IT202100019415A1 - Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Accompanying a patent application for an industrial invention entitled:

?Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system?

Postural control and balance are not simply a summation of static reflexes but, rather, an ability to complex based on the interaction of sensorimotor dynamic processes. Nowadays, postural control ? considered a? skill? motor complex derived from the interaction of multiple sensorimotor processes. The two main functional goals of postural behavior are postural orientation and postural balance. Postural orientation involves the active alignment of the trunk and head with respect to gravity, support surfaces, visual contour and internal references. Postural balance involves coordinating movement strategies to stabilize the body's center of mass (CoM) during stability disorders. both self-initiated and externally triggered. Posture control involves many different underlying physiological systems that may be affected by pathology or subclinical constraints. Effective balance rehabilitation to improve mobility? and preventing falls requires a better understanding of the multiple mechanisms underlying postural control. ? widely recognized that? Aging leads to disturbances of balance due to disability? multiple, such as multisensory loss, weakness, orthopedic constraints, and cognitive impairment.

Therefore, constant exercise, such as balance or coordination exercise, can provide benefits with a variety of capacity? of mobility for a variety of people with various disabilities.

Among the various pathologies that affect balance performance, ? widely recognized that Parkinson's disease (PD) is a condition that can benefit greatly from innovative clinical management of patients based on wearable monitoring technologies. How the? PD many neurodegenerative diseases can benefit from a monitored and low physical impact training of the patient. Currently in the clinical field, monitoring systems for a healthy exercise of the patient are gradually gaining ground going to improve the? Objectivity? of the analysis of the subject by improving the therapy to which he is subjected alongside the traditional clinical indices such as for example the Barthel scale or the Conley scale.

Another geriatric problem closely related to postural and balance control? that of falls; are these associated with adverse health outcomes such as injury, hospitalisation, mobility? reduced. The incidence of falls increases proportionally with advancing age, older people are more likely to fall to demonstrate anomalies in the stability? postural and balance control. These anomalies have been measured in clinical settings that have required the use of specialized equipment, such as force plates and optical motion capture systems that can symbiotically measure the patient?s center of pressure (COP). Such techniques can be costly due to the need to of clinical care.

In addition to the problems mentioned, those due to posture are now commonplace and go hand in hand with work-related stress. The evolution of organized work and the age? growing average of the working population have changed the health risks also in the workplace. In recent years, a lot of community attention medical-scientific and the world of industry? been reserved for biomechanical risk and so-called Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD), increasingly? frequent in many types of activities? working. The activities of work are mainly the manual lifting and handling of objects, the activities? push and pull, the activities? repetitive, uncomfortable and/or prolonged postures, and prolonged sitting. To there? complementary factors must be added which can act as risk amplifiers, such as for example the unfavorable microclimate, compressions on anatomical segments by objects or work surfaces and individual factors. The employer can refer to different technical assessment methodologies (OWAS, OCRA checklist, OCRA Index, etc.) which each take into account specific working and organizational characteristics. The international standards 11228, 11226, TR 12295 and 12296 list the methods capable of detecting occupational physical risk factors and evaluating the usefulness of ergonomic interventions. These methods, inexpensive and non-invasive, consider different indices to measure, from the amplitude and frequency of movement to the force exerted. On the other hand, they have some weaknesses, mainly due to their observational and subjective nature, as the measurements are related to the skills of the professional who performs them. In most cases, in fact, the worker's behavior is evaluated on paper during field observation or video playback, an approach considered by the scientific literature to be laborious and not very effective in terms of precision, repeatability and and reliability. From these premises it is evident the?utility? to be able to have devices that allow to measure biomechanical parameters objectively and reliably both in a clinical setting and in everyday life in the workplace and/or at home.

The motion capture systems for biomechanical analysis with the best performance? at the moment, the motion capture systems are performing; however, these types of systems are designed to be used in a structured environment and have a limited capture area. Therefore, while they can be adapted to applications in confined areas, they cannot be used in open environments or very large work spaces which would require an excessively onerous infrastructure. Furthermore, these systems mainly supply information of a kinematic type on the movement of the person without providing for a direct measurement of the muscular effort.

