Devices and methods for continuous respiratory rate monitoring and visualization

Abstract

To provide a respiration monitoring system that can include a respiration sensor configured to continuously monitor respiration data of a user.SOLUTION: The respiration monitoring system can include a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to determine a respiratory rate of the user using the respiration data. The instructions can cause the one or more processors to, using the respiratory rate, determine a respiratory rate distribution in a first respiratory rate band and a second respiratory rate band over a duration of time. The respiratory rate distribution can indicate, over the duration of time, relative proportions of time the respiratory rate falls into the first or second respiratory rate bands. The instructions can cause the one or more processors to cause display of the respiratory rate distribution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4A

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosed systems and methods relate to monitoring physiological signals, and in particular to continuous respiratory monitoring and visualization. [Background technology]

[0002] Respiratory parameters can provide deep insight into an individual's health. Respiratory parameters can indicate an individual's physiological or mental state, as well as prognosis for the diagnosis of medical conditions. In examples, respiratory and other physiological parameters can provide insight into an individual's stress levels and can be used to detect more severe lung disorders, such as those associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, traditionally, monitoring of respiratory and other biometric parameters has been performed in clinical settings, contributing to the development of respiratory monitoring devices that are limited in movement, are not portable, are not easily integrated into the user's daily life, are difficult to use, and provide incomplete or insufficient information. The disclosed systems and methods solve at least these problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The respiratory monitoring system may include a respiratory sensor configured to continuously monitor respiratory data of a user. The system may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to determine a respiratory rate of the user using the respiratory data. The instructions may cause the one or more processors to use the respiratory rate to determine a first respiratory rate distribution in a first respiratory rate band and a second respiratory rate band over a duration of time. The first respiratory rate distribution may indicate a relative percentage of time over the duration that the respiratory rate falls in the first or second respiratory rate band. The instructions may cause the one or more processors to display the first respiratory rate distribution.

[0004] The respiratory monitoring system of any of the preceding paragraphs and / or any of the respiratory monitoring systems disclosed herein may include one or more of the following features: The first respiratory rate distribution may be displayed as a plurality of bars corresponding to a plurality of portions of the duration, each bar indicating the relative proportion of time that the respiratory rate falls within a first or second respiratory rate band over the portion of the duration. The relative proportion of time that the respiratory rate falls within the first or second respiratory rate band may be indicated by different colors.

[0005] Any of the respiratory monitoring systems of the previous paragraph and / or disclosed herein may include one or more of the following features: The instructions may cause the one or more processors to use the respiratory rate to determine a first respiratory rate distribution in a first respiratory rate band, a second respiratory rate band, and at least one additional respiratory rate band over a duration. The first respiratory rate distribution may indicate a relative percentage of time over the duration that the respiratory rate falls in the first, second, or at least one additional respiratory rate band. The relative percentage of time that the respiratory rate falls in the first, second, or at least one additional respiratory rate band may be indicated with different colors.

[0006] The respiratory monitoring system of any of the preceding paragraphs and / or any of the respiratory monitoring systems disclosed herein may include one or more of the following features: The first respiratory rate distribution may be displayed using a rolling time window. The rolling time window may include a plurality of increments less than 24 hours. The rolling time window may include 24 hours, with each increment of the plurality of increments including 4 hours.

[0007] The respiratory monitoring system of any of the preceding paragraphs and / or any of the respiratory monitoring systems disclosed herein may include one or more of the following features: The instructions may cause the one or more processors to use the respiratory rate to determine a second respiratory rate distribution in a third respiratory rate band and a fourth respiratory rate band distinct from the first and second respiratory rate bands over the duration. The second respiratory rate distribution may indicate a relative percentage of time over the duration that the respiratory rate falls in the third or fourth respiratory rate bands. The instructions may cause the one or more processors to display the first and second respiratory rate distributions.

[0008] The respiratory monitoring system of any of the previous paragraphs and / or any of the respiratory monitoring systems disclosed herein may include one or more of the following features: The first and second respiration rate bands may be configured to be at least one of adjustable by a healthcare provider or dynamically adjusted in response to changes in respiration rate over at least a portion of a duration. The respiratory sensor may be configured to be attached to a garment worn by the user and positioned between the garment worn by the user and the user's body.

