WO2013067159A1

WO2013067159A1 - Systems and methods for using location tracking to monitor or diagnose clinical conditions

Info

Publication number: WO2013067159A1
Application number: PCT/US2012/063028
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Rogers Burnett; Marcie HAMILTON; Evan S. LUXON
Original assignee: Theranova, Llc
Priority date: 2011-11-02
Filing date: 2012-11-01
Publication date: 2013-05-10

Abstract

Location tracking is used to monitor or diagnose clinical conditions in patients to promote accurate reporting of patients' whereabouts and activity levels. Changes in movement patterns allow for detection and monitoring of diseases and clinical conditions. Patients may choose their desired privacy level, as well as the locations which they wish to track. Embodiments of this invention allow patients the option to set their personal information as anonymous.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING LOCATION TRACKING TO MONITOR OR DIAGNOSE CLINICAL CONDITIONS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional

Application No. 61/628,534, filed November 2, 2011, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Prior to the present invention, location of a patient and their activity patterns has not been correlated with health status in order to provide an early indication of disease onset (or recurrence). Additionally, effective treatment for many medical conditions requires patient compliance and accuracy in reporting of daily activities. Unfortunately, the patient compliance and accuracy in activity reports is often very low due to reasons such as lack of time to constantly log in data, memory loss, cognitive deficiencies, etc.

[0003] Tracking devices that use GPS receivers provide information about their user's whereabouts. However, as the smartphone market demand continues to increase, more and more consumers are becoming aware of geo-tagging features native to these devices' operating systems. Many of the associated tracking features provide robust functionality for specific location-based applications, but concerns related to who has access to this information and what it is being used for have also been recently introduced as controversial issues for consumers.

[0004] While the large software companies who develop these mobile devices allow users to opt out of their mobile tracking features, many users often accept those settings but are not aware their every move is being tracked, upon launch of the device. More and more consumers have identified privacy concerns related to GPS tracking technology.

[0005] Therefore, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods that can effectively promote accurate reporting of daily activities, while protecting their users' privacy. The present invention relates to using location tracking to determine patients' whereabouts and activity level, at a minimum, while also addressing privacy concerns, and correlating this information with their health status. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention, then, allows for the use of wireless, satellite or other tracking mechanisms to determine the location of an individual. This location information, updated throughout the day, allows for a "time budget" to be provided to the patient and/or healthcare provider. The amount of time spent in each location may then be analyzed to determine a change in behavior patterns that may provide early indication of illness.

[0007] Generally, one method of monitoring a clinical condition in a patient through the use of location tracking may comprise collecting a patient's location information using a GPS receiver on a handheld device located with the patient; analyzing the patient's location information with a processor to determine the patient's movement, wherein a privacy level relating to the location information is selectable by the patient via the handheld device; and presenting the patient's movement to the patient via the handheld device or to a patient's health care provider located remotely from the patient.

[0008] In another variation, a method of monitoring a clinical condition in a patient through the use of location tracking may generally comprise collecting a patient's location information using an accelerometer on a handheld device located with the patient; analyzing the patient's location information with a processor to determine the patient's movement, wherein a privacy level relating to the location information is selectable by the patient via the handheld device; and presenting the patient's movement to the patient via the handheld device or to a patient's health care provider located remotely from the patient.

[0009] In implementing any of the methods, a system may be utilized for monitoring a clinical condition of a patient through use of location tracking generally comprising a GPS receiver configured to transmit position signals indicating the patient's location; a processor coupleable to the GPS receiver so as to, in response to the patient location information, analyze the patient location information to determine GPS-based location information about the patient, wherein the processor is programmable via the patient to alter a privacy level with respect to the patient's location; and a user interface coupled to the processor, communicating the location information to the patient via the user interface or another individual with access to said user interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Fig. 1 shows an algorithm used to report a location of a user using a location tracking device that is carried or worn. [0011] Fig. 2 shows an interface for graphically presenting of location tracking data to a user (to improve time budgeting) or to a healthcare provider, etc.

[0012] Fig. 3 shows an algorithm used to allow the user/patient to set up desired privacy protection levels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention relates to location tracking devices for monitoring and diagnosing clinical conditions. Although embodiments of the invention make specific reference to monitoring and diagnosing clinical conditions, the system and methods described herein may be applicable to any type of medical treatment in which location tracking is desirable.

