US20190269879A1 - Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject - Google Patents

Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20190269879A1
US20190269879A1 US16/295,050 US201916295050A US2019269879A1 US 20190269879 A1 US20190269879 A1 US 20190269879A1 US 201916295050 A US201916295050 A US 201916295050A US 2019269879 A1 US2019269879 A1 US 2019269879A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
antidote
mind
state
countermeasure
user
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US16/295,050
Inventor
Trungram Gyaltrul R. Sherpa
David H.C. CHEN
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Alayatec Inc
Original Assignee
Alayatec Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Alayatec Inc filed Critical Alayatec Inc
Priority to US16/295,050 priority Critical patent/US20190269879A1/en
Assigned to ALAYATEC, INC. reassignment ALAYATEC, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CHEN, DAVID H.C., Sherpa, Trungram Gyaltrul R.
Publication of US20190269879A1 publication Critical patent/US20190269879A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/16—Devices for psychotechnics; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
    • A61B5/165—Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/011—Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality
    • G06F3/015—Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/48—Other medical applications
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M21/02—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/40—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data
    • G06F16/43—Querying
    • G06F16/435—Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
    • G06F16/436—Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles using biological or physiological data of a human being, e.g. blood pressure, facial expression, gestures
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/60—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor of audio data
    • G06F16/63—Querying
    • G06F16/635—Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
    • G06F16/636—Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles by using biological or physiological data
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/002—Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16
    • G06F3/005—Input arrangements through a video camera
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
    • G06F3/033—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor
    • G06F3/0346—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/16—Sound input; Sound output
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B5/00—Electrically-operated educational appliances
    • G09B5/02—Electrically-operated educational appliances with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/60—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/63—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices for local operation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H50/00—ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or modelling epidemics or pandemics
    • G16H50/20—ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or modelling epidemics or pandemics for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H50/00—ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or modelling epidemics or pandemics
    • G16H50/30—ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or modelling epidemics or pandemics for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0022—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0027—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the hearing sense
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0044—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the sight sense
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/3303—Using a biosensor
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/3306—Optical measuring means
    • A61M2205/3313—Optical measuring means used specific wavelengths
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/332—Force measuring means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/3375—Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/50—General characteristics of the apparatus with microprocessors or computers
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/50—General characteristics of the apparatus with microprocessors or computers
    • A61M2205/52—General characteristics of the apparatus with microprocessors or computers with memories providing a history of measured variating parameters of apparatus or patient
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/04—Heartbeat characteristics, e.g. ECG, blood pressure modulation
    • A61M2230/06—Heartbeat rate only
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/08—Other bio-electrical signals
    • A61M2230/10—Electroencephalographic signals
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/18—Rapid eye-movements [REM]
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/40—Respiratory characteristics
    • A61M2230/42—Rate
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/50—Temperature
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/63—Motion, e.g. physical activity
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2230/00—Measuring parameters of the user
    • A61M2230/65—Impedance, e.g. conductivity, capacity
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2203/00—Indexing scheme relating to G06F3/00 - G06F3/048
    • G06F2203/01—Indexing scheme relating to G06F3/01
    • G06F2203/011—Emotion or mood input determined on the basis of sensed human body parameters such as pulse, heart rate or beat, temperature of skin, facial expressions, iris, voice pitch, brain activity patterns

