Methods for continual monitoring of postural information associated with a human body

1. A method for preventing injuries by continually monitoring postural information associated with a human body, the method comprising:

providing a back brace configured to inhibit a human body from entering a specific orientation or support the human body while in the specific orientation, wherein the back brace includes

a plurality of sensors configured to generate signals in response to the human body moving,

a processor configured to process the signals,

a memory,

a communication module that is communicatively coupled to a data server, and

a mechanical button that, upon selection, is configured to cause a signal including a location coordinate to be transmitted to the data server;

monitoring, by the plurality of sensors, flexion and extension of an upper back of the human body and tilt, torsion, and rotation of a lower back of the human body to produce postural data;

determining, by the processor, a risk of injury of the lower back by producing a risk value based at least in part on the postural data;

comparing, by the processor, the risk value with threshold levels associated with certain predetermined postures or movements having a heightened risk of injury,

wherein each threshold level represents a flexion measurement, an extension measurement, a tilt measurement, a torsion measurement, a rotation measurement, or some combination thereof;

upon determining the risk value exceeds one of the threshold levels,

alerting a user of the back brace via a visual, audible, or tactile notification; and

alerting another entity by causing an email message to be transmitted to a user device associated with the other entity that specifies the risk of injury exceeded a threshold level; and

transmitting, by the communication module, at least some of the postural data to the data server.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the back brace further includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that is communicatively coupled to the processor and the communication module.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

tracking, by the GPS receiver, location of the back brace to produce location data; and

transmitting, by the communication module, at least some of the location data to the data server across a network.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

based on the location data,

identifying a specific location where the risk of injury is heightened,

optimizing a delivery route traversed by the user, or

simplifying one or more work processes performed by the user.

5. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the communication module is a wireless local area network (WLAN) transmitter circuit or Bluetooth transmitter circuit that enables transmission of the signals to the data server or another computing device.

6. A method for continually monitoring postural information associated with a human body, the method comprising:

providing a back brace configured to inhibit a human body from entering a specific orientation or support the human body while in the specific orientation, wherein the back brace includes

a plurality of sensors configured to generate signals in response to the human body moving,

a processor configured to process the signals,

a memory,

a communication module that is communicatively coupled to a remote processing device, and

a mechanical button that, upon selection, is configured to cause a signal including a location coordinate to be transmitted to the remote processing device;

monitoring, by the plurality of sensors, tilt, torsion, flexion, or rotation of the human body to produce postural data;

determining, by the processor, a risk of injury of the human body by producing a risk value based at least in part on the postural data;

comparing, by the processor, the risk value with one or more threshold levels associated with certain predetermined postures or movements having a heightened risk of injury,

wherein each threshold level represents a tilt value, a torsion value, a rotation value, a flexion value, an extension value, or some combination thereof; and

upon determining the risk value exceeds a threshold level,

alerting a user of the back brace via a notification.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

alerting another entity by causing an electronic notification to be transmitted to a user device associated with the other entity that specifies the risk value exceeded the threshold level; and

enabling the other entity to take an action in response to receiving the electronic notification.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the electronic notification is an email message.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the back brace further includes a power source.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the power source is readily replaceable or rechargeable via a power connector cable.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the memory includes a removable storage module that enables at least some of the postural data to be readily transferred to a user device associated with the user.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the remote processing device is a data server or a user device associated with another entity.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the notification is a visual, audible, or tactile notification.

14. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of sensors includes an inclinometer, a yaw sensor, an accelerometer, a strain gauge, a gyroscope, or some combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the communication module, at least some of the postural data to the remote processing device across a wireless network channel.

16. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of sensors are disposed at unique positions across an upper and lower back of the human body.

17. A method for preventing injuries by continually monitoring postural information associated with a human body, the method comprising:

providing a back brace configured to inhibit a human body from entering a specific orientation or support the human body while in the specific orientation, wherein the back brace includes

a plurality of sensors configured to generate signals in response to the human body moving,

a processor configured to process the signals,

a memory,

a mechanical button that, upon selection, is configured to cause a signal including a location coordinate to be transmitted to a remote processing device, and

a communication module that is communicatively coupled to the remote processing device;

monitoring, by the plurality of sensors, tilt, torsion, flexion, or rotation of the human body to produce postural data;

determining, by the processor, a risk of injury of the human body by producing a risk value based at least in part on the postural data;

transmitting, by the communication module, at least some of the postural data, the risk value, or both to the remote processing device across a network;

continually monitoring the postural data to determine whether the risk value exceeds a threshold level associated with a certain predetermined posture or movement having a heightened risk of injury;

determining whether a user of the back brace has interacted with the mechanical button;

responsive a determination that the user has interacted with the mechanical button,

generating, by the processor, the signal that includes the location coordinate; and

transmitting, by the communication module, the signal to the remote processing device across the network.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the threshold level is a tilt value, a torsion value, a rotation value, a flexion value, an extension value, or some combination thereof.