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention collect a user or patient's daily location information using a tracking device, i.e. a GPS receiver, a cell phone, etc. The location data is then downloaded to a computer via the Internet, a local network, Bluetooth or USB, and an algorithm is used to determine where a patient has been spending their time. Alternatively, the tracking device itself may have the computing power necessary to apply the algorithm, as in the case of a smartphone, and no transfer of data would be required.

[0015] In preferred embodiments, the patient will define locations, i.e. home, work, gym, etc. and the tracking device will then report when the patient is within these regions. The region may also be correlated to an on-line map, such as Google Maps, in order to more tightly define the region. In an alternative embodiment, the user/patient may use an on-line interactive map to trace the outlines of locations that he/she will define as "Work," "Home," etc. This function will allow for better tracking as opposed to just drawing a broad circle around each of these regions and will allow for the patient to be reported as at "Work" even if his or her work spans many buildings.

[0016] Preset definitions will also exist which may be correlated to a map and all of such destinations may be placed in the same "time budget" category. For example, a user may select a gym from a list of fitness centers, at which point all fitness centers that are members of that gym will be registered as such. In addition the algorithm may be such that once a place (such as a fitness center) is identified as such based on GPS readings, a map may be consulted and all such fitness centers will be labeled as such without the need to define each fitness center individually. The same categorization and grouping applies for all time categories, including work, home (if a user owns two homes), gym, etc. The time spent within each region may then be used to provide a time budget to patients and/or healthcare providers.

[0017] Fig. 1 shows an algorithm used to report a location of a user using a location tracking device that is carried or worn. Initially a patient or healthcare provider tags the specified locations 10. The device may intermittently connect to the healthcare provider 20. As the device detects a location 30, it attempts to tag the location 40, if this is not possible, the location is reported as "out" 60; if the tagging is possible, then the location is reported as one of the specified locations such as "home," "gym," "commute," or "work."

[0018] The data may also, optionally, be anonymized and sent to a healthcare provider, caregiver or family member. In its preferred embodiment the actual tracking data (i.e. all locations that the patient has visited) will not be available to anyone other than the patient; the data will be deleted from the device or stored in an encrypted file once the analysis has been performed and the time budget has been generated. In its preferred embodiment, as well, the device (which may consist of a single device or several devices interconnected) may wirelessly transmit the data to a healthcare provider after the data has been analyzed and anonymized. Once the data are "bucketized" into zones, the raw data may be stored in an encrypted file on the server or, preferably, deleted from the server altogether if the raw data was uploaded at all. Fig. Fig. 2 shows an interface for graphically presenting of location tracking data 100 to a user (to improve time budgeting) or to a healthcare provider, etc. The time budget is divided into defined locations such as "home" 110, "commute" 120, "gym" 130 and "work" 150; else, it is defined as "out" 140,

[0019] Changes in movement patterns, for example day-to-day or week-to-week, may then be analyzed by the healthcare provider (or an automated algorithm) and reported.

Examples of changes in time spent at each designated location include: spending more or less time than on the average, skipping or spending more than the usual amount of time at a certain location. Optionally, data may be collected regarding the patient's sense of well- being while at the designated location. A baseline period of healthy activity may also, preferably, be recorded and analyzed prior to the onset of monitoring so that a baseline may be established for comparison. Diseases and clinical conditions (psychiatric, physical, etc.) may then be detected based on high-level locational data and where a user/patient is spending most of their time.

[0020] Embodiments of this invention, then, provide a method of collecting this data, processing it on the handheld or server to label locations as defined (HOME, WORK, GYM) then deleting the raw data which would be invasive with respect to the users' privacy. This data may then be used to correlate changes in the users gross location to changes in a user's medical condition (congestive heart failure, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, postpartum depression, Parkinson's, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.). This modality may also be used to determine if a patient is complying with a protocol, i.e. tracking to see if they have visited a clinic or visited the pharmacy as expected without gathering data beyond the site of interest (i.e. once GPS data shows that the patient has visited any pharmacy, the information will be purged and the chart simply labeled as i.e. "pharmacy visited"). Failure to make these critical visits may trigger an alert that prompts a healthcare provider to contact the patient. The application may also report visits to designated locations. This type of report may be particularly useful to psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose and treat various psychiatric ailments. The application may also have the ability to automatically report a pharmacy visit, or lack thereof, if the patient was supposed to fill a prescription following a doctor visit. The application may also remind and/or trigger a patient to take medication and ask for confirmation that the medication was taken. In some embodiments, the application may actually read data from an RFID-tagged pill and report that the pill was taken based on the FID reading. In other embodiments, the time budget data may be sufficient to detect when a patient has discontinued taking medications, as doing so may have a significant impact on the distribution of time spent in various buckets. The healthcare provider may program the application to perform all of the above functions based on each patient's individual condition and requirements for medication, etc.

