Unobtrusive Symptom Monitoring for Allergic Asthma Patients

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. The system measures the patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal, and detects cough events and sneeze events in the measured data. Cough events and sneeze events indicate the onset of an infectious disease and / or allergy that may rapidly exacerbate the patient's respiratory disease. Accordingly, the system is configured to unobtrusively provide a deterioration risk score to the patient and / or the doctor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease and a method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. Background Art

[0002] Patients with respiratory diseases such as asthma can deteriorate rapidly in the case of colds or flu and allergic reactions.

[0003] Asthma exacerbations can be fatal, and exacerbations usually triggered by infections are the most severe. Early identification of symptoms associated with infectious diseases or allergic attacks is crucial for combating these symptoms, thus preventing deterioration of the patient's respiratory function due to exacerbations of respiratory diseases caused by the above factors. Early detection of allergic reactions and cold or flu symptoms can warn users and prompt them to take action, especially to take regular medications. Most patients do not take medications all the time, but only when they think they are needed. Early warnings can indicate the need before the patient is aware of asthma symptoms and help ensure that the patient carries a reliever medication with them. For children, this warning to parents can help them effectively control their child's asthma. Generally, there is no available method in the prior art to reliably predict asthma exacerbations in a patient's daily life. Due to the perceived burden on the patient, solutions such as monitoring exhaled air or peak expiratory flow are not used in practice.

[0004] US 2019 / 0167176 A1 discloses a system for monitoring and treating a patient's respiratory distress, the system including a signal input, a signal processing unit, and a respiratory distress analyzer.

[0005] For these reasons, a system and method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease and not suffering from the above disadvantages would be advantageous. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease, the system and method unobtrusively monitoring symptoms of allergic reactions or infectious diseases such as colds or flu.

[0007] The object of the present invention is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims, wherein further embodiments are incorporated into the dependent claims.

[0008] The described embodiments similarly relate to a system and method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. Synergistic effects can result from different combinations of the embodiments, although they may not be described in detail.

[0009] In addition, it should be noted that all method embodiments of the present invention can be executed in the order of the described steps. However, this does not have to be the only and necessary order of the method steps. Unless explicitly stated to the contrary hereinafter, the methods proposed herein can be executed in another order of the disclosed steps without departing from the corresponding method embodiments.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. The system includes a measurement unit configured to measure a cardiac signal and / or a blood circulation signal of the patient and to provide corresponding measurement data. The system includes a detection unit configured to receive the measurement data and to detect a cough event and / or a sneezing event of the patient in the measurement data. The system includes a calculation unit and an interface unit. The calculation unit is configured to calculate a deterioration risk score for the patient's respiratory disease based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event. The interface unit is configured to provide the deterioration risk score to the patient and / or to a doctor.

[0011] The system determines the risk of deterioration of a patient's respiratory disease by monitoring symptoms such as cough and sneeze, which indicate the onset of an infectious disease and / or an allergy. Symptoms such as cough and sneeze are derived from the measurement of a cardiac signal and / or a blood circulation signal. These can be measured unobtrusively by a measurement unit attached to the patient's body. A cough event and / or a sneezing event can be an indicator of an impending infection or allergy. The detection unit is configured to receive measurement data corresponding to the cardiac signal and / or the blood circulation signal from the measurement unit and to detect a cough event and / or a sneezing event in the measurement data. The calculation unit calculates a deterioration risk score indicating the risk of deterioration of the patient's respiratory disease based on the detected cough and / or sneezing event. The deterioration risk score can be used to update an existing value of the deterioration risk score obtained in a previous measurement. The interface unit is configured to provide the deterioration risk score to the patient. Alternatively or additionally, the deterioration risk score can be provided to a caregiver, the patient, a doctor, or in the case of a child patient, a parent.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the blood circulation signal includes at least one of the following: blood pressure, blood volume, and blood flow rate.

[0013] The blood circulation signal includes blood pressure, blood volume, or blood flow rate. Additionally, combinations thereof are possible. The cardiac signal can correspond to the frequency or amplitude of the heartbeat.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the measurement unit is a wearable unit, such as a bracelet, which includes a first sensor for measuring a cardiac signal and / or a blood circulation signal.

[0015] The measuring unit can be a wearable device including a sensor, such as a bracelet or a wristband. It can be worn on the patient's wrist or fixed to other parts of the patient's body. A wristband for measuring a patient's vital signs is acceptable to the patient and provides an unobtrusive way to measure the patient's cardiac signal and blood circulation signal during the day and at night.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first sensor is a photoplethysmogram sensor.

