The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 19, 2012
Filed:
Mar. 02, 2009
Heather-marie Callanan Knight, Lexington, MA (US);
Jae-kyu Lee, Cambridge, MA (US);
Hongshen MA, Delta, CA;
Lauren Kattany, Natick, MA (US);
Heather-Marie Callanan Knight, Lexington, MA (US);
Jae-Kyu Lee, Cambridge, MA (US);
Hongshen Ma, Delta, CA;
Lauren Kattany, Natick, MA (US);
The General Hospital Corporation, Boston, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
A wheelchair alarm system and method for preventing falls for patients at risk by recognizing the gesture of a patient attempting to stand. The wheelchair alarm system uses an array of proximity sensors and pressure sensors to create a map of the patient's sitting position, and then uses gesture recognition algorithms to determine when a patient is attempting to stand up. The wheelchair alarm system responds with light and voice alarms that can encourage the patient to remain seated and/or to make use of the system's integrated nurse-call function. The wheelchair alarm system can be seamlessly integrated into existing hospital WiFi networks, sending messages to the nurse call system as well as providing the patient's location.