Methods and devices to detect poor cerebral blood flow in real-time to prevent dizziness, fainting, and falls
Provided herein are methods, devices, systems, and platforms for real-time monitoring of cerebral blood flow to prevent dizziness, fainting and falls.
1 . A method of preventing presyncope, syncope and falls in a subject for execution by a wearable device that includes one or more processors, the method comprising:
generating, by one or more biometric sensors of the wearable device, biometric data regarding the subject, wherein the wearable device is configured to attach to an ear of the subject, wherein the wearable device is sized to fit entirely within the ear and is configured to be positioned entirely outside an ear canal of the ear such that the ear canal remains unobstructed during operation, and wherein the one or more biometric sensors are optical sensors configured to target at least one branch of a posterior auricular artery of the subject to monitor at least one biometric parameter of the subject;
aggregating and processing, by the one or more processors, the biometric data to produce processed data;
analyzing, by the one or more processors, the processed data to detect or predict an event relating to one or more of: poor cerebral blood flow, poor blood pressure, poor blood volume, poor blood oxygenation, presyncope, syncope, and a fall event; and
delivering one or more real-time messages to the subject pertaining to the event.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the biometric data comprises one or more measurements of: cerebral blood flow, blood pressure, blood volume, heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygenation.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving activity data comprising one or more of: motion, body posture, change in body posture, activity level, and type of activity, and wherein the activity data is used to demarcate when a supine to standing transition has occurred in order to measure orthostatic changes in one or more of the biometric data and the processed data.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the processed data comprises applying one or more artificial neural networks (ANNs).
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the processed data comprises one or more of:
identifying trends pertaining to the biometric data of the subject,
identifying trends pertaining to the activity data of the subject,
identifying trends pertaining to detected or predicted poor cerebral blood flow for the subject,
identifying trends pertaining to detected or predicted presyncope events for the subject,
identifying trends pertaining to detected or predicted syncope events for the subject, and
identifying trends pertaining to detected or predicted fall events for the subject.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting or predicting of the event is based, at least in part, on one or more of: a user profile of the subject, the biometric data of the subject, activity data of the subject, one or more medical records of the subject, and a medical history of the subject.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more real-time messages comprise an audio message delivered utilizing an acoustic transducer of the wearable device configured to deliver real-time audio messages into the ear of the subject.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the audio messages are delivered to the subject with low sound leakage perceived by others near the subject.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing biometric feedback to the subject by delivering an audio message to the subject, wherein the audio message provides readings of biometric data at that moment.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more real-time messages comprise a measurement of one or more of: cerebral blood flow, blood pressure, blood volume, heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygenation, and wherein the one or more real-time messages are read to the subject in real-time so the subject can determine if/when they should take action to avoid fainting.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more real-time messages comprise a measurement of one or more of: cerebral blood flow, blood pressure, blood volume, heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygenation, and wherein the one or more real-time messages are read to the subject so the subject can determine whether the subject should increase hydration and/or salt intake in order to reduce symptoms.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more real-time messages comprise a visual message delivered utilizing a display of a device of the subject or a caretaker of the subject.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining one or more visual messages for the subject.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more visual messages for the subject comprise biometric feedback, a behavioral coaching recommendation, an alert, or a warning.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a subject health portal application allowing access to real-time and historical biometric data and activity data and trends for the subject.
16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a healthcare provider portal application allowing access to real-time and historical biometric data and activity data and trends for one or more subjects.
17 . A system for preventing presyncope, syncope and falls in a subject, the system comprising:
a wearable device configured to attach to an ear of the subject, wherein the wearable device is sized to fit entirely within the ear and is configured to be positioned entirely outside an ear canal of the ear such that the ear canal remains unobstructed during operation;
one or more biometric sensors of the wearable device, wherein the one or more biometric sensors are optical sensors configured to target at least one branch of a posterior auricular artery of the subject to monitor at least one biometric parameter of the subject and generate biometric data regarding the subject; and
one or more processors of the wearable device configured to:
aggregate and process the biometric data to produce processed data;
analyze the processed data to detect or predict an event relating to one or more of: poor cerebral blood flow, poor blood pressure, poor blood volume, poor blood oxygenation, presyncope, syncope, and a fall event; and
deliver one or more real-time messages to the subject pertaining to the event.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the biometric data comprises one or more measurements of: cerebral blood flow, blood pressure, blood volume, heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygenation.
19 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising an acoustic transducer of the wearable device configured to deliver real-time audio messages into the ear of the subject, wherein the one or more real-time messages comprise an audio message delivered utilizing the acoustic transducer.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the audio messages are delivered to the subject with low sound leakage perceived by others near the subject.