[0009] A method of operating any of the respiratory monitoring systems of the previous paragraph and / or any of the respiratory monitoring systems disclosed herein is disclosed.

[0010] Disclosed is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform any of the methods of the previous paragraph and / or any of the methods disclosed herein. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate example implementations described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a distributed physiological monitoring system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a sensor for physiological monitoring. [Diagram 3] 1 shows an exemplary respiration rate plot. [Figure 4A] 1 shows an exemplary respiration rate plot. [Figure 4B] 1 shows an exemplary respiration rate plot. [Figure 4C] 1 shows an exemplary respiration rate plot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Respiratory monitoring system 1 illustrates a distributed physiological monitoring system 10. The system 10 can monitor one or more physiological parameters of a user 20, such as the user's respiration. Although a particular example describes monitoring and processing of respiration, other physiological parameters can be monitored and processed as well.

[0014] The system 10 may continuously monitor or indicate a physiological or mental state of the user 20 based on the user's physiological characteristics (e.g., breathing characteristics) and may additionally or alternatively function to facilitate diagnosis of a medical condition with cardiopulmonary indications. In some examples, the system 10 may facilitate monitoring of a user's health based on breathing characteristics, including stress levels or physical exertion (e.g., during exercise). For example, the system 10 may function to indicate an indication of a medical condition, such as a condition associated with COPD (e.g., apnea, asthma, or emphysema), pneumonia or lung infection (e.g., caused by COVID-19 infection), cardiac disease, substance use disorder, and the like. For example, the system 10 may indicate a breathing abnormality of the user 20, which may be used to initiate a diagnosis or treatment of a condition of the user's upper airway, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura, pleural cavity, or any nerve or muscle condition associated with breathing. The system 10 may be configured to monitor any other suitable breathing behavior of the user 20 or to indicate any other suitable indication of a breathing-related medical condition.

[0015] The system 10 may include a respiratory sensor 100 that may be worn by the user 20. The respiratory sensor 100 may not inhibit the mobility of the user 20, thereby allowing respiratory monitoring as the user performs normal activities in the user's daily life, such as walking, exercising, working, resting, sleeping, etc. The respiratory sensor 100 may include a housing that supports or encapsulates various components, as described herein. The housing of the respiratory sensor 100 may be attached to an inner surface of a garment worn by the user (e.g., a waistband, a bra, a shirt, a belt, etc.). The respiratory sensor 100 may be located between the garment and the user's body. In some cases, multiple respiratory sensors 100 may be coupled to a single garment of a set of garments worn by the user 20. In some cases, multiple respiratory sensors 100 may be coupled to various garments that the user may choose to wear at any given time.

[0016] The breath sensor 100 can continuously monitor the user's breath. The breath sensor 100 can include a housing that supports or encloses electronic circuitry configured to monitor the user's breath. The electronic circuitry can include one or more sensors configured to deflect in response to the user's body movements generated by the user's breath, or to detect forces in response to the user's breath in any other suitable manner (e.g., without deflection of the sensor elements). The sensor can be rigidly connected to the user 20 directly or indirectly (e.g., via the housing), such that deflections associated with the user's breath are detected with minimal interference due to other movements of the user or the breath sensor 100. The sensor can be constrained on both sides to enhance the effect of breath-induced movements of the user's body (e.g., abdominal or thoracic regions). For example, the breath sensor 100 can be positioned between the user's clothing and the user's skin and rigidly coupled to the user's clothing using any one or more of an adhesive (e.g., permanent or non-permanent adhesive), straps, clips, etc.

[0017] The sensor may include a capacitor configured to generate an electrical signal (e.g., a change in an electric field) in response to a deflection of a first capacitor plate relative to a second capacitor plate. The first and second plates of the capacitor may be separated by a non-rigid material that supports each plate of the capacitor. The first and second plates of the capacitor may be oriented with a plane parallel to the surface of the user 20 such that deflections perpendicular to the plane of the capacitor plates caused by the user's breath are detected by the breath sensor 100. Thus, the capacitor plates may be located between the user's clothing and the user's body, such as in the abdominal region, the chest region, between underwear and the user's body. Deflection of one capacitor plate relative to another capacitor plate may be detected along with a deflection component perpendicular to the surface of the user's body. Thus, the breath sensor 100 may be capable of generating an electrical signal in response to compression / recovery of the sensor due to the user's breath. The sensor may include multiple capacitors or other sensing elements that may facilitate determination of further aspects of the applied force (e.g., center of gravity of the force, etc.) in applications involving, for example, placement guidance in the breath sensor 100.

