ES2364172B1 - SYSTEM OF INDICATION AND SUPERVISION IN REAL TIME OF THE POSTURAL CORRECTION OF THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN AND APPLICATIONS THAT REQUIRE ANY? CINEMICAL OR DYNAMIC? LISIS. - Google Patents

Abstract

Real-time indication and monitoring system for postural correction of the spine and applications that require kinematic or dynamic analysis. # The system is preferential and primarily intended for application to the spine of a person, as a means to record, monitor and indicate in real time the postural correction of said spine, being placed parallel to the spine to allow a personalized reference to be made of the alignment of such a spine, so that the person and a possible supervisor can know the deviation of that reference by means of a real-time indication of the incorrect position of the column itself, being able to act accordingly, serving to educate and correct the incorrect position of the column # All the kinematic, dynamic and stress parameters of the column are monitored and recorded. The system is equally applicable in the world of sports, specifically in the teams in which several athletes are involved, to perform a control and analysis of the synchronization of one or more team members.

Description

Real-time indication and monitoring system for postural correction of the spine and applications that require kinematic or dynamic analysis.

Object of the invention

The present invention refers to a system for analysis, control, recording and / or monitoring of kinematic and / or dynamic variables, which turns out to be an electronic, autonomous and wireless system of very low consumption and bidirectional communication, with the possibility of working with one or several devices synchronized simultaneously and remotely configurable, for those cases where it is required to perform an analysis, control, recording or monitoring of kinematic and dynamic variables, such as acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, impacts, orientation and misalignment , so that it automatically registers, sends alarm, control or supervision signals, according to its programming and analysis.

The object of the invention is to provide a system preferably applicable to real-time monitoring and indication for postural correction of a person's spine.

Background of the invention

Currently, no electronic system is known, for the measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision, in real time, of the postural correction of the spine, or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic or synchronous analysis is required.

Some equipment is known that can perform some of these measures, such as acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, impacts, orientation, misalignment and temperature, but none of them have the ability to monitor and indicate in real time the Postural misalignment and spinal stress, as well as the indication for its correction to the person being analyzed and / or his supervisor.

A concrete and well-known example is the treatment of scoliosis or postural correction, a treatment that is carried out through the use of a corset, which is very uncomfortable for patients, in addition to not serving to educate the patient in obtaining a good posture. In the case of adolescents, a great rejection of the use of the corset is created, both for its discomfort and for its aesthetics.

Electro-Vertebral Stimulation devices are also known, which simply consists of periodically reminding the patient through an electrical impulse that must check their position. Well, these devices do not allow to have any knowledge, or control of the misalignment of the spine, nor do they have any other kinematic or dynamic parameters that allow analyzing or correcting the position of the spine and thus educating the patient to adopt a position correct.

On the other hand, in the field of sport, and specifically team sport, where excellent synchronization is required, there is also no known device or system that records, analyzes and sends alarms to athletes from the de-synchronization of the activity that there may be between one or several of the athletes simultaneously, that allow him to improve the performance of his activity.

Description of the invention

The system that has been recommended has been conceived to solve the problem described above, so that in its application on the spine of a patient or person, it allows to indicate and record in real time the position of the spine for postural correction of the same, as well as its use or application in any other kinematic and dynamic register of the same, making its application extensible in sport where a study of the position or synchronization of the column to one or more components of a team is required.

The device is an electronic, autonomous and wireless system of very low consumption that basically consists of a group of sensors capable of measuring and recording kinematic and dynamic variables such as: acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, impacts, orientation and misalignment, and whose grouping is formed by a variable number of sensors depending on the type of application, where the sensors are composed of accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses, all of them triaxial, X, Y, Z.

Among this group of sensors there is also a sensor capable of measuring temperature.

