Method and apparatus for limb circumference measurement

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining a first plurality of circumference measurements, each of the first plurality of circumference measurements corresponding to a first circumference around a limb of a person at a respective one of a plurality of locations of the limb, each of the first plurality of circumference measurements being obtained from a respective one of a plurality of elastic measurement elements that is positioned at a respective one of the locations; determining, based upon the first plurality of circumference measurements, a first geometric profile along a length of the limb; and outputting data representing the first geometric profile. Other embodiments are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device comprising:
 a cuff having a first elastic measurement element attached thereto at a first location and a second elastic measurement element attached thereto at a second location;   a processing system including a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 obtaining, from the first elastic measurement element, a first value representative of a first circumference of the cuff at a point in time when the cuff is disposed on a limb of a person; 
 obtaining, from the second elastic measurement element, a second value representative of a second circumference of the cuff at the point in time when the cuff is disposed on the limb of the person; 
 determining, based upon the first value and the second value, a geometric profile along the limb; and 
 outputting, to a computing device, data representing the geometric profile, the outputting of the data to the computing device enabling the computing device to present via a display a graphic visualization of a difference between the geometric profile and another geometric profile of the limb of the person that had been determined at another point in time that is different from the point in time at which the geometric profile had been determined. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first elastic measurement element comprises a first elastic resistive element, wherein a first expansion of the first elastic resistive element provides a first change in resistance that correlates to the first expansion of the first elastic resistive element; and   the second elastic measurement element comprises a second elastic resistive element, wherein a second expansion of the second elastic resistive element provides a second change in resistance that correlates to the second expansion of the second elastic resistive element.   
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first elastic measurement element is disposed on the cuff, the first elastic measurement element is disposed in the cuff, or any combination thereof; and   the second elastic measurement element is disposed on the cuff, the second elastic measurement element is disposed in the cuff, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the cuff is configured to be wrapped at least partially around the limb of the person. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first end of the cuff is open and a second end of the cuff is open, such that the cuff is in a form of an arm band.   
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first end of the cuff is open and a second end of the cuff is closed, such that the cuff is in a form of a sock or a glove.   
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the difference between the geometric profile and the another geometric profile is shown as a shaded area, and wherein the computing device comprises the display. 
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 obtaining a first plurality of circumference measurements, each of the first plurality of circumference measurements corresponding to a respective first circumference around a limb of a person at a respective one of a plurality of locations of the limb, each of the first plurality of circumference measurements being obtained from a respective one of a plurality of elastic measurement elements that is positioned at a respective one of the locations, and each of the plurality of elastic measurement elements being attached to a cuff;   obtaining a second plurality of circumference measurements, each of the second plurality of circumference measurements corresponding to a respective second circumference around the limb of the person at the respective one of the plurality of locations of the limb, the first plurality of circumference measurements being obtained at a first time, the second plurality of circumference measurements being obtained at a second time, and the second time being after the first time;   comparing a second geometric profile along the limb to a first geometric profile along the limb, the second geometric profile being determined based upon the second plurality of circumference measurements, the first geometric profile being determined based upon the first plurality of circumference measurements, and the comparing resulting in generation of difference data between the second geometric profile and the first geometric profile; and   presenting via a display a graphic visualization of the difference data, the graphic visualization showing a difference between the first geometric profile existing at the first time and the second geometric profile existing at the second time.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein:
 each of the plurality of elastic measurement elements comprises an elastic resistive element such that for a given elastic resistive element an expansion thereof provides a change in resistance that correlates to the expansion.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the first plurality of circumference measurements equals X number of measurements;   the plurality of locations equals X number of locations;   the plurality of elastic measurement elements equals X number of elastic measurement elements; and   X is an integer between 2 and 50, inclusive.   
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the system comprises the display. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise transmitting data representing the first geometric profile to a remote device. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the remote device comprises a database, and wherein the data representing the first geometric profile is stored in the database in association with an identity of the person. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of elastic measurement elements is disposed on the cuff, each of the plurality of elastic measurement elements is disposed in the cuff, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of elastic measurement elements comprises a resistance element having a first electrical resistance in an elongated state and a second electrical resistance in a non-elongated state, wherein the first electrical resistance is different from the second electrical resistance. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein:
 a first end of the cuff is open and a second end of the cuff is closed, such that the cuff is in a form of a sock or a glove; or   a first end of the cuff is open and a second end of the cuff is open, such that the cuff is in a form of an arm band.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the difference between the first geometric profile and the second geometric profile is shown as a shaded area. 
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 obtaining, by a system including a processor, a first value representative of a first expanded circumference of a cuff at a point in time when the cuff is disposed on a limb of a person, the first value being obtained from a first elastic measurement element that is attached to the cuff at a first location thereof, and the first elastic measurement element traversing a first portion of the first expanded circumference of the cuff;   obtaining, by the system, a second value representative of a second expanded circumference of the cuff at the point in time when the cuff is disposed on the limb of the person, the second value being obtained from a second elastic measurement element that is attached to the cuff at a second location thereof, and the second elastic measurement element traversing a second portion of the second expanded circumference of the cuff;   determining by the system, based upon the first value and the second value, a geometric profile along the limb, the geometric profile being in a form that presents a first diameter and a second diameter, the first diameter being associated with the limb at the first location, and the second diameter being associated with the limb at the second location; and   outputting by the system, to a display device, data to display a graphic visualization of a difference between the geometric profile and another geometric profile of the limb of the person that had been determined at another point in time that is different from the point in time at which the geometric profile had been determined.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the first location of the first elastic measurement element relative to the cuff corresponds to a first location along the limb, and wherein the second location of the second elastic measurement element relative to the cuff corresponds to a second location along the limb. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the difference between the geometric profile and the another geometric profile is shown as a shaded area.