In the literature there are some devices for monitoring and intervention aimed at the aforementioned problems and they monitor the movement or muscle activity of the subject who wears them:

a) US 2017/0000388 A1, SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR MAPPING MOVING BODY PARTS

In the patent at point a) ? described a system for detecting the movement of the human body in which a plurality? of wireless sensor modules. Are the wireless sensors communicating with a computing device that can be it a computer, tablet or mobile phone. A web service and associated database for accessing data. The system, can?, in time be configured to analyze the quality? of the exercises and movements performed in relation to quality parameters? specified, such as numerical angles, rotations e.g. in relation to flexion, elevation and abduction of human limbs after calibration. Does the system at point a) have the capacity? to detect the movement of the part of the human body where ? place but can? detect only measures coming from an inertial sensor which are therefore limited to linear accelerations, accelerations and speeds? angles and angular displacement. Also, does it require a computing device for system operation limiting its portability? and its use despite the provision of a battery and a circuit for recharging. Finally, the sensors are placed in the parts to be analyzed using Velcro bands which can move during movement, producing a false measurement.

b) WO 2014108883, METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS FOR BIOMECHANICAL MONITORING

PERFORMANCES OF HUMAN LIMBS [METHOD AND RELATED EQUIPMENT FOR THE

MONITORING OF THE BIOMECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF HUMAN LIMBS]

L? invention in point b) concerns a sensorized module for detecting the position and movement of a body portion to which it? especially associated with the hand although adaptable to various parts of the body. The individual units? are connected to at least one unit? of coordination that manages the data coming from the unit? sensory and temporizes the flow, and in which the collected data are processed at an aggregate level to reconstruct the movement of an entire body portion. The individual modules are wireless and rechargeable via a power source. A sensor module, as outlined above, can? be applied to a portion of the human body to autonomously collect, process and store information on the position and movements of that portion of the body. The module can transmit the information recorded in mode? wireless to external computers for subsequent and aggregated management of such information. The system in b) has characteristics similar to the system in a). The system b) ? mainly designed to be interfaced with one hand but pu? be modified to be placed in other areas of the body by adapting it. It also presents the peculiarity to be able to add modules and to be able to store information. The limitations due to the use of inertial sensors only persist. Also, even in this case ? necessary for the use of the system of a? unit? processing system that manages the synchronization of the various modules making up the system b).

c) US 2019/010258257B2, QUANTITATIVE FALLS RISK ASSESSMENT THROUGH INERTIAL SENSORS AND

PRESSURE SENSITIVE PLATFORM [QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF FALL RISK

THROUGH INERTIAL SENSORS AND PRESSURE SENSITIVE PLATFORM]

The system in c) is proposed to be used to estimate the risk of falling from the data coming from a pressure platform and from the inertial sensor. The system consists of a standing balance assessment environment in which an inertial (kinematic) sensor and an array of pressure sensors collect pressure and kinematic data, respectively, from a participant in the standing balance assessment test. The pressure sensor array and inertial sensor can be configured to communicate sensor data via a wired interface or via a wireless interface. An algorithm processes pressure sensor data and inertial sensor data to calculate balance characteristics, the latter can be used to predict future fall risk. Data collection can be part of an assessment of? balance clinical or pu? be used as part of a daily or longitudinal monitoring program performed in the person's home. The system described in c) has similar characteristics to the systems described in a) and b) and adds to them the integration of a sensor array capable of detecting the pressure exerted by a person standing on them. Thanks to the integration of these two technologies, the system described in b) ? able to detect the balance characteristics of the person himself. The system in c), has the same limitations as the system a) and b) for detecting movements using initial sensors. Although an interesting feature is added via an array of pressure sensors, the latter further limits its portability. including, moreover, a?unit? processing essential for the management of data flows detected by the sensors and calculations as described.

d) WO 2014/147263, DEVICE FOR THE EVALUATION, PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF LOWER BACK

PAIN, BASED ON POSTURAL REEDUCATION, [ASSESSMENT DEVICE, LA

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF LOWER BACK PAIN, BASED ON

POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION]

L? the invention in d) refers to devices for the evaluation, treatment and prevention of low back pain, to be used in methodologies based on postural re-education. The invention relates to a device for the assessment, prevention and treatment of low back pain, which comprises six units with an EMG acquisition subsystem to measure surface electromyography using electrodes directly connected to the patient and an actuator to provide active stimulation to the desired muscle group of the patient. The device also comprises a set of four bands to which the first, third, fourth and sixth units are attached. to make the system wearable. The device in d) allows the patient to perform posture correction exercises without orienting himself on a screen to receive biofeedback, as occurs with visual devices of the prior art. Furthermore, the user can? continue to carry out its activities? daily. Haptic stimuli can be both monomodal and multimodal of different nature. The activity pattern recognition subsystem? muscle and feedback generation pu? also be attached to the wearable. The device also includes a? unit? remote control device attached to the wearable garment to allow communication between the units? and the activity pattern recognition subsystem? muscle and feedback generation. The activity pattern recognition subsystem? muscle and feedback generation ? a separate item, such as a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or specially designed circuit board. The system described in d) therefore limits its field of use due to a single type of sensor used. It only allows the patient to perform posture correction exercises without orienting himself on a screen to receive biofeedback via haptic feedback but in any case limits the types of analysis that require the use of other sensors. Finally, the system in d) ? composed of six units? that must be placed in specific positions and orientations making it more? difficult to use and wearability?.

