Wearable system for healthcare management

Abstract

Various of the disclosed embodiments enable adherence to a medication regimen or a healthcare regimen to be monitored using a wearable system. The wearable system can be used to monitor a user's activities by recording activities using a camera that is placed at the anterior part of the user's wrist. The camera, or another sensor, can detect, identify, and verifying movements or gestures of the hand or fingers. A gesture may be a particular hand position, finger movement, or combination of finger movements that are indicative of performance of an activity required as part of a medication or healthcare regimen. The camera can generate a recording of an activity, and the wearable system or a distinct computing device can then analyze the recording and determine compliance to the medication or healthcare regimen based on what action(s), if any, were identified in the recording.

1 . A wearable apparatus for managing and recording healthcare activities of a user, the wearable system comprising:
 a wristband configured to be worn on a wrist of the user;   a camera that is coupled to the wristband so that the camera is located in an anterior region of the wrist and oriented toward the user's hand;   a power supply;   a processor; and   a storage that includes instructions for:
 sensing a position or a movement of the user's hand or fingers; 
 generating a recording of an activity that involves the user's hands or fingers using the camera; and 
 transmitting at least a portion of the recording to a computing device across a network. 
   
     
     
         2 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the activity is a medication activity that is performed in accordance with a medication regimen. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the activity includes opening a container of medicine, dispensing medicine, or administering medicine. 
     
     
         4 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the activity is a healthcare activity that is performed in accordance with a healthcare regimen. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the activity includes taking a diagnostic image or using a glucose meter, a blood pressure monitor, a cholesterol monitor, a spirometer, a pulse oximeter, a thermometer, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the power supply is rechargeable. 
     
     
         7 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an electromagnetic sensor configured to identify variations in infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, radio waves, or any combination thereof,   wherein the camera is activated when the electromagnetic sensor identifies a variation exceeding a specific threshold.   
     
     
         8 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a motion sensor configured to track movement of the wearable system and activate the camera upon sensing a particular gesture,   wherein the particular gesture corresponds to one of a plurality of gesture records stored in the storage.   
     
     
         9 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a positional sensor configured to track position of the wearable system in three-dimensional space.   
     
     
         10 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the storage further comprises instructions for:
 generating three-dimensional spatial data for the wearable system based on the position tracked by the positional sensor;   generating a spatial model representing movement of the wearable system, movement of the user's hand, and any gestures sensed by the motion sensor based on the three-dimensional spatial data.   
     
     
         11 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the storage further comprises instructions for:
 storing control data provided by an administrator, wherein the control data identifies a spatial tendency that is associated with the user and corresponds to a particular action;   analyzing the recording to identify a spatial flag that represents a movement, position, or gesture identified within the recording;   comparing the spatial flag to the spatial tendency; and   determining, based on the comparison, whether the recording captured the user performing the particular action.   
     
     
         12 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an electronic display coupled to the wristband,   wherein the electronic display is located in a posterior region of the wrist.   
     
     
         13 . The wearable apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the electronic display is configured to display at least a portion of the recording or information related to a medication regimen or a healthcare regimen.