Invented by Tony Joudi, Luminent Health LLC

The market for apparatus for improving healthcare is rapidly growing and evolving. With the increasing demand for better healthcare services, the need for advanced medical equipment and devices has become more crucial than ever. These apparatuses are designed to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance the overall quality of care. The healthcare industry has been witnessing a significant shift towards value-based care, which focuses on providing high-quality care at a lower cost. This has led to the development of innovative medical devices and equipment that can help healthcare providers achieve these goals. The market for these apparatuses is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2020 to 2027, according to a report by Grand View Research. One of the key drivers of this market is the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. These diseases require continuous monitoring and management, which can be facilitated by advanced medical devices. For instance, continuous glucose monitoring systems can help diabetic patients monitor their blood sugar levels in real-time and make necessary adjustments to their treatment plan. Another factor driving the growth of this market is the increasing adoption of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. These technologies enable healthcare providers to monitor patients remotely and provide timely interventions when necessary. This has become especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, where remote monitoring has helped reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. The market for apparatus for improving healthcare is highly competitive, with several players vying for market share. Some of the key players in this market include Medtronic, Abbott Laboratories, GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and Siemens Healthineers. These companies are investing heavily in research and development to develop innovative medical devices that can improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. In conclusion, the market for apparatus for improving healthcare is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the adoption of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring, and the shift towards value-based care are all driving the demand for advanced medical devices and equipment. As healthcare providers continue to seek ways to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, the market for these apparatuses is likely to continue to grow and evolve.

The Luminent Health LLC invention works as follows

The system includes a smartphone with wireless communication capabilities, an adapter that can be mounted to the smartphone, a sensor unit that can be attached to the adapter and contains at least one sensor to acquire physiological data. A software app on the smartphone is used to (i) wirelessly control the sensor and receive the physiological data wirelessly from the sensor, and (ii), wirelessly communicate with a distant location.

Background for Apparatus for improving health care

The Internet has made it possible for healthcare professionals who are physically distant from their patients, to make a diagnosis remotely without having to physically contact the patient. In practice, the healthcare provider will speak to a patient over the phone, get verbal information about their condition, and view images or videos sent wirelessly to them (e.g. via the Internet). Such ?remote diagnoses? The traditional method relies on a combination voice (i.e. telephone) and images (e.g. streamed videos of the patient or a photo taken by the suspect). A diagnosis may be made by a healthcare provider following a video conference call with the patient (e.g. via Facetime or Skype .).

However traditional voice or video approaches to making a remote diagnosis suffer from a dearth of data regarding the patient’s physiology. A remote patient might report feeling cold or hot, but a healthcare provider at a distance lacks the ability to confirm that their temperature is actually different from normal. “As another example, but without limitation, a patient can report a sinus infection or earache. However, the healthcare provider cannot view inside the patient’s ears without an otoscope, and the cameras used for videoconferencing do not have the necessary optics to see inside their ear.

It is possible that a patient could be given thermometers or stethoscopes and then report the results. However, it’s not recommended to rely on the patient reading data because this can lead to errors (e.g. if the patient reports incorrect data or misreads the thermometer). A remote may not be able to interpret certain data, such as the sound of a human heart beating, which is reported by a thermometer.

There is also a need for new and improved software for prompting the user to report their symptoms in a systematic fashion so that appropriate physiological data can be obtained for making a diagnosis, and for prompting the patient to use one or more sensors to collect the desired physiological data (and for providing instructions and/or prompts for doing so), and for storing, analyzing and facilitating the transfer of data to the healthcare provider. It is also necessary to develop new and improved software that prompts the user to describe their symptoms in an organized manner so that the appropriate physiological data for diagnosis can be obtained, prompting them to use one sensor to collect the desired data, and providing instructions or prompts to do so, as well as storing, analysing, and facilitating data transfer to the healthcare provider.

The present invention comprises a new and better method and apparatus to remotely measure/inspect physiological characteristics. The apparatus includes at least one sensor configured to wirelessly transmit data to a healthcare provider located in another location to help the healthcare provider make a diagnosis. The present invention comprises new and improved computer software that prompts the user to report symptoms in a systematic manner so that the appropriate physiological data for making a diagnose can be obtained, prompts the patient to use a sensor to collect the desired data, and stores, analyzes, and facilitates the transfer of the data to the healthcare provider.

According to the present invention and as discussed hereinafter in greater detail, a novel device is provided, sometimes referred hereinafter as the Illuminate?” The device comprises modules that are mounted on a smartphone, and wirelessly communicate with it. The smartphone runs an app that controls the operation of the phone and controls the modules connected to it, in order to provide functionality similar to Illuminate? device as described herein. The modules can then collect data from the patient and transmit it via the smartphone to a remote healthcare provider. The modules can process data, or the smartphone. Or, it can be done at a remote site. The smartphone can also be used to teleconference with a distant healthcare provider by using its onboard camera, microphone, and speaker.

The Illuminate device is complete when it includes all the modules for gathering patient data, and the smartphone to transmit that patient data to a healthcare provider. It also allows teleconferencing with the healthcare provider. “The complete Illuminate device is essentially a collection of modules that gather patient data and a smartphone to transmit this data to a healthcare professional and enable teleconferencing. The various components work together through the Illuminate app on the smartphone.” The smartphone app is installed on the smartphone.

In a preferred form, the Illuminate device preferably comprises: “The device should preferably include:

(i), a sensor unit equipped with a single-lead ECG, a stethoscope and a pulse oximeter;

(ii), an otoscope with a 3D-printed macro lens holder, containing the appropriate optics for providing otoscope capabilities to the smartphone camera; and

(iii), a Bluetooth?” “blood pressure cuff.

The Illuminate device is composed of a number of modules. The device is designed to be compatible with different components and features on smartphones. The smartphone comprises of a CPU, memory that contains the software, a screen, speaker/microphone unit, Wi-Fi/cellular phone unit, camera and flashlight unit as well as a Bluetooth unit.

In one preferred form, the invention provides a system to acquire physiological data from a person, comprising:

a smartphone that is wirelessly capable;

An adapter for mounting the smartphone releasably;

a sensor module that can be mounted to the adapter and includes at least one sensor capable of acquiring physiological data;

A software app that runs on a smartphone and allows (i) to wirelessly control the sensor module’s operation and (ii), to wirelessly receive the physiological data received from the sensor modules, as well as (iii) to wirelessly communicate with a distant location.

In another preferred form, the invention provides a system to acquire physiological data from a person, the system consisting of:

An adapter for mounting a smartphone releasably;

a sensor module that can be mounted to the adapter and includes at least one sensor capable of acquiring physiological data;

A software app that runs on a smartphone and allows (i) to wirelessly control the sensor module’s operation and (ii), wirelessly receive the physiological data received from the sensor modules, as well as (iii) to wirelessly communicate with a distant location.

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