e) DE 202015001313U1, VORRICHTUNG UND SYSTEM ZUM EMPFANG VOM EMG-SIGNALEN UND/ODER

?BERMITTELN VON EMS-SIGNALEN AN EINEN MENSCHLICHEN K?RPER UM IHN ZU TRAINIEREN

[DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR RECEIVING EMG SIGNALS AND/OR TRANSMISSION OF SIGNALS

EMS TO A HUMAN BODY TO TRAIN IT]

The invention in e) relates to a method and a device for receiving electrical signals (EMG) from a body and transmitting electrical signals (EMS) to a body.

The procedure can serve as an exercise to try for a professional athlete via haptic sensation by recognizing muscles that are not properly active according to the given pattern and stimulate muscle contraction. The procedure allows you to learn, train or improve the movement sequences in an optimal way. The reception of signals of activity? muscle (EMG) occurs through one and/or more? electrodes. These can be incorporated into a fabric singly and/or in a multiple manner. The electrodes can be wired and/or communicate in mode? wireless. Are they managed through a? unit? control and can send or receive signals to? unit? control. The central can? be a mobile device (smartphone) or a computer. Furthermore, the system can be incorporated into different items of clothing (e.g. jacket, dress, shoes). The device in e) has characteristics similar to the device described in d) but ne? a natural evolution allowing the devices to be of an eligible and non-fixed number and allowing the implementation of the latter in commonly used clothing items. This makes them more easy to use but the limitation in the measurements that can be detected due to the use of a single technology remains. Furthermore, the need of a?unit? central for the functioning of the whole system and the acquisitions coming from all the sensors, however, limits its ease? of use and portability.

The devices reported in the literature, therefore, monitor or the? muscle, or posture individually. The surveys are carried out in terms of angular displacement using inertial sensors, while the activity? muscle using surface electromyography (sEMG). No device reported in the state of the art, therefore, ? able to meet the needs of postural control, fall risk assessment and biomechanical risk assessment in its entirety. Therefore, in addition to the motion detection sensors used in the found? It is also necessary to implement additional sensors that evaluate other biomechanical parameters of the subject. Furthermore, all of this sensors must be combined with electromyography and work in symbiosis with it (and not separately like the inventions) since? sEMG results can be used to study motor control processes that would not be available for observation under unperturbed circumstances. The detection of electromyographic signals allows a better understanding of a complex system such as the central nervous system (CNS) and to highlight the specific role of the type and location of the perturbation in modulating the activity? of certain muscle groups and how firing patterns are modulated by the CNS in challenging contexts.

The current proposal therefore aims to remedy the deficiencies mentioned above by proposing a mechatronic system consisting of a network of sensors with wireless technology and independent of various kinds: inertial, heart rate, temperature and humidity? body, of the saturation of? oxygen, of? activity? muscle and location; in which all the sensors ? able to function independently by providing audio-visual and/or haptic feedback, and/or by communicating with a database via a cloud that allows monitoring over time and analysis more? advanced using a simple smartphone or a computer. In general, the currently proposed system has characteristics which make it light, easy to use and to wear by using the same surface electrodes as an anchor and thus avoiding erroneous measurements due to the skin-shifting phenomenon. Furthermore, the system proposed in the current invention, as a further novelty? and peculiarity, it does not require any calibration before being used as it is self-calibrating making it more efficient. easy and immediate use.

The invention is described with reference to the attached Figure 1: Figure 1 presents a conceptual diagram of the system structure.

With reference to Figure 1, the wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) represents a completely wearable mechatronic system in which the multiple wearable sensory modules (2) are able to work independently, in order to obtain readings from the human body (3) on which they are worn through the use of surface electrodes, up to a complex network made of multiple sensory modules (2) worn at various desired points on the human body (3). Each sensory module (2) ? composed of sensors of different nature that work in synergy with each other such as: inertial sensors, heart rate sensors, activity sensors? muscle, temperature sensors, sensors dell?humidity? body weight, oxygen saturation sensors, and GPS trackers. Each sensory module (2) ? equipped with a sensor management controller, a wireless transmitter and a rechargeable battery with connector and/or induction charging circuit. In addition to the monitoring function, each sensor module (2) ? equipped with an LCD micro monitor that allows the evaluation of muscle activation, a buzzer and an actuator for audio and haptic feedback in case of imminent risk of falling or biomechanical risk. Each sensory module (2) ? able to connect to a cloud (4) which allows interconnection in the multisensory network and the saving of surveys on a database (5). The data acquired and saved on a database (5) can be processed using an analysis module (6) and can be used to characterize the movement for rehabilitation, postural control and monitoring of physical activity. daily life, assessing fall or biomechanical risk, and/or similar purposes. The sensory modules (2) can work independently of the use of the analysis module (6) providing audio-visual and haptic feedback in case unwanted pre-programmed situations arise.

