Granted Patent B2

US 12,254,755 · App. 15/895,311 · Granted Mar 18, 2025

Inventors: Justin R. Burwinkel (Eden Prairie, MN); Buye Xu (Eden Prairie, MN); Jason A. Galster (Minneapolis, MN)

Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.

G08B21/0446A61B5/0002A61B5/0015A61B5/1117A61B5/6803A61B5/7275A61B5/746G08B21/043G08B21/0453G08B21/0492G16H40/63A61B5/0205G16H50/30

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. A fall prediction system, comprising:

a head-wearable device for a user;

a beacon, not worn or carried by the user, assigned to a first location in a specific geographic area and adapted to detect a hazard within the specific geographic area and generate a beacon signal based on the detected hazard;

a second beacon, not worn or carried by the user, assigned to a second location in the specific geographic area and adapted to detect a second hazard within the specific geographic area and generate a second beacon signal based on the detected second hazard; and

a controller operatively connected to the head-wearable device, the beacon, and the second beacon, wherein the controller is adapted to utilize information from the beacon signal to calculate a fall risk value as the user moves in a trajectory towards the hazard;

wherein at least one of the beacon, the second beacon, and the controller are further adapted to take an action to prevent a fall responsive to at least one of the beacon signal, the second beacon signal, and the fall risk value prior to the user entering the specific geographic area, wherein the action comprises increasing an intensity of ambient light for the specific geographic area.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further adapted to compare the fall risk value to a fall risk threshold.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hazard comprises at least one of a wet floor, surface color change, stairway, clutter, debris, terrain, crack in a walkway, lighting, contrast between objects, broken or absent grab bar, furniture, cupboard or shelving, vegetation, pet, child, power cord, doorway, chemical spill, icy floor, traffic, moving floor or escalator, ramp, hole, edge, rug, and carpet.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beacon comprises a wireless transceiver.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the beacon comprises a sensor.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a thermometer, camera, microphone, hygrometer, anemometer, infrared camera, proximity sensor, motion sensor, radar, and sonar.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor operatively connected to the head-wearable device and adapted to detect at least one characteristic of the user and generate at least one sensor signal based on the at least one characteristic, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of a physiological characteristic of the user, behavioral characteristic of the user, and an environmental characteristic of the environment proximate to the user.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further adapted to determine the fall risk value based on the beacon signal and the at least one sensor signal.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the action to prevent the fall further comprises transmission of at least one of the at least one characteristic and the fall risk value to one or more of a caregiver, medical professional, and the user.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further adapted to transmit the beacon signal to a premises network.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further adapted to detect a fall.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the action to prevent the fall further comprises at least one of instructing the user not to approach the hazard, instructing the user to take precautions prior to approaching the hazard, and instructing the user to take an alternate route to avoid the hazard.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the specific geographic area is a building and the beacon signal comprises information on hazards located throughout the building.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beacon is configured to classify the behavior of persons within the specific geographic area.

15. A method, comprising:

detecting a hazard with a beacon, wherein the beacon is assigned to a first location in a specific geographic area and adapted to generate a beacon signal based on the detected hazard;

detecting a second hazard with a second beacon, wherein the second beacon is assigned to a second location the specific geographic area and is adapted to generate a second beacon signal based on the detected second hazard;

transmitting the beacon signal and the second beacon signal to a fall prediction system associated with a user, wherein the fall prediction system comprises a head-wearable device, the beacon, and the second beacon;

calculating a fall risk value by utilizing information from the beacon signal with a controller as the user moves in a trajectory towards the hazard; and

taking an action to prevent a fall responsive to at least one of the beacon signal, the second beacon signal, and the fall risk value with at least one of the beacon, the second beacon, and the controller prior to the user entering the specific geographic area, wherein the action comprises increasing an intensity of ambient light for the specific geographic area.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining a fall risk threshold; and

comparing the fall risk value to the fall risk threshold.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the beacon signal comprises at least one of information related to a location of the hazard, a distance between the beacon and the user, a description of the hazard, and a number of falls caused by the hazard.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising detecting at least one characteristic of the user with a sensor, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of a physiological characteristic of the user, a behavioral characteristic of the user, and an environmental characteristic of the environment proximate to the user;

wherein determining the fall risk value comprises determining the fall risk value based on the at least one detected characteristic and the beacon signal.

19. A fall prediction system, comprising:

a head-wearable device for a user;

a first beacon, not worn or carried by the user, assigned to a first location in a specific geographic area and adapted to detect a hazard within the specific geographic area and generate a first beacon signal based on the detected hazard;

a second beacon, not worn or carried by the user, assigned to a second location in the specific geographic area and adapted to detect a second hazard within the specific geographic area and generate a second beacon signal based on the detected second hazard; and

a controller operatively connected to the head-wearable device, the first beacon, and the second beacon, wherein the controller is adapted to utilize information from the first beacon signal and the second beacon signal to calculate a fall risk value as the user moves in a trajectory towards the hazard;

wherein at least one of the first beacon, second beacon, and the controller are further adapted to take an action to prevent a fall responsive to at least one of the first beacon signal, the second beacon signal, and the fall risk value prior to the user entering the specific geographic area;

wherein the first beacon signal comprises at least one of information related to a location of the hazard and a distance between the first beacon and the user.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the specific geographic area is an enclosed space and the first beacon and the second beacon are configured to locate the user within the enclosed space.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (353)

Cited By (3)

US 12,310,716 US 12,484,860 US 12,661,018