# US 2018/0020952 A1 · Systems and methods for warning of a protruding body part of a wheelchair occupant > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0020952 A1 - Document ID: US20180020952A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/697,713 - Filed: 2017-09-07 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Earliest claimed: 2013-08-30 - Assignees: Elwha LLC - Applicants: Elwha LLC - Inventors: Roderick A. Hyde; Jordin T. Kare; Eric C. Leuthardt; Richard T. Lord; Robert W. Lord; Clarence T. Tegreene; Lowell L. Wood,, JR. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180020952A1 ## CPC - A61B 5/1115: {Monitoring leaving of a patient support, e.g. a bed or a wheelchair} - A61B 5/1114: {Tracking parts of the body} - A61B 5/6894: {Wheel chairs} - A61B 5/746: {Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract A system for warning of protruding body parts of a medical vehicle occupant includes a sensor, a feedback device, and a processing circuit. The sensor is configured to generate sensor data based on a position of the occupant, and the processing circuit is configured to determine a contour of the medical vehicle, detect a protruding extremity of the occupant based on the sensor data and the contour, and generate a warning using the feedback device, where the warning is based on the detected protruding extremity. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for updating a navigation system of a medical vehicle, comprising: a sensor configured to generate sensor data based on a position of an occupant; and a processing circuit configured to: determine a contour of the medical vehicle; detect a protruding extremity of the occupant of the medical vehicle, wherein detecting the protruding extremity is based on the sensor data and the contour; and update the navigation system of the medical vehicle based on the protruding extremity, wherein the processing circuit comprises a contour generation module in communication with the navigation system and configured to determine the contour. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the contour generation module of the processing circuit is further configured to generate an updated contour of the medical vehicle based on the protruding extremity. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein updating the navigation system of the medical vehicle based on the protruding extremity includes notifying the navigation system of the updated contour. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the updated contour includes at least one of an extended contour corresponding to overall medical vehicle dimensions, a localized contour corresponding to a particular portion of the medical vehicle, and a model of the protruding extremity. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the contour of the medical vehicle is determined based on at least one of the sensor data, a model of the medical vehicle, and a provided contour of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein detecting the protruding extremity is based on information related to skeletal anatomy, and wherein the skeletal anatomy is based on at least one of a model of the occupant and a model of an average human. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein detecting the protruding extremity comprises estimating the protruding extremity based on the skeletal anatomy and a non-protruding portion of the occupant. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a GPS sensor, and wherein the GPS sensor is configured to provide geospatial information related to a location of the medical vehicle, and wherein detecting the protruding extremity of the occupant is further based on the location of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is further configured to generate the sensor data based on a position of an object, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: detect a protruding object based on the sensor data and the contour; and notify the navigation system of the medical vehicle of the protruding object. ### Claim 10 A system for notifying a navigation system of a medical vehicle of a protruding object, comprising: a sensor configured to generate sensor data based on a position of an object; and a processing circuit configured to: determine a contour of the medical vehicle; detect the protruding object of the medical vehicle, wherein detecting the protruding object is based on the sensor data and the contour; and notify the navigation system of the medical vehicle of the protruding object. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate an updated contour of the medical vehicle based on the protruding object. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein notifying the navigation system of the medical vehicle of the protruding object includes notifying the navigation system of the updated contour. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the updated contour includes at least one of an extended contour corresponding to overall medical vehicle dimensions, a localized contour corresponding to a particular portion of the medical vehicle, and a model of the protruding object. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes a camera. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the contour of the medical vehicle is determined based on at least one of the sensor data, a model of the medical vehicle, and a provided contour of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein detecting the protruding object comprises estimating the protruding object based on a model of the object and a non-protruding portion of the object. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein detecting the protruding object includes determining an amount of protrusion of the protruding object. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the amount of protrusion includes a percentage. ### Claim 19 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes a radar sensor. ### Claim 20 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes an RFID sensor, and wherein at least one RFID tag is coupled to the object. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The system of claim 20, wherein detecting the protruding object is further based on a distance of the at least one RFID tag from the RFID sensor. ### Claim 22 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes an optical sensor system coupled to the medical vehicle, and wherein the optical sensor system is configured to generate information related to objects crossing an optical path of the optical sensor system, and wherein detecting the protruding object is further based on the information from the optical sensor system. ### Claim 23 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes a GPS sensor, and wherein the GPS sensor is configured to provide geospatial information related to a location of the medical vehicle, and wherein detecting the protruding object is further based on the location of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 24 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is integrated into the medical vehicle. ### Claim 25 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is integrated along a perimeter of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 26 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is external to the medical vehicle. ### Claim 27 A system for updating a navigation system of a medical vehicle, comprising: a processing circuit configured to: determine a contour of the medical vehicle; detect a protruding object of the medical vehicle, wherein detecting the protruding object is based on the contour and data associated with a position of the protruding object; update the navigation system of the medical vehicle based on the protruding object, wherein the processing circuit comprises a contour generation module in communication with the navigation system and configured to determine the contour. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The system of claim 27, wherein the contour generation module of the processing circuit is further configured to generate an updated contour of the medical vehicle based on the protruding object. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The system of claim 28, wherein updating the navigation system of the medical vehicle based on the protruding object includes notifying the navigation system of the updated contour. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The system of claim 29, wherein the updated contour includes at least one of an extended contour corresponding to overall medical vehicle dimensions, a localized contour corresponding to a particular portion of the medical vehicle, and a model of the protruding object. ### Claim 31 (depends on 28) The system of claim 28, wherein the contour of the medical vehicle is determined based on at least one of the data, a model of the medical vehicle, and a provided contour of the medical vehicle. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The system of claim 31, wherein detecting the protruding object comprises estimating the protruding object based on a model of the object and a non-protruding portion of the object. ### Claim 33 (depends on 27) The system of claim 27, wherein detecting the protruding object includes determining an amount of protrusion of the protruding object. ### Claim 34 (depends on 33) The system of claim 33, wherein the amount of protrusion includes a percentage. ### Claim 35 (depends on 27) The system of claim 27, further comprising a sensor, wherein the sensor includes a GPS sensor, and wherein the GPS sensor is configured to provide geospatial information related to a location of the medical vehicle, and wherein detecting the protruding object is further based on the location of the medical vehicle.