[0018] With reference to FIG. 2, the respiratory sensor 100 may include an electronic circuit 120 that is encapsulated or supported by a housing. An outer layer 111 of the housing may function to shield a portion of the respiratory sensor 100 from contact with the external environment. At least a portion of the outer layer may be manufactured from a soft material (e.g., woven, non-woven) to provide a comfortable and non-irritating interface to the user 20. Thus, the outer layer 111 may function to provide a user coupling interface 141 to the respiratory sensor 100 that is comfortable to the wearer of the garment to which the respiratory sensor is coupled. The outer layer may define at least one opening 112 for accessing the external environment. This opening may be used to sense one or more additional physiological parameters of the user 20 or one or more parameters of the external environment.

[0019] The support structure 113 of the housing can function to elastically hold the components of the respiratory sensor 100 enclosed by the housing to allow operation of the respiratory sensor and prevent damage. The support structure 113 can include an elastic layer 1131 (e.g., a thermally formed semi-rigid plastic layer) that defines an opening of similar size, shape, and location as the opening 112 defined in the deformation of the outer layer. The opening in the support structure can, in a first example, provide a path (e.g., by way of a corresponding opening in the outer layer) between the electronic circuit 120 (e.g., a portion of the electronics module in which the sensor is located) and the external environment.

[0020] The support structure 113 may include a shell 1132 defining one or more cavities configured to receive and hold the electronic circuitry 120. The shell 1132 may be adjacent to the mounting module 114 (e.g., at a surface of the substrate opposite the mounting or adhesive layer), but may in variants be separated from the mounting module by one or more layers or other respiratory sensor components. The shell 1132 may be formed from a resilient material, such as silicone, plastic (e.g., PVC, ABS, HDPE, etc.), high density foam, etc., but may additionally or alternatively be formed from any suitable material. For example, the shell 1132 may define an elliptical recess positioned to receive the electronic circuitry 120. As another example, the shell 1132 may define a bevel around its outer edge that defines the volumetric shape of the respiratory sensor, the contour being curved to minimize sharp edges or other harsh morphological features that may cause discomfort to the user. Shell 1132 can be formed from multiple components or parts, where a first part (e.g., part 1132) defines one or more cavities for receiving a component and a second part defines the outer shape and is adapted to bond to the first part in a stacked configuration (e.g., part 1131).

[0021] The support structure 113 may include a foam filler material that occupies a portion of the interior volume defined by the housing that is not otherwise occupied by the respiratory sensor components. The foam filler material may, in an alternative, provide insulation to passively manage heat transfer between components of the respiratory sensor 100.

[0022] The attachment module 114 can function to couple the respiratory sensor 100 to a wearable article and cooperatively encapsulate the components of the respiratory sensor in combination with an outer layer of the housing. The attachment module 114 can include a substrate and an attachment layer. The substrate can be an elastic material (e.g., a polycarbonate substrate), but can additionally or alternatively be any suitable material. The substrate can define a large surface on which the attachment layer is disposed. The attachment layer can be an adhesive layer, but in alternative variations, the attachment layer can include any suitable mechanism for attachment to a wearable article (e.g., one side of a hook-and-loop fastener, one or more buttons, a zipper, etc.). For example, the adhesive layer can include a two-part silicone elastomer adhesive.

[0023] The adhesive can cover at least one entire side of the attachment module 114, but can additionally or alternatively cover all or part of any suitable portion of the attachment module or other portions of the housing. In some implementations, the respiratory sensor 100 can include attachment modules disposed on both sides of the housing such that the respiratory sensor can be attached to a garment on either of the two sides.