In addition to the sensor group, the system includes a module for controlling and processing information from those sensors, so that external devices such as PDA, mobile phone, PC, microcontroller, are provided between that processing module and sensors. etc., suitable for receiving warnings and information from the sensors, there are different types or modes of communication between these external devices and that can be USB, RS-232, WI-FI, BT, RED, etc.

The control processing module includes a series of devices, one of which is responsible for managing the input and output, such as the communication of the sensor network, as well as with external devices.

Another device is an RTC as a means of control and indication of real time.

Another device corresponds to indicators that constitute a means of interface between the group of sensors and the person who uses it, to report the different operating states as well as the indications of the same, such as lights, sounds, display and vibration.

It also includes a microcontroller, as the main processing unit, to control the processes and perform the necessary calculations, as well as the management of information storage.

Another device corresponds to a memory reserved for storing all the information obtained by the microcontroller, storing the results of the calculations obtained during the study period, which can vary from seconds to months, to be analyzed in real time or later. The memory space can have a variable size depending on the type of application, the type of memory being preferably a non-volatile memory.

This processing module also includes the corresponding software, as a program in charge of the operation of the sensor group, being able to modify it adapting it to the necessary application, being able to update it wirelessly.

Another device comprising the module is an RF transceiver responsible for transmitting and receiving information via radio, using a communication protocol that allows you to work in a network, for which several channels of both transmission and reception are used, being managed by said device for a flexible network configuration both in mesh and star form, between multiple devices simultaneously securely by means of a network identification, validation and password, with each device having a unique identification that allows its differentiation with the rest of devices.

It also includes a TX device in charge of radio transmission to the sensors and even to the control device, the latter being able to be set to different transmission powers to adjust its range and consumption.

Finally, the module includes an RX device, responsible for radio reception.

The control element has the ability to communicate with multiple sensor elements simultaneously, as many as necessary depending on the application to be performed.

In accordance with the aforementioned characteristics, the system realizes the acquisition of information in real time, with registration and storage of parameters and data to be able to perform multidimensional measurements of: acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, impacts, orientation, misalignment and temperature, constituting an autonomous system of very low consumption and bidirectional communication, being able to be powered by small batteries, rechargeable batteries, by induction or by other energy recovery systems (movement, temperature, etc.), where the group of sensors and The rest of the components that make up the device are assembled in a flexible, small-sized, submersible and water and other liquid resistant support.

The group of sensors, due to its characteristics of miniaturization, flexibility, etc., allows it to be implanted in the clothes of the person to be monitored, comfortably and without limiting its movement, and can also be implanted under the skin of the person or animal. monitor.

Definitely, according to the invention, the objective is to improve the current monitoring methods and postural indication of the column autonomously, with the following advantages:

-

patient independence

-

postural education

-

Postoperative stress indication.

-

autonomy

-

corset removal

-

Detailed record of the information.

As for the field of application, in the case of medicine it may be applicable in the following cases: -Medical applications where a registration, kinematic, dynamic, and temporal analysis are required. -Postural education. -Postural analysis. -Operative post (stress monitor). -Scoliosis. -Rehabilitation. -Recognition of pain simulation. -Analysis of the way of walking. - Postural Ergonomics analysis (car, bed, seat ...).

As for the use in sport, the applications can be the following: -Sports applications where a registration, kinematic, dynamic, and temporal analysis are required. -Sports application where individualized or team synchronization is required. -Sports applications for learning, performance improvement. -Applicable for example in team disciplines such as rowing, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics, athletics,

etc. -Possibility that the tutor / supervisor / coach receives the data, notices and / or alarms of the system. -Applications where a kinematic, dynamic and / or temporal analysis is required, for example in animals,

vehicles, robots, machines, mechanisms, etc.

The main functions of the system, which can work with a single sensor element oriented to an analysis of the spine or with multiple sensor elements simultaneously, oriented to the application in sport, in the case of a single sensor element are as follows:

- Mounted on clothes. -Attached to the body. -Fixed to the body. -Implemented under the skin. -Recharged by induction, without contacts. -Wireless. - Bidirectional communication. -Autonomous. -Configurable remotely. -Grouping of several devices synchronized simultaneously. - Postural reference shots. -Low consumption. With the possibility of different forms of food. -Stank, submersible, waterproof, and other liquids.