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the wellbeing of an individual and more particularly to a system and method for setting an individual's mind to a preferred state.
  • the person When a person is more focused, or able to be in the person's preferred state of mind, the person can be more productive for whatever he or she is doing. And as the person is productive, he or she can be happier as well. Additionally, when a person needs to rest, the person should have enough good-quality sleep. After the person is well rested, he or she can be healthier. What is desired is a system and method to help a person to set the person's mind in a preferred state, which may be focused, asleep, or other state. The present invention addresses such a need.
  • the method comprises detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of a user utilizing one or more sensors; and inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors that are provided to computational hardware.
  • the method includes providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than the preferred state of mind utilizing an actuator.
  • the system comprises one or more sensors for detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of the user and computational hardware for inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors.
  • the system includes an actuator for providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than a preferred state of mind.
  • FIG. 1A represents a general categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1B represents a forgiving categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1C represents a less forgiving categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1D represents an asymmetrical categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 2A represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising monitoring, inferring, and optional applying antidote, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 2B represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a first set of additional recording, and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 2C represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a second set of additional recording, calculating, as well as optional promoting and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 3A represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising monitoring, inferring, and optional applying antidote, when this present technology is utilized as a sleep aid.
  • FIG. 3B represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a first set of additional recording, and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized as a sleep aid.
  • FIG. 4A represents an exemplified and non-limiting embodiment with 3 devices.
  • FIG. 4B represents an exemplified and non-limiting embodiment with detailed hardware block diagram.
  • SCATTERING is a first state of mind
  • SINKING is a second state of mind.
  • a third state of mind can be categorized as calm, focused, unbiased, awakened, clear, fresh, aware and peaceful.
  • This present technology names the third state of mind as MINDFUL. From time to time, people actually pass the third state of mind though very quickly and without noticing.
  • This present technology may help them to practice balancing their minds, in order to stay in MINDFUL, state longer thus their ability to focus is strengthened, for productivity, effectiveness, and most importantly peace and harmony. Alternately, this present technology may help to set a person's mind in sleep, an extreme condition of SINKING.
  • This present technology is for settling a person's mind a state preferred by the person. The preferred state can be MINDFUL, SINKING, or another state.
  • the SCATTERING state may be further divided into sub-states.
  • Anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, and sadness are some non-limiting examples of the sub-states.
  • This present technology utilizes at least one sensor to notice, detect, measure, or monitor a person's heart rate (heartbeats), heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP), respiratory rate (breath), brainwaves (thoughts), blood pressure, body temperature, skin moisture, eye motion, speech pattern, facial expression, hand gesture, body posture, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology infers a state of mind from the detected physiological or biochemical responses or activities.
  • This present technology may utilize artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm, to conduct the inferring.
  • AI artificial intelligence
  • CNN convolutional neural network
  • CNN deep learning
  • this present technology When being utilized to train a person's mind to be MINDFUL, this present technology remains silent, quiet, and delivering no antidote when a person stays in MINDFUL.
  • This present technology provides an antidote immediately after the person is leaning toward either of the 2 furthest states (SCATTERING and SINKING), after the person falls into either of the 2 furthest states, when the person stays in either of the 2 furthest states for at least a respective predetermined leeway period, or a combination thereof.
  • SCATTERING and SINKING an antidote immediately after the person is leaning toward either of the 2 furthest states
  • this present technology helps the person reverse his or her movement toward or deeper into either of the 2 furthest states, and move toward and hopefully stay MINDFUL.
  • An antidote to SCATTERING state could be similar to or different from an antidote to SINKING state.
  • An embodiment can either model a mind as a continuous spectrum containing 3 general and adjacent states: SINKING, MINDFUL and SCATTERING, or farther divide SCATTERING state into anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other sub-state of emotion, or a combination thereof.
  • SCATTERING When an embodiment divides SCATTERING into sub-states, the embodiment may offer different antidote for different sub-states.
  • this present technology When being utilized as a sleeping aid, this present technology remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote when a person stay in SINKING.
  • This present technology provides an antidote immediately after the person is leaning toward SCATTERING, after the person falls into SCATTERING, when the person stays in SCATTERING for at least a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof. By providing an antidote, this present technology helps the person reverse his or her movement toward or deeper into SCATTERING, and move toward SINKING.
  • an antidote to SCATTERING could be similar to or different from a SCATTERING antidote when being utilized for training a person to be MINDFUL.
  • An antidote can be a sound, voice, visible object, vibration, environmental change, or a combination thereof.
  • the antidote can be a teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, suggestion, advice, or a combination thereof.
  • the antidote may be actionable to a person.
  • This present technology may present a vocal antidote in different languages. This present technology may allow a person to preselect an antidote from various options.
  • This present technology may adjust an antidote to avoid over-application, under-application, or both. For example, if a person's mind is not too scattering, the present technology may apply a weaker antidote potentially with an instruction spoken slowly.
  • the present technology may record a history to keep track of how a person responds to a particular antidote.
  • the present technology may adjust strength of an antidote at least partially based on a history. For example, if the person was irresponsive to an antidote and continued to stay in an existing state, this present technology can decide to apply a stronger antidote potentially with an instruction spoken in a stronger tone.
  • This present technology may learn from a history of a current session, an accumulated history of prior sessions, or both.
  • This present technology may present an instruction or teaching in various ways. For example, an instruction or teaching may be presented in different tones, cadence, speed, strength, repetition gap, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may categorize persons (or users) into 2 or more levels. This present technology may be more forgiving to level-1 persons (new users, or beginners) and provide them more allowance, by reducing a sensitivity of a sensor, increasing a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, increasing a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof. By doing so, this present technology allows a wider range of MINDFUL, and narrows a range of SCATTERING, a range of SINKING, or both. This present technology may be less forgiving to level-2 or higher persons, by increasing a sensor sensitivity, reducing either of the two predetermined leeway periods, or a combination thereof.
  • level-2 or higher level persons will have a range of MINDFUL.
  • This present technology may automatically promote, recommend, motivate, or otherwise encourage a person to a higher level, when the person is able to remain in a preferred state of mind for a predetermined period of time, a predetermined ratio of time, needing less guidance, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may utilize an application or other kind of software.
  • the application may record a duration of a session, a time log comprising a starting time when a person enters a particular state of mind and a name of the state (e.g. SCATTERING, MINDFUL, or SINKING), a log of any occurrence of an antidote, a chart or other graphical representation of mind's movement in the 3 states, or a combination thereof.
  • the application may motivate a person to continue to use this technology to help the person remain in MINDFUL, by rating his or her record and presenting the rating in an entertaining way.
  • the application should present a higher rating when a person stayed longer in MINDFUL, had a higher ratio of time in MINDFUL, completed a longer or entire session, required or triggered less antidote, or a combination thereof.
  • the application may provide a comparison between the rating and an average or median rating of all persons.
  • the application may facilitate a self-report by a person.
  • the application may upload or otherwise transfer a self-report, a record, other datum, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may utilize a self-report, record, other datum, or a combination thereof to train or test an artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm, for optimizing inferring accuracy, optimizing an antidote, or both.
  • AI artificial intelligence
  • CNN convolutional neural network
  • CNN deep learning
  • machine learning algorithm for optimizing inferring accuracy, optimizing an antidote, or both.
  • Visual objects, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects can trigger uncontrolled or unintended thoughts.
  • a person hears a sound of a car.
  • a first thought is the hearing itself, which is directly connected with the person's functional hearing receptor—the ear.
  • a first thought is not the problem. But the person will likely continue immediately from the first thought to additional thoughts often not directly connected to the hearing sensory: e.g. “a red car? . . . ”, “my car needs some services tomorrow . . . ”; “but I can't bring it to a dealer tomorrow because . . . ”.
  • An uncontrolled continuation of unintended thoughts is harmful to our productivity and peace.
  • Emotions include but not limited to anger, frustration, ashamedy, arrogance, greed, depression, excitement, remorse, sadness, empathy, love, and appreciative joy.
  • people could say something very provoking to a person, and stir up the person's emotion. The person will usually follow his or her emotion, and become one who is being directed by the people.
  • FIG. 1A depicts a general and simple categorization that understands or models a mind as a continuous spectrum containing 3 adjacent states. From the left to the right, there are 3 mental states or states of mind, namely SINKING, MINDFUL, and SCATTERING. SINKING and SCATTERING are 2 furthest states, while MINDFUL is a neutral state, “pure mind” free from either of the furthest states. In SINKING state, one of the 2 furthest states, a person is dull, with unclear mind, drowsy, sleepy or asleep. In SCATTERING state, the other one of the 2 furthest states, a person is distracted with uncontrolled thoughts, controlled by emotions, or both.
  • SINKING and SCATTERING are 2 furthest states
  • MINDFUL is a neutral state, “pure mind” free from either of the furthest states.
  • SINKING state one of the 2 furthest states, a person is dull, with unclear mind, drowsy,
  • MINDFUL state In between the 2 furthest states, MINDFUL state is neutral and free from SINKING and SCATTERING. In MINDFUL state, a balanced state, a person is calm, focused, unbiased, awakened, clear, fresh, aware and peaceful.
  • An embodiment may either deploy this simple categorization of 3 general and adjacent states of mind, or additionally split the SCATTERING state into sub-states that comprise anxiety, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other emotion, or a combination thereof.
  • the embodiment may apply a different antidote for a different sub-state.
  • FIG. 1B depicts a forgiving division of the 3 states of mind, giving more allowance and a wider range of MINDFUL.
  • This present technology may reduce sensitivity of a sensor with analog or digital means, increase a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, increase a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, to widen a range within which MINDFUL is defined for a person. By doing so, this present technology will not discourage the person with too many antidotes when the person tries to train his or her mind.
  • This forgiving approach may help a beginner or new user. This disclosure names a beginner or new user as a level-1 person.
  • FIG. 1C depicts a less forgiving division of the 3 mental states, giving less allowance and a narrower range of MINDFUL.
  • This present technology may increase sensitivity of a sensor with analog or digital means, reduce a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, reduce a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, to narrow a range within which MINDFUL is defined for a person. By doing so, this present technology will help a person farther train his or her mind with an early antidote and prevent the person from going too far into a furthest state. This less forgiving approach may help an experienced user.
  • This disclosure names an experienced user as level-2 person. This technology may classify persons or users into 2 or more levels.
  • FIG. 1D depicts an asymmetrical division of the 3 mental states, allowing a boundary between SINKING and MINDFUL and a boundary between MINDFUL and SCATTERING to be defined separately.
  • This present technology allows monitoring a same physiological or biochemical response or activity for inferring all states of mind, or monitoring a different physiological or biochemical response or activity for inferring a different state of mind, or both.
  • a sensor sensibility, a predetermined leeway period, or both can be same or different when inferring a different state of mind.
  • FIG. 1D shows a wider range of Sinking as a non-limiting example, this present technology also allows widening of Mindful state, widening of Scattering state, or any kind of asymmetrical division.
  • biological marker as a measurable broad category of phenomenon, sign, characteristic, activity, event, or feature; indicating a biological process, a body condition, a physiological state, a biochemical response, or a combination thereof.
  • biological marker comprise heart rate or heartbeats, heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP) or blood flow, respiratory rate or breath, brainwave, skin temperature, skin conductivity, eye motion, speech rate, facial expression, and body posture.
  • FIG. 2A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • this present technology utilizes at least one sensor to monitor at least one biological marker (biomarker).
  • biomarker biological marker
  • this present technology infers a state of mind.
  • Conditional Furthest Antidote 203 this present technology applies an antidote if a person is in either of the 2 furthest states for at least a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 0 to a few seconds); otherwise remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote. When a predetermined leeway period is 0, an embodiment may apply an antidote immediately.
  • a predetermined leeway period e.g. 0 to a few seconds
  • An embodiment may either conduct a sketchy inferring wherein a state of mind can be SINKING, MINDFUL or SCATTERING; or conduct a detailed inferring wherein the SCATTERING state is sub-divided into anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other sub-state of emotion, or a combination thereof.
  • SCATTERING state is sub-divided into anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other sub-state of emotion, or a combination thereof.
  • subsequently embodiment may apply a different antidote according to which sub-state a person is in.
  • FIG. 2B depicts a first extended and non-limiting process when this technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • elements 214 and 215 are added.
  • this present technology records any antidote applied.
  • Adjusting 215 adjusts an antidote based on a record, a currently inferred state of mind, or both.
  • Antidote Recording 214 may record that an antidote for SCATTERING is applied.
  • Adjusting 215 may find a currently inferred state of mind becomes SINKING soon after being in SCATTERING. In this case, a person becomes SINKING quickly after a SCATTERING antidote was applied.