[0021] Alternatively, aggregate accelerometer data or phone use information (calling, texting, emailing, etc.) may also be reported on a high level (i.e. no details of the call, text or email) to determine the level of patient activity, which may be used along with GPS data or on its own as an indicator of patient functioning and gross activity level. Specifically, accelerometer data is useful for tracking activity within a specific indoor bucket, since the indoor resolution of GPS (or cell tower triangulation) is not sufficient to determine whether a patient has moved from one room to another, for example. Therefore, while the GPS or cell phone data provide a time budget for various buckets, accelerometer data is useful for providing a more complete picture of the activity level within each bucket. Additionally, behaviors that signify social interaction, such as calling, texting, or emailing, provide information that movement data, such as those from a GPS or accelerometer, cannot necessarily provide alone. For example, if a patient continues to maintain a regular time budget routine but has a sudden drop in the number of phone calls placed, the decreased social interaction will likely have a negative impact on their condition. At this point, the healthcare provider could urge the patient to continue to maintain regular social interaction. Comparing these metrics may, again, allow for earlier detection of illness progression (organic or psychiatric).

[0022] An additional embodiment of the present invention may include a prompting feature through which a patient is asked to describe their activities and/or emotions at various points throughout the day. For example, the patient could be prompted to rate their energy levels or appetite, both of which, when suppressed, are symptoms of depression.

Furthermore, the prompts may increase in frequency if a patient begins to exhibit irregular time budget patterns, so as to understand what the patient is thinking and feeling when their condition begins to worsen. In another embodiment, if the responses a patient gives to the prompts become particularly troublesome, the healthcare provider could be notified and intervene immediately. Without such a feature, patients are required to describe their activities and/or emotions over the course of days or weeks, which leads to inaccurate recollections that may be used to prescribe inappropriate treatments. In another aspect, the prompting feature may guide a patient through their daily routine, created with the guidance of their healthcare provider and reported back to them in order to keep track of their patient's progress. Because the motivation of depressed patients is typically suppressed, this type of guidance will help them to be active and in turn reduce the symptoms of their condition.

Addressing Privacy Concerns

[0023] These embodiments of this invention allow for a higher level of preventative care through behavioral analysis of gross patient movement patterns, while ensuring patient privacy is protected. Embodiments of this invention take into account users' and patients' privacy concerns through location tracking technology that is driven by user/patient needs and requirements. In contrast to the "always tracking" features commonly found on today's mobile devices, embodiments of this invention give healthcare consumers and healthcare providers full control of three core, transparent geo-tagging features: assigned location, duration at each location and custom triggers, which among other uses allow preventative health maintenance for consumers. First, assigned locations provide the consumer or the medical provider with the ability to select which locations they wish to track. Any extraneous locations would be purged on a timely basis. Secondly, the end user has the ability to set durations for specific locations tracked. As lifestyle demands change, a user would have control over when a specific location's time expires and a newly designated location begins. The raw data which would be invasive with respect to the users' privacy is deleted or heavily encrypted after it has been processed and analyzed to determine if it belongs in one of the selected tracking locations. Finally, medical providers have the ability to set custom triggers to identify if a consumer is spending an abnormal amount of time in a designated location. This feature allows providers early detection of change in behavior patterns and thus decline in clinical conditions for patients (e.g. patients who may be experiencing nesting or manic behaviors).

[0024] To address further privacy concerns, embodiments of this invention offer healthcare consumers with the option to set their personal information as anonymous. Patient data will be encrypted and transmitted from the mobile device to the Web server. Consumers would be required to sign on to their secure Web sessions through authenticated measures. Additionally, all HIPAA compliant measures are met for data exchanged between the mobile device and server. Other global compliance measures will be considered where applicable.

[0025] Fig. 3 shows an algorithm used to allow the user/patient to set up desired privacy protection levels. The patient/user is given the terms of use 200 and asked to accept them 210; if the terms of use are not accepted, the data collection process is stopped 220. If the patient accepts the terms, then he/she needs to select the track data options to be used 230. If no data tracking option is selected and also for any data tracking option not selected, the data collection process ends 220. If at least one track data option is selected and for any data tracking option selected, then the patient is asked for permission to transfer data from his cell phone 240; if he does not agree, then the data on the phone may only be used by the patient 250. If the patient agrees, then the HIPAA requirements need to be met 260, if they are not, the data collected on the phone will be available only to the patient 250. If the HIPAA requirements are met, then the patient must define users of the data 270, and triggers for the users are chosen 280, if the users' defined triggers are not chosen, all data is collected 290. If the answer to users' defined triggers is "no", all data except for the defined triggers is collected and sent to the server 310. If users' triggers are chosen, then all data with defined triggers is collected 300; this data is then encrypted and anonymized and sent to a server 310. The server processes the data and after encrypting and anonymizing it again, sends it either to a caretaker, family member or friend of the patient 320, and there after intermittently deletes the data 330, or sends the encrypted, anonymized data to a doctor 340. The doctor un- anonymizes the data and encrypts it 350, and enters the data into a medical or electronic record 360.