The sensory modules (2) can be positioned in any part of the human body (3) such as, for example, the torso, lower and upper limbs.

Every single sensory module (2) ? capable of obtaining the kinematic and dynamic parameters necessary to evaluate the posture and movements of the limbs, through the processing of information from inertial sensors.

The measurements of the sEMG sensors of the wearable system allow the evaluation of the muscular effort and of the force exerted during the movement of the human body (3).

Monitoring of heart rate, temperature, humidity? and oxygen saturation allow you to monitor any stressful situations related to the task performed. Another element that characterizes the proposed system? the capacity? to synchronize the information coming from the sensors in order to correlate the detected events and allow their evaluation on the time scale.

The calculation of the risk of falling ? carried out using the sensors of each individual sensory module (2), when the user?s center of mass moves into a risky position, he is warned via audio and haptic feedback in order to re-establish the correct posture. In the same way, the multisensory network can be trained in such a way as to detect any anomalous posture of the wearer and correct it through the same feedback until the correct position is acquired. Also, this tool can be used clinically as a complement to traditional clinical scales used such as the Tinetti, Conley or Morse scales. Scales used to identify patients at risk and be able to establish a real therapeutic education path used for the assessment of the patient's autonomy, for the classification of the risk of falling and mobility and for multifactorial assessment. The calculation of biomechanical risk parameters, however, pu? be carried out using the data collected and saved on the database (4) referring to the analysis methods defined in the ISO 11228 technical standards for the specific activities; such as the OCRA method for risk assessment in activities? involving repeated movements, the NIOSH method for measuring risk indices in activities? of lifting loads, the Snook and Ciriello method for risk assessment in activities? towing and pushing.

In summary, the wireless and portable nature of the The current proposed system therefore makes it suitable for monitoring movement and activity? cardiac and muscular during the activity? daily, clinical, sporting or exhausting. The absence of wires avoids any unwanted interference to the movement of the wearer. Continuous multisensory monitoring ? useful for identifying alarm situations and, thanks to the GPS locator, understand where the wearer is? placed to give him immediate assistance.

The data obtained from the proposed system can also be used for training and performance analysis. Finally, the output of the motion analysis system can It can also be used as an input to the control system of a haptic device, robot, drone or any remotely controllable platform, thus acting as a human-machine interface.

The present invention ? described with reference to predefined embodiments. ? it should be understood that there may exist other embodiments which pertain to the same inventive core, as defined by the scope of protection of the declared claims.

Claims (8)

1. Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) which represents a fully wearable mechatronic system composed of: wearable sensory modules (2) capable of obtaining detections from the human body (3); a cloud (4) which allows the interconnection between the sensory modules (2) in order to create a complex multisensory network and the saving of the detected data on a database (5); an analysis module (6) which allows further evaluations using the collected data. The wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claim 1, wherein each sensory module (2) is composed of sensors of different nature that work in synergy with each other such as inertial sensors, heart rate sensor, sensors for monitoring activity? muscle, body temperature sensors, humidity sensors? body, oxygen saturation sensors and a GPS tracker. 3. A wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claims 1 and 2, wherein each sensory module (2) ? equipped with a microcontroller for sensor management, a wireless transmitter and a rechargeable battery with connector and/or induction charging circuit. 4. A wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein each sensory module (2) ? equipped with a micro monitor that allows the evaluation of the activities? detected, and a buzzer and an actuator for audio and haptic feedback. 5. Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claim 1, 2, 3 and 4, wherein each sensory module (2) ? able to work independently from each other and from the analysis module (6), and/or in symbiosis with the others and/or with the analysis module (6), generating a complex multi-sensory network. 6. Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claim 1 and 5, wherein the analysis module (6), using the data from the sensory modules (2) which have been saved on a database (5), allows any further assessments without conditioning or limiting the independent functioning of the sensory modules (2). 7. Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claim 1, where each sensory module (2) can? be connected directly to the human body (3) through the same surface electrodes used for monitoring? muscle in order to avoid phenomena causing erroneous measurements, and/or using traditional techniques such as bandages, and/or elastic, adhesive or Velcro closure bandages. 8. Wearable assistive multi-sensory modular system (1) according to claims 1 and 7, wherein the sensory modules (2), in order to obtain readings from the human body (3), can be worn on different and multiple parts of the human body (3) without need? predefined positions and orientations.