  • this technology may make the antidote for SCATTERING weaker. This is to prevent over-application again, when the person falls into SCATTERING again.
  • FIG. 2C depicts a second extended and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • elements 224 , 225 , and 226 are added.
  • Time Log Recording 224 records a time log comprising a starting time when a person enters a particular state of mind and a name of the state (e.g. SINKING, MINDFUL, or SCATTERING).
  • Calculating 225 calculates a duration within which a person stays in MINDFUL, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in MINDFUL, and a total time in a session, or both.
  • Conditional Promotion 226 automatically promotes or proactively motivates a person to a higher level of mind tuning, and adjusts sensitivity of the at least one sensor, the predetermined leeway period of SINKING, the predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, if the person is automatically promoted to or actively accepted the higher level of mind tuning.
  • FIG. 3A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized as a sleeping aid.
  • this present technology utilizes at least one sensor to monitor at least one physiological or biochemical response or activity.
  • Inferring 202 this present technology infers a state of mind.
  • Conditional SCATTERING Antidote 303 applies an antidote if a person is in SCATTERING state for at least a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 0 to a few seconds); otherwise remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote. When a predetermined leeway period is 0, an embodiment may apply an antidote immediately.
  • a predetermined leeway period e.g. 0 to a few seconds
  • FIG. 3B depicts a first extended and non-limiting process when this technology is utilized as a sleeping aid.
  • elements 214 and 215 are added.
  • this present technology records any antidote applied.
  • Adjusting 215 adjusts an antidote based on a record, a currently inferred state of mind, or both.
  • Antidote Recording 214 may record that an antidote for SCATTERING is applied.
  • Adjusting 215 may find a currently inferred state of mind remains as SCATTERING. In this case, a person remains SCATTERING after a SCATTERING antidote was applied.
  • this technology may make the antidote for SCATTERING stronger, select a different SCATTERING antidote, or both. This is to prevent under-application again, and to help a person fall into sleep earlier.
  • the preferred state of mind can be MINDFUL or SINKING, as exemplified with above non-limiting descriptions and drawings.
  • the preferred state of mind can be SCATTERING as well.
  • the SINKING state and the MINDFUL state are not preferred, but the SCATTERING state is preferred.
  • An embodiment for the SCATTERING state of mind may apply antidote when a person is in SINKING, MINDFUL, or both.
  • An embodiment for the SCATTERING state of mind may utilize a SINKING antidote, which is similar to or different from a SINKING antidote from an embodiment for the MINDFUL state.
  • FIG. 4A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting connectivity of devices.
  • This non-limiting example is suitable for a mind tuning system, a sleeping aid system, or other system.
  • An embodiment may comprise 3 devices. These 3 devices may be integrated, packaged, or otherwise enclosed inside an enclosure, and appear as a single product such like a fitness wristband, earplug, earphone, headband, headset, smart watch, smart phone, smart glasses, smart wearable, or other product. It is also allowed to have these 3 devices as 2 or more separate products that perform this present technology together.
  • a first device 401 comprises at least one sensor suitable to obtain, notice, detect, measure, or monitor a person's heart rate or heartbeats, heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP) or blood flow, respiratory rate or breath, brainwaves, skin temperature, skin conductivity, eye motion, speech rate, facial expression, body posture, other physiological or biochemical response or activity, or a combination thereof.
  • HRV heart rate variability
  • BVP blood volume pulse
  • a camera may be used as a sensor for monitoring eye motion, avoidance of eye contact, facial expression, body gesture or posture, or a combination thereof.
  • a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor comprising a light-emitting diode (LED) and a photodetector, may be used to monitor a heart rate (beats per minute), interval from an onset of one R wave to an onset of a next one (R-R interval), heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP), moving average of blood volume pulse peak-to-peak amplitude variation (MBAV), or a combination thereof.
  • An electroencephalography (EEG) or other electrophysiological sensor may be used to monitor electrical activity of a brain or brainwaves.
  • a webcam with independent component analysis on color channels may be used as a sensor to extract the blood volume pulse (BVP), heart rate, respiratory rate, heart rate variability (HRV), or a combination thereof.
  • An infrared thermometer may be used as a sensor to measure skin or body temperature.
  • a galvanic resistance sensor comprising 2 silver chloride (AgCl) electrodes and a voltage source, may measure skin conductivity, galvanic skin response (GSR), or both.
  • GSR galvanic skin response
  • a microphone may be used as a sensor to measure speech pitch variables, speech rate, or both.
  • a gyroscope sensor gyro sensor
  • vibrating structure gyroscope, vibratory gyroscope, or accelerometer may be used as a sensor to measure body posture, body gesture, or both.
  • An embodiment may utilize at least one sensor from these non-limiting examples, a different sensor, or a combination thereof.
  • a second device 402 comprises at least one microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), system on a chip (SoC), or other computational hardware suitable to infer a state of mind from at least one signal from the first device.
  • the second device 402 may treat a transient signal as a noise and ignore it.
  • the second device 402 may infer SINKING from nonlinear eye movement, yawning, heart rate reduction, slower or bigger brainwaves, other indicative physiological or biochemical sign, or a combination thereof.
  • the second device 402 may infer SCATTERING from increased or rapid heart rate (heartbeat), heart rate acceleration, inter-beat interval (IBI) variability reduction, blood volume pulse (BVP) amplitude reduction, increased skin temperature, shortness of breath, increased respiration, fast breathing, other indicative physiological or biochemical sign, or a combination thereof.
  • heartbeat heart rate
  • IBI inter-beat interval
  • BVP blood volume pulse
  • an embodiment may utilize the second device 402 for simple inferring with 3 possible results: SINKING, MINDFUL or SCATTERING.
  • an embodiment may utilize the second device 402 for detailed inferring by farther breaking down SCATTERING into sub-states.
  • the second device 402 may infer anxiety from avoidance of eye contact.
  • the second device 402 may infer pain from decreased amount of blood currently running through the vessels (BVP).
  • the second device 402 may infer surprise from increased skin conductance level (SCL), increased skin conductance response (SCR), increased heart rate, decreased blood volume pulse (BVP), decreased pulse transit time (PIT), or a combination thereof.
  • SCL skin conductance level
  • SCR skin conductance response
  • BVP blood volume pulse
  • PIT pulse transit time
  • the second device 402 may infer fear from faster speech, louder speech, higher or wider pitch range, or a combination thereof.
  • the second device 402 may infer sadness from lower-pitched and slurred speech, slower speech, or both.
  • the second device 402 may classify or infer a state of mind by using a database, knowledge base, vector space model, statistical method, optical flow, active appearance model, linear discriminant classifier (LDC), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), Gaussian mixture model (GMM), discriminant function analysis (DFA), linear discriminate analysis (LDA), classification and regression tree (CART), self-organizing map (SOM), Na ⁇ ve Bayes algorithm, support vector machine (SVM), artificial intelligence (Al), artificial neural network (ANN), convolutional neural network (CNN), decision tree algorithm, hidden Markov model (HMM), deep learning, other machine learning algorithm, or a combination thereof.
  • LDC linear discriminant classifier
  • k-NN k-nearest neighbor
  • GBM Gaussian mixture model
  • DFA discriminant function analysis
  • LDA linear discriminate analysis
  • CART classification and regression tree
  • SOM self-organizing map
  • Na ⁇ ve Bayes algorithm Na ⁇ ve Bayes algorithm
  • SVM support vector machine
  • Al
  • the second device 402 may confirm an inferring immediately, or after a same state is inferred for a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 3 to 10 seconds).
  • the second device 402 may maintain a same predetermined leeway period for both SINKING and SCATTERING, or a different predetermined leeway period for each of the 2 furthest states.
  • the second device 402 When being utilized for mind tuning, the second device 402 initiates an antidote after confirming a person is in either SINKING or SCATTERING state.
  • the second device 402 may record a state confirmation with a name of the state and a timestamp. After confirming a state of mind, the second device 402 may review a last record to check if the current state is same as a last recorded state. If the current state is same as the last recorded one, the second device 402 may initiate a stronger antidote. Otherwise, the second device 402 may initiate an existing or weaker antidote.
  • the second device 402 may compute a maximum duration during which a person remains in MINDFUL without triggering an antidote, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in MINDFUL and a total time in a session, a length of longest session completed, or a combination thereof.
  • the second device 402 may automatically promote or proactively motivate a person to a higher level of mind tuning. If the person is automatically promoted or actively consents to the higher level, the second device 402 may increase a sensitivity of a sensor potentially by adjusting a digital filter, decrease the predetermined leeway period of SINKING, decrease the predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof.
  • the second device 402 When being utilized as a sleep aid, the second device 402 initiates an antidote after confirming a person is in either MINDFUL or SCATTERING state.
  • the second device 402 may record a state confirmation with a name of the state and a timestamp. After confirming a state of mind, the second device 402 may review a last record to check if the current state is same as a last recorded state. If the current state is same as the last recorded one, the second device 402 may initiate a stronger antidote. Otherwise, the second device 402 may initiate an existing or weaker antidote.
  • the second device 402 may compute a maximum duration during which a person remains in SINKING (e.g. asleep) without triggering an antidote, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in SINKING and a total time in a session, a length of longest session completed, or a combination thereof.
  • the second device 402 may facilitate a self-report by a person, potentially via an application or other kind of software.
  • the second device 402 may utilize a self-report to correlate or otherwise optimize the inferring, an antidote, or both.
  • the second device 402 may upload or otherwise transfer a self-report, a record, other datum, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may utilize the uploaded or transferred information to train, test, or otherwise optimize an embodiment, potentially utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm.
  • AI artificial intelligence
  • CNN convolutional neural network
  • CNN deep learning
  • a third device 403 comprises at least one actuator, wired or wirelessly coupled to the second device 402 , to actuate an antidote by means of sounds, voices, visible objects, vibration, environmental control, or a combination thereof.
  • a prominent vibrator may be used as an actuator to generate a sound, vibration, or both.
  • a speaker may be used as an actuator to synthesize, play back, or otherwise generate voices.
  • a display may be used as an actuator to present visible objects.
  • a light switch or dimmer may be used as an actuator to control ambient lighting.
  • An embodiment may utilize at least one actuator from these non-limiting examples, a different actuator, or a combination thereof.
  • An embodiment may utilize 2 or more actuators to allow a person to choose from different kinds of antidote.
  • the third device 403 may record or otherwise store a teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, suggestion, or a combination thereof, as an antidote.
  • the teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion may have multiple versions, in different languages, to allow choices of languages.
  • the teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion may have various presentations, in terms of tones, cadence, speed, or a combination thereof as antidotes of different strengths.
  • Non-limiting examples of teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion in English are “settle the mind on the breath”, “awareness rests on breath as it enters and leaves the body”, and “when thoughts arise, simply let them go”.
  • FIG. 4B depicts a non-limiting embodiment with detailed hardware diagrams wherein a brainwave is selected as a biological marker (biomarker) and voices are selected as a means of antidotes.
  • This non-limiting hardware diagram is suitable for a mind tuning system, a sleeping aid system, or other system.
  • the brainwave is detectable in contact or contactless around a person's scalp.
  • the non-limiting embodiment utilizes an electrode 411 , made of silver chloride (AgCl), to receive the brainwave.
  • the electrode transmits the brainwave as a low voltage analog signal, which is filtered with a Butterworth filter configured to pass signals from 2 cycles per second (Hz) to 45 Hz.
  • a filtered 2-45 Hz analog signal is converted into a digital signal, by an analog to digital converter (ADC), such as Texas Instruments ADS1291 or another similar or better low-power analog front-end for bio-potential measurements.
  • ADC analog to digital converter
  • a digital signal processor (DSP) 412 is built with a timer and configured with a tightly coupled memory (TCM).
  • An instruction read only memory (IROM) 413 is coupled with the DSP 412 to provide instructions in form of an application (app) software stack.
  • the application software stack comprises ADC sampling instructions, to instruct the DSP 412 to sample the digital signal from the ADC at a predetermined rate or frequency via a memory-mapped input port.
  • the digital signal is processed in parallel with 2 Hamming windows to obtain a short-time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrum, to determine frequency contents of the digital signal as it changes over time.
  • the DSP 412 executes a trained support vector machine or multiclass support vector machine (SVM) to analyze the STFT spectrum, and classifies or infers the spectrum into a state of mind.
  • SVM trained support vector machine or multiclass support vector machine
  • the DSP 412 may utilize the TCM for Antidote Recording 214 , Time Log Recording 224 , Calculating 225 , other software tasks, or a combination thereof.
  • the DSP 412 may adjust a coefficient of one of the Hamming windows to vary sensitivity to a corresponding brainwave frequency, which may indicate either SINKING or SCATTERING.
  • the DSP 412 may utilize the timer as an adjustable predetermined leeway period for SINKING, as an adjustable predetermined leeway period for SCATTERING, or both. Varying sensitivity, adjusting a leeway period, or both is a way to realize Adjusting 215 , Conditional Promotion 226 , or both.
  • the DSP 412 classifies or infers a state of mind other than a predetermined preferred state of mind, the DSP 412 initiates an audio driver to play back a prerecorded antidote voice.
  • the antidote voice is transmitted onto a memory-mapped output port.
  • a digital to analog converter (DAC) converts the digital antidote voice into an analog signal, which is then filtered with an analog audio filter.
  • a speaker 413 converts a filtered audio signal into a corresponding voice, perceptible by the person's ears. The person may practice on, apply, or utilize an actionable advice conveyed in the voice.
  • the non-limiting embodiment, depicted by FIG. 4B can also be applied to pre-train a SVM, in a supervised learning.
  • the supervised learning provides a set of training examples, each marked for belonging to one of states of mind.
  • the SVM builds a model that later assigns a set of testing examples to states of mind. After the SVM correctly assigns the test examples to their respective states of mind, the SVM is successfully trained.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Anesthesiology (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Hematology (AREA)
  • Primary Health Care (AREA)
  • Epidemiology (AREA)
  • Physiology (AREA)
  • Psychiatry (AREA)
  • Educational Technology (AREA)
  • Surgery (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Pain & Pain Management (AREA)
  • Social Psychology (AREA)
  • Hospice & Palliative Care (AREA)
  • Developmental Disabilities (AREA)
  • Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Dermatology (AREA)
  • Neurology (AREA)