[0017] The sensor of the measuring unit can be a photoplethysmogram sensor. The sensor can include a light source for irradiating a part of the patient's body, preferably the skin, and a photodetector for measuring the light reflected from the skin. The reflected light is affected by the amount of blood circulating in the skin. For example, changes in the amount of blood in the skin may be due to changes in heart rate or blood pressure.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the respiratory disease is asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[0019] The patient's respiratory disease can be asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition, a deterioration risk score can be provided for any other disease that deteriorates in the presence of, for example, an allergic reaction or an infectious disease such as influenza or a cold.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit is configured to detect a cough event by analyzing the inter-beat interval of the cardiac signal.

[0021] The detection unit can rely on changes in the inter-beat interval of the cardiac signal to detect a cough event. The inter-beat interval can be defined as the time elapsed between two subsequent systolic phases of the cardiac signal, i.e., the time between two heartbeats.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit is configured to detect a cough event by the fluctuation of the length of the inter-beat interval over a plurality of heartbeats.

[0023] The cough detection algorithm of the detection unit can be related to the following observation: during a cough event, the cardiac sinus of the cardiac signal measured using a photoplethysmogram sensor can be significantly disrupted. Therefore, the inter-beat interval also fluctuates significantly and can be used to determine a cough event.

[0024] Additionally, the cough detection algorithm can ensure that the detected sinus changes are caused by a cough event rather than by other artificial factors such as relative movement of the light source of the optoelectronic detector or sensor relative to the skin. The cough detection algorithm can utilize the patient-specific reference heart beat intervals known by the detection unit when the patient is at rest. The detection unit can know the reference heart beat intervals at system initialization or during operation by adding an accelerometer to the system to identify the patient's resting state when measuring the reference heart beat intervals. Additionally, the detection unit can monitor whether good contact between the sensor and the skin is ensured. The skin sensor contact can be maintained, and quality checks can be performed and tracked by a quality indicator.

[0025] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit is configured to detect a sneezing event by analyzing the heart rate of the heart signal and the blood pressure of the blood circulation signal.

[0026] The detection unit can rely on the change in heart rate of the heart signal and the change in blood pressure of the blood circulation signal to detect a sneezing event. The heart rate can be defined as the number of heart beats per unit of time. The blood pressure can also be derived from the blood volume or blood flow rate flowing through the patient's skin.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit is configured to detect a sneezing event by a decreased heart rate that has a time correlation with an elevated blood pressure.

[0028] The sneezing detection algorithm can rely on the physiological response of the patient's body, i.e., when the patient sneezes, the intrathoracic pressure of the body will instantaneously increase. This will reduce the blood flow back to the heart. The heart compensates for this by temporarily changing its regular heart beat. The sneezing event detection can be performed by correlating a sudden drop in heart rate and an increase in blood pressure.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, the system is configured to store a record of the patient's deterioration risk score value and to provide the record to the patient and / or the doctor.

[0030] The record of the deterioration risk score can be stored, and the trend of the risk score can be provided. Additionally, in the case where the deterioration risk score is updated, especially if the deterioration risk score increases relative to the previous measured value of the deterioration risk score, the system can provide a signal to the patient.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the system includes a second sensor configured to detect skin contact, temperature, and / or acceleration.

[0032] The second sensor can be used to verify detection signals from the heart and the blood circuit. The skin contact sensor can detect whether the first sensor is in good contact with the skin, so as to ensure that when the first sensor is in good contact with the skin and provides reliable measurement data, only the measurement data is used for cough and sneeze detection. The temperature sensor can be used to measure the skin temperature, and thus the contact of the first and second sensors with the skin can be monitored. The acceleration sensor can be used to verify detected cough events and sneeze events, because cough and sneeze events have an impact on the body movement. As an addition or alternative to the involuntary body movement caused by a cough event or a sneeze event, the patient may cover the mouth with a hand, which will generate a characteristic acceleration signal of the acceleration sensor, and the characteristic acceleration signal can be used to verify the occurrence of a cough or a sneeze event.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the computing unit includes an artificial intelligence module, and the artificial intelligence module is configured to be trained using data from multiple patients to predict a deterioration risk score.

[0034] The deterioration risk score can be calculated based on the frequency of detected cough and sneeze events. The increase or decrease of the score can be completed based on the learning of population data. The data collected as described above related to the occurrence of the patient's cough and sneeze events can be combined with other data indicating the deterioration and potential severity of the respiratory disease. For example, a patient connected with a relief inhaler will take the relief inhaler once or multiple times when the condition worsens, and the repetition times and the corresponding frequencies indicate the severity of the condition worsening. Emergency room visits or hospital admissions and related doctor evaluations can indicate the severity of the condition deterioration. Obtaining data from a population subset with additional data on deterioration allows the system according to the present invention to use machine learning methods to train a model to predict the deterioration risk based on detected cough and sneeze events. This machine learning training can ensure that the patterns indicating upcoming deterioration are separated from isolated coughs / sneezes. After using machine learning on a population subset with additional data related to the occurrence of cough or sneeze events and the corresponding deterioration risk scores, the calculation of the deterioration risk score can be applied to each patient in the entire population. The deterioration risk score can also be personalized based on the individual situation of the patient. For example, if it is known that a person is allergic to a certain type of pollen, then in the corresponding season, the same frequency of cough / sneeze will be evaluated as a higher deterioration risk score than in another season, because the chance of respiratory disease deterioration triggered by pollen can be higher. Another situation may be that on days with poor air quality, that is, the air quality is unhealthy for a sensitive patient group, detecting frequent cough / sneeze events will also draw more attention to the deterioration risk, because the score is higher than on days with good air quality.

