WO1999051144A1 - Systeme de surveillance du stress - Google Patents

Systeme de surveillance du stress Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999051144A1
WO1999051144A1 PCT/AU1999/000252 AU9900252W WO9951144A1 WO 1999051144 A1 WO1999051144 A1 WO 1999051144A1 AU 9900252 W AU9900252 W AU 9900252W WO 9951144 A1 WO9951144 A1 WO 9951144A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
user
stress
contacts
resistance
level
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU1999/000252
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Thomas Michael Park
Greg Cuneo
Original Assignee
Thomas Michael Park
Greg Cuneo
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 Thomas Michael Park, Greg Cuneo filed Critical Thomas Michael Park
Priority to AU31307/99A priority Critical patent/AU3130799A/en
Publication of WO1999051144A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999051144A1/fr

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Classifications

    • 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
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/05—Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves 
    • A61B5/053—Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of a portion of the body
    • A61B5/0531—Measuring skin impedance

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to monitoring systems and, in particular, discloses an arrangement by which biological stress values can be monitored.
  • a system for monitoring stress in a biological entity comprising: detecting means configured within the apparatus for detecting a state of the entity in contact with the apparatus; processing means for processing the detected state, to assess a relative level of stress in the entity; and output means for outputting the relative level of stress of the entity.
  • a stress monitoring system comprising: a computer work station operable by a user, said work station including an input entry device being manipulable by the user; a skin resistance measurement means arranged in said data entry device for measuring at least a skin resistance of the user; processing means associated with said skin resistance measurement means, for interpreting at least the measured skin resistance of the user in relation to a predetermined value, to establish a level of stress of the user; and output means for outputting the established level of stress of the user.
  • a method of determining a stress level of a user of a computer workstation comprising the steps of: providing at least two galvanic skin resistance contacts on user manipulatable portions of a data input device of the workstation, measuring a resistance between said contacts whenever said data input device is manipulated by the user in a pre-defined manner, and processing said measured resistance to establish a relative stress level of the user.
  • a mouse pointing device comprising: at least two galvanic skin resistance contacts, each being located to be contactable with a single hand of a user of said pointing device; and a conversion device to provide an output signal from said pointing device, corresponding to a biological resistance between each of the contacts.
  • a system for determining a stress level of a user of a computer workstation comprising: a mouse pointing device associated with the workstation, said mouse pointing device having at least two conductive electrical contacts exposed at a surface thereof - 3 -
  • each of said contacts being connected to an input of a galvanic resistance measuring device which provides an electrical output signal in accordance with a connected resistance at said input, said electrical output signal being in turn connected to an input of a modulating device which provides an electrical pulsed output signal of varying frequency as a function of said electrical output signal, a processor associated with the workstation for executing a software application program including a subroutine which is called whenever said closed circuit is enabled, said subroutine including a calculation of an actual skin resistance value and a procedure for providing a message on a display associated with the workstation, wherein said calculation includes a subtraction of a reference value of resistance which corresponds to a resistance of the contacts when said closed circuit is not enabled, from said measured value.
  • the input device comprises a mouse, joy stick, telephone handset or car steering wheel or other such devices touched periodically by human hand.
  • the input device is connected to either a stand alone computer circuit board or computer or a local area network or Internet and the resistance means of measuring a combined resistance of the skin of the user and the case of the input device.