-Monitoring in real time. -Acquisition of data in real time. -Registration and storage of parameters and data. -Alarms; acceleration, speed, impacts, position, rotation, misalignment. -Local or remote notices, acoustic, bright and discreetly by vibration. -Obtaining absolute and differential values -Multidimensional measurement of; acceleration, speed, impacts, position, rotation, misalignment. -Postural education. -Author out of range previously specified for a preset alignment. -Automatic determination of the number of sensor elements. -Manually select the number of sensor elements. -Synchronization of the RTC modules of each sensor element. - Position reference shots, and time limits allowed. -Notices to the person and coach, out of sync, adjustable. -Alarms to the person and coach, out of sync, adjustable. -Analysis of real-time or deferred synchronization of one or all of the sensor elements. -Determination of the element or elements out of synchronism. -Item counter or elements out of sync. -Registration of element parameters or elements out of sync. -Measurements of acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, impacts, orientation, desa

lineation and temperature. -Non-volatile activity records for acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation values,

rotation, impacts, orientation, misalignment, temperature, coverage, and battery status.

-

Register of warnings and alarms counters with their corresponding data, types and details of hours.

-

Kinematic and dynamic analysis of the column in real or deferred time.

-

Customized shots of position reference and allowed limits, for postural or other education

Applications.

-

Notices to the patient and to the tutor / supervisor for values close to the previously established ranges of acceleration, speed, distance, position, rotation, impacts, orientation, misalignment, temperature,

stress, lack of coverage and low battery status.

-

Notices for being close to the previously established ranges for an adjustable period.

-

The forms of notices to the patient and the tutor / supervisor can be local, remote, acoustic, bright and / or

discreetly by vibration.

-

Alarms to the patient and the tutor / supervisor for values outside the previously established ranges of acceleration, speed, distance, position, rotation, impacts, orientation, misalignment, temperature,

stress, lack of coverage and very low battery status.

-

Alarms for being outside the previously established ranges for an adjustable period.

-

The forms of alarms to the patient and the tutor / supervisor can be local, remote, acoustic, luminous

sas and / or discreetly by vibration.

-

Alarms to the tutor / supervisor remotely via radio, acoustic, luminous, etc. and / or discreetly by vibration. -Alarms the tutor / supervisor to inform him of the lack of action or collaboration by the person carrying the sensor. -Wireless settings. -Non-volatile registration of the configuration parameters. -Pedometer. - Fall detection of the person wearing the sensor. -Detection of idle time. -Monitoring and recording the type, degree and intensity of the activity.

In relation to the functions when there are several different sensor groups, it is oriented to the application in sport, the functions corresponding to those previously mentioned for a single sensor, adding the following:

1) Automatic determination of the number of sensor elements. 2) Manual selection of the number of sensor elements. 3) Synchronization of the RTC modules of each sensor element. 4) Position reference shots, and allowed time limits. 5) Notices to the person and coach, out of sync, adjustable. 6) Alarms to the person and coach, out of sync, adjustable. 7) Analysis of the real-time or deferred synchronization of one or all of the sensor elements. 8) Determination of the element or elements out of synchronism. 9) Element counter or elements out of sync.

10) Record of element parameters or elements out of sync.

In its specific application to the correction of the column, it should be said that the sensors will be arranged parallel to the column of the person or patient, allowing to establish a personalized reference of the alignment of the column, so that the person and a possible supervisor can know the deviation of that reference by means of a real-time indication of the incorrect position of the column, being able to act accordingly, serving to educate and correct the incorrect position, being monitored and recorded all the kinematic, dynamic and stress parameters of the column.

