Computer mouse system and associated, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for monitoring and improving health and productivity of employees

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9710788-B2
Application number	US-201213540067-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 2, 2012
Priority date	Jul 5, 2011
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

Provided are embodiments of systems, computer medium and computer-implemented methods for sensing health characteristics of a user using a computer mouse including, a temperature sensor, a blood condition sensor and a blood pressure sensor. A method for sensing health characteristics of a user using a computer mouse including receiving, from the temperature sensor, temperature data corresponding to a sensed body temperature of the user, receiving, from the blood condition sensor, blood condition data corresponding to a sensed blood saturation level of the user, receiving, from the blood pressure sensor, blood pressure data corresponding to a sensed blood pressure of the user, and transmitting, to the computer workstation, health data corresponding to the temperature data, the blood condition data, and the blood pressure data for use in determining the body temperature, the blood saturation level, and the blood pressure of the user.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for monitoring an employee's health while the employee is working at a workstation, the workstation including a workstation surface located above and parallel to a floor, and a computer workstation, the system comprising:
a computer mouse in communication with the computer workstation, the computer mouse comprising a set of health sensors integrated therewith for detecting biometric characteristics of the employee's health, the set of health sensors comprising one or more temperature sensors, one or more blood pressure sensors, and one or more blood condition sensors, the set of health sensors configured to output health sensor data comprising of temperature data output by one or more of the temperature sensors that is indicative of a body temperature of the employee, blood pressure data output by one or more of the blood pressure sensors that is indicative of a blood pressure of the employee, and blood condition data output by one or more of the blood condition sensors that is indicative of a blood oxygenation of the employee, the computer mouse further including a computer mouse controller being configured to control receipt of the temperature data output by one or more of the temperature sensors, the blood pressure data output by one or more of the blood pressure sensors, and the blood condition data output by one or more of the blood condition sensors, and remote transmission of the health sensor data corresponding to the received temperature data, blood pressure data, and blood condition data;
wherein the one or more blood pressure sensors comprise a blood pressure cuff comprising a pneumatic tube extending between a body of the computer mouse and a bladder of the blood pressure cuff, wherein an air pump is located in the body of the computer mouse and is configured to supply air via the pneumatic tube to inflate the bladder of the blood pressure cuff, wherein a pressure transducer is located in the body of the computer mouse and is configured to sense air pressure within the pneumatic tube that is indicative of the air pressure within the bladder, and wherein the blood pressure data output by one or more of the blood pressure sensors corresponds to the air pressure sensed within the pneumatic tube;
a database in communication with a communications network and storing health information; and
a computer server configured to perform the steps of:
continuously collecting, via the communications network, the health sensor data output by the set of health sensors of the computer mouse, the collecting including:
identifying a need to initiate a health test responsive to a predetermined test schedule that specifies times at which the health sensor data needs to be collected from the set of health sensors;
in response to identifying the need to initiate the health test, querying the computer workstation for the health sensor data corresponding to the health test, the computer workstation configured to collect the health sensor data from the set of health sensors of the computer mouse in response to the query; and
receiving, from the computer workstation via the communications network, the health sensor data corresponding to the health test;

determining, in real time, a health profile for the employee using the health sensor data collected, the health profile comprising:
health characteristics for the employee including one or more of the body temperature, the blood pressure, and the blood oxygenation for the employee determined using the health sensor data collected; and
a health plan for the employee based on one or more of the health characteristics determined using the health sensor data collected;

updating, in real time, the health information stored in the database to reflect the health profile for the employee;
serving, in real time to the computer workstation for display to the employee via the computer workstation, the health profile for the employee;
determining a first group health report for a first group of employees working in a first facility, region, division or team, wherein the first group of employees includes the employee, and wherein the first group health report is determined based in part on the health profile for the employee;
determining a second group health report for a second group of employees working in a second facility, region division or team;
determining that a user associated with an employer computer is an employer having permission to review the health information; and
in response to determining that the employer has permission to review the health information, serving, to the employer computer for display to the employer via the employer computer, an interactive reviewer interface, wherein the employer computer is configured to display the interactive reviewer interface, and wherein display of the interactive reviewer interface comprises display of an employee group selection element to enable the employer to select:
the first group of employees; and
the second group of employees;
in response to a selection of the first group of employees via the group selection element, the interactive reviewer interface is configured to display the first group health report for the first group of employees, and wherein the first group health report comprises an indication of whether the first group of employees is experiencing abnormal health conditions, and
in response to a selection of the second group of employees via the group selection element, the interactive reviewer interface is configured to display a second group health report for the second group of employees, and wherein the second group health report comprises an indication of whether the second group of employees is experiencing abnormal health conditions.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more temperature sensors comprise an infrared (IR) sensor disposed on an exterior surface of the computer mouse such that the body temperature is sensed by the IR sensor when the employee grasps the exterior of the computer mouse.

3. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer mouse comprises a local memory, and wherein the computer mouse controller is further configured to:
store, in the local memory of the computer mouse, the temperature data, the blood pressure data, and the blood condition data received by the computer mouse controller;
retrieve, from the local memory of the computer mouse, the temperature data, the blood pressure data, and the blood condition data stored in the local memory of the computer mouse; and
transmit, to the computer workstation, the temperature data, the blood pressure data, and the blood condition data retrieved from the local memory of the computer mouse.

4. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer server is further configured to:
determine one or more health issues for the first group of employees based at least in part on one or more health profiles associated with the first group of employees; and
provide, for display to the employer, a group alert interface providing an indication of the one or more health issues for the first group of employees.

5. The system of claim 1 , the computer server further configured to:
determine a first group health characteristic value comprising an average of corresponding health characteristic values for the first group of employees, wherein the first group health report comprises the first group health characteristic value; and
determine a second group health characteristic value comprising an average of corresponding health characteristic values for the second group of employees, wherein the second group health report comprises the second group health characteristic value.

6. The system of claim 1 , the computer server further configured to:
for each emplo

Assignees

• Horseman Samantha J
• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Horseman Samantha J

Classifications

• G16H40/20

  for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms · CPC title

• G16H40/67

  for remote operation · CPC title

• A61B5/02055

  Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature · CPC title

• A61B5/4872

  Body fat · CPC title

• G06Q10/105 Primary

  Human resources · CPC title