[0024] The system 10 can include a patient application 30 (or patient app) running on a computing device such as a mobile phone, smart watch, tablet, personal computer, custom hardware, etc. The patient app 30 can communicate with the respiration sensor 100 and obtain physiological data of the user (e.g., respiratory data) collected by the respiration sensor. The communication can be wireless, for example via Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The patient app 30 can process the physiological data, display or otherwise provide the data to the user 20, display or otherwise provide one or more instructions or alerts, etc. The patient app 30 can configure the respiration sensor 100.

[0025] The system 10 can include a processing platform 40 executing on one or more computing devices, which can be one or more cloud servers. The processing platform 40 can communicate with the patient app 30 and receive the user's physiological data (e.g., respiratory data collected by the respiratory sensor 100). The communication can be wireless, via a wireless area network, cellular, etc. The processing platform 40 can execute one or more processes to analyze the user's physiological data, determine patterns, identify one or more medical conditions (e.g., one or more disorders), or generate one or more alerts.

[0026] The system 10 may include a healthcare portal 50 running on one or more computing devices. The healthcare portal 50 may communicate with the processing platform 40 and the patient app 30 (or the respiratory sensor 100). The communication may be wireless, via wireless area network, cellular, etc. The processing platform 40 may provide one or more analyses of physiological data, patterns, identified medical conditions, or alerts to the healthcare portal 50 or the patient app 30. The healthcare portal 50 may be accessed by one or more healthcare providers 60. The healthcare portal 50 may analyze the physiological data of the user 20 and display the data or analyses to the healthcare provider 60. The healthcare portal 50 may communicate with one or more computing devices of the one or more healthcare providers 60. The healthcare portal 50 may be a web-based portal.

[0027] Respiratory rate monitoring and visualization The respiration rate (or exhalation rate) continuously determined by the system 10 using the respiration data continuously monitored by the respiration sensor 100 may be provided to one or more healthcare providers 60 or users 20. The respiration rate and changes in respiration rate may be provided via the healthcare portal 50 or patient app 30. Based on the respiration rate and changes in respiration rate over time, the healthcare provider 60 may assess the user's health status, diagnose one or more medical conditions, and determine one or more remedial actions.

[0028] Respiratory rate is highly regulated by the body to ensure that the rate of oxygen inflow and carbon dioxide outflow meets physiological needs. For a typical healthy adult, the normal respiratory rate at rest is 12-18 breaths per minute (bpm). For adults, a respiratory rate above 25 breaths per minute (especially 30 bpm) may correspond to an elevated respiratory rate and may indicate the presence of one or more medical conditions.

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates graphs 500 and 550 showing changes in respiration rate over time. Graph 500 can show the percentage deviation of respiration rate from a baseline. The x-axis can correspond to time (shown in days) and the y-axis can correspond to the percentage deviation from the baseline. The baseline can be an N-day average of respiration dates, where N is an integer (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). In the example graph 500 shown in FIG. 3, the baseline can be 90 days. Plot 504 can show daily deviations from the baseline. Threshold 502 can show a 10% deviation from the baseline. Graph 500 can also show a notification or alert 506 that is generated when the respiration rate for a particular day exceeds threshold 502.

[0030] Graph 550 may show a range of respiration rates over time. The x-axis may correspond to time (shown in days) and the y-axis may correspond to respirations per minute. Graph 550 may show a threshold value 552 (e.g., 30 bpm). For a particular day, graph 550 may show a respiration rate range (e.g., 554 or 556) that may include a maximum, median, and minimum respiration rate for that day.

[0031] Graphs 500 and 550 visually display changes in respiration rate over time, but may not provide a complete context of the changes in respiration rate, thereby reducing their usefulness. For example, graphs 500 and 550 do not provide a distribution of respiration rate over a period of time (e.g., per day). Small changes in respiration rate from day to day may not be visible in these graphs due to the way they aggregate data from the entire day. For example, if a user has had a longer period of rapid breathing, but this is offset by more time spent sleeping, the change will not be visible when the respiration rate is naturally slower. As a result, the efficiency and effectiveness of system 10 may be limited.