Abstract

Computer implemented method and system for achieving a preferred state of mind of a user are disclosed. In a first aspect, the method comprises detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of a user utilizing one or more sensors; and inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors that are provided to computational hardware. Finally, the method includes providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than the preferred state of mind utilizing an actuator. In a second aspect, the system comprises one or more sensors for detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of the user and computational hardware for inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors. Finally, the system includes an actuator for providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than a preferred state of mind.

Description

    RELATED APPLICATION DATA
  • This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/390,413, filed Dec. 23, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. application No. 15/003,732, filed on Jan. 21, 2016, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,566,411, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety.
    • FIELD OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention relates generally to the wellbeing of an individual and more particularly to a system and method for setting an individual's mind to a preferred state.
    • BACKGROUND
  • When a person is more focused, or able to be in the person's preferred state of mind, the person can be more productive for whatever he or she is doing. And as the person is productive, he or she can be happier as well. Additionally, when a person needs to rest, the person should have enough good-quality sleep. After the person is well rested, he or she can be healthier. What is desired is a system and method to help a person to set the person's mind in a preferred state, which may be focused, asleep, or other state. The present invention addresses such a need.
    • SUMMARY
  • Computer implemented method and system for achieving a preferred state of mind of a user are disclosed. In a first aspect, the method comprises detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of a user utilizing one or more sensors; and inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors that are provided to computational hardware. Finally the method includes providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than the preferred state of mind utilizing an actuator.
  • In a second aspect, the system comprises one or more sensors for detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of the user and computational hardware for inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors. Finally the system includes an actuator for providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than a preferred state of mind.
    • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1A represents a general categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1B represents a forgiving categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1C represents a less forgiving categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 1D represents an asymmetrical categorization of mind states.
  • FIG. 2A represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising monitoring, inferring, and optional applying antidote, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 2B represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a first set of additional recording, and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 2C represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a second set of additional recording, calculating, as well as optional promoting and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning.
  • FIG. 3A represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising monitoring, inferring, and optional applying antidote, when this present technology is utilized as a sleep aid.
  • FIG. 3B represents an exemplified and non-limiting process comprising a first set of additional recording, and adjusting, when this present technology is utilized as a sleep aid.
  • FIG. 4A represents an exemplified and non-limiting embodiment with 3 devices.
  • FIG. 4B represents an exemplified and non-limiting embodiment with detailed hardware block diagram.
    •  DETAILED DESCRIPTION
  • The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
  • Under working conditions, people want to be productive and effective. But, most of the time, they cannot because their minds are untrained and they cannot control their thoughts or emotions. They are easily distracted by unintended thoughts, and the unintended thoughts tend to be followed by agitated emotions. Besides mental distractions of uncontrolled thoughts or emotions, dullness, unclearness, drowsiness and sleepiness are additional situations preventing people from being productive and effective.
  • Under resting conditions, people may want to sleep. But, many people have difficulties falling into sleep since their minds are too agitated or scattering. They cannot put their minds to rest, and consequently their body cannot rest properly. This condition, especially if prolonged, can cause harms to health.
  • SCATTERING is a first state of mind, while SINKING is a second state of mind. In between these 2 furthest states, a third state of mind can be categorized as calm, focused, unbiased, awakened, clear, fresh, aware and peaceful. This present technology names the third state of mind as MINDFUL. From time to time, people actually pass the third state of mind though very quickly and without noticing. This present technology may help them to practice balancing their minds, in order to stay in MINDFUL, state longer thus their ability to focus is strengthened, for productivity, effectiveness, and most importantly peace and harmony. Alternately, this present technology may help to set a person's mind in sleep, an extreme condition of SINKING. This present technology is for settling a person's mind a state preferred by the person. The preferred state can be MINDFUL, SINKING, or another state.
  • The SCATTERING state may be further divided into sub-states. Anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, and sadness are some non-limiting examples of the sub-states.
  • This present technology utilizes at least one sensor to notice, detect, measure, or monitor a person's heart rate (heartbeats), heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP), respiratory rate (breath), brainwaves (thoughts), blood pressure, body temperature, skin moisture, eye motion, speech pattern, facial expression, hand gesture, body posture, or a combination thereof. This present technology infers a state of mind from the detected physiological or biochemical responses or activities. This present technology may utilize artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm, to conduct the inferring.
  • When being utilized to train a person's mind to be MINDFUL, this present technology remains silent, quiet, and delivering no antidote when a person stays in MINDFUL. This present technology provides an antidote immediately after the person is leaning toward either of the 2 furthest states (SCATTERING and SINKING), after the person falls into either of the 2 furthest states, when the person stays in either of the 2 furthest states for at least a respective predetermined leeway period, or a combination thereof. By providing an antidote, this present technology helps the person reverse his or her movement toward or deeper into either of the 2 furthest states, and move toward and hopefully stay MINDFUL. An antidote to SCATTERING state could be similar to or different from an antidote to SINKING state. An embodiment can either model a mind as a continuous spectrum containing 3 general and adjacent states: SINKING, MINDFUL and SCATTERING, or farther divide SCATTERING state into anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other sub-state of emotion, or a combination thereof. When an embodiment divides SCATTERING into sub-states, the embodiment may offer different antidote for different sub-states.
  • When being utilized as a sleeping aid, this present technology remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote when a person stay in SINKING. This present technology provides an antidote immediately after the person is leaning toward SCATTERING, after the person falls into SCATTERING, when the person stays in SCATTERING for at least a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof. By providing an antidote, this present technology helps the person reverse his or her movement toward or deeper into SCATTERING, and move toward SINKING. When being utilized as a sleep aid, an antidote to SCATTERING could be similar to or different from a SCATTERING antidote when being utilized for training a person to be MINDFUL.
  • An antidote can be a sound, voice, visible object, vibration, environmental change, or a combination thereof. When the antidote is a voice, it can be a teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, suggestion, advice, or a combination thereof. The antidote may be actionable to a person. This present technology may present a vocal antidote in different languages. This present technology may allow a person to preselect an antidote from various options.
  • This present technology may adjust an antidote to avoid over-application, under-application, or both. For example, if a person's mind is not too scattering, the present technology may apply a weaker antidote potentially with an instruction spoken slowly. The present technology may record a history to keep track of how a person responds to a particular antidote. The present technology may adjust strength of an antidote at least partially based on a history. For example, if the person was irresponsive to an antidote and continued to stay in an existing state, this present technology can decide to apply a stronger antidote potentially with an instruction spoken in a stronger tone. This present technology may learn from a history of a current session, an accumulated history of prior sessions, or both. This present technology may present an instruction or teaching in various ways. For example, an instruction or teaching may be presented in different tones, cadence, speed, strength, repetition gap, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may categorize persons (or users) into 2 or more levels. This present technology may be more forgiving to level-1 persons (new users, or beginners) and provide them more allowance, by reducing a sensitivity of a sensor, increasing a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, increasing a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof. By doing so, this present technology allows a wider range of MINDFUL, and narrows a range of SCATTERING, a range of SINKING, or both. This present technology may be less forgiving to level-2 or higher persons, by increasing a sensor sensitivity, reducing either of the two predetermined leeway periods, or a combination thereof. By doing so, level-2 or higher level persons will have a range of MINDFUL. With practice, on each level, a person will progress, require less guidance, and get better. This present technology may automatically promote, recommend, motivate, or otherwise encourage a person to a higher level, when the person is able to remain in a preferred state of mind for a predetermined period of time, a predetermined ratio of time, needing less guidance, or a combination thereof.
  • This present technology may utilize an application or other kind of software. The application may record a duration of a session, a time log comprising a starting time when a person enters a particular state of mind and a name of the state (e.g. SCATTERING, MINDFUL, or SINKING), a log of any occurrence of an antidote, a chart or other graphical representation of mind's movement in the 3 states, or a combination thereof. When being utilized to train a person's mind to be MINDFUL, the application may motivate a person to continue to use this technology to help the person remain in MINDFUL, by rating his or her record and presenting the rating in an entertaining way. The application should present a higher rating when a person stayed longer in MINDFUL, had a higher ratio of time in MINDFUL, completed a longer or entire session, required or triggered less antidote, or a combination thereof. The application may provide a comparison between the rating and an average or median rating of all persons.
