IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,369,819
Granted Patent B2
US 12,369,819 · App. 17/119,007 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

Multi-sensor gesture-based operation of a medication delivery system

Inventors: Katelijn Vleugels (San Carlos, CA); Harry J. Eakins (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: MEDTRONIC MINIMED, INC.
A61B5/1112A61B5/0004A61B5/0022A61B5/6815A61B5/7246A61B5/7275A61M5/172G06F3/017A61M2205/18A61M2205/502A61M2205/52A61M2205/587A61M2230/201A61M2230/63
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,369,819
App. No.
17/119,007
Granted
Jul 29, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Gesture-informed patient management systems and related medical devices and operating methods are provided. A method of operating a medical device capable of influencing a physiological condition of a patient involves obtaining first sensor measurement data from a sensing arrangement associated with a first location on a body of the patient and capable of detecting physical movement by the patient, obtaining second sensor measurement data from a second sensing arrangement having a second location different from the first location, predicting an occurrence of an event based at least in part on the first sensor measurement data in a manner that is influenced by the second sensor measurement data, resulting in a predicted occurrence of the event, and automatically configuring operation of the medical device to influence the physiological condition of the patient in a manner that is influenced by the predicted occurrence of the event.

Claims (44)

1. A method of operating a medical device capable of influencing a physiological condition of a patient, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a control system associated with the medical device, first sensor measurement data from a first sensing arrangement capable of detecting physical movement by the patient, wherein the first sensing arrangement is associated with a first location on a body of the patient;

detecting, by the control system, a gesture of the patient based on the first sensor measurement data;

assigning a confidence value to the detected gesture based on the first sensor measurement data;

obtaining, by the control system, second sensor measurement data from a second sensing arrangement having a second location different from the first location, wherein both the first sensor measurement data and the second sensor measurement data correspond to the detected gesture;

adjusting by increasing or decreasing, by the control system, the confidence value of the detected gesture based on (i) a temporal relationship between first sensor measurement data and the second measurement data corresponding to the detected gesture, and (ii) corroboration or contraindication between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data;

predicting, by the control system, an occurrence of an event based at least in part on the detected gesture and the adjusted confidence value of the detected gesture, resulting in a predicted occurrence of the event; and

configuring the medical device to influence the physiological condition of the patient in a manner that is influenced by the predicted occurrence of the event such that the medical device is configured to increase delivery of a fluid in response to the confidence value of the detected gesture being increased and in response to the corroboration between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data, and decrease the delivery of the fluid in response to the confidence value of the detected gesture being decreased and in response to the contraindication between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjusted confidence value is based at least in part on a correlation between the second sensor measurement data and the event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein predicting the occurrence of the event comprises:

inputting the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data to an event prediction model configured to output indicia of the predicted occurrence of the event.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the second sensor measurement data comprises receiving the second sensor measurement data from an in-ear device via a wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the second sensor measurement data comprises obtaining the second sensor measurement data from a motion sensor embedded in the medical device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the second sensor measurement data comprises obtaining spatial measurement data from at least one of a proximity sensor and a location sensor.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the adjusted confidence value is based at least in part on a correlation between the first sensor measurement data and the spatial measurement data.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the adjusted confidence value is based at least in part on a correlation between the spatial measurement data and the event.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the temporal relationship comprises a temporal consistency between the first sensor measurement data and the second sensor measurement data;

the adjusting the confidence value comprises increasing the confidence value based on the temporal consistency within a threshold period of time; and

the adjusting the confidence value comprises decreasing the confidence value based on the temporal consistency within the threshold period of time.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second measurement data is derived at least in part from electrical muscle activation signals at the second location, at least a portion of the electrical muscle activation signals corresponding to the physical movement by the patient.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the increased delivery of the fluid is proportional to the increased confidence value, and an amount of the decreased delivery of the fluid is proportional to the decreased confidence value.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising configuring the medical device to maintain the confidence value of the detected gesture based at least on a lack of the corroboration and a lack of the contraindication.

13. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon program code instructions that cause at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

obtaining first sensor measurement data from a primary sensing arrangement capable of detecting physical movement by a patient;

detecting a gesture of the patient based at least in part on the first sensor measurement data;

assigning a confidence value to the detected gesture based on one or more first gesture features corresponding to at least a portion of the first sensor measurement data;

obtaining second sensor measurement data from a secondary sensing arrangement having a different location on the patient than the primary sensing arrangement, the second sensor measurement data obtained concurrently with the first sensor measurement data;

adjusting by increasing or decreasing the confidence value of the detected gesture based at least on a temporal relationship between the one or more first gesture features and one or more second gesture features corresponding to at least a portion of the second sensor measurement data, and further based on corroboration or contraindication between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data;

predicting an occurrence of an event based at least in part on the detected gesture and the adjusted confidence value, resulting in a predicted occurrence of the event; and

automatically configuring operation of a medical device to influence a physiological condition of the patient in a manner that is influenced by the predicted occurrence of the event by adjusting delivery of a fluid influencing the physiological condition using the medical device, the medical device configured to increase the delivery of the fluid based on the increase in the confidence value of the detected gesture based on the corroboration between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data, and decrease the delivery of the fluid based on the decrease in the confidence value of the detected gesture based on the contraindication between the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data.

14. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the adjusted confidence value is based at least in part on a correlation between the second sensor measurement data and the event.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein predicting the occurrence of the event comprises:

inputting the detected gesture and the second sensor measurement data to an event prediction model configured to output indicia of the predicted occurrence of the event.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein:

the medical device comprises an infusion device; and

the automatically configuring of the operation comprises adjusting a delivery control parameter in a manner that is influenced by the adjusted confidence value.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the medical device is further configured to maintain the confidence value of the detected gesture based at least on a lack of the corroboration and a lack of the contraindication.

18. A system comprising:

a medical device that regulates delivery of fluid to a patient;

a primary sensor unit associated with a first location on a body of the patient and configured to provide first sensor measurement data corresponding to a physical movement by the patient;

a secondary sensor unit associated with a second location on the body of the patient and configured to provide second sensor measurement data; and

at least one controller configured to detect a gesture of the patient based on the first sensor measurement data; assign a confidence value to the detected gesture based on one or more first gesture features corresponding to at least a portion of the first sensor measurement data; increase the confidence value of the detected gesture based on a temporal consistency between the one or more first gesture features from the first location on the body and one or more second gesture features from the second location on the body corresponding to at least a portion of the second sensor measurement data within a threshold period of time, and corroboration between the one or more first gesture features and the one or more second gesture features, or decrease the confidence value of the detected gestures based on a temporal inconsistency between the one or more first gesture features from the first location on the body and the one or more second gesture features from the second location on the body within the threshold period of time, and contradiction between the one or more first gesture features and the one or more second gesture features; predict an occurrence of an event based on the detected gesture and the increased or decreased confidence value; and configure the medical device to deliver the fluid in a manner that is influenced by the occurrence of the event such that the medical device is configured to increase the delivery of the fluid responsive to the increased confidence value and the corroboration, and decrease the delivery of the fluid responsive to the decreased confidence value and the contradiction.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to configure the medical device to maintain the confidence value of the detected gesture based at least on a lack of the corroboration and a lack of the contradiction.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 16, 2026
From: MEDTRONIC MINIMED, INC.; COMPANION MEDICAL, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 074394/0237 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 3, 2022
From: VLEUGELS, KATELIJN; EAKINS, HARRY J.
To: MEDTRONIC MINIMED, INC.
Reel/Frame 059155/0727 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62948015 · Dec 13, 2019
Related Publication 20210177306A1 · Jun 17, 2021
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