[0032] 4A-4C show graphs illustrating respiration rate distribution over time that address the above-mentioned shortcomings. Graphs 400A and 400B in FIG. 4A show respiration rate distribution over a duration (e.g., 24 hours). The y-axis can correspond to a proportion (0-1) or percentage (0%-100%), and the x-axis can correspond to a particular duration. The vertical bars indicate the percentage of time over the duration that the user's respiration rate falls into at least two ranges or bands (e.g., normal respiration rate and abnormal respiration rate bands). For example, with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the first vertical bar labeled "2021-08-06 04:00:00" indicates that the user's respiration rate over the duration was primarily in the band above 20 breaths per minute. Indeed, in most cases, the user's respiration rate was above 25 breaths per minute, which may indicate the presence of one or more medical conditions. A quick inspection of graph 400A can reveal that the user is significantly affected by one or more underlying medical conditions.

[0033] To provide a rich and nuanced view of the respiration rate, the graph 400A may show the distribution of the respiration rate into five respiration rate bands, such as 0-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, and 30-50 breaths per minute. In some implementations, fewer or more bands may be utilized. In other embodiments, different ranges of breaths per minute for the bands may be selected, such as 0-10, 10-20, 20-25, 25-30, and 30-50 breaths per minute. Different colors may be used to indicate the percentage of time that the respiration rate meets a particular band. For example, a dark green color may be associated with a band of 0-15 breaths per minute, a light green color may be associated with a band of 15-20 breaths per minute, a light red color may be associated with a band of 20-25 breaths per minute, a red color may be associated with a band of 25-30 breaths per minute, and a dark red color may be associated with a band of 30-50 breaths per minute. In certain implementations, one or more other alternative or additional colors may be used. Patterns or other visual treatments may be used in addition to or instead of color to accommodate visibility for color-blind individuals or color-limited displays.

[0034] The duration of each vertical bar may correspond to a 24-hour period. Using a 24-hour period may smooth out inconsistencies that may be caused by a lack of compliance due to the user 20 not wearing the respiratory sensor 100. In some cases, the time period (e.g., the 24-hour period) may be displayed in a rolling manner to allow responsiveness of the data display without introducing excessive noise. With reference to FIG. 4B, in the graph 400A, each vertical bar may represent a rolling 24-hour window that is incremented every 4 hours. For example, a first vertical bar may correspond to the distribution of the user's respiratory rate over a 24-hour period (2021-08-05 4:00 AM - 2021-08-06 4:00 AM). As another example, a second vertical bar may correspond to the distribution of the user's respiratory rate over a 24-hour period leading up to 8:00 AM (2021-08-05 8:00 AM - 2021-08-06 8:00 AM). As yet another example, the third vertical bar may correspond to a distribution of users' breathing rates over a 24 hour period leading up to 12pm (2021-08-05 12pm - 2021-08-06 12pm). As yet another example, the fourth vertical bar may correspond to a distribution of users' breathing rates over a 24 hour period leading up to 4pm (2021-08-05 4pm - 2021-08-06 4pm). As yet another example, the fifth vertical bar may correspond to a distribution of users' breathing rates over a 24 hour period leading up to 8pm (2021-08-05 8pm - 2021-08-06 8pm). As yet another example, the sixth vertical bar may correspond to a distribution of users' breathing rates over a 24 hour period leading up to 12am (2021-08-06 12am - 2021-08-07 12am).

[0035] The use of such a rolling window of X hours can advantageously promote responsiveness to changes in respiration rate. For example, if a user's breathing accelerates for X hours, this is captured by graph 400A. Although a 24 hour rolling window is utilized in graph 400A, in some implementations the window can be shortened or lengthened, and the time increments by which each window advances can also be shortened or lengthened. In some cases, shortening the window or time increments can clutter graph 400A with unnecessary detail, while lengthening the window or time increments can reduce responsiveness to changes in respiration rate.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 4A, graph 400B may show the same respiration data shown in graph 400B, but using different respiration rate bands. As shown, higher respiration rate bands are utilized in graph 400B, such as 0-25 breaths per minute, 25-29 breaths per minute, 29-33 breaths per minute, 33-37 breaths per minute, and 37-50 breaths per minute. Such changes in respiration band scale may provide a more nuanced view of respiration rate over time, especially for the illustrated user whose respiration rate is outside of the normal range. For ease of interpretation, graph 400B may use a different color coding scheme than graph 400A. For example, dark blue may be associated with a band of 0-25 breaths per minute, light blue may be associated with a band of 25-29 breaths per minute, light brown may be associated with a band of 29-33 breaths per minute, brown may be associated with a band of 33-37 breaths per minute, and dark brown may be associated with a band of 37-50 breaths per minute.