[0035] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. The method includes the steps of measuring the patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal and providing corresponding measurement data. The method further includes the steps of: detecting a cough event and / or a sneezing event of the patient based on the measurement data, and calculating a deterioration risk score for the patient's respiratory disease based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event. The method also includes the step of providing the deterioration risk score to the patient and / or the doctor.

[0036] The method according to the present invention provides a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. In a first step, the patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal is measured and corresponding measurement data is provided. In a second step, based on the measurement data, a cough event and / or a sneezing event of the patient is detected. In a third step, based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event, a deterioration risk score for the patient's respiratory disease is calculated. In a fourth step, the deterioration risk score is provided to the patient and / or the doctor.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program element which, when executed on a processing unit, instructs the processing unit to execute the method according to the foregoing aspect of the present invention.

[0038] The computer program element can be executed on one or more processing units. When the computer program element is executed, the processing unit is instructed to execute a method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease.

[0039] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing unit configured to execute the computer program element according to the foregoing aspect of the present invention.

[0040] The processing unit can be, for example, a processor of a communication device such as a telephone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a smart watch, a bracelet or smart glasses. The processing unit can also be distributed on one or more different devices such that a part of the computer program element can be executed on the communication device while another part, for example, is executed on a server. The bracelet can be communicatively connected to the communication device, and an application installed on the communication device can be configured to execute the steps of the method according to the present invention.

[0041] Therefore, the benefits provided by any of the above aspects apply equally to all other aspects, and vice versa.

[0042] In summary, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease. The system measures the patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal and detects cough events and sneeze events in the measurement data. Cough events and sneeze events indicate the onset of infectious diseases and / or allergies that may rapidly exacerbate the patient's respiratory disease. Therefore, the system is configured to unobtrusively provide a deterioration risk score to the patient and / or the doctor.

[0043] Referring to the exemplary embodiments described below, the above aspects and embodiments will become apparent and be elucidated. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the following drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Figure 1 A schematic setup of a system for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0045] Figure 2 A schematic setup of a system for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0046] Figure 3 A schematic setup of a system for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0047] Figure 4 The cardiac signal of the patient measured by the measurement unit during a cough event of the patient is shown.

[0048] Figure 5 A block diagram of a method for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Figure 1 A schematic setup of a system 100 for providing a deterioration risk score 170 for a patient's respiratory disease to a patient 150 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. A measurement unit 110 measures the cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal of the patient 150. Measurement data 160 corresponding to the cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal is provided and received by a detection unit 120. The detection unit 120 is configured to detect cough events and / or sneeze events 165 of the patient 150 in the measurement data 160. A calculation unit 130 is configured to calculate a deterioration risk score 170 for the patient's respiratory disease. The deterioration risk score 170 is provided by an interface unit 140 to the patient 150 and / or the doctor.

[0050] Figure 2Shows a schematic arrangement of a system 100 for providing a deterioration risk score 170 for a respiratory disease of a patient 150 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment of the present invention, the measurement unit 110 is a wearable device 180 including a first sensor 181 and a second sensor 182. The first sensor 181 is configured to measure the cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal of the patient 150. The second sensor 182 is configured to measure skin contact and thus provide data related to the reliability of the data measured by the first sensor 181. The measurement data 160 is transmitted to a communication device 300, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a smart watch, smart glasses, etc. However, the wearable device 180 can be, for example, a smart watch, or the wearable device 180 can include a detection unit 120, a calculation unit 130, and an interface unit 140. The communication device in this embodiment of the present invention includes a detection unit 120 for receiving the measurement data 160 and for detecting cough events and / or sneezing events 165. These are provided to the calculation unit 130, which can include an artificial intelligence module 190 trained to provide the deterioration risk score 170. The deterioration risk score 170 is provided by the interface unit 140 to the patient 150 and / or the doctor. The processing unit 200 can be communicatively connected to the detection unit 120, the calculation unit 130, and the interface unit 140, and can be configured to control the detection unit 120, the calculation unit 130, and the interface unit 140, and to perform the steps of the method according to the present invention.

[0051] Figure 3 Shows a schematic arrangement of a system 100 for providing a deterioration risk score 170 for a respiratory disease of a patient 150 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The wearable unit 180 is attached to the wrist of the patient 150. The wearable unit 180 can be communicatively connected to the communication device 300, for example, by a wireless connection (such as WLAN or Bluetooth).

