Breath pacing system and method for pacing the respiratory activity of a subject

Abstract

To provide a breath pacing system and a corresponding method for pacing the respiratory activity of a subject that provide the possibility to adapt the output signal to the respiration characteristics of the subject automatically and effectively a breath pacing system ( 10 ) for pacing the respiratory activity of a subject and a respective method is proposed, comprising: an input unit ( 14 ) for generating or determining an input signal related to a respiration characteristic of a subject, a signal analyzing unit ( 16 ) provided to recognize a signal pattern within the input signal, and an output unit ( 12 ) for outputting output signals corresponding to a desired breathing sequence, wherein said output unit ( 12 ) is provided to be activated, upon a starting signal, to output a sequence of output signals comprising a signal pattern related to a previously recognized signal pattern.

1 - 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . A breathe pacing system, comprising:
 an input unit configured to receive user input; and   an output unit configured to, based on the user input, present a sequence of output signals corresponding to periodic respiratory activity, the sequence of output signals comprising a user configurable and perceivable characteristic corresponding to the respiratory activity, the input unit integrated into the output unit.   
     
     
         17 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the characteristic comprises an inhale to exhale ratio corresponding to the respiratory activity, wherein the input unit is configured to enable user modification of the inhale to exhale ratio. 
     
     
         18 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the characteristic comprises a frequency corresponding to the respiratory activity, wherein the input unit is configured to enable user modification of the frequency. 
     
     
         19 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein a rate of the sequence of output signals is constant and the sequence of output signals is independent from a present respiration activity of a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled. 
     
     
         20 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the output unit comprises a tactile output unit configured to present the sequence of output signals, according to a constant or variable pacing rate, as tactile output signals haptically perceivable by a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled. 
     
     
         21 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the output unit comprises a visual output unit configured to present the sequence of output signals as visible output signals visually perceivable by a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled. 
     
     
         22 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 21 , wherein the output unit is configured to present the visual signal dynamically with an expand time corresponding to an inhale phase of the respiration activity and a contract time corresponding to an exhale phase of the respiration activity. 
     
     
         23 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the output unit comprises an acoustic output unit configured to present the sequence of output signals as acoustic output signals acoustically perceivable by a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled. 
     
     
         24 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the input unit is configured to enable the user to preset the characteristic. 
     
     
         25 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the input unit comprises a touch screen. 
     
     
         26 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , further comprising a sensor configured to sense a characteristic of a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled. 
     
     
         27 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 26 , wherein the output unit is configured to present the sequence of output signals based further on the sensed characteristic. 
     
     
         28 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the breathe pacing system comprises a watch, a wristband, or a mobile phone. 
     
     
         29 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the input unit comprises a user interface configured to enable a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled to initiate the presentation of the sequence of output signals. 
     
     
         30 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the output unit comprises a user interface configured to output status information of the breathe pacing system or output instructions on how to use the breathe pacing system. 
     
     
         31 . The breathe pacing system of  claim 16 , wherein the output unit is configured as a tactile output unit configured to present the sequence of output signals as tactile output signals and further comprising a co-located display device configured to present, in conjunction with the presentation of the tactile output signals, a visual representation of an operation state of the breathe pacing system. 
     
     
         32 . A watch, comprising:
 an input unit configured to receive user input; and   an output unit configured to, based on the user input, present a sequence of output signals corresponding to periodic respiratory activity, the sequence of output signals comprising a user configurable and perceivable characteristic corresponding to the respiratory activity, wherein the touch screen display is configured to enable a subject to whom the watch is coupled to adjust the characteristic, the characteristic comprising one or a combination of an inhale to exhale ratio and frequency.   
     
     
         33 . The watch of  claim 32 , wherein the output unit comprises a visual output unit configured to present the sequence of output signals as visible output signals visually perceivable by a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled, wherein the output unit is configured to present the visual signal dynamically with an expand time corresponding to an inhale phase of the respiration activity and a contract time corresponding to an exhale phase of the respiration activity. 
     
     
         34 . A breathe pacing method, comprising:
 receiving at an input unit user input; and   based on the user input, presenting at an output unit in which the input unit is integrated, a sequence of output signals corresponding to periodic respiratory activity, the sequence of output signals comprising a user configurable and perceivable characteristic corresponding to the respiratory activity.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , further comprising presenting the sequence of output signals as visible output signals visually perceivable by a subject to which the breathe pacing system is coupled, wherein the presenting comprises presenting the visual signal dynamically with an expand time corresponding to an inhale phase of the respiration activity and a contract time corresponding to an exhale phase of the respiration activity.