[0037] In some cases, graph 400A can serve as a primary view of the respiration rate distribution over time, and graph 400B can serve as a secondary view of the respiration rate distribution over time, In other implementations, a tertiary view with alternative ranges can also be introduced.

[0038] In some cases, the respiration rate bands of the graphs 400A or 400B can be defined or modified by the healthcare provider 60 or the user 20. For example, the number of different bands and the ranges of the different bands can be selected. In some cases, the number of bands and the ranges of the bands can be changed by the system 10 dynamically in response to changes in the respiration data. For example, the ranges of the different bands in the secondary view can be adjusted based on whether the user's respiration rate is normal, elevated, or highly elevated.

[0039] FIG. 4C shows a respiration rate distribution over time for a different user than the users in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. As in FIG. 4A, a primary graph 450A and a secondary graph 450B are shown. A quick inspection of the graph in FIG. 4C, compared to the graphs in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, can reveal that the respiration rate of the user whose respiration rate distribution is shown in FIG. 4C is much lower. Indeed, for most of the period shown in FIG. 4C, the user's respiration rate does not exceed 25 breaths per minute. However, it is readily apparent that the user's respiration rate increased in the latter part of the period, which may indicate the onset of one or more underlying medical conditions.

[0040] In some implementations, one or more alerts may be automatically generated by the system 10. For example, an alert may be generated in response to a determination that a respiration rate distribution over a period of time meets a threshold percentage of time in a particular respiration rate band. For example, an alert may be generated in response to a determination that a respiration rate distribution over one or more 24-hour periods exceeds 25 breaths per minute at least 25% of the time.

[0041] In some implementations, the respiration rate distribution over time can be displayed to allow viewing of the data in a scrolling format that goes backwards or forwards in time. In other embodiments, the respiration rate distribution over time can be displayed over a fixed period of time that can be selected by the user or automatically selected by the system 10. For example, such a fixed period of time can be used in printed reports.

[0042] In some cases, the respiration rate distribution can be visualized with horizontal bars instead of vertical bars, where each horizontal bar can contain multiple bands of respiration rate and time can progress vertically to the next horizontal bar. Such a display can provide the ability to scroll vertically through time. This approach can be more conducive to displaying in a particular format, for example on a mobile or tablet screen where space is more limited.

[0043] In some implementations, the visualization of respiration rate may be separated by user activity or state, as well as time. For example, a user's respiration rate during sleep, rest, or activity may be displayed separately in a unique respiration rate distribution graph for each state. Such a display may facilitate comparison of users' respiration rates and reduce variability resulting from the composition of the respective activities. In some cases, respiration rates corresponding to different states of the user may be displayed in combined stacked graphs, or in alternating bars that are differentiated by intervals, patterns, or alternate colors.

[0044] The disclosed approach improves the efficiency of using continuous respiratory monitoring systems, for example, by providing a rich, detailed, and easy-to-understand visualization of respiratory rate distribution over time. The disclosed approach allows a healthcare provider to quickly interpret respiratory data of interest without taking any further action. This may eliminate the need for the healthcare provider to perform further monitoring or analysis of respiratory rate to assess the patient's health status and, if appropriate, recommend one or more corrective actions. As a result, the respiratory monitoring system may function more efficiently and effectively.

[0045] Other variations Although the particular example relates to monitoring respiration and providing an indication of respiration rate, other physiological parameters may similarly be monitored and one or more visualizations of changes over time may similarly be provided, for example activity level, resting heart rate, movement during sleep, etc. may be monitored and one or more visualizations of changes over time may be provided.