Finally, in addition to all the features, advantages and forms of applications referred to, the system can be mounted on the patient's body, either glued or fixed to the body itself or even implanted under the skin, regardless of being able to mount on the clothes, such as It has already been referred.

It is also possible to group several systems synchronized and simultaneously, for monitoring and acquisition of data in real time, for recording and storage of parameters and data to obtain absolute and differential values, as well as achieving a multidimensional measurement of acceleration, speed, impacts, position, rotation and misalignment, also serving as an out-of-range, previously speci fi ed, pre-set alignment, etc.

Description of the drawings

To complement the description that will then be made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a representation corresponding to a group of sensors with a unique processing module that form the device.

Figure 2.- Shows a control module that accesses information from one or more devices (sensor group), and with different types of communications to various external equipment.

Figure 3.- Shows an elevation representation of the device of the invention disposed in use situation on the back of a user.

Figure 4.- Shows a schematic perspective view showing a synchronized swimming team in which each of the components of the team has a device like the one in the previous figure.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

As can be seen in the aforementioned figures, and specifically in relation to Figure 1, a group of sensors (1) capable of measuring and recording kinematic and dynamic values such as acceleration, speed, distance, position, angulation, rotation, can be observed. impacts, orientation and misalignment, the number of sensors (1) being variable and being composed of accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses, all of them triaxial, X, Y, Z, there being also a temperature sensor (1 ') whose purpose is to measure the temperature.

The information captured by these sensors (1, 1 '), reaches a processing module (2) which includes a real-time control and indication device (3), a device in charge of the input and output management ( 4), directly connected to the sensor group (1, 1 '), an indicator device (5) that constitute interface elements between the sensor group and the person using it, to inform of the different operating states as well as of the indications of the same, such as luminous, of sounds and vibration.

Said module (2) also includes a microcontroller (6) to control the processes and perform the necessary calculations, as well as manage the storage of the information, including also a memory device.

(7) to store the information obtained by the microcontroller (6), including a software block (8) as a program responsible for the operation of the sensor network (1, 1 ’).

In addition to the aforementioned devices and blocks, it also includes a transceiver device (9) responsible for transmitting and receiving information via radio, a radio transmission device (10) and a device (11) responsible for receiving radio from others. devices or media

The aforementioned array of sensors (1) may be established on the back (16) of a user, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, in order to analyze the posture of the spine at all times.

Figure 2 shows the control device which receives the information from the devices (1,2) to retransmit it by means of the control module (15), which includes the same elements and devices as the processing module (2) of Figure 1 already commented, and through the communications block (14), with various external communication modes such as mobile phone (12), PC (13), etc.

In this figure 2 it can be seen how the said control module (15) can communicate with multiple groups of sensors (1) and their corresponding processing modules (2), communication that can be established bi-directionally and simultaneously.

Claims (10)

one.

System of measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision in real time for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, characterized in that it comprises a group of sensors (1), being that group of sensors (1) associated with a processing block (2) to process the information received from the sensor group (1); a control block (15) having the same devices as the processing block (2) being provided, said control block (15) receiving the information from the sensor network (1, 2).

2.

Real-time measurement, recording, indication, control and monitoring system for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor group (1) includes a temperature sensor (1 ').

3.

System of measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision in real time for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to previous claims, characterized in that the external devices (12, 13) exchange information with the sensor group (1, 1 '), and can be communicated by different communication modes, such as USB, RS-232, WI-FI, BT, local NETWORK and the like.

Four.

System of measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision in real time for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to previous claims, characterized in that both the processing module (2) as the control module (15) include a device in charge of the input / output management (4); a block of indicators (5) as means of interface between the group of sensors (1, 1 ’) and the person to whom the system is applied; a microcontroller (6) as the main processing unit; a software block (8) corresponding to the program responsible for the operation of the sensor group (1, 1 ’), a memory block (7) for storing the information obtained by the microcontroller (6); a transceiver device (9) responsible for transmitting and receiving information via radio, a device for radio transmission (10) to other sensor or control devices, and a device (11) responsible for receiving other sensor devices via radio or of control.

