the person based on the second pressure information; and   calculating a next postural state for the person based on the current postural state and the range of postural stability.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein calculating the next postural state is further based on a predetermined probability of transitioning between postural states. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 notifying the person if the next postural state matches a predetermined condition, the predetermined condition one of a stable postural state, an unstable postural state, or a partially stable postural state.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 notifying a third party monitoring person if the next postural state matches a predetermined condition, the predetermined condition one of a stable postural state, an unstable postural state, or a partially stable postural state.   
     
     
         19 . A system for determining postural stability of a person, the system comprising:
 an article of footwear, said article of footwear including:
 an insole portion, 
 one or more input sensors for measuring pressure housed in the insole portion, wherein the one or more input sensors are configured to produce pressure information proportional to mechanical pressure placed on the one or more input sensors, and 
 a communications module including a first wireless communications transceiver, wherein the communications module is housed in the article of footwear, coupled with the one or more input sensors, and configured to receive the pressure information from the one or more input sensors and transmit the pressure information using the first wireless communications transceiver; 
   a communications medium coupled with the first wireless communications transceiver;   a second wireless communications transceiver coupled with the communications medium and configured to receive the pressure information from the communications module;   a stability processing device electrically coupled with the second wireless communications transceiver and configured to acquire the pressure information from the second wireless communications transceiver and determine postural stability information from the pressure information; and   a display device electrically coupled with the stability processing module, configured to display the postural stability information.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the second wireless communications transceiver, the stability processing device, and the display device are each comprised in a computing device. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the stability processing device comprises a server computer. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the second communications transceiver communicates with the stability processing device via a computer network. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the stability processing device communicates with the display device via a computer network. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the second communications transceiver and the display device are each comprised in a computing device, the computing device coupled with the stability processing device via a computer network. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein:
 the stability processing device is further configured to determine postural analysis information, the postural analysis information comprising one or more of the following: activity information, performance information, fatigue information, diagnostic information, a statistic, a score, and a simulation; and   the display device is further configured to display the postural analysis information.   
     
     
         26 . A scale for determining postural stability of a person, the scale comprising:
 a body portion;   one or more input sensors for measuring pressure housed in the body portion, wherein the one or more input sensors are configured to produce pressure information proportional to mechanical pressure placed on the one or more input sensors;   a stability processing module housed in the body portion, the stability processing module configured to analyze the pressure information and determine based on the pressure information a person's postural stability; and   a communications module including a first wireless communications transceiver, wherein the communications module is housed in the scale, coupled with the stability processing module, and configured to receive the determined postural stability and transmit the determined postural stability using the first wireless communications transceiver.   
     
     
         27 . The scale of  claim 26 , further comprising a display device coupled with the body potion, the display device configured to display the determined postural stability to the person.