[0026] While exemplary embodiments have been described in some detail for clarity and understanding and by way of example, a variety of adaptations, modifications, and changes will be obvious to those of skill in the art. Hence, the scope of the present invention is limited solely by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS WE CLAIM:

1. A method of monitoring a clinical condition in a patient through the use of location tracking comprising :

collecting a patient's location information using a GPS receiver on a handheld device located with the patient;

analyzing the patient's location information with a processor to determine the patient's movement, wherein a privacy level relating to the location information is selectable by the patient via the handheld device; and

presenting the patient's movement to the patient via the handheld device or to a patient's health care provider located remotely from the patient.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the patient's location information comprises analyzing to determine changes in the patient's behavioral patterns.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein analyzing the patient's behavioral patterns comprises grouping the patterns into changes in aggregate time spent at defined locations and non-defined locations.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the defined locations comprise home, work, commute or gym and the non-defined locations are defined as "out."

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising purging the location information following analyzing the patient's location information by the processor.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the handheld device comprises a smartphone.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said purging is completed on the handheld device, following uploading the patient's location information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting a patient's location further comprises prompting the patient for a log of patient activities and/or emotions to determine overall patient health.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein prompting comprises having the patient rate their depressive symptoms.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein prompting comprises guiding the patient through their daily routine.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising monitoring one or more clinical conditions of the patient including congestive heart failure, depression, schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol addiction, and drug addiction.

12. A method of monitoring a clinical condition in a patient through the use of location tracking comprising :

collecting a patient's location information using an accelerometer on a handheld device located with the patient;

13. The method of claim 12 wherein analyzing the patient's location information comprises analyzing to determine changes in the patient's behavioral patterns.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein analyzing the patient's behavioral patterns comprises grouping the patterns into changes in aggregate time spent at defined locations and non-defined locations.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the defined locations comprise home, work, commute or gym and the non-defined locations are defined as "out."

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising purging the location information following analyzing the patient's location information by the processor.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the handheld device comprises a smartphone.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said purging is completed on the handheld device, following uploading the patient's location information.

19. The method of claim 12 further comprising collecting the patient's activity level information via the accelerometer and determining overall the patient's activity level.

20. The method of claim 12 further comprising monitoring one or more clinical conditions of the patient including congestive heart failure or Parkinson's disease.

21. The method of claim 12 further comprising monitoring one or more clinical conditions of the patient selected from the group consisting of depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol addiction, and drug addiction.

22. The method of claim 12 further comprising monitoring one or more clinical conditions of the patient selected from the group consisting of congestive heart failure, depression, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol addiction, and drug addiction.

23. A system of monitoring a clinical condition of a patient through use of location

tracking comprising:

a GPS receiver configured to transmit position signals indicating the patient's location;

a processor coupleable to the GPS receiver so as to, in response to the patient location information, analyze the patient location information to determine GPS-based location information about the patient, wherein the processor is programmable via the patient to alter a privacy level with respect to the patient's location; and

a user interface coupled to the processor, communicating the location information to the patient via the user interface or another individual with access to said user interface.

24. The system of claim 23 further comprising an accelerometer in communication with the processor, where the accelerometer transmits a patient activity level information to said processor in response to the activity level information.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the processor is further programmed to analyze the patient activity level information and determine accelerometer-based activity level information about the patient, wherein the activity level information is displayable upon the user interface.

26. The system of claim 23 wherein the processor is programmed to detect a change in the patient's locations via the GPS receiver.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein the processor is programmed to detect a change in a location and a frequency for the patient's movements via the GPS receiver.

28. The system of claim 23 wherein the processor is programmed to detect a change in a location and frequency pattern for the patient's movements.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the processor is further programmed to communicate the change to a patient's health care provider.

30. The system of claim 23 further comprising a user input interface in communication with the processor through which the patient enters information about their condition.