5.

System of measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision in real time for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to previous claims, characterized in that it is autonomous in its operation.

6.

Real-time measurement, recording, indication, control and monitoring system for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is liquid tight.

7.

System of measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision in real time for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is capable of being arranged directly on the subject or in your clothes.

8.

Real-time measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision system for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is grouped with others, synchronized simultaneously .

9.

Real-time measurement, recording, indication, control and supervision system for postural correction of the spine or applications where a kinematic and / or dynamic analysis is required, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is capable of being remotely configured.

SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201031792 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 02.12.2010 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: A61B5 / 11 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

Documents cited Claims Affected

X X

US 2007169364 A1 (MICROSTRAIN INC) 26.07.2007, paragraphs [11-13], [44-51], [54-57], [62-64], [70-80]; Figures 1,7,8,9; claims 1-14,22-24,27. US 2007 250286 A1 (QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY) 25.10.2007, paragraphs [14-33], [47-50], [55-57], [62-66]; figures 1-3; claims 1.5-22.25-27. 1-9 1-9

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 09.08.2011

Examiner J. Cotillas Castellano Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201031792 Minimum documentation searched (classification system followed by classification symbols) A61B, G06F Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201031792 Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 09.08.2011 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 2-9 1 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-9 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201031792 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

US 2007169364 A1 (MICROSTRAIN INC) 07.27.2007

D02

US 2007 250286 A1 (QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITYTECHNOLOGY) OF 10.25.2007

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement Document D01 is considered the closest in the state of the art to the subject of claims 1 to 9, and as regards these claims this document appears to affect the novelty and / or inventive activity of said claims, as explained below (references in parentheses correspond to D01):  Independent claim 1: Following the wording of claim 1, document D01 describes a measurement, recording, indication system, real-time control and supervision, which would be suitable for postural correction of the spine (see paragraph 11), and comprising: -a group of sensors (see paragraph 54 and figure 1) associated with -a processing block (see paragraph 24) that processes the information received from the sensor group; -a control block (see paragraph 71 and figure 7) that receives the information from the sensor network, where the block of control has the same devices as the processing block. Therefore, the object of the invention set forth in claim 1 derives directly and without any ambiguity from the document D01, so it would not meet the requirement of novelty (Article 6.1 LP).  Dependent claims 2 to 9: These claims do not seem to present additional characteristics or different alternatives that confer inventive activity against what has already been described in D01. As for claim 2, the invention described in document D01 differs from the one claimed in that a temperature sensor is not included therein. The technical effect associated with this difference would be the temperature measurement. The associated technical problem would therefore be to provide the measuring system with the ability to measure the temperature. However, it is considered that one skilled in the art faced with the problem of measuring the temperature would use, without the need for any inventive exercise, a temperature sensor to solve said problem. The remaining features claimed in claims 3 to 9 are found or disclosed in document D01 or they are practical issues which would be obvious to a person skilled in the art (it is the case of claim 6). In particular, the following technical characteristics have been found:

-

claim 3: external devices exchange information with the sensor group, and may be communicated by different modes of communication (see paragraphs 79 and 80).

-

claim 4: the processing and control modules include an input / output device (see paragraph 55 and elements 24 and 32 of the figures), block of indicators (see paragraph 70), a microcontroller, software and memory ( see paragraphs 54 and 62), a device for the transmission and reception of information via radio (see paragraph 64).

-

claim 5: it is autonomous in its operation (see paragraph 55).

-

claim 7: it can be arranged directly on the subject (see figure 7).

-

Claim 8: Can be grouped with others (see paragraph 77).

-

Claim 9: It can be configured remotely (see paragraph 78).

Thus, claims 2 to 9 would lack inventive activity (Article 8.1 LP). State of the Art Report Page 4/4