[0052] Figure 4 Shows the cardiac signal of the patient 150 measured by the measurement unit 110 during a cough event 165 of the patient 150. The amplitude A of the signal measured by the measurement unit 110 generally shows a regular sinusoidal waveform measured over time t in the absence of cough events and / or sneezing events. During the time interval starting from t1 and ending at t2, a cough event 165 is detected due to the interruption of the regular waveform with a significant fluctuation in the inter-beat interval.

[0053] Figure 5A block diagram of a method for providing a deterioration risk score 170 for a respiratory disease of a patient 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The method includes a first step 160 of measuring a cardiac signal and / or a blood circulation signal of the patient and providing corresponding measurement data. This step is followed by a second step 165 of detecting a cough event and / or a sneezing event of the patient 150 based on the measurement data 160. The third step includes calculating a deterioration risk score 170 for the respiratory disease of the patient 150 based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event 165. In a fourth step, the deterioration risk score 170 is provided to the patient 150 and / or a doctor.

[0054] Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, such illustration and description should be considered illustrative or exemplary rather than restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention by studying the drawings, the disclosure, and the dependent claims.

[0055] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used advantageously. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. A system (100) for providing a deterioration risk score for a patient's respiratory disease, the system (100) comprising: A measurement unit (110), configured to measure a patient's (150) cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal, and configured to provide corresponding measurement data (160); A detection unit (120), configured to receive the measurement data (160) and detect a cough event and / or a sneezing event (165) of the patient (150) in the measurement data (160), wherein the detection unit (120) is configured to detect the cough event (165) by analyzing the inter-beat interval of the cardiac signal, and / or wherein the detection unit (120) is configured to detect the sneezing event (165) by analyzing the heart rate of the cardiac signal and the blood pressure of the blood circulation signal; A calculation unit (130), configured to calculate a deterioration risk score (170) for the patient's (150) respiratory disease based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event (165); And An interface unit (140), configured to provide the deterioration risk score (170) to the patient (150) and / or to a doctor.

2. The system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the measurement unit (110) is a wearable unit (180) such as a bracelet, and the wearable unit (180) includes a first sensor (181) for measuring the cardiac signal and / or the blood circulation signal.

3. The system (100) according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor (181) is a photoplethysmography sensor.

4. The system (100) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the respiratory disease is asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

5. The system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit (120) is configured to detect the cough event (165) by fluctuations of the length of the inter-beat interval over a plurality of heartbeats.

6. The system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit (120) is configured to detect the sneezing event (165) by a decreased heart rate that has a temporal correlation with an increased blood pressure.

7. The system (100) according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-6, wherein the system (100) is configured to store a record of the patient's (150) deterioration risk score value and to provide the record to the patient (150) and / or the doctor.

8. The system (100) according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-6, wherein the system (100) includes a second sensor (182), and the second sensor (182) is configured to detect skin contact, temperature, and / or acceleration.

9. The system (100) according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-6, Wherein the computing unit (130) includes an artificial intelligence module (190), and the artificial intelligence module (190) is configured to be trained using data from multiple patients to predict the deterioration risk score (170).

10. A computer-implemented method for providing a deterioration risk score (170) for a patient's (150) respiratory disease, the computer-implemented method comprising the steps of: Measuring a patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal and providing corresponding measurement data (160); Based on the measurement data (160), detecting a cough event and / or a sneezing event (165) of the patient (150); Wherein the cough event is detected by analyzing the inter-beat interval of the cardiac signal, and / or Wherein the sneezing event (165) is detected by analyzing the heart rate of the cardiac signal and the blood pressure of the blood circulation signal; Based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event (165), calculating a deterioration risk score (170) for the patient's (150) respiratory disease; And Providing the deterioration risk score (170) to the patient (150) and / or to a doctor.

11. A computer program element, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed on a processing unit (200) instructs the processing unit (200) to cause the system according to claim 1 to perform a method for providing a deterioration risk score (170) for a patient's (150) respiratory disease, the method comprising the steps of: Measuring a patient's cardiac signal and / or blood circulation signal and providing corresponding measurement data (160); Based on the measurement data (160), detecting a cough event and / or a sneezing event (165) of the patient (150); Wherein the cough event is detected by analyzing the inter-beat interval of the cardiac signal, and / or Wherein the sneezing event (165) is detected by analyzing the heart rate of the cardiac signal and the blood pressure of the blood circulation signal; Based on the detected cough event and / or the detected sneezing event (165), calculating a deterioration risk score (170) for the patient's (150) respiratory disease; And Providing the deterioration risk score (170) to the patient (150) and / or the doctor.

12. A processing unit (200) configured to execute the computer program on the computer program element according to claim 11.

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