# US 8,783,264 B2 · Systems and methods for controlling position > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,783,264 B2 - Document ID: US8783264B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/794,498 - Filed: 2010-06-04 - Published: 2011-06-09 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2009-06-05 - Assignees: Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc. - Applicants: Daniel J. Levendowski; Timothy Zavora; Philip R. Westbrook; Mirko Mitrovic; Bratislav Veljkovic; Chris Berka; Jonny Trejo - Inventors: Daniel J. Levendowski; Timothy Zavora; Philip R. Westbrook; Mirko Mitrovic; Bratislav Veljkovic; Chris Berka; Jonny Trejo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8783264B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/486: {Biofeedback (using electroencephalography [EEG] A61B5/375)} - A61B 5/103: Measuring devices for testing the shape, pattern, {colour,} size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes (measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04) - A61B 5/11: Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor or mobility of a limb {(A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721)} - A61B 5/1116: {Determining posture transitions} - A61B 5/4806: {Sleep evaluation (A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02)} - A61B 5/4818: {Sleep apnoea} - A61B 5/6822: {Neck} - A61B 5/6823: {Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip} - A61B 5/7282: {Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition (cough events A61B5/0823; seizures A61B5/4094; sleep apnoea A61B5/4818)} - A61B 5/7405: {using sound} - A61B 7/003: {Detecting lung or respiration noise} - A61B 7/04: Electric stethoscopes - A61F 5/56: Devices for preventing snoring - A61M 21/02: for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia (for massage A61H; electrotherapy A61N, e.g. applying alternating or intermittent electric currents for producing anaesthesia A61N1/36021) - A61B 5/113: occurring during breathing - A61B 5/4809: {Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not} - A61B 5/4833: {Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment} - A61B 5/6819: {Nose} - A61B 5/6831: {Straps, bands or harnesses} - A61M 2021/0022: {by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations} - A61M 2021/0027: {by the hearing sense} - A61M 2021/0044: {by the sight sense} - A61M 2021/0083: {especially for waking up} - A61M 2205/3375: Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means - A61M 2205/3569: sublocal, e.g. between console and disposable - A61M 2205/3592: using telemetric means, e.g. radio or optical transmission - A61M 2205/502: User interfaces, e.g. screens or keyboards - A61M 2205/581: by audible feedback - A61M 2205/583: by visual feedback - A61M 2205/8206: battery-operated - A61M 2209/088: on the body - A61M 2230/63: Motion, e.g. physical activity - A61N 1/3601: {of respiratory organs} - A61N 1/36014: {External stimulators, e.g. with patch electrodes (external pacemakers A61N1/3625)} - A61N 1/36031: {using physiological parameters for adjustment} - A61N 2005/0653: {Organic light emitting diodes} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61F: FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS (dental prosthetics A61C) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} - A61N: ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY (measurement of bioelectric currents A61B; surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body A61B18/00; anaesthetic apparatus in general A61M; incandescent lamps H01K; infrared radiators for heating H05B) ## Abstract Systems and methods for controlling the position of a user of a wearable positional therapy device are provided. The wearable position therapy device can be configured to monitor and store physiological signals that can be used to assess sleep quality and sleeping position of a user. The device can be configured to be worn around the head, the neck, or body of the user. The device can be configured to provide feedback to a user if the user is sleeping or is positioned in a target position to induce the user to change positions. The feedback can be provided by one or more haptic motors that can be configured to provide various levels of feedback and the level of feedback can be customized based on the user's reaction to the feedback. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A wearable position therapy device for influencing the position of a user of the wearable position therapy device, the device comprising: a position detector configured to generate positional signal data that can be used to determine a position of the user; a haptic feedback generator configured to generate tactile feedback to the user; and a microcontroller in communication with the position detector and the haptic feedback generator, wherein the microcontroller is configured to receive and analyze the signal data from the position detector to determine whether the user is in a target position, while, in response to the device being turned on or a reset operation, delaying feedback for a delay period to provide the user with an opportunity to fall asleep, if it is determined that the user is in the target position during the delay period, not provide feedback to the user in order to allow the user to fall asleep in the target position, and, if it is determined that the user is in the target position following the delay period, generate a control signal to cause the haptic feedback generator to provide tactile feedback to the user to induce the user to change to a different, non-target position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to gather baseline sleep data for a predetermined period of time before providing feedback to the user to induce the user to change positions. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a feedback module in communication with the microcontroller, wherein the feedback module is configured to provide at least one of audio and visual feedback to the user. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The device of claim 3, wherein the feedback module includes an audio output circuit for emitting audio signals to indicate that the wearable position therapy device is not applied correctly on the user. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The device of claim 3, wherein the feedback module includes a light-emitting diode that indicates that the wearable position therapy device has acquired and stored sleep data. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a persistent memory in communication with the microcontroller, wherein the microcontroller is configured to store position therapy data, collected while the user is wearing the wearable position therapy device, in the persistent memory. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, further comprising a data transfer interface configured to transfer the position therapy data collected by the microcontroller to an external computer system for analysis of the position therapy data and for generating a positional therapy report based on the position therapy data. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the device can be worn around one or more of the neck, back, and torso of the user. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The device of claim 8, wherein, when configured to be worn around the neck of the user, the device includes an enclosure strap for holding the wearable position therapy device around the neck of the user, wherein the enclosure strap includes a detachable magnetic clasp that is configured to automatically release if the wearable position therapy device is snagged while the user is wearing the wearable position therapy device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to provide adaptive feedback to the user based on the user's reaction to previously applied tactile feedback. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The device of claim 10, wherein the microcontroller is configured to increase the level of tactile feedback provided to the user if the user did not respond to a previous level of tactile feedback applied to the user. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the wearable position therapy device includes a microphone for capturing audio data, and wherein the microcontroller is configured to receive and analyze the audio data to detect snoring events. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback until the microcontroller determines that the user is asleep based on correlating the snoring event data with the positional signal data received from the position detector. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback until the microcontroller determines that the user is asleep based on either: a snoring event detected from the audio data; or no movement being detected from the positional signal data for a predetermined time period. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback until the microcontroller determines that the user is asleep based on detecting user movement based on the positional signal data received from the position detector. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 wherein the position detector comprises one or more accelerometers. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 wherein the position detector comprises a pressure switch. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 wherein the position detector comprises a pressure sensor. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 wherein the device includes an electronic feedback module for providing electrical feedback to the user to induce the user to change positions in response to control signals from the microcontroller. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback for a predetermined delay period. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The device of claim 20, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to delay feedback for a second predetermined delay period in response to a reset operation performed by the user. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the position detector comprises a plurality of position sensors. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein the plurality of position sensors are adapted to be positioned on a plurality of extremities of the user. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The device of claim 23, wherein the plurality of position sensors are woven into a garment. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, further comprising a positive feedback module that provides positive feedback, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to determine whether the user has changed to a different, non-target position, and generate a control signal to cause the positive feedback module to generate positive feedback if it is determined that the user has changed to the different, non-target position. ### Claim 26 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to determine which stage of sleep the user is in. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The device of claim 26, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to adjust an intensity level of the tactile feedback based on the determined stage of sleep of the user. ### Claim 28 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to receive an identification of the target position from a user. ### Claim 29 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, further comprising an energy-harvesting module that generates power for the wearable position therapy device from movements of the user. ### Claim 30 A method for influencing the position of a user using a wearable position therapy device, the method comprising: collecting positional signal data to determine a position of the user while the user is wearing the wearable position therapy device; determining whether the user is positioned in a target position based, at least in part, on the positional signal data, while, in response to the device being turned on or a reset operation, delaying feedback for a delay period to provide the user with an opportunity to fall asleep; if it is determined that the user is in the target position during the delay period, not providing feedback to the user in order to allow the user to fall asleep in the target position; and, if it is determined that the user is in the target position following the delay period, generating haptic feedback to the user to induce the user to change to a different, non-target position. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 further comprising collecting baseline sleep data for a predetermined period of time before generating feedback to the user to induce the user to change positions. ### Claim 32 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, further comprising: capturing audio data; and analyzing audio data to identify snoring events. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The method of claim 32, further comprising determining whether the user is in a sleep state based on the occurrence of snoring events, wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback until it is determined that the user is in a sleep state. ### Claim 34 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, further comprising determining whether the user is asleep by detecting user movement based on the positional signal data received from the position detector indicative of the user being in a non-sleep state, wherein delaying feedback comprises delaying feedback until it is determined that the user is asleep. ### Claim 35 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 wherein the position therapy device is applied to the neck of the user. ### Claim 36 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 wherein the position therapy device is applied to the back of the user. ### Claim 37 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 wherein the position therapy device is applied to the torso of the user. ### Claim 38 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 further comprising: emitting an audio signal to notify the user that the position therapy device is not applied correctly to the user's body. ### Claim 39 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 further comprising: transferring position therapy data collected by the wearable position therapy device to an external computer system for analysis of the positional therapy data; and generating a positional therapy report based on the position therapy data. ### Claim 40 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein generating haptic feedback to the user to induce the user to change to a different, non-target position comprises providing a level-adaptive feedback to the user based on the user's reaction to previously applied haptic feedback. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The method of claim 40, wherein providing level-adaptive feedback to the user based on the user's reaction to previously applied haptic feedback comprises providing an increased level of haptic feedback to the user if the user did not respond to a previous level of haptic feedback applied to the user. ### Claim 42 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30 further comprising: providing electrical feedback to the user to induce the user to change positions if the user is in the target position. ### Claim 43 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, further comprising storing time-stamped data, wherein the time-stamped data comprises one or more of a sleep position, a sleep stage, an arousal, a snoring event, and feedback provided to the user. ### Claim 44 (depends on 43) The method of claim 43, further comprising assessing a sleep quality based on the time-stamped data. ### Claim 45 A wearable position therapy device for influencing the position of a user of the wearable position therapy device, the device comprising: a position detector configured to generate positional signal data that can be used to determine a position of the user; a haptic feedback generator configured to generate tactile feedback to the user; and a microcontroller in communication with the position detector and the haptic feedback generator, wherein the microcontroller is configured to receive and analyze the signal data from the position detector, delay feedback for a delay period to collect baseline sleep data and provide the user with an opportunity to fall asleep, determine whether the user is in a target position, during the delay period, collect baseline sleep data, and, if it is determined that the user is in the target position following the delay period, generate a control signal to cause the haptic feedback generator to provide tactile feedback to the user to induce the user to change to a different, non-target position.