Fitness monitoring systems and methods based on continuous collection of physiological data

Abstract

A system for assessing back pain, comprising a wearable device designed to be worn on or around the torso of a user, equipped with one or more sensors positioned on the back portion of the wearable. The system includes one or more processors configured to measure movement characteristics of the user's back, issue prompts to a computing device requesting input on the user's psychological perception of pain levels, and receive corresponding user input data. The system analyzes the movement characteristics and psychological pain perception data to generate an assessment of the user's back pain. The assessment is then output to an associated output component. This system is particularly beneficial for monitoring and evaluating back pain in real-time, providing actionable insights for healthcare applications.

1 . A system comprising:
 a wearable to be worn on or around a torso of a user;   one or more sensors attached to a back portion the wearable; and   one or more processors configured to:
 control the one or more sensors to measure one or more movement characteristics of a back of the user wearing the wearable; 
 issue one or more prompts to a computing device associated with the user, wherein the one or more prompts request input indicative of a psychological perception of a pain level of the user; 
 receive one or more indications of user input in response to the one or more prompts, wherein each of the one or more indications of user input provide data indicative of the psychological perception of the pain level of the user; 
 analyze the one or more movement characteristics of the back of the user and the data indicative of the psychological perception of the pain level of the user to produce an assessment of back pain for the user; and 
 output, to an output component, the assessment of the back pain for the user. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more inertial measurement units. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more movement characteristics include at least one of movement variability, range of motion, angular velocity, longitudinal data, and movement patterns of the back of the user. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a button disposed on an outer surface of the wearable, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to initiate a time stamp in response to user actuation of the button. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable further comprises a photoresistor configured to detect whether the wearable is being worn by the user, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to disable power to the one or more sensors when the wearable is not worn. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to derive an aggregate activity level for the user based on the one or more measured movement characteristics over a period of time. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a memory storing the measured movement characteristics when the wearable is out of wireless range of the computing device, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to upload the stored movement characteristics when the wearable returns into range. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit the assessment of back pain to a remote server via an internet connection or a cellular connection. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to apply an artificial intelligence model to the one or more movement characteristics and the user input to produce the assessment of back pain. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more prompts comprise interview prompts associated with at least one psychological factor selected from the group consisting of cognitions, emotional responses, anxiety, depression, and catastrophic thoughts. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to compute a user score based on the one or more movement characteristics and the data indicative of the psychological perception of the pain level, and to display the user score via the output component. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable comprises a garment selected from the group consisting of an undergarment, a shirt, a vest, a bodysuit, a compression garment, a sweatshirt, or a jacket. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable comprises one or more strips of kinesiology tape that adhere to the torso of the user, the one or more strips of kinesiology tape housing the one or more sensors. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the wearable further comprises a multi-use portion and a single use portion. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the multi-use portion comprises the one or more sensors housed between a first strip of kinesiology tape and a second strip of kinesiology tape. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the single use portion comprises a strip of double-sided tape and one or more kinesiology tape islands, wherein a first side of the double-sided tape adheres to the multi-use portion, and wherein at least a portion of a second side of the double-sided tape adheres to skin of the user. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable comprises a button disposed on an outer surface, and the one or more processors are further configured to, in response to actuation of the button, initiate at least one of collecting movement data, calculating physiological metrics, or communicating information to a network. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to output, via the output component, one or more of:
 a notification selected from the group consisting of a tactile notification, an audible notification, or a visual notification in response to the assessment of back pain,   an activity indicator marking periods of specific activity based on user input or sensor data,   a graphical user interface of a leaderboard or group performance metric comparing the user's assessment to other users,   a graphical representation of back movement and pain data, including at least one of a graph, a 2D model, or a 3D digital avatar of the user's spine, and   a graphical user interface of calendar-based comparisons of the user's performance over different time periods.   
     
     
         19 . A method of assessing back pain in a user, comprising:
 providing a wearable configured to be worn on or around a torso of the user, the wearable comprising one or more sensors attached to a back portion of the wearable;   controlling the one or more sensors to measure one or more movement characteristics of a back of the user while the user is wearing the wearable;   issuing one or more prompts to a computing device associated with the user, the prompts requesting input indicative of a psychological perception of a pain level of the user;   receiving, at the computing device, one or more indications of user input in response to the prompts, each indication providing data indicative of the psychological perception of the pain level of the user;   analyzing, by one or more processors, the measured movement characteristics and the data indicative of the psychological perception of the pain level to produce an assessment of back pain for the user; and   outputting, to an output component, the assessment of the back pain for the user.   
     
     
         20 . A system comprising:
 a garment to be worn on or around a torso of a user;   a flexible printed circuit board including a plurality of sensors attached to a back portion the garment; and   one or more processors configured to:
 control each of the plurality of sensors to measure one or more movement characteristics of a back of the user wearing the wearable; 
 analyze the one or more movement characteristics of the back of the user to produce an assessment of back pain for the user; and 
   output, to an output component, the assessment of the back pain for the user.