  • The application may facilitate a self-report by a person. The application may upload or otherwise transfer a self-report, a record, other datum, or a combination thereof. This present technology may utilize a self-report, record, other datum, or a combination thereof to train or test an artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm, for optimizing inferring accuracy, optimizing an antidote, or both.
  • Visual objects, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects can trigger uncontrolled or unintended thoughts. For example, a person hears a sound of a car. A first thought is the hearing itself, which is directly connected with the person's functional hearing receptor—the ear. A first thought is not the problem. But the person will likely continue immediately from the first thought to additional thoughts often not directly connected to the hearing sensory: e.g. “a red car? . . . ”, “my car needs some services tomorrow . . . ”; “but I can't bring it to a dealer tomorrow because . . . ”. An uncontrolled continuation of unintended thoughts is harmful to our productivity and peace.
  • Emotions include but not limited to anger, frustration, jealousy, arrogance, greed, depression, excitement, remorse, sadness, empathy, love, and appreciative joy. For example, people could say something very provoking to a person, and stir up the person's emotion. The person will usually follow his or her emotion, and become one who is being directed by the people.
  • FIG. 1A depicts a general and simple categorization that understands or models a mind as a continuous spectrum containing 3 adjacent states. From the left to the right, there are 3 mental states or states of mind, namely SINKING, MINDFUL, and SCATTERING. SINKING and SCATTERING are 2 furthest states, while MINDFUL is a neutral state, “pure mind” free from either of the furthest states. In SINKING state, one of the 2 furthest states, a person is dull, with unclear mind, drowsy, sleepy or asleep. In SCATTERING state, the other one of the 2 furthest states, a person is distracted with uncontrolled thoughts, controlled by emotions, or both. In between the 2 furthest states, MINDFUL state is neutral and free from SINKING and SCATTERING. In MINDFUL state, a balanced state, a person is calm, focused, unbiased, awakened, clear, fresh, aware and peaceful.
  • An embodiment may either deploy this simple categorization of 3 general and adjacent states of mind, or additionally split the SCATTERING state into sub-states that comprise anxiety, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other emotion, or a combination thereof. When an embodiment additionally splits the SCATTERING state into sub-states of mind, the embodiment may apply a different antidote for a different sub-state.
  • FIG. 1B depicts a forgiving division of the 3 states of mind, giving more allowance and a wider range of MINDFUL. This present technology may reduce sensitivity of a sensor with analog or digital means, increase a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, increase a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, to widen a range within which MINDFUL is defined for a person. By doing so, this present technology will not discourage the person with too many antidotes when the person tries to train his or her mind. This forgiving approach may help a beginner or new user. This disclosure names a beginner or new user as a level-1 person.
  • FIG. 1C depicts a less forgiving division of the 3 mental states, giving less allowance and a narrower range of MINDFUL. This present technology may increase sensitivity of a sensor with analog or digital means, reduce a predetermined leeway period of SINKING, reduce a predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, to narrow a range within which MINDFUL is defined for a person. By doing so, this present technology will help a person farther train his or her mind with an early antidote and prevent the person from going too far into a furthest state. This less forgiving approach may help an experienced user. This disclosure names an experienced user as level-2 person. This technology may classify persons or users into 2 or more levels.
  • FIG. 1D depicts an asymmetrical division of the 3 mental states, allowing a boundary between SINKING and MINDFUL and a boundary between MINDFUL and SCATTERING to be defined separately. This present technology allows monitoring a same physiological or biochemical response or activity for inferring all states of mind, or monitoring a different physiological or biochemical response or activity for inferring a different state of mind, or both. A sensor sensibility, a predetermined leeway period, or both can be same or different when inferring a different state of mind. Though FIG. 1D shows a wider range of Sinking as a non-limiting example, this present technology also allows widening of Mindful state, widening of Scattering state, or any kind of asymmetrical division.
  • This disclosure defines a biological marker (biomarker) as a measurable broad category of phenomenon, sign, characteristic, activity, event, or feature; indicating a biological process, a body condition, a physiological state, a biochemical response, or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of biological marker (biomarker) comprise heart rate or heartbeats, heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP) or blood flow, respiratory rate or breath, brainwave, skin temperature, skin conductivity, eye motion, speech rate, facial expression, and body posture.
  • FIG. 2A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning. With Monitoring 201, this present technology utilizes at least one sensor to monitor at least one biological marker (biomarker). With Inferring 202, this present technology infers a state of mind. With Conditional Furthest Antidote 203, this present technology applies an antidote if a person is in either of the 2 furthest states for at least a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 0 to a few seconds); otherwise remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote. When a predetermined leeway period is 0, an embodiment may apply an antidote immediately.
  • An embodiment may either conduct a sketchy inferring wherein a state of mind can be SINKING, MINDFUL or SCATTERING; or conduct a detailed inferring wherein the SCATTERING state is sub-divided into anxiety, pain, surprise, fear, anger, joy, sadness, other sub-state of emotion, or a combination thereof. When an embodiment conducts detailed inferring, subsequently embodiment may apply a different antidote according to which sub-state a person is in.
  • FIG. 2B depicts a first extended and non-limiting process when this technology is utilized for mind tuning. In addition to elements 201, 202 and 203, elements 214 and 215 are added. With Antidote Recording 214, this present technology records any antidote applied. Adjusting 215 adjusts an antidote based on a record, a currently inferred state of mind, or both. For example, Antidote Recording 214 may record that an antidote for SCATTERING is applied. Adjusting 215 may find a currently inferred state of mind becomes SINKING soon after being in SCATTERING. In this case, a person becomes SINKING quickly after a SCATTERING antidote was applied. Based on both the record and the current state of mind, this technology may make the antidote for SCATTERING weaker. This is to prevent over-application again, when the person falls into SCATTERING again.
  • FIG. 2C depicts a second extended and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized for mind tuning. In addition to elements 201, 202 and 203, elements 224, 225, and 226 are added. Time Log Recording 224 records a time log comprising a starting time when a person enters a particular state of mind and a name of the state (e.g. SINKING, MINDFUL, or SCATTERING). Calculating 225 calculates a duration within which a person stays in MINDFUL, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in MINDFUL, and a total time in a session, or both. Conditional Promotion 226 automatically promotes or proactively motivates a person to a higher level of mind tuning, and adjusts sensitivity of the at least one sensor, the predetermined leeway period of SINKING, the predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof, if the person is automatically promoted to or actively accepted the higher level of mind tuning.
  • FIG. 3A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting process when this present technology is utilized as a sleeping aid. With Monitoring 201, this present technology utilizes at least one sensor to monitor at least one physiological or biochemical response or activity. With Inferring 202, this present technology infers a state of mind. Conditional SCATTERING Antidote 303 applies an antidote if a person is in SCATTERING state for at least a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 0 to a few seconds); otherwise remains silent, quiet and delivering no antidote. When a predetermined leeway period is 0, an embodiment may apply an antidote immediately.
  • FIG. 3B depicts a first extended and non-limiting process when this technology is utilized as a sleeping aid. In addition to elements 201, 202 and 303, elements 214 and 215 are added. With Antidote Recording 214, this present technology records any antidote applied. Adjusting 215 adjusts an antidote based on a record, a currently inferred state of mind, or both. For example, Antidote Recording 214 may record that an antidote for SCATTERING is applied. Adjusting 215 may find a currently inferred state of mind remains as SCATTERING. In this case, a person remains SCATTERING after a SCATTERING antidote was applied. Based on both the record and the current state of mind, this technology may make the antidote for SCATTERING stronger, select a different SCATTERING antidote, or both. This is to prevent under-application again, and to help a person fall into sleep earlier.
  • This present technology helps a person to achieve or maintain a preferred state of mind. The preferred state of mind can be MINDFUL or SINKING, as exemplified with above non-limiting descriptions and drawings. Likewise, the preferred state of mind can be SCATTERING as well. When the present technology is embodied to help achieve or maintain the SCATTERING state of mind, the SINKING state and the MINDFUL state are not preferred, but the SCATTERING state is preferred. An embodiment for the SCATTERING state of mind may apply antidote when a person is in SINKING, MINDFUL, or both. An embodiment for the SCATTERING state of mind may utilize a SINKING antidote, which is similar to or different from a SINKING antidote from an embodiment for the MINDFUL state.
  • FIG. 4A depicts an exemplified and non-limiting connectivity of devices. This non-limiting example is suitable for a mind tuning system, a sleeping aid system, or other system. An embodiment may comprise 3 devices. These 3 devices may be integrated, packaged, or otherwise enclosed inside an enclosure, and appear as a single product such like a fitness wristband, earplug, earphone, headband, headset, smart watch, smart phone, smart glasses, smart wearable, or other product. It is also allowed to have these 3 devices as 2 or more separate products that perform this present technology together.