[0046] The design may vary as components may be added, removed, or modified. Depending on the embodiment, certain operations, events, or functions of any of the processes or algorithms described herein may be performed in a different order, added, merged, or omitted entirely (e.g., not all operations or events described are required to implement an algorithm). Furthermore, in certain embodiments, operations or events may be performed simultaneously rather than sequentially, for example, via multi-threading, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores, or on other parallel architectures.

[0047] The user interface screens or components shown and described herein are merely illustrative examples and may be modified in other embodiments. For example, the bars, legends, lines, buttons, drop-down boxes, selection boxes, text boxes, check boxes, slider controls, or other user interface components shown may be replaced with other types of user interface components providing the same or similar functionality. Furthermore, the user interface components may be combined or divided into sets of other user interface components such that similar or the same functionality may be provided in user interfaces with very different appearances. Furthermore, each of the user interface components may be selected by a user using one or more input options, such as a mouse, touch screen input, keyboard input, or voice input, among other user interface input options.

[0048] The user interface screens illustrated and described herein may include additional or alternative components. These components may include menus, lists, buttons, text boxes, labels, radio buttons, scroll bars, sliders, check boxes, combo boxes, status bars, dialog boxes, windows, etc. The user interface screens may include additional or alternative information. The components may be arranged, grouped, and displayed in any suitable order.

[0049] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, routines, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, or a combination of electronic hardware and computer software. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or as software running on hardware depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. The described functionality can be implemented in various ways for each particular application, and such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0050] Furthermore, the various example logic blocks and modules described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or executed by a machine such as a general purpose processor device, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor device may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor device may be a controller, a microcontroller, or a state machine, combinations thereof, and the like. A processor device may include electronic circuitry configured to process computer executable instructions. In another embodiment, a processor device includes an FPGA or other programmable device that performs logical operations without processing computer executable instructions. A processor device may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Although described herein primarily with respect to digital technology, a processor device may also include primarily analog components. For example, some or all of the signal processing algorithms described herein may be implemented in analog circuitry or mixed analog and digital circuitry. The computing environment can include any type of computer system, including, but not limited to, a computer system based on a computational engine within a microprocessor, mainframe computer, digital signal processor, portable computing device, device controller, or appliance, to name a few.

[0051] Elements of the methods, processes, routines, or algorithms described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor device, or in a combination of the two. The software modules may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor device such that the processor device can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be incorporated into the processor device. The processor device and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor device and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0052] Moreover, conditional terms used herein, such as "can," "could," "might," "may," "eg," among others, are intended to generally convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or steps, but other embodiments do not, unless specifically stated otherwise or understood otherwise within the context in which they are used. Thus, such conditional language does not generally imply that the features, elements, and / or steps are in any way required by one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether those features, elements, and / or steps should be included in or performed in any particular embodiment, with or without other input or prompts. Terms such as "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, are synonymous and are used in an inclusive, open-ended manner and do not exclude additional elements, features, operations, actions, etc. Additionally, the term "or" is used in an inclusive sense (not an exclusive sense), e.g., when used to connect a list of elements, the term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

[0053] Disjunctive language, such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, Z," is understood in the context of common usage to indicate that an item, term, etc. can be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and / or Z), unless otherwise indicated. Thus, such disjunctive language does not generally imply, and should not imply, that a particular embodiment requires at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z, respectively, to be present.

[0054] As used herein, language of degree, such as "approximately," "about," "generally," and "substantially," describes a value, amount, or characteristic that is close to a stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms "approximately," "about," "generally," and "substantially" can refer to an amount that is less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 1%, less than 0.1%, and less than 0.01% of the stated amount.

[0055] Unless otherwise noted, articles such as "a" or "an" should generally be construed to include one or more of the listed items. Thus, phrases such as "a device configured to" are intended to include one or more of the listed devices. Such one or more listed devices can also be collectively configured to perform the stated enumeration.

[0056] Although the above detailed description has illustrated, described, and pointed out novel features as applied to various embodiments, it can be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the illustrated devices or algorithms can be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As can be recognized, certain embodiments described herein can be implemented in a form that does not provide all of the features and benefits described herein, since some features can be used or implemented separately from other features. The scope of the specific embodiments disclosed herein is indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

1. a respiration sensor configured to continuously monitor respiration data of a user; a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions; the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: determining a respiratory rate of the user using the respiratory data; using the respiration rate to determine a first respiration rate distribution in a first respiration rate band and a second respiration rate band over a duration, the first respiration rate distribution indicating a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiration rate falls in the first or second respiration rate band; A respiratory monitoring system causing a display of the first respiratory rate distribution.