  • the means for outputting the level of stress can include a real-time display associated with the computer workstation whereupon the attention of the user is immediately drawn to an increase or change in stress levels.
  • the output means can include forming a computer readable record of stress levels over time for subsequent review.
  • the invention in another aspect relates to an interface to enable development of software for an application to make use of the electronic data collected. - 4 -
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of the preferred embodiment
  • Fig. 2 is a enlarged illustration of the mouse of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram representation of the salient components of the preferred embodiment.
  • Fig. 4 is a diagram representing the data processing steps associated with the preferred embodiment.
  • Fig. 1 shows a computer system or workstation 1 including a computer module 2 to which is connected a display 3 for outputting display information to a user and a keyboard 4 which acts as an input data entry device operable by the user.
  • a further data entry device shown in Fig. 1 comprises a mouse 5 connected to the computer module 2 via a connection 7.
  • the computer module 2 also includes a loudspeaker 6.
  • the mouse 5 comprises a body casing 8 shaped for holding by the hand of the user and includes a number of buttons 9 and 10 manipulable by the fingers of the user to provide data input to the computer module 2.
  • a body casing 8 shaped for holding by the hand of the user and includes a number of buttons 9 and 10 manipulable by the fingers of the user to provide data input to the computer module 2.
  • persons using mouse devices rest the palm of the hand on a surface 11 of the body casing 8 thereby enabling the tips of their fingers to manipulate the buttons 9 and/or 10.
  • a number of electrical contacts 12, 13 and 14, not necessarily visible, are arranged on respective ones of the buttons 9 and 10 and the surface 11.
  • the electrical contacts 12,13,14 are configured to create an electrical circuit between the palm and the fingers during normal use of the mouse 5. In this manner, when for example the user clicks on the button 9, an electrical circuit is formed between the contacts 12 and 14 thus allowing an electrical current to flow therebetween and through the hand of the user. Having manipulated the mouse 5 in this - 5 -
  • the level of electrical current is then able to be determined giving an indication of the specific skin resistance of the user.
  • a conductive paint on the surface of the input device casing 8 provides conduction over the input device.
  • the characteristics of the design of the paint together with the internally stored circuit board are such as to provide isolation internally from the high voltage shunting electrode (the casing is acting as this electrode). This electrode shunts high voltage resulting from the current flow from the hand of the user as described above. The design of this isolation prevents electrical damage which would otherwise be caused by electromagnetic inductance.
  • the mouse 5 is shown schematically with the surface contacts 12, 13 and 14 each being connected, via connection 16 to a galvanic skin resistance machine 17.
  • the machine 17 is an electronic device configured to provide an output 18 proportional to the skin resistance of the user.
  • the galvanic skin resistance output 18 is connected to modulation input of a pulse width modulation (PWM) device 19, which is also input with an oscillatory signal provided from a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 20.
  • PWM pulse width modulation
  • VCO voltage controlled oscillator
  • the mouse 5 also includes mouse position circuits 15 well known to those skilled in the art, that are also coupled via the cable 7 to the computer module 2.
  • the cable 7 connects via a plug 22 to a socket 23 of the computer module 2.
  • the output of the PWM 21 is coupled to unused wire circuits present in the cable 7 for connection to the computer module 2.
  • the signals derived from the mouse 5 are buffered to the computer module 2 via an input/output (I/O) device 24 which typically provides a number of interrupt requests (IRQ1 RQ2) to a - 6 -
  • IRQ1 may represent signals derived from the mouse position circuits 15 and IRQ2 may represent signals derived from the PWM 19 including representative values of galvanic skin resistance.
  • the microprocessor 25 is connected to a memory unit 29 which may, for example, include hard disc and semi-conductor memory components and, which includes an application program 30 and a log file 31.
  • a clock 28 is also supplied to the microprocessor 25 to assist the operation thereof.
  • the microprocessor 25 includes two outputs, one to the loudspeaker 6 for the sounding of various alarms and the like and another to the display 3, better seen in Fig. 1.