  • A first device 401 comprises at least one sensor suitable to obtain, notice, detect, measure, or monitor a person's heart rate or heartbeats, heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP) or blood flow, respiratory rate or breath, brainwaves, skin temperature, skin conductivity, eye motion, speech rate, facial expression, body posture, other physiological or biochemical response or activity, or a combination thereof. For example, a camera may be used as a sensor for monitoring eye motion, avoidance of eye contact, facial expression, body gesture or posture, or a combination thereof. A photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, comprising a light-emitting diode (LED) and a photodetector, may be used to monitor a heart rate (beats per minute), interval from an onset of one R wave to an onset of a next one (R-R interval), heart rate variability (HRV), blood volume pulse (BVP), moving average of blood volume pulse peak-to-peak amplitude variation (MBAV), or a combination thereof. An electroencephalography (EEG) or other electrophysiological sensor may be used to monitor electrical activity of a brain or brainwaves. A webcam with independent component analysis on color channels may be used as a sensor to extract the blood volume pulse (BVP), heart rate, respiratory rate, heart rate variability (HRV), or a combination thereof. An infrared thermometer may be used as a sensor to measure skin or body temperature. A galvanic resistance sensor, comprising 2 silver chloride (AgCl) electrodes and a voltage source, may measure skin conductivity, galvanic skin response (GSR), or both. A microphone may be used as a sensor to measure speech pitch variables, speech rate, or both. A gyroscope sensor (gyro sensor), vibrating structure gyroscope, vibratory gyroscope, or accelerometer may be used as a sensor to measure body posture, body gesture, or both. An embodiment may utilize at least one sensor from these non-limiting examples, a different sensor, or a combination thereof.
  • A second device 402 comprises at least one microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), system on a chip (SoC), or other computational hardware suitable to infer a state of mind from at least one signal from the first device. The second device 402 may treat a transient signal as a noise and ignore it. The second device 402 may infer SINKING from nonlinear eye movement, yawning, heart rate reduction, slower or bigger brainwaves, other indicative physiological or biochemical sign, or a combination thereof. The second device 402 may infer SCATTERING from increased or rapid heart rate (heartbeat), heart rate acceleration, inter-beat interval (IBI) variability reduction, blood volume pulse (BVP) amplitude reduction, increased skin temperature, shortness of breath, increased respiration, fast breathing, other indicative physiological or biochemical sign, or a combination thereof. When neither SINKING nor SCATTERING is inferred, MINDFUL is implied. In such way, an embodiment may utilize the second device 402 for simple inferring with 3 possible results: SINKING, MINDFUL or SCATTERING. Alternately, an embodiment may utilize the second device 402 for detailed inferring by farther breaking down SCATTERING into sub-states. For example, for a detailed inferring, the second device 402 may infer anxiety from avoidance of eye contact. The second device 402 may infer pain from decreased amount of blood currently running through the vessels (BVP). The second device 402 may infer surprise from increased skin conductance level (SCL), increased skin conductance response (SCR), increased heart rate, decreased blood volume pulse (BVP), decreased pulse transit time (PIT), or a combination thereof. The second device 402 may infer fear from faster speech, louder speech, higher or wider pitch range, or a combination thereof. The second device 402 may infer sadness from lower-pitched and slurred speech, slower speech, or both.
  • The second device 402 may classify or infer a state of mind by using a database, knowledge base, vector space model, statistical method, optical flow, active appearance model, linear discriminant classifier (LDC), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), Gaussian mixture model (GMM), discriminant function analysis (DFA), linear discriminate analysis (LDA), classification and regression tree (CART), self-organizing map (SOM), Naïve Bayes algorithm, support vector machine (SVM), artificial intelligence (Al), artificial neural network (ANN), convolutional neural network (CNN), decision tree algorithm, hidden Markov model (HMM), deep learning, other machine learning algorithm, or a combination thereof. The second device 402 may confirm an inferring immediately, or after a same state is inferred for a predetermined leeway period (e.g. 3 to 10 seconds). The second device 402 may maintain a same predetermined leeway period for both SINKING and SCATTERING, or a different predetermined leeway period for each of the 2 furthest states.
  • When being utilized for mind tuning, the second device 402 initiates an antidote after confirming a person is in either SINKING or SCATTERING state. The second device 402 may record a state confirmation with a name of the state and a timestamp. After confirming a state of mind, the second device 402 may review a last record to check if the current state is same as a last recorded state. If the current state is same as the last recorded one, the second device 402 may initiate a stronger antidote. Otherwise, the second device 402 may initiate an existing or weaker antidote. The second device 402 may compute a maximum duration during which a person remains in MINDFUL without triggering an antidote, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in MINDFUL and a total time in a session, a length of longest session completed, or a combination thereof. The second device 402 may automatically promote or proactively motivate a person to a higher level of mind tuning. If the person is automatically promoted or actively consents to the higher level, the second device 402 may increase a sensitivity of a sensor potentially by adjusting a digital filter, decrease the predetermined leeway period of SINKING, decrease the predetermined leeway period of SCATTERING, or a combination thereof.
  • When being utilized as a sleep aid, the second device 402 initiates an antidote after confirming a person is in either MINDFUL or SCATTERING state. The second device 402 may record a state confirmation with a name of the state and a timestamp. After confirming a state of mind, the second device 402 may review a last record to check if the current state is same as a last recorded state. If the current state is same as the last recorded one, the second device 402 may initiate a stronger antidote. Otherwise, the second device 402 may initiate an existing or weaker antidote. The second device 402 may compute a maximum duration during which a person remains in SINKING (e.g. asleep) without triggering an antidote, a ratio representing a relationship between a total time in SINKING and a total time in a session, a length of longest session completed, or a combination thereof.
  • The second device 402 may facilitate a self-report by a person, potentially via an application or other kind of software. The second device 402 may utilize a self-report to correlate or otherwise optimize the inferring, an antidote, or both. The second device 402 may upload or otherwise transfer a self-report, a record, other datum, or a combination thereof. This present technology may utilize the uploaded or transferred information to train, test, or otherwise optimize an embodiment, potentially utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), neural network, convolutional neural network (CNN), deep learning, or other machine learning algorithm.
  • A third device 403 comprises at least one actuator, wired or wirelessly coupled to the second device 402, to actuate an antidote by means of sounds, voices, visible objects, vibration, environmental control, or a combination thereof. For example, a prominent vibrator may be used as an actuator to generate a sound, vibration, or both. A speaker may be used as an actuator to synthesize, play back, or otherwise generate voices. A display may be used as an actuator to present visible objects. A light switch or dimmer may be used as an actuator to control ambient lighting. An embodiment may utilize at least one actuator from these non-limiting examples, a different actuator, or a combination thereof. An embodiment may utilize 2 or more actuators to allow a person to choose from different kinds of antidote.
  • The third device 403 may record or otherwise store a teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, suggestion, or a combination thereof, as an antidote. The teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion may have multiple versions, in different languages, to allow choices of languages. The teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion may have various presentations, in terms of tones, cadence, speed, or a combination thereof as antidotes of different strengths. Non-limiting examples of teaching, guidance, instruction, reminder, or suggestion in English are “settle the mind on the breath”, “awareness rests on breath as it enters and leaves the body”, and “when thoughts arise, simply let them go”.
  • FIG. 4B depicts a non-limiting embodiment with detailed hardware diagrams wherein a brainwave is selected as a biological marker (biomarker) and voices are selected as a means of antidotes. This non-limiting hardware diagram is suitable for a mind tuning system, a sleeping aid system, or other system. The brainwave is detectable in contact or contactless around a person's scalp. The non-limiting embodiment utilizes an electrode 411, made of silver chloride (AgCl), to receive the brainwave. The electrode transmits the brainwave as a low voltage analog signal, which is filtered with a Butterworth filter configured to pass signals from 2 cycles per second (Hz) to 45 Hz. A filtered 2-45 Hz analog signal is converted into a digital signal, by an analog to digital converter (ADC), such as Texas Instruments ADS1291 or another similar or better low-power analog front-end for bio-potential measurements.
  • A digital signal processor (DSP) 412 is built with a timer and configured with a tightly coupled memory (TCM). An instruction read only memory (IROM) 413 is coupled with the DSP 412 to provide instructions in form of an application (app) software stack. The application software stack comprises ADC sampling instructions, to instruct the DSP 412 to sample the digital signal from the ADC at a predetermined rate or frequency via a memory-mapped input port. The digital signal is processed in parallel with 2 Hamming windows to obtain a short-time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrum, to determine frequency contents of the digital signal as it changes over time. The DSP 412 executes a trained support vector machine or multiclass support vector machine (SVM) to analyze the STFT spectrum, and classifies or infers the spectrum into a state of mind.
  • The DSP 412 may utilize the TCM for Antidote Recording 214, Time Log Recording 224, Calculating 225, other software tasks, or a combination thereof. The DSP 412 may adjust a coefficient of one of the Hamming windows to vary sensitivity to a corresponding brainwave frequency, which may indicate either SINKING or SCATTERING. The DSP 412 may utilize the timer as an adjustable predetermined leeway period for SINKING, as an adjustable predetermined leeway period for SCATTERING, or both. Varying sensitivity, adjusting a leeway period, or both is a way to realize Adjusting 215, Conditional Promotion 226, or both.
  • If the DSP 412 classifies or infers a state of mind other than a predetermined preferred state of mind, the DSP 412 initiates an audio driver to play back a prerecorded antidote voice. The antidote voice is transmitted onto a memory-mapped output port. A digital to analog converter (DAC) converts the digital antidote voice into an analog signal, which is then filtered with an analog audio filter. A speaker 413 converts a filtered audio signal into a corresponding voice, perceptible by the person's ears. The person may practice on, apply, or utilize an actionable advice conveyed in the voice.
  • The non-limiting embodiment, depicted by FIG. 4B, can also be applied to pre-train a SVM, in a supervised learning. The supervised learning provides a set of training examples, each marked for belonging to one of states of mind. With the training examples, the SVM builds a model that later assigns a set of testing examples to states of mind. After the SVM correctly assigns the test examples to their respective states of mind, the SVM is successfully trained.
  • Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (21)