2. 2. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the first respiratory rate distribution is displayed as a number of bars corresponding to a number of portions of the duration, each bar indicating a relative percentage of time that the respiratory rate falls within the first or second respiratory rate band over a portion of the duration.

3. 3. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the relative percentage of time the respiratory rate falls within the first or second respiratory rate bands is indicated with different colors.

4. The instructions cause the one or more processors to:

4. A respiratory monitoring system as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the respiratory rate is used to determine a first respiratory rate distribution in the first respiratory rate band, the second respiratory rate band and at least one further respiratory rate band over the duration, the first respiratory rate distribution indicating a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiratory rate falls in the first, second or at least one further respiratory rate band.

5. 5. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the relative proportion of time that the respiratory rate falls within the first, second, or at least one further respiratory rate band is indicated with different colors.

6. 6. A respiratory monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first respiratory rate distribution is displayed using a rolling time window.

7. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 6 , wherein the rolling time window comprises a number of increments less than 24 hours.

8. 8. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 7, wherein the rolling time window comprises 24 hours and each increment of the plurality of increments comprises 4 hours.

9. 9. A respiratory monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second respiration rate bands are configured to be at least one of adjustable by a healthcare provider or dynamically adjusted in response to changes in the respiration rate over at least a portion of the duration.

10. The instructions to the one or more processors further include: using the respiration rate to determine a second respiration rate distribution in a third respiration rate band and a fourth respiration rate band distinct from the first and second respiration rate bands over the duration, the second respiration rate distribution indicative of a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiration rate falls in the third or fourth respiration rate band; A respiratory monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, causing a display of the first and second respiratory rate distributions.

11. 11. The respiratory monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the respiratory sensor is configured to be attached to a garment worn by a user and positioned between the garment worn by the user and a body of the user.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: determining a respiration rate of the user using respiration data continuously collected by the respiration sensor; using the respiration rate to determine a first respiration rate distribution in a first respiration rate band and a second respiration rate band over a duration, the first respiration rate distribution indicating a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiration rate falls in the first or second respiration rate band; A non-transitory computer readable storage medium causing the first respiration rate distribution to be displayed.

13. 13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first respiration rate distribution is displayed as a plurality of bars corresponding to a plurality of portions of the duration, each bar indicating a relative proportion of time that the respiration rate falls within the first or second respiration rate band over a portion of the duration.

14. 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein a relative percentage of time the respiration rate falls within the first or second respiration rate bands is indicated with different colors.

15. The instructions cause the one or more processors to:

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 or 14, wherein the respiration rate is used to determine a first respiration rate distribution in the first respiration rate band, the second respiration rate band, and at least one further respiration rate band over the duration, the first respiration rate distribution indicating a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiration rate falls in the first, second, or at least one further respiration rate band.

16. 16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein a relative percentage of time that the respiration rate falls within the first, second, or at least one additional respiration rate band is indicated with a different color.

17. 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first respiration rate distribution is displayed using a rolling time window.

18. 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the rolling time window comprises a number of increments less than 24 hours.

19. 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the rolling time window comprises 24 hours and each increment of the plurality of increments comprises 4 hours.

20. 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first and second respiration rate bands are configured to be at least one of adjustable by a healthcare provider or dynamically adjusted in response to changes in the respiration rate over at least a portion of the duration.

21. The instructions to the one or more processors further include: using the respiration rate to determine a second respiration rate distribution in a third respiration rate band and a fourth respiration rate band distinct from the first and second respiration rate bands over the duration, the second respiration rate distribution indicative of a relative proportion of time over the duration that the respiration rate falls in the third or fourth respiration rate band; 21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, causing a display of the first and second respiration rate distributions.

22. 22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the respiratory sensor is configured to be attached to a garment worn by a user and positioned between the garment worn by the user and a body of the user.

23. A method of operating a respiratory monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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