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EP-3500950-B1 - PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS

EP3500950B1EP 3500950 B1EP3500950 B1EP 3500950B1EP-3500950-B1

Inventors

  • KATZ, Aryeh, Haim
  • BERGER KATZ, Miri

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20161014

Claims (9)

  1. A method of physical activity measurement and analysis for a physical activity, the method comprising computer-executed steps of: calculating two or more reference values for a previous physical activity, whereby the reference values include threshold values and/or value ranges, and each of the reference values pertains to a different time frame within a movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; including the reference values in an envelope, wherein the envelope represents a flow of the reference values along a time period of the movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; whereby the reference values are calculated per user, per physical activity type, per a combination of user and physical activity type, or per time or a time frame within the movement cycle of the previous physical activity; receiving two or more values extracted from measurements of a physical activity of a first user; comparing each one of the extracted values with a respective one of the reference values in the envelope pertaining to the physical activity, wherein each of the extracted values is mapped to the respective one of the reference values in the envelope; and detecting a deviation of the physical activity of the first user from the previous physical activity when one of the extracted values deviates from the respective one of the reference values in the envelope.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurements that the received values are extracted from are taken on a body part of the first user during the physical activity of the first user.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the previous physical activity is a physical activity of the first user.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reference values is calculated based on a plurality of values extracted from measurements of the previous physical activity taken on a body part of the first user during the previous physical activity.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reference values is calculated over a plurality of values extracted from measurements of physical activities of a plurality of users.
  6. The method of claim 1, further comprising issuing a command by a computer, based on the detecting of the deviation.
  7. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating at least one of the reference values based on the values extracted from the measurements of the physical activity of the first user.
  8. An apparatus for physical activity measurement and analysis for a physical activity, comprising: at least one computer processor; a value receiver, implemented on the computer processor, configured to receive two or more values extracted from measurements of a physical activity of a first user; and a deviation detector, in communication with the value receiver, configured to detect a deviation of the physical activity of the first user from a previous physical activity, using the extracted values, and at least one reference value of two or more reference values, wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to: calculate two or more reference values for the previous physical activity, whereby the reference values include threshold values and/or value ranges, and each of the reference values pertains to a different time frame within a movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; include the reference values in an envelope, wherein the envelope represents a flow of reference values along a time period of the movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; and whereby the reference values are calculated per user, per physical activity type, per a combination of user and physical activity type, or per time or a time frame within the movement cycle of the previous physical activity; and the deviation detector is further configured to: compare each one of the extracted values with a respective one of the reference values in the envelope pertaining to the physical activity, wherein each of the extracted values is mapped to the respective one of the reference values in the envelope, and detect a deviation of the physical activity of the first user from the previous physical activity when one of the extracted values deviates from the respective one of the reference values in the envelope.
  9. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer processor executable instructions for performing steps of physical activity measurement and analysis for a physical activity, the steps comprising: calculating two or more reference values for a previous physical activity, whereby the reference values include threshold values and/or value ranges, and each of the reference values pertains to a different time frame within a movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; including the reference values in an envelope, wherein the envelope represents a flow of the reference values along a time period of the movement cycle repeated through the previous physical activity; whereby the reference values are calculated per user, per physical activity type, per a combination of user and physical activity type, or per time or a time frame within the movement cycle of the previous physical activity; receiving two or more values extracted from measurements of a physical activity of a first user; comparing each one of the extracted values with a respective one of the reference values in the envelope pertaining to the physical activity, wherein each of the extracted values is mapped to the respective one of the reference values in the envelope; and detecting a deviation of the physical activity of the first user from the previous physical activity when one of the extracted values deviates from the respective one of the reference values in the envelope.

Description

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to physical activity measurement and more particularly but not exclusively, to a system and method of physical activity measurement and analysis. Many devices are currently used for measuring physical activities of a user. Most of those devices however, are used for tracking caloric aspects of physical activity, and are suitable for use by regular people only (say by users who jog daily, before going to work at their office). Those devices have usually been limited to counting the user's steps or measuring the user's heart pulse rate, and rarely ever address any other aspect of a physical activity of a user. Further, those devices are not tailored for the specific needs of a user who happens to be a professional athlete or a person who suffers from a motor disorder such as Parkinson's Disease, Essential Tremor, etc. Indeed, such a user may need very different ways of measurements and analysis of her physical activities, for deriving relevant information from the measurements and analysis. Further, for many physical activities, step counting and the measurement of pulse rate are either irrelevant, or simply not enough. For example, sport physical activities such as Biking, Swimming, Boxing, Skiing or daily physical activities such as writing, operating a computer mouse, resting (say sitting), etc., may require alternative or additional ways of measurement and analysis, for deriving relevant information therefrom. The following documents represent relevant background prior art: US 2012/253485 and WO 2013/028581. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of physical activity measurement and analysis as defined by claim 1. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for physical activity measurement and analysis as defined by claim 8. According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer processor executable instructions for performing steps of physical activity measurement and analysis as defined by claim 9. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The materials, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. Implementation of the method and system of the present invention involves performing or completing certain selected tasks or steps manually, automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actual instrumentation and equipment of preferred embodiments of the method and system of the present invention, several selected steps could be implemented by hardware or by software on any operating system of any firmware or a combination thereof. For example, as hardware, selected steps of the invention could be implemented as a chip or a circuit. As software, selected steps of the invention could be implemented as a plurality of software instructions being executed by a computer using any suitable operating system. In any case, selected steps of the method and system of the invention could be described as being performed by a data processor, such as a computing platform for executing a plurality of instructions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference being now made to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in order to provide what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. The description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the drawings: Fig. 1A is a simplified block diagram schematically illustrating a first exemplary apparatus for physical activity measurement and analysis, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Fig. 1B is a simplified block diagram schematically illustrating a second exemplary apparatus for physical activity measurement and analysis, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Fig. 2A is a simplified flowchart schematically illustrating a first exemplary method of physical activity measurement and analysis, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Fig. 2B is a simplified flowchart schematically illustrating a second exemplary method of physical activity measurement and analysis, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a non-transitory compute