  • the microprocessor 25 is configured to implement the application program 30 in order to service interrupt requests derived from the galvanic skin resistant circuits formed within the mouse 5.
  • Fig. 4 provides a schematic flowchart of various computer implemented steps 40, contained within the application program 30.
  • an interrupt is received from the I/O device 24 and assessed by step 42 as to whether or not it is a valid interrupt.
  • a rising edge value on the interrupt line may be used to start a clock 43 and a falling edge of the interrupt used to stop the clock 43.
  • the pulse width modulation of the oscillatory signal by the galvanic skin resistance is converted into a computer readable number based on particular number of clock cycles counted by the counter 43, input with clock pulses from the clock 28.
  • the clock 28 typically operates at a substantially higher frequency than that of the VCO 20.
  • the output of the counter 43 represents a measured resistance 44 at the surface of the mouse 5.
  • This measured resistance 44 is required to be corrected for any intrinsic resistance in the casing 8 of the mouse 5. That intrinsic resistance is represented by a constant 45 which is subtracted in step 46 from the measured resistance 44. A subtraction reveals an actual value of skin resistance 47.
  • the skin resistance 47 is then supplied to a stress determining step 48 where the skin resistance 47 is compared with a number of predetermined levels of stress 49. In this particular embodiment, four levels of stress are indicated, those being “undetectable”, “low”, “moderate”, and "high”.
  • the determining step assesses within which range of the levels the skin resistance falls and outputs a stress level 50 indicative of the level of stress at that particular time of the user of the computer system 1.
  • the stress level 50 can be immediately output in realtime via step 51 to the user.
  • this may entail causing the production of a display of characters, such as those shown at 55 in Fig. 1, on the computer display screen 3.
  • the user of the computer system 1 is immediately appraised as their level of stress and then may personally take action to compensate for those levels of stress.
  • the real-time output can be via the computer loudspeaker 6 which can sound a predetermined style of alarm interpretable by the user as indicative of the level of stress.
  • This alarm may be, for example, various tones or pulses at different amplitude levels.
  • the stress level output 50 can also be provided to various data logging procedures 52 which provide an ongoing record of the level of stress of the user.
  • the data logging procedures 52 include a step 53 for determining a cumulative average of stress levels over a period of time established by a timer 54.
  • the period of time may be ten minutes and various measured stress values over that ten minute period averaged by the step 53.
  • the average stress value is output to the data log file 31 together with information typically including the date, time of day, and an identification number of the computer system 1. In this manner, the data log file 31 can be subsequently reviewed to assess a change in levels of stress over time for the particular user or users of the computer system 1.
  • a specific alternative application of this technology may include the incorporation of the galvanic skin resistance contacts in the steering wheel of a motor vehicle.
  • similar circuits such as those shown in Fig. 3 (omitting the mouse position circuits) can be used to assess the level of stress of the driver of the motor vehicle. Again, stress could be output in real-time for review by the driver and/or recorded in a data log file on subsequently examination.
  • Such an arrangement may highly advantageous for drivers of public transport utilities, such as buses and trains.
  • Such examination can reveal not only the level of stress experienced by the driver, but also the period the driver was actively driving.
  • Another specific alternate application of this technology can include the incorporation of the galvanic skin resistance contacts of a handset of a telephone.
  • similar circuits such as those shown in Fig. 3 (omitting the mouse position circuits) can be used to access the level of stress of the telephone user.
  • the applications described can also be activated by the Internet, especially as its developments expand in the field of voice transmission, either conventionally or in wireless mode or other wireless applications.
  • This can be seen from the dotted connection 61 in Fig. 3 which provides data transfer between a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) 62 to a load area network (LAN) or the Internet 60.
  • UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
  • LAN load area network