1. (canceled)
2. A computer implemented method for mind tuning to a preferred state of mind of a user, the method comprising:
providing a computer system configured to tune a mind of the user to the preferred state;
converting at least one biomarker of the user to computer readable data by utilizing one or more sensors that send signals based on the at least one biomarker;
inferring, with computational hardware, a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors;
providing a first antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user responsive to the state of mind of the user being different than the preferred state of mind; and
providing a second antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user that is stronger or weaker than the first antidote or countermeasure, responsive to the state of mind of the user remaining different from the preferred state of mind after the first antidote or countermeasure is provided to the user.
3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:
determining the first antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:
determining the second antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein selecting the second antidote or countermeasure comprises:
determining, based on the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures an adjustment to perform to the first antidote or countermeasure, the adjustment resulting in the second antidote or countermeasure.
6. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the adjustment is increasing or decreasing a volume level used in the first antidote or countermeasure.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the adjustment is increasing or decreasing a speed level used in the first antidote or countermeasure.
8. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the adjustment is increasing or decreasing a tone level used in the first antidote or countermeasure.
9. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein determining the first antidote or countermeasure comprises:
determining, based on the historical records, a strength level at which to present the first antidote or countermeasure.
10. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first antidote or countermeasure comprises any of a sound, a voice, a visible object, a vibration, or an environmental change
11. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the state of mind of the user is one of a sinking state or a scattering state and the preferred state of mind is a mindful state.
12. A computer system configured to tune a mind of a user to a preferred state, the system comprising:
one or more computer processors; and
one or more computer-readable mediums storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:
converting at least one biomarker of the user to computer readable data by utilizing one or more sensors that send signals based on the at least one biomarker;
inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors;
providing a first antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user responsive to the state of mind of the user being different than the preferred state of mind; and
providing a second antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user that is stronger or weaker than the first antidote or countermeasure, responsive to the state of mind of the user remaining different from the preferred state of mind after the first antidote or countermeasure is provided to the user.
13. The computer system of claim 12, the operations further comprising:
determining the first antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
14. The computer system of claim 13, the operations further comprising:
determining the second antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein selecting the second antidote or countermeasure comprises:
determining, based on the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures an adjustment to perform to the first antidote or countermeasure, the adjustment resulting in the second antidote or countermeasure.
16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the adjustment is increasing or decreasing a volume level used in the first antidote or countermeasure.
17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computer processors of a computer system configured to tune a mind of a user to a preferred state, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:
converting at least one biomarker of the user to computer readable data by utilizing one or more sensors that send signals based on the at least one biomarker;
inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors;
providing a first antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user responsive to the state of mind of the user being different than the preferred state of mind; and
providing a second antidote or countermeasure of sensory-type stimulation to the user that is stronger or weaker than the first antidote or countermeasure, responsive to the state of mind of the user remaining different from the preferred state of mind after the first antidote or countermeasure is provided to the user.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, the operations further comprising:
determining the first antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising:
determining the second antidote or countermeasure based on the state of mind of the user and the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein selecting the second antidote or countermeasure comprises:
determining, based on the historical records describing previous responses of other users to presented antidotes or countermeasures an adjustment to perform to the first antidote or countermeasure, the adjustment resulting in the second antidote or countermeasure.
21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the adjustment is increasing or decreasing a volume level used in the first antidote or countermeasure.
US16/295,050 2016-01-21 2019-03-07 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject Abandoned US20190269879A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US16/295,050 US20190269879A1 (en) 2016-01-21 2019-03-07 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US15/003,732 US9566411B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-01-21 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US15/390,413 US10258760B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-12-23 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US16/295,050 US20190269879A1 (en) 2016-01-21 2019-03-07 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US15/390,413 Continuation US10258760B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-12-23 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20190269879A1 true US20190269879A1 (en) 2019-09-05