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Surgery (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Dermatology (AREA)
  • Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)

Abstract

Ce système de surveillance du stress comprend une station de travail informatique (1) pouvant être commandée par un utilisateur et comportant: un dispositif de saisie (5) que l'utilisateur peut manipuler, des moyens de mesure (12, 13, 14) de la résistance cutanée, agencés dans le dispositif de saisie et servant à mesurer au moins une résistance cutanée de l'utilisateur, des moyens de traitement (30) associés auxdits moyens de mesure et destinés à interpréter au moins la résistance cutanée mesurée, par rapport à une valeur préalablement déterminée, afin d'établir un niveau de stress de l'utilisateur, ainsi que des moyens de sortie (3) servant à produire le niveau établi du stress de l'utilisateur.
PCT/AU1999/000252 1998-04-06 1999-04-06 Systeme de surveillance du stress WO1999051144A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU31307/99A AU3130799A (en) 1998-04-06 1999-04-06 Stress monitoring system

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPP2832 1998-04-06
AUPP2832A AUPP283298A0 (en) 1998-04-06 1998-04-06 Stress monitoring system

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1999051144A1 true WO1999051144A1 (fr) 1999-10-14

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU1999/000252 WO1999051144A1 (fr) 1998-04-06 1999-04-06 Systeme de surveillance du stress

Country Status (2)

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AU (1) AUPP283298A0 (fr)
WO (1) WO1999051144A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004025446A2 (fr) * 2002-09-10 2004-03-25 Robert Bosch Gmbh Procede de commande d'appareils electroniques et appareil electronique
EP2189113A2 (fr) * 2008-11-20 2010-05-26 FIH (Hong Kong) Limited Dispositif électronique polyvalent et son procédé d'utilisation

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4894777A (en) * 1986-07-28 1990-01-16 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Operator mental condition detector
WO1991004526A1 (fr) * 1989-09-21 1991-04-04 Rimfield Pty. Limited Souris avec commutateur ne necessitant pas l'application de pression
RU2020871C1 (ru) * 1991-04-03 1994-10-15 Владимир Владимирович Савченко Устройство контроля функционального состояния человека-оператора
RU2025731C1 (ru) * 1991-07-04 1994-12-30 Василий Викторович Бонч-Бруевич Способ контроля уровня бодрствования человека и устройство для его осуществления
US5453929A (en) * 1991-12-06 1995-09-26 U.S. Philips Corporation Control system with driver monitor
WO1996001585A1 (fr) * 1994-07-11 1996-01-25 Polar Electro Oy Dispositif de saisie de donnees
US5741217A (en) * 1996-07-30 1998-04-21 Gero; Jeffrey Biofeedback apparatus
GB2318642A (en) * 1996-10-26 1998-04-29 Stephen Magee Self-adjustiing electrode for sensing galvanic skin resistance

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4894777A (en) * 1986-07-28 1990-01-16 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Operator mental condition detector
WO1991004526A1 (fr) * 1989-09-21 1991-04-04 Rimfield Pty. Limited Souris avec commutateur ne necessitant pas l'application de pression
RU2020871C1 (ru) * 1991-04-03 1994-10-15 Владимир Владимирович Савченко Устройство контроля функционального состояния человека-оператора
RU2025731C1 (ru) * 1991-07-04 1994-12-30 Василий Викторович Бонч-Бруевич Способ контроля уровня бодрствования человека и устройство для его осуществления
US5453929A (en) * 1991-12-06 1995-09-26 U.S. Philips Corporation Control system with driver monitor
WO1996001585A1 (fr) * 1994-07-11 1996-01-25 Polar Electro Oy Dispositif de saisie de donnees
US5741217A (en) * 1996-07-30 1998-04-21 Gero; Jeffrey Biofeedback apparatus
GB2318642A (en) * 1996-10-26 1998-04-29 Stephen Magee Self-adjustiing electrode for sensing galvanic skin resistance

Non-Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
DERWENT ABSTRACT, Accession No. 95-239266/31, Class S01, S03, S05; & RU 2025731 C1 (BONCH-BRUEVICH VV) 30 December 1994. *
DERWENT SOVIET INVENTIONS ILLUSTRATED, HEALTH, Week 9524, Amusement, p3; & RU 2020871 C1 (AS BELOTECH CYBERNETICS) 15 October 1994. *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN; & JP 9019420 A (OMRON CORP.) 21 January 1997. *

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004025446A2 (fr) * 2002-09-10 2004-03-25 Robert Bosch Gmbh Procede de commande d'appareils electroniques et appareil electronique
WO2004025446A3 (fr) * 2002-09-10 2007-04-05 Bosch Gmbh Robert Procede de commande d'appareils electroniques et appareil electronique
EP2189113A2 (fr) * 2008-11-20 2010-05-26 FIH (Hong Kong) Limited Dispositif électronique polyvalent et son procédé d'utilisation
EP2189113A3 (fr) * 2008-11-20 2012-02-22 FIH (Hong Kong) Limited Dispositif électronique polyvalent et son procédé d'utilisation
US8258946B2 (en) 2008-11-20 2012-09-04 Fih (Hong Kong) Limited Multifunctional electronic device and method for using the same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
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