Family

ID=57851003

Family Applications (3)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US15/003,732 Expired - Fee Related US9566411B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-01-21 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US15/390,413 Expired - Fee Related US10258760B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-12-23 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US16/295,050 Abandoned US20190269879A1 (en) 2016-01-21 2019-03-07 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject

Family Applications Before (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US15/003,732 Expired - Fee Related US9566411B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-01-21 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US15/390,413 Expired - Fee Related US10258760B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2016-12-23 Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (3) US9566411B1 (en)
EP (1) EP3196788A1 (en)
KR (1) KR20170087834A (en)
CN (1) CN106991270A (en)
CA (1) CA2955276A1 (en)
IL (1) IL250102A0 (en)
MA (1) MA42003A (en)
TW (1) TWI622953B (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023011711A1 (en) * 2021-08-04 2023-02-09 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Adaptation of senses datastreams

Families Citing this family (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2019075522A1 (en) * 2017-10-19 2019-04-25 Medibio Limited Risk indicator
JP6885858B2 (en) * 2017-12-15 2021-06-16 ヤフー株式会社 Estimator, estimation method, and estimation program
US11272870B2 (en) 2018-07-30 2022-03-15 Hi Llc Non-invasive systems and methods for detecting mental impairment
US20200065706A1 (en) * 2018-08-24 2020-02-27 Htc Corporation Method for verifying training data, training system, and computer program product
US11646110B2 (en) * 2018-09-07 2023-05-09 Sean Sullivan System and method for improving the emotional mindset of the user
TWI712948B (en) * 2018-09-20 2020-12-11 大數據股份有限公司 Method for document sentimental analysis, apparatus and computer program product thereof
KR102211647B1 (en) * 2018-12-07 2021-02-04 이화여자대학교 산학협력단 Artificial Intelligence Sleep Enhancement Noninvasive Brain Circuit Control Therapy System
WO2020116796A1 (en) * 2018-12-07 2020-06-11 이화여자대학교 산학협력단 Artificial intelligence-based non-invasive neural circuit control treatment system and method for improving sleep
WO2020131148A1 (en) 2018-12-21 2020-06-25 Hi Llc Biofeedback for awareness and modulation of mental state using a non-invasive brain interface system and method
EP3946013A1 (en) 2019-04-04 2022-02-09 Hi LLC Modulation of mental state of a user using a non-invasive brain interface system and method
US11172869B2 (en) 2019-04-26 2021-11-16 Hi Llc Non-invasive system and method for product formulation assessment based on product-elicited brain state measurements
JP2022536356A (en) 2019-06-11 2022-08-15 エイチアイ エルエルシー Non-invasive system and method for detecting and modulating a user's mental state through subjective priming effect
US11450151B2 (en) * 2019-07-18 2022-09-20 Capital One Services, Llc Detecting attempts to defeat facial recognition
US11869666B2 (en) 2020-01-10 2024-01-09 Kristen M. Heimerl Computer system for crisis state detection and intervention
WO2021178298A1 (en) 2020-03-04 2021-09-10 Hi Llc Systems and methods for training and using a neurome that emulates the brain of a user
CN116868277A (en) * 2020-11-17 2023-10-10 卡尔松威尔克公司 Emotion adjustment method and system based on subject real-time biosensor signals

Family Cites Families (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5941906A (en) * 1997-10-15 1999-08-24 Medtronic, Inc. Implantable, modular tissue stimulator
US6488617B1 (en) * 2000-10-13 2002-12-03 Universal Hedonics Method and device for producing a desired brain state
US6702767B1 (en) * 2001-09-25 2004-03-09 Nelson R. Douglas Multisensory stimulation system and method
US7460903B2 (en) * 2002-07-25 2008-12-02 Pineda Jaime A Method and system for a real time adaptive system for effecting changes in cognitive-emotive profiles
JP2007026429A (en) * 2005-06-13 2007-02-01 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Guidance apparatus
KR101437186B1 (en) * 2009-01-28 2014-09-05 경희대학교 산학협력단 Method for responding to user emotion with multiple sensors
KR101216316B1 (en) * 2010-02-09 2013-01-18 인하대학교 산학협력단 Method for self-management using user terminal and system for processing the method
KR101397287B1 (en) * 2012-02-16 2014-05-21 충남대학교산학협력단 Emotion induction system regularited emotion intensity level and inducing emotion method thereof
KR20140032651A (en) * 2012-09-07 2014-03-17 전자부품연구원 Method for emotion feedback service and smart device using the same
CA2935813C (en) * 2013-01-08 2021-12-21 Interaxon Inc. Adaptive brain training computer system and method

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023011711A1 (en) * 2021-08-04 2023-02-09 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Adaptation of senses datastreams

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN106991270A (en) 2017-07-28
US10258760B1 (en) 2019-04-16
MA42003A (en) 2018-03-07
US9566411B1 (en) 2017-02-14
TWI622953B (en) 2018-05-01
EP3196788A1 (en) 2017-07-26
IL250102A0 (en) 2017-03-30
TW201734940A (en) 2017-10-01
KR20170087834A (en) 2017-07-31
CA2955276A1 (en) 2017-07-21

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10258760B1 (en) Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject
US11974851B2 (en) Systems and methods for analyzing brain activity and applications thereof
CN107427716B (en) Method and system for optimizing and training human performance
US10417923B2 (en) Systems, apparatuses, and methods for memory recall and reactivation by targeted stimulation
CA2942852C (en) Wearable computing apparatus and method
US20080214903A1 (en) Methods and Systems for Physiological and Psycho-Physiological Monitoring and Uses Thereof
US20150351655A1 (en) Adaptive brain training computer system and method
KR20140080727A (en) System and method for controlling sensibility of driver
JP6903579B2 (en) How to operate the device to determine the excitement state of the subject, the device to derive the excitement state of the subject, and the program to derive the excitement state of the subject.
KR20130010207A (en) System for analyze the user's health and stress
US10839705B2 (en) Intelligent infant monitoring system and infant monitoring hub and infant learning receptivity detection system
US20170251987A1 (en) System for Measuring and Managing Stress Using Generative Feedback
JPH09262216A (en) Estimating apparatus of degree of concentration
Ekanayake et al. Determining the psychological involvement in multimedia interactions

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: ALAYATEC, INC., CALIFORNIA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SHERPA, TRUNGRAM GYALTRUL R.;CHEN, DAVID H.C.;REEL/FRAME:049422/0885

Effective date: 20180326

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: DOCKETED NEW CASE - READY FOR EXAMINATION

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION