U.S. patent application number 13/790439 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-10 for medical analysis application and response system.
The applicant listed for this patent is David Gerard Ledet. Invention is credited to David Gerard Ledet.
Application Number | 20140100861 13/790439 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50433389 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140100861 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ledet; David Gerard |
April 10, 2014 |
MEDICAL ANALYSIS APPLICATION AND RESPONSE SYSTEM
Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus and method of communicating with a
user of a wireless device for medical analysis purposes. One
example method of operation may include identifying a group of
participants to receive a broadcast message transmitted from a
wireless device. The method may also include automatically
establishing a first tier of participants among the group of
participants, and at least one additional tier of participants
among the group of participants. The example method may also
provide transmitting at least one broadcast message from the
wireless device to the group of participants, and transmitting
additional data to at least one member of the group of participants
based on a predefined relationship between the at least one member
of the group of participants and a user of the wireless device.
Inventors: |
Ledet; David Gerard; (Allen,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ledet; David Gerard |
Allen |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50433389 |
Appl. No.: |
13/790439 |
Filed: |
March 8, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61711348 |
Oct 9, 2012 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 50/70 20180101;
G16H 20/10 20180101; H04W 4/06 20130101; H04W 4/12 20130101; G16H
70/40 20180101; G16H 80/00 20180101; H04W 4/14 20130101; H04W 4/18
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/2 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: identifying a group of participants to
receive at least one broadcast message transmitted from a wireless
device; automatically establishing a first tier of participants
among the group of participants and designating at least one
participant of the group of participants as part of the first tier
of participants, wherein said automatically establishing a first
tier of participants is based on a first tier selection criteria;
automatically establishing at least one additional tier of
participants among the group of participants and designating at
least one additional participant of the group of participants as
part of a second tier of participants, wherein said automatically
establishing at least one additional tier of participants is based
on at least one additional tier selection criteria; transmitting
said at least one broadcast message from the wireless device to a
plurality of computing devices corresponding to said group of
participants, the at least one broadcast message is transmitted to
the first tier of participants and the at least one additional tier
of participants; and transmitting additional data to at least one
member of said group of participants based on predefined
relationship data identifying a relationship between the at least
one member of the group of participants and said wireless device,
wherein the additional data is transmitted to the first tier of
participants.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one broadcast
message is sent via at least one of a short message service (SMS)
format, a video format, an audio format, and wherein the plurality
of computing devices comprise at least one of a smartphone, cell
phone, tablet computing device, personal computer, and a laptop
computer.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein a member of the group of
participants is configured to receive the at least one broadcast
message according to a predefined delivery preference specified to
the participants of said group of participants.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predefined delivery
preference specifies at least one of a SMS message delivery
preference, an email message delivery preference, a phone call
message delivery preference, and a voicemail message delivery
preference.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one broadcast
message comprises a first data type and the additional data
comprises a second data type that is different from the first data
type.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a message
transfer history of the wireless device based on a number of
messages transferred from a mobile device to the participants in
said group of participants; identifying a first group of
participants having been sent more messages than a remaining group
of participants that have been sent fewer messages than the first
group of participants based on the message transfer history;
designating the first group of participants as part of the first
tier of participants; and designating the second group of
participants as part of the second tier of participants.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first tier of participants
are configured to receive data messages corresponding to at least
two of text data, video data, audio data, and the second tier of
participants are configured to receive one of text data, video data
and audio data.
8. An apparatus, comprising: a processor configured to identify a
group of participants to receive at least one broadcast message,
automatically establish a first tier of participants among the
group of participants and designate at least one participant of the
group of participants as part of the first tier of participants,
wherein said automatically establishment of a first tier of
participants is based on a first tier selection criteria,
automatically establish at least one additional tier of
participants among the group of participants and designates at
least one additional participant of the group of participants as
part of a second tier of participants, wherein said automatically
establishment at least one additional tier of participants is based
on at least one additional tier selection criteria; and a
transmitter configured to transmit said at least one broadcast
message from a wireless device to a plurality of computing devices
corresponds to said group of participants, the at least one
broadcast message is transmitted to the first tier of participants
and the at least one additional tier of participants, and transmit
additional data to at least one member of said group of
participants based on predefined relationship data identifies a
relationship between the at least one member of the group of
participants and said wireless device, wherein the additional data
is transmitted to the first tier of participants.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one broadcast
message is sent via at least one of a short message service (SMS)
format, a video format, an audio format, and wherein the plurality
of computing devices comprise at least one of a smartphone, cell
phone, tablet computing device, personal computer, and a laptop
computer.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a member of the group of
participants is configured to receive the at least one broadcast
message in accord with a predefined delivery preference specified
to the members of said group of participants.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the predefined delivery
preference specifies at least one of a SMS message delivery
preference, an email message delivery preference, a phone call
message delivery preference, and a voicemail message delivery
preference.
12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one broadcast
message comprises a first data type and the additional data
comprises a second data type that is different from the first data
type.
13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further
configured to identify a message transfer history of the wireless
device based on a number of messages transferred from a mobile
device to the participants in said group of participants, identify
a first group of participants that have been sent more messages
than a remaining group of participants that have been sent fewer
messages than the first group of participants based on the message
transfer history; designate the first group of participants as part
of the first tier of participants, and designate a second group of
participants as part of the second tier of participants.
14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first tier of
participants are configured to receive data messages corresponds to
at least two of text data, video data, audio data, and the second
tier of participants are configured to receive one of text data,
video data and audio data.
15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to
store instructions that when executed causes a processor to
perform: identifying a group of participants to receive at least
one broadcast message transmitted from a wireless device;
automatically establishing a first tier of participants among the
group of participants and designating at least one participant of
the group of participants as part of the first tier of
participants, wherein said automatically establishing a first tier
of participants is based on a first tier selection criteria;
automatically establishing at least one additional tier of
participants among the group of participants and designating at
least one additional participant of the group of participants as
part of a second tier of participants, wherein said automatically
establishing at least one additional tier of participants is based
on at least one additional tier selection criteria; transmitting
said at least one broadcast message from the wireless device to a
plurality of computing devices corresponding to said group of
participants, the at least one broadcast message is transmitted to
the first tier of participants and the at least one additional tier
of participants; and transmitting additional data to at least one
member of said group of participants based on predefined
relationship data identifying a relationship between the at least
one member of the group of participants and said wireless device,
wherein the additional data is transmitted to the first tier of
participants.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the at least one broadcast message is sent via at least
one of a short message service (SMS) format, a video format, an
audio format, and wherein the plurality of computing devices
comprise at least one of a smartphone, cell phone, tablet computing
device, personal computer, and a laptop computer.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein a member of the group of participants is configured to
receive the at least one broadcast message according to a
predefined delivery preference specified to the participants of
said group of participants.
18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
17, wherein the predefined delivery preference specifies at least
one of a SMS message delivery preference, an email message delivery
preference, a phone call message delivery preference, and a
voicemail message delivery preference.
19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the at least one broadcast message comprises a first
data type and the additional data comprises a second data type that
is different from the first data type.
20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
identifying a message transfer history of the wireless device based
on a number of messages transferred from a mobile device to the
participants in said group of participants; identifying a first
group of participants having been sent more messages than a
remaining group of participants that have been sent fewer messages
than the first group of participants based on the message transfer
history; designating the first group of participants as part of the
first tier of participants; and designating a second group of
participants as part of the second tier of participants, and
wherein the first tier of participants are configured to receive
data messages corresponding to at least two of text data, video
data, audio data, and the second tier of participants are
configured to receive one of text data, video data and audio data.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to an earlier filed U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/711,348, entitled "System,
Method and Non-Transitory Computer Readable Medium for Medical
Analysis and Personalized Broadcast Message", which was filed on
Oct. 9, 2012, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated
by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
[0002] This application relates to a method and apparatus of
communicating with a user of a wireless device, and more
particularly to controlling the reception and transmission of data
messages to and from the wireless device.
BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION
[0003] Conventionally, users operating mobile wireless
communication devices transmit and receive data messages on at a
time. The users of such devices are continually increasing their
usage and as a result the number of messages transmitted and
received continues to increase. In order to effectively manage
message flow, evaluation, and organization, the messages may be
further organized, summarized and processed to provide the user
with an optimal communication experience.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
[0004] One example embodiment of the present application may
include a method that provides identifying a group of participants
to receive a broadcast message transmitted from a wireless device.
The method may also include automatically establishing a first tier
of participants among the group of participants and designating at
least one participant of the group of participants as part of only
the first tier of participants, and automatically establishing at
least one additional tier of participants among the group of
participants and designating at least one additional participant of
the group of participants as part of only the second tier of
participants, and transmitting at least one broadcast message from
the wireless device to a plurality of computing devices
corresponding to the group of participants, the at least one
broadcast message is transmitted to both the first tier of
participants and the at least one additional tier of participants,
and transmitting additional data to at least one member of the
group of participants based on predefined relationship data
identifying a relationship between the at least one member of the
group of participants and a user of the wireless device, the
additional data is only transmitted to the first tier of
participants.
[0005] Another example embodiment of the present application may
provide a processor configured to identify a group of participants
to receive a broadcast message, automatically establish a first
tier of participants among the group of participants and designate
at least one participant of the group of participants as part of
only the first tier of participants, and automatically establish at
least one additional tier of participants among the group of
participants and designating at least one additional participant of
the group of participants as part of only the second tier of
participants. The apparatus may also include a transmitter
configured to transmit at least one broadcast message from the
wireless device to a plurality of computing devices corresponding
to the group of participants, the at least one broadcast message is
transmitted to both the first tier of participants and the at least
one additional tier of participants, and transmit additional data
to at least one member of the group of participants based on
predefined relationship data identifying a relationship between the
at least one member of the group of participants and a user of the
wireless device, wherein the additional data is only transmitted to
the first tier of participants.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network that
supports wireless device communication operations, according to
example embodiments.
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates an example software code to automatically
retrieve data from a web site, according to example
embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user interface illustration of
an application interface operated by the wireless device, according
to example embodiments.
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates another user interface illustration of an
application interface operated by the wireless device, according to
example embodiments.
[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates yet another example user interface of
broadcast message tiers, according to example embodiments.
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling diagram of a user
input and response system, according to example embodiments.
[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates an example flow diagram of a user message
transfer, according to example embodiments.
[0013] FIG. 8 illustrates another example flow diagram of a user
message transfer, according to example embodiments.
[0014] FIG. 9 illustrates another example flow diagram of a user
message transfer, according to example embodiments.
[0015] FIG. 10 illustrates another example flow diagram of an
example method of operation, according to example embodiments.
[0016] FIG. 11 illustrates an example system configuration
according to example embodiments.
[0017] FIG. 12 illustrates an example network entity device
configured to store instructions, software, and corresponding
hardware for executing the same, according to example
embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION
[0018] It will be readily understood that the components of the
present application, as generally described and illustrated in the
figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of
different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description
of the embodiments of a method, apparatus, and system, as
represented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit the
scope of the application as claimed, but is merely representative
of selected embodiments of the application.
[0019] The features, structures, or characteristics of the
application described throughout this specification may be combined
in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the
usage of the phrases "example embodiments", "some embodiments", or
other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the
fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic
described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at
least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, appearances
of the phrases "example embodiments", "in some embodiments", "in
other embodiments", or other similar language, throughout this
specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of
embodiments, and the described features, structures, or
characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or
more embodiments.
[0020] In addition, while the term "message" has been used in the
description of embodiments of the present application, the
application may be applied to many types of network data, such as,
packet, frame, datagram, etc. For purposes of this application, the
term "message" also includes packet, frame, datagram, and any
equivalents thereof. Furthermore, while certain types of messages
and signaling are depicted in exemplary embodiments of the
application, the application is not limited to a certain type of
message, and the application is not limited to a certain type of
signaling.
[0021] Example embodiments provide a wireless user device. The
device may be a computer, laptop, mobile, wireless or cellular
phone, a PDA, a tablet, a client a server or any device that
contains a processor and/or memory, whether that processor or
memory performs a function related to an embodiment. The present
application discussed throughout the disclosure may work with any
device, such as a personal computer with a touch screen, a laptop
with a touch screen, a personal computing tablet, a smartphone or
any device with a processor, memory and a touch screen.
[0022] Example embodiments of the present application provide a
user with the ability to obtain information related to a particular
ailment. Such capabilities may include the tracking of
non-prescribed medications, prescribed medications, generic
equivalents and various home remedies. In another embodiment, the
present application permits a user to transmit a personalized
broadcast message (PBM) to entities within the network of the
system. In another example embodiment, responses to PBMs are
received by the system and a single message is sent to the user
with the most popular message received or with the most concise
information received based on the content of all of the messages
received.
[0023] In addition to the above, the present application permits
the user to be connected to one or more of the following entities:
pharmacists, medical professionals, other users of the present
system, and drug manufacturers. The present application also
provides functionality permitting pharmacists to submit medicine
related updates to ensure the users are aware of present research
and new marketable products, generic equivalents, or any other
information that the experts may deem helpful to users of the
system. These updates are pushed to the related users to make them
aware of the update(s).
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a network architecture 10 according to
example embodiments of the present application. A user utilizing a
client machine 26 or mobile device 28 may be permitted to access
the system application to be downloaded from the system 24 or that
presently resides on the client's device 26 and/or 28. The client
device can be any of a mobile laptop device and/or a personal
desktop computer 26, and/or a mobile device 28. The computing
device 26 and the mobile device 28 are connected to the network 22.
It should be noted that other types of devices, in addition to
devices 26 and 28, might be used with the present invention. For
example, a PDA, a tablet computer, a laptop, an MP3 player, a
gaming device (such as a hand held system or home based system) and
the like (including a P.C. or other wired device) that can also
transmit and receive information could be used with the present
application.
[0025] The user may interface through the client device 26/28 and
connect through the network 223 to the system 24. The system can be
redundant, or may be more than a single entity without deviating
from the scope of the present application. The client 26, 28 and
the system 24 will connect through the network 22 to one or a
plurality of offsite systems 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 through the network
22.
[0026] The connected system 12 could be a medical doctor,
pharmacist, home remedy specialist, drug manufacturer, general
specialist or any other medical professional or otherwise expert in
the related field. The connected system 14 could be a licensed
pharmacist or any other medical professional or otherwise expert in
the medical medicine field. The connected system 16 could be
another user who has a non-medical home remedy related to the
user's ailment/diagnosis and the corresponding remedy.
[0027] The connected system 18 can be another user or otherwise
related system in the network that is able to offer useful
information to the related ailment/diagnosis of the user. For
example, registered nor non-registered nurse practitioners, an
author of medical literature, a blogger of medical literature, a
licensed or non-licensed chiropractor, a licensed or non-licensed
physical therapist or any other entity that is able to provide
useful and credible input to the user's ailment/diagnosis and
related remedy.
[0028] The connected system 20 can be a user associated with the
research, creation, marketing of drugs nationally or
internationally. The system 24 may communicate with the connected
systems (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) through the network 22. The two-way
communication can occur through online messaging/chatting (either
point-to-point or multicast), emails, direct communication (http
posts/requests), or any of the other functionalities commonly used
in systems communicating through the Internet.
[0029] The system 24 may manage other types of communication
between the existing user and the connected systems. For example,
video conferencing can be used to permit both the user of the
present application and any of the entities in the connected
systems. In addition to the video session, either party has access
to the data stored in the system that is able to provide the
diagnosis of the ailment or the ailment itself, the recommended
treatment or any other data that was previously received by the
system, the medication that the user is taking, has taken in the
past or the recommended medication for the ailment/diagnosis.
[0030] The data provided by the system 24 can also include a video,
lab results, the user's history (medical or non-medical), CAT scans
and any other similar, relevant information. The user of the
present application may interact with the system to track
medications. The system retains a history of all medications that
the user has taken in the past, medications that the user is
presently taking. This data is stored in the system's internal
database. The system also is aware of the medication that the user
should be taking given a particular ailment/diagnosis. The
medication(s) that that the user should be taken is stored in the
internal database in the system. The system is populated with
present medications that are used to treat many diagnoses. This
information can be populated by any of the users of the connected
systems, such as the pharmacists.
[0031] There is a benefit to using the system to track the
medications as the system may have awareness of present and past
ailments and diagnoses. The system of the present application
permits the user to obtain varied information related to the aid of
a given ailment. The information could be one or more of prescribed
medications, related medications to prescribed medications,
compounds, generic equivalents to prescribed medications, home
remedies related to a given ailment, side effects, benefits, and/or
an expected outcome. Other information may include time frames
related to progress in treating the ailment, warning signs that the
ailment is not abating and is digressing.
[0032] In addition to the connection with various medical
professionals, the system may also retain access to medicine
professionals, for example pharmacists. These medicine
professionals may be identified by the application and become
associated with the system as experts in the field of medicine. The
system is able to connect with them when needed, and they are
expected to provide their expertise as being part of the
application. For example, users who take various different
medications may be able to solicit a pharmacist for advice and
information regarding the interaction and management of the
presently administered applications prescribed by their physician.
This added feature permits the system to provide a more
comprehensive and complete medical scenario related to both the
diagnosing of the ailment and medicine used to treat the
diagnoses.
[0033] The system also retains in an internal database
non-professional solutions to the aid of ailments, for example home
remedies. This permits the user to obtain other remedies to the
care of their ailment through the use of the present application.
For example, the system obtains this data from users who submit
home remedies as input to the system. In addition to obtaining the
home-remedies, the system also permits the user to obtain the
contact information to the person who provided the solution. The
user is able to communicate with the person to discuss the
home-remedy and its use and application as well as side
effects.
[0034] Some users may desire to communicate with other users
through the use the application of the present disclosure. The user
is able to connect with other users that are using the same or
similar medication or are experiencing similar symptoms or have
received a similar diagnosis or advice. When a user is prescribed a
medication, the system can automatically connect the user with
other users who have also been prescribed that medication either
presently or previously and automatically or not. The system would
attempt to find other users who are most closely connected to the
user (i.e., related by blood, in the same or similar geographical
area, have a similar ailment, share a common age, sex, race, etc.).
The system may connect both of the users or more users permitting
them to communicate through video, voice, text, email, chat or any
other commonly utilized methods of communication between computer
systems.
[0035] For example, a user of the system may be diagnosed with
elevated cholesterol. She is prescribed a generic drug, such as
Simvastatin to lower the cholesterol. The system, after determining
the diagnosis of the user attempts to find another user either
related to her or closest to her that has the same or a similar
diagnosis. Let us assume that the system found another user in the
near proximity of the initial user that has the same diagnosis, but
has been on the drug LIPITOR. The system can connect the two users
permitting them to discuss the diagnosis and the medication used to
treat the diagnosis. In addition, the system via tracking the
diagnoses of other users with the same diagnosis can provide
feedback as to which drug best worked in the past for that specific
diagnosis providing this data to the user. Comparisons can be made
by the system to permit the user to determine from actual users of
the system the medication that has worked the best in the past. The
data provided by the system could be data provided by the users
such that they submit actual blood data that records the various
levels of the cholesterol in their blood. Such data may be
organized in a blog, database or other organizational format and
shared by query or other searching tools.
[0036] In another example of the present application, the system
can obtain other related data from users related to managing a
diagnosis. For example, assuming that the user's diagnosis is high
cholesterol. The system may query users about their exercise and
diet. The system will also be able to provide this data to the user
to educate him or her from people that he or she is related to
and/or those in close proximity geographically. The data may
indicate that each specific medication worked in association with
exercise and diet of that particular user, and may also provide
comparisons. The user may be able to determine how the drug worked
in relation to exercise alone, or diet alone or a combination of
any of the above based on the various data provided to the user.
All of these options can be provided to the user with all of the
expected benefits, side effects, time involved, etc. The user will
be able to observe beforehand what the benefits may be with a
combination of a particular medication and diet, or a particular
medication and exercise, or a particular medication and exercise
and diet.
[0037] In another example of the present application, the user is
able to submit updates to the system on the progress of the
ailment. For example, as the user takes the prescribed medication,
changes his of here exercise regiment and/or alters his or her
diet, the user can submit blood cholesterol data to the system so
that the system is able to record the benefits if any are
present.
[0038] The system also is able to recommend changes to the user if
the ailment is not corrected after an appreciable time of the
medication being administered and/or after certain life changes
have been experienced. This functionality permits the user to feel
more comfortable about a new or existing medication as he/she is
able to communicate with another person who is actually taking that
particular medication as well as research the possible changes in
his/her lifestyle in combination with a particular medication.
[0039] In another example, once a user is diagnosed with a specific
ailment, for example, cancer, the system pulls articles,
information, and medically related data related to this type of
cancer. The system uses this diagnosis word to query sites on the
Internet (e.g., WebMD.com, HealthCentral.com, WrongDiagnosis.com,
CNNHealth.com, etc.). The information retained is written into the
internal database of the system. Likewise, the system pulls
articles, information and medically related data related to the
medication that the user is prescribed and/or presently taking.
[0040] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of software code that that
retrieves an HTML source from a given uniform resource location
(URL) web link. Referring to FIG. 2, one skilled in present
programming techniques could use the pseudo code to obtain text
from a specific web site, and then parse the text and recursively
identify data sources using further URLs obtained from the text. A
spoofing algorithm is necessary to fool the web site so that the
connection appears as a web browser to the web page. In the pseudo
code, the text of the web site is printed to the terminal, which
would be altered to be written to the system's database. The system
would then be able to automatically obtain specific information
from various web sites pertaining to a particular diagnosis that
are then written to the internal database and characterized
accordingly.
[0041] The system may also seek access to treatments of the
specific diagnosis and other trials pertaining to the diagnosis of
the user. Once this medical data is obtained, the system utilizes
metrics to determine a recommendation for the user based on their
condition and the results of the findings in the articles obtained
from the research performed. In operation, the system connects with
the computer servers and related infrastructure of a manufacturer
of the medicines. Through the use of the application, the user is
able to connect with the manufacturer of the medicine they are
presently taking or have been prescribed in an effort to receive
education information, updates, recalls, special information,
related medicine updates, etc. The communication between the user
and the manufacturer can be via by video, voice, text, email, chat
or any other method of communication from one computing device of
the manufacturer to another computing device of the user.
[0042] The user of the present application is able to submit
inquiries about a particular medication. The system receives these
inquiries and then routes these inquiries to licensed pharmacists
that have opted into the system of the present application. The
system then permits the user and the licensed pharmacists to
communicate by video, voice, text, email, chat or any other method
of communication. The user would benefit by knowing that the
information he/she is receiving is from a licensed pharmacist. The
pharmacists may set up a profile and be part of a pool of
pharmacists prepared to receive the inquiries for hire based on
geographical location, skill set, etc., with respect to the
user.
[0043] Pharmacist awareness flags may be identified and maintained
throughout the application. For example, the licensed pharmacists
are able to provide new items of interest in the medicine field.
These items of interest may include new medicine interactions, new
possible side effects of medicine, etc. These items of interest may
come for various sources, for example, published medical journals
that pharmacists regularly use and know. Through the use of the
application, the pharmacists are provided with the ability to
submit these new medicine-related realities into the system. These
submissions are internally referenced as "Awareness Flags". The
awareness flags are then delivered to any user that is presently
taking that medication.
[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates an example GUI depiction of an awareness
flag. FIG. 3 is a snapshot of an example of the GUI of the present
application. The GUI representation 100 illustrates a possible
awareness flag that is generated by the system. The window has
three areas, the message area 102, and two buttons for interaction
by the user 104 and 106. The message area contains the data of the
message. The question button 104 permits the user to submit a
message to the system. When the question button 104 is pressed, a
window is displayed (not depicted) that permits the user to type a
message. This message is forwarded to the system, and then
forwarded to the creator of the awareness flag. When the cancel
button 106 is pressed the window is removed. This configuration
permits the users of the present application to have up-to-date
awareness of recent findings related to medication without having
to educate themselves from other data sources. The system
automatically informs the user of the new findings as they are
updated via the linked sources established with the system.
[0045] The system of the present application also connects to
entities that are aware of present medical developments including
the latest research, medical trials, etc. These entities are able
to submit updates to the system, which notifies the affected users
making them aware of present changes in the availability of
medication. For example, when a medicine is recently available
under a generic name. The system then updates the users of that
particular medicine making them aware of changes that may permit
them to identify the generic equivalent, or another medication. The
system looks globally for solutions as many countries have
hospitals, facilities, doctors and drugs that the U.S. medicine
references do not access or that the FDA has not yet approved. Many
countries have home remedies or personal remedies that are not
known in the U.S. Also, the system will translate the information
(text, speech, etc.) so the user can understand the information in
their own language.
[0046] Also, the system through the communication with these
entities may alert the user that new research has been published
that specifies alternative medicine is available that may be
substituted for a given medicine or prescription regiment. This
permits the user to be aware of changes in the marketing of
medicine without having to perform their own research. Also, the
system through the communication with these entities may notify the
user that homemade remedies or other non-medicine alternatives are
discovered that alleviate the need for certain medications. These
remedies may include compounds, ointments, etc.
[0047] The system of the present application will inform the user
of possible side effects of medication and transmit a notification
to the user. The system obtains this medicine related information
by using the same functionality. For example, a side effect of a
medication may be diarrhea so the user is requested to take another
drug that minimizes that particular side effect. Or the system may
inform the user to be sure to drink `X` number of glasses of water
before and/or after the medication. The system may inform the user
of one or both of the above recommendations or provide other
recommendations that are not commonly found on the prescription
label of a pharmaceutical drug.
[0048] The system of the present application may transmit a
notification to the user at a pre-determined time and may request
the user to submit additional data to help determine the side
effect of a particular medication. This notification may be user to
request the user to inquire about taking another medication or
perform another action. When the system is aware of a user taking a
new medication, a request will be sent to the user to determine
whether the user is experiencing any side effects. This
functionality permits the user of the present application to be
made aware of the possible side effects of medicine he/she is
taking without having to perform research. The notification will
request the user to submit data that reflects the medical condition
to determine if any side effects of the medication are known and
should be provided to the user.
[0049] FIG. 4 illustrates another example GUI for the user to
access medicine information, according to example embodiments.
Referring to FIG. 4, the GUI representation 200 illustrates a
possible notification that is generated by the system of the
present application. For example, the window has three main areas,
including the message area 202, and two buttons for interaction by
the user 204 and 206. The message area contains the data of the
message. The submit data button 204 permits the user to submit data
to the system. When the submit data button 204 is selected, a
window is displayed (not depicted) that permits the user to submit
data from a connected medical device communicably coupled to the
user's device, or any other medical device used to capture
medically related data. This message is forwarded to the system and
treated as input regarding the ailment and/or diagnosis of the
user. The system processes the data as other input from the user.
When the cancel button 206 is selected, then the window is
removed.
[0050] The system may transmit an inquiry to the user to submit
data regarding heart rate, blood data, oxygen levels, etc. The user
would utilize connected medical devices to obtain the data that is
then utilized to check if the data is within acceptable levels for
optimal health. The system would look for side effects of the
medication prescribed and understand what data to request and be
aware of possible side effects of the user's medication. In the
event that the user does not comply within a certain period of time
the system transmits the action again and the user can cancel it at
any time if they do not want to perform the action.
[0051] According to another example embodiment of the present
application, certain broadcast messages may be transmitted from the
user device to various different recipients. The ability to
transmit personalized broadcast messages (PBMs) to other entities
(i.e., individuals, computers, etc.) in the system provides
communication via one or more protocols such as email, voice, voice
mail, short message service (SMS), audio and/or video on a user's
device, for example, a mobile wireless device. One of the functions
enables the transmitting of PBMs to other entities in the system
and another function provides for the analysis of responses which
may occur automatically. This may provide fewer responses than the
number of received messages such as a single response depending on
the results of the analysis.
[0052] The broadcast SMS messages may be transmitted via a SMS
Gateway. The SMS gateway may operate according to a software
program that is downloaded to a user's device. The recipients may
be part of a subscription list and may use the computer to initiate
the broadcast SMS message. The application on the user's device
uses the subscription list to sequentially transmit multiple SMS
messages through the SMS gateway. Additionally, example embodiments
may transmit PBMs and reply with an automatic analysis of responses
to PBMs and provide a single response or summary according to the
results of the analysis.
[0053] According to one example, a personalized broadcast message
(PBM) may transmit data via one or more protocols such as short
message service (SMS), audio and/or video on a user's device such
as a PC or a mobile device that can include a mobile phone, tablet
computer, laptop, PDA and any type of mobile device that includes a
memory and processor. By example only, a SMS or text message is
sent as a PBM and is delivered to one or more of the user's
recipient(s) that may be selected by the instant application or may
already be a part of a group of intended recipients. When the user
transmits a broadcast message via the application, instead of all
recipients receiving the same message, each recipient may be
treated differently. Some recipients may receive a simple text
message and some may receive additional data that is automatically
sent by the application. The recipients that have a closer
relationship with the user of the application may receive more
pertinent or personalized data from the user reflecting their
closer relationship. The various tiers of users or groups of users
may be designated to receive certain messages while others may
receive other messages.
[0054] According to one example, the ANDROID.RTM. operating system,
for example, supports transmitting SMS text messages. To transmit a
SMS text message, the `SmsManager` class can be used. Unlike other
classes, this class does not have to be directly instantiated;
instead the getDefault( ) static method to obtain a `SmsManager`
object is called. The `transmitTextMessage` method transmits the
SMS message via the `PendingIntent` object. The `PendingIntent`
object is used to identify a target to invoke later. For example,
after transmitting the text message, you can use a `PendingIntent`
object to display another activity. In this case, the
`PendingIntent` object is simply pointing to the same activity
(SMS.java), so when the SMS is sent then nothing will happen.
[0055] The process uses a `PendingIntent` object (sentPl) to
monitor the transmitting process. When an SMS message is sent, the
first broadcast receiver's `onReceive` event executes. This is
where a status check of the transmitting process is performed. The
second `PendingIntent` object (deliveredPl) monitors the delivery.
The second broadcast receiver's `onReceiveevent` will execute when
an SMS is delivered successfully.
[0056] According to another embodiment of the present application,
the application may automatically perform analysis of the responses
and distill those responses into certain data such as questions,
statements, and related message etc., that is/are presented to the
user to summarize relevant portions of data received in all of the
responses and/or combines the most important data into a single
question, statement, etc. The user can then transmit another
broadcast message without having to read through all of the
individual responses, still knowing that the most important data in
the responses have been addressed in the sent broadcast
message.
[0057] The application may reside on the user's wireless device or
smartphone, but can also reside on a user's desktop computer, a
personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, or any other
device containing a processor, memory, and an operating system. If
the application resides on a mobile device, the application is
downloaded through a platform such as an application store or
market residing on the device or accessed via the device. Upon
installation and/or initialization, the user has the option of
establishing tiers of recipients to organize which recipients
receive which levels of types of broadcast information. A tier of
recipients permits the application to transmit different data to
the different tiers of recipients. One example may be family and
work, as two separate tiers receiving different types of broadcast
information.
[0058] The user is also able set a configuration table where the
following can be selected/configured: configuration component type,
such as yes or no, checkbox, number indicator, etc., and a default
setting, such as on, off, 1, 2, 3, 10, etc. Examples of
configurations may include: transmit a picture to Tier-2
recipients, transmit video to Tier-1 recipients, automatically
determine recipients in tiers, number of contacts per tier, time to
analyze responses, time for second analysis, and number of
questions to display.
[0059] The user has the option to configure various elements of the
application. This configuration component can be displayed to the
user upon the first initialization of the application. Also, a menu
can be provided to the user that at any time, access is provided to
alter the configuration elements.
[0060] According to one example, the element: "transmit a picture
to tier-2 recipients" is a checkbox that is initially unchecked. If
the user checks the checkbox when transmitting a PBM, a picture
(jpg, gif, etc.), if available, will be sent to tier-2 recipients
along with the broadcast text message. The element: "automatically
determine recipients in tiers" is a checkbox that is initially
unchecked. If the user checks the checkbox, the application first
displays a warning message to the user that the contact in all
tiers will be removed. The user has an option to dismiss the
warning and no changes are taken by pressing the "Cancel" button.
If the user presses the "OK" button, all contacts in all of the
tiers are removed. The application, utilizing the operating system
of the particular mobile device, accesses the text message history
and sorts the list in a descending order or can determine the order
of contacts based on the number of text messages and the related
content in the history. The application then utilizes the
configuration element number of contacts per tier" value to place
that number of contacts into each tier. For example, if the value
of the "number of contacts per tier" is "3", then the first three
contacts in the descending contact list is placed into the tier-1
list. Then the next number of contacts is placed into tier-2,
followed by the next number of contacts placed into tier-3.
[0061] In another example, the element: "transmit video to tier-1
recipients" is a checkbox that is initially unchecked. If the user
checks the checkbox, when transmitting a PBM, either prerecorded
video or live video from the user's mobile device, if available, is
sent to the tier-1 recipients. The element: "number of contacts per
tier" is a numerical input that initially has the value of "3".
This element configures the number of contacts in each of the
recipient tiers. If the user enters a numerical value into this
field, the number of recipients will be reflected in each tier. If
the user decreases the number, a warning message is sent to the
user reflecting that contact will be removed to account for the
number of contacts specified.
[0062] The element: "time to analyze responses (minutes)" is a
numerical input that initially has the value of "10". This element
indicates the amount of minutes the application waits before
beginning to analyze the responses. A timer is started when a PBM
message is sent from the application. The timer expires when the
number of minutes has passed that is in the configured element. The
element: "time for second analysis (minutes)" is a numerical input
that initially has the value of "10". This element indicates the
amount of minutes the application waits after the initial timeout
expires to analyze the responses again. The timer is started when
the first timer expires. The timer expires when the number of
minutes has passed that is in the configured element. The element:
"number of questions to display" is numerical input that initially
has the value of "2". This element indicates the number of
questions to display to the user once analysis of the responses
from the recipients has been analyzed. One example range of
acceptable values is between 1 and 10 but can include a greater
number.
[0063] The user may place the recipients into different levels,
subsequently referred to as tiers, according to his/her
relationship with each recipient, or the application may determine
the relationship based on the frequency and type of correspondence.
The user has the option in the configuration section of the
application to determine if the tiers will be setup automatically.
When the application is tasked with determining the tiers, the
application examines the SMS history on the user's device. Each of
the contacts in the users contact list stores the number of SMS
messages sent. The application sorts the list in a descending order
to determine the contacts that were previously sent the most SMS
messages. The configuration element entitled: "number of contacts
per tier" is used to determine the number of contacts to place in
each tier. This configuration element defaults to "3" if the user
has not selected a value. In this example, the recipients that the
user has sent the most text messages in the past will be placed in
the top tiers automatically, with the assumption that they are the
closest recipients to the user.
[0064] Other methods can be used to automatically determine the
recipients in the tiers if the user has configured to permit the
application to determine the recipients in the various different
tiers. For example, the application can attempt to match the
recipients in the text history to the recipients that the user has
emailed. This is performed through analysis of the previous emails
in the user's mobile device or other computer devices. This
additional analysis will assist the application in further
determining the relationship of the recipients to the user.
[0065] Assuming that the user not selected to have the application
automatically determine the recipients in the tiers, the user can
configure the recipients according to the relationship of the
recipient to the user of the application. For example, the
pharmacists and/or doctors and/or medical professionals that are
closest to the user would be placed in tier-1. The next group of
recipients would be placed in tier-2 and may include those that are
possibly in the user's geographical location (i.e., same city).
Another group, tier-3, may include all other pharmacists and/or
doctors and/or medical professionals. Various tiers can be setup
according to the user's various relationships, such as business
contacts, social network, family, or along any other
relationship.
[0066] FIG. 5 illustrates an example broadcast message tier GUI,
according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, the various
tiers (i.e., tier 1, tier 2) that are setup on a user's mobile
device may include contacts that are included in the tiers, and
which can be inserted by showing the user recipients in the contact
list. When the "+" symbol is selected, the tier members may be
expanded to include a list. In operation, the tiers may be setup
automatically depending on various recipient selection criteria,
such as geographical location of recipient as compared to the user,
relationship, frequency of messages exchanged, family name, SMS
message frequency, SMS message content, etc. Or, the user may
manually select a contact, and that contact would be placed inside
the respective tier.
[0067] If the number of contacts in any tier has increased beyond
the configuration element, such as "number of recipients per tier",
a warning message may be presented to the user reflecting the
number of tier members is close to being exceeded. The user has the
option to dismiss the change by selecting the "Cancel" button, or
proceed with the addition by pressing the "OK" button.
Alternatively, for example, the user can remove a contact from a
tier by holding down the contact and a sub-menu may be displayed as
the list enters into an edit mode. In one example, the user can
move recipients between tiers by pressing a contact in the list,
holding it down, and then the application changes the display of
the contact, making it appear lifted. Next, as the user then moves
the finger on a mobile device or otherwise a pointing device, the
contact moves along with the movement of the finger or pointing
device.
[0068] As the user moves into another location, the existing
contacts move to make room for the new addition. As the user lifts
the finger or pointing device, the contact is "dropped" into the
slot that has been made for the new user. If the number of contacts
in any tier has increased beyond the configuration element: "number
of recipients per tier", a warning message may be presented to the
user identifying the maximum user concern. The user may have the
option to dismiss the change by pressing the "Cancel" button, or
proceed with the addition by pressing the "Ok" button.
[0069] The user also has the option to select media on the mobile
device that is sent to tier-1 recipients when the PBM is
broadcasted to the various users. When transmitting a broadcast
message to the recipients through the application, the user is
queried as to whether live video is to be broadcast, or other data
content. When a user transmits out a personalized broadcast message
(PBM) to all selected recipients via the application of the present
invention, instead of simply transmitting the message to all
recipients, those in tier-2 would receive more personal data, and
those in tier-1 would receive even more additional data, as these
recipients are the most intimate/privileged/relevant with the user
or the user's intended message content. Each group of recipients
would receive data from the user reflecting their relationship with
the user.
[0070] When the user transmits a PBM to all selected recipients,
the content that is delivered to the recipients may vary according
to the particular tier that the recipient is placed. For instance,
those recipients in tier-3 would be simply sent a sub-set of the
total original message that the user sent, for example, only a SMS
message. Those in tier-2 would also receive the SMS message, but in
addition would receive additional information such as a .jpg data
file or photo that has been previously selected by the user or by
the application. Those participants in tier-1 would receive the SMS
message, the photo previously sent, plus live video from the user's
mobile device. For example, the contacts in tier-3 would receive
the simple text message. Those contacts in tier-2 would receive the
text message and an image, for example a picture of the medication.
Those participants in tier-1 would receive the text message, the
image, as well as a live video and the user would be able to
transmit a video to the medical professional. The configuration
area of the application permits the user to configure the picture
that is sent to a tier-2 recipient by selecting the checkbox
entitled: "transmit a picture to tier-2 recipients."
[0071] The configuration area of the application also permits the
user to configure whether or not a live video is sent to the
recipients by selecting the checkbox entitled: "transmit video to
tier-1 recipients." When transmitting the original PBM to
recipients in any tier, the system forwards the message to entities
that are part of the network. Referring to FIG. 1, the system 24
receives the original PBM from the user via either a computing
device 26 or a mobile device 28 through the network 22. This
message is processed and either the original message or a revised
message is sent to one of the other entities in the system 12, 14,
16, 18 or 20 through the network 22.
[0072] When the user requests for live video to be sent, after the
user transmits the broadcast SMS message, the mobile or other
computing device is then switched to the video component where the
user has the option to begin recording. In the ANDROID mobile
operating system, the `MediaRecorder` class contains procedures to
configure the video recorder. The functions below are utilized to
record video in the ANDRIOD operating system and may be used by the
present application: setVideoSource( ) this sets the video source
(i.e. camera or default) to be used for recording; setOutputFormat(
) this sets the format of the output file produced during
recording; setVideoEncoder; this sets the video encoder to be used
for recording; setOutputFile( ) This sets the path of the output
file; setPreviewDisplay( ) Sets a Surface to show a preview of
recorded media (video); prepare( ) Prepares the recorder to begin
capturing and encoding data; start( ) Begins capturing and encoding
data to the file specified withsetOutputFile( ) In operation, the
user selects the record button and the video begins to record,
storing the video file on either the mobile device's internal
memory or an external memory depending on the configuration of the
mobile device. The live video is transmitted to the remote
recipients included in the tier-1.
[0073] In another embodiment of the present invention, location
services are utilized to permit broadcast messages to automatically
be sent to recipients of the user. This permits recipients in the
predefined tiers to receive specific data from the user depending
on the user's geographic location and/or the recipient's geographic
location. Before the application automatically transmits out a
broadcast message, the user is first notified and must verify that
message PBM should be sent. For example, a PBM may be automatically
sent to the recipients when the user is not within his/her "usual"
area. This "usual" area can be the user's hometown, or any other
geographic location defined in the application by the user. The
application can also transmit the PBM to recipients in the tiers
when the user enters a geographic location. In another example of
the present application, broadcast messages can be automatically
sent according to the user's time of day, speed of travel (i.e.,
when driving, not driving, etc.), present weather conditions,
etc.
[0074] FIG. 6 illustrates a signaling diagram of a message flow
transmitting a PBM. Referring to FIG. 6, a message flow is depicted
where the application resides on the user's mobile device 602. A
recipient in tier-1 206, a recipient in tier-2 608, and a recipient
in tier-3 610 represent the recipients of the user's PBM(s). The
user's mobile device 602 is connected to the recipients in the
tiers 606, 608 and 610 by a data network depicted by the Internet
cloud 604. The user initiates the process by entering the text
message in the application 612. The text message is sent 614 to the
Internet 604 with the destination of the recipients in tier-3 610.
The Internet 604 forwards the text message 616 to the recipients in
tier-3 610. A check operation is performed by the application to
determine if the user is configured to transmit additional data, in
this case a picture 618. If the application determines that a
picture should be sent, the original text message and the picture
is sent 620 to the Internet 604, and forwarded to the recipients
622 of tier-2 608. The application determines if even more
additional data should be sent 624 depending on the message type,
the tier level of the recipient(s), etc., and in this case
transmits the original text message, the picture, and the video
data 626 to the Internet 604, and then the message 628 is forwarded
to the recipients in tier-1 628.
[0075] FIG. 7 further describes the process of transmitting a PBM
message. In FIG. 7, the user utilizes the application to initiate
the PBM 302 by entering the text to be included in the PBM and
selecting the recipients in the tiers 304. The text message is sent
to the recipients in tier-3 306. These recipients are the ones that
are the least intimate with the user, and thus they receive the
text message in the PBM only and no other data. The application
then determines if the user requests to transmit any additional
messages in the PBM 308 (i.e., subsequent PBMs, the same PBM,
etc.).
[0076] If the user is not configured to transmit additional data in
the PBM, the original text message will be sent to the recipients
in tier-2 and tier-1 314, and the process ends 324. If the user is
configured to transmit additional data with the PBM, the additional
data (`Data 1`) is obtained from the user device 310. This can
include an image, a data file, a video file, or any other data
preconfigured by the user. The original text message and the
additional data is then sent to the recipients in tier-2 312.
[0077] The application then determines if the user has configured
even more additional data to be included in the PBM 316. Such
additional data can be an image file, a data file, a video file, or
any other data configured by the user prior to attempting to
transmit the additional data to the recipients in the various
tiers. If the user has not configured even more additional data to
be sent in the PBM, the original text message and the additional
data (`Data 1`) is sent to the recipients in tier-1 322. If the
user has configured even more additional data to be sent in the
PBM, the data is obtained from the user 318, and the original text
message, the additional data (`Data 1`) and the even more
additional data (`Data 2`) is transmitted to the recipients in
tier-1 and the process ends 324. Another example may provide
additional data that is transmitted, such as a picture, and even
more additional data that is transmitted, such as a video. The
video can be either a prerecorded video file or live video from the
user's mobile device.
[0078] FIG. 8 illustrates an example flowchart of transmitting a
PBM. Referring to FIG. 8, the user may select to transmit a
broadcast message through the application 402. The user first is
presented with a texting screen where the text to be broadcast is
composed 404. The user enters the broadcast message and presses a
"Continue" button. The application transmits the original text
message of the PBM to the recipients of tier-3 406. The application
then identifies the value of the configuration element: "transmit a
picture to tier-2 recipients" 408.
[0079] If the configuration of the element is not checked, the
application then transmits the broadcast text message to the
recipients in tier-2 and tier-1 414, and the process ends 424. If
the configuration of the element is checked, the user is presented
with a window 410 where a picture can be selected from the
following choices: `take a new picture`, and `select a picture from
the gallery`. If the first option is selected, the mobile device
switches to the camera component of the camera where the user can
take a new picture. The picture is then utilized in the
application. If the user selects the second option, the user is
presented with a gallery of photos existing on the mobile device
where the user can select a picture.
[0080] Once the picture of image file is selected from either of
the two choices noted above, the application transmits the original
text message and the image file to the recipients in tier-2 412.
The application determines if a video file is configured to be
transmitted to the recipients in the PBM by referencing the
configuration element: "transmit video to tier-1 recipients" 416.
If the configuration element has not been selected, the application
transmits the original text message of the PBM and the image file
to recipients in tier-1 422 and the PBM operation ends 424. If the
configuration element has been selected, the video data is obtained
from the user 418 and the application transmits the original text
message of the PBM, the image file, and the video data to the
recipients in tier-1 420. The PBM operation then ends 424.
[0081] In another example embodiment, the application analyzes the
responses of the recipients in response to a transmitted broadcast
message, which permits the functionality of the application to be
dynamic. A timer is then initiated when a PBM message is
transmitted from the application. The timer expires when the
predefined number of minutes has passed that is set in the
configuration element "time to analyze responses (`x` minutes)".
Upon expiration of the timer, the application analyzes all of the
responses received from a broadcast message and automatically
determines the most important response to pose to the user
according to analysis of the responses. The analysis may be based
on keywords, nouns, unique terms, audit information, etc., that is
parsed from the message content of various responses.
[0082] In another embodiment, the application may combine the most
important questions into a single message (i.e., summary message),
and presents the single message to the user for approval. In
another embodiment, analysis of the responses to the broadcast
message occurs in a first period of time, for example 10, 20, 30 60
seconds, and then in a second period of time, such as 2 minutes or
1 minute past the first minute (i.e., a new summary may be
generated every minute for three minutes). After the first
analysis, a summary message is transmitted to the user. After the
second analysis, another summary message is sent to the user if
different from the first message.
[0083] Example embodiments may utilize natural language processing
(NLP) and/or text parsing to analyze the received responses to a
PBM. A NLP is a processing engine/algorithm that conducts
processing interactions between a computer and spoken voice input.
Utilizing NLP, it is possible to determine the number of instances
of a word together with some context in a given group of texts.
Utilizing the PYTHON computing language, the context of the word in
the text may be identified along with grouping of similar uses of a
word, and a location to determine where in the sentence the word
appeared.
[0084] With reference to FIG. 1, the system of the present
application 24 utilizes NLP to analyze the responses received from
the recipients of the PBM 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 through the network
22. Each response is parsed and analyzed to determine the meaning
of the response, and compared to other responses to determine the
most appropriate single response to the transmitter of the initial
PBM by the system 24. The most appropriate response is sent to the
initial transmitter of the PBM 26, 28 through the network 22.
[0085] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a PBM response analysis.
Referring to FIG. 9, a flowchart is illustrated of a process used
to analyze the responses to a PBM. The PBM is sent by the
application 502 and responsive to sending the PBM a timer may be
triggered to begin counting to a first time threshold 504. The
application stores all of the responses from the recipients of the
PBM 506. When the timer expires 508, the application begins a
second timer for a second analysis 510. The analysis of the
responses then begins 512. After analysis of the responses is
completed, a check is performed to determine if any relevant
summary data was determined 516. If summary data is not available
to present to the user, the application displays a window to the
user indicating that no relevant questions have been encountered
and the process end 526. If relevant summary data has been found,
the application presents the summaries to the user 514, and the
process then ends 526.
[0086] The second timer expires 518 and the responses are again
analyzed 520. A check is made to determine if the new analysis of
the received responses is different from the original analysis 522.
If there is no difference in the analysis, then the process ends
526. If a new summary message results from the additional analysis,
the application displays a window to the user indicating the new
summary information 524, and then the process ends 526. The user at
this point has the option to respond with another PBM by answering
the questions received.
[0087] The system uses an algorithm to analyze each of the
responses to the PBM. This algorithm is used once the timer 1
expires 508, as well as when timer 2 expires 518. When analyzing
the responses, the system first parses the responses to determine
the nature of the response. Each of the responses is stored in the
system in an internal database or at a remote storage server. For
example purposes in the following algorithms, the individual
responses from the recipients of the PBM are labeled A, B, C, D and
E. In the analysis of the responses, each of the responses is
diagnosed individually. In one example, the outcome of the analysis
must be the same in order for a single response to be sent to the
user. For example, IF (A=B=C=D=E) THEN (transmit a single response
to the user). For this expression, each of the responses led the
system to determine that the nature of the responses was equal and
as a result no further action is necessary. In an alternative
embodiment of the present application, any combination of the
responses can be utilized for analysis, and the most appropriate
response can be determined by the predetermined combination of the
individual analysis.
[0088] In another example, each of the responses is analyzed
individually and the outcome of the responses must be substantially
equal in order for the analysis to be complete. IF
(A=.about.B=.about.C=.about.D=.about.E) THEN (transmit a single
response to the user). For this expression, the analysis of each of
the responses led the system to determine that responses were
substantially equal (e.g., substantial word overlap, substantial
subject matter overlap, etc.). In this example, even if the
responses' are not exactly equal, the nature of the responses is
similar. In another embodiment of the present application, if there
exists three similar or equal responses out of the 5 responses,
then the analysis is deemed complete. IF (at least 3 or more of the
5 inputs are same or similar) THEN (analysis is complete). In
another example, if the responses are analyzed together, the
outcome must be substantially equal in order for the analysis to be
complete. For example, IF (A.about.=B) OR (C.about.=D|E) THEN
(analysis is complete) or IF (A.about.=D) OR (C|B.about.=E) Then
(analysis is complete). Continuing this logic, taking any two of
the inputs and comparing the results together would result in the
same analysis.
[0089] In one example, let us assume that a broadcast message was
sent out to all recipients with the text: "I'm wondering if the
medication Hydrocodone may interact cohesively with regular
aspirin." There were seven recipients that responded to the
broadcast message with the following content: 1. "It should not
have an interaction?" 2. "Not if you are taking under 30 mg of
aspirin." 3. "How much Hydrocodone are you taking in a 24-hour
period?" 4. "It should not", 5. "No." 6. "If regular dosages, there
should not be an interaction." 7. "No". In The application, a
determination is performed through analysis of the incoming
responses that the most appropriate response to present to the user
is: "No interaction". This is presented to the user via the
application. This functionality permits the user to avoid reading
each of the recipient's responses, but also gives the user the
confidence that the most appropriate response was sent according to
the majority of the responses received from the initial broadcast
message.
[0090] Some example embodiments of the instant application include
medicine related medical professionals, for example pharmacists,
are able to provide new items of medical interest relating to the
medicine that a user of the system may be taking. These submissions
are known internally as awareness flags that are presented to the
users of the system to keep them abreast of recent findings in the
medical community. Also, entities in the network are able to submit
updates to the system. The system notifies the affected users
making them aware of present changes in the availability of
medication and the possible side effects of medication. User's may
be configured to receive a notification at a pre-determined time
and may request additional data to help determine the side effect
of a particular medication.
[0091] Public Broadcast Messages (PBMs) are sent by the user to
entities in the system. The PBM changes according to the
relationship of the recipient/receiver to the
initiator/transmitter. For example, the closer the relationship of
the transmitter and the receiver, the more detailed information
will be provided in the message. The receivers that are not as
close will receive only the original SMS text message. Responses to
the PBM are received by the system and analyzed for duplication.
The summary message of all of the received responses is sent to the
initial user, permitting the user to receive a response to the
PBM.
[0092] FIG. 10 illustrates an example method of operation.
Referring to FIG. 10, the method provides identifying a group of
participants to receive a broadcast message transmitted from a
wireless device at operation 1002. The method also includes
automatically establishing a first tier of participants among the
group of participants and designating at least one participant of
the group of participants as part of only the first tier of
participants at operation 1004. The method further provides
automatically establishing at least one additional tier of
participants among the group of participants and designating at
least one additional participant of the group of participants as
part of only the second tier of participants at operation 1006, and
transmitting at least one broadcast message from the wireless
device to a plurality of computing devices corresponding to the
group of participants, the at least one broadcast message is
transmitted to both the first tier of participants and the at least
one additional tier of participants, and transmitting additional
data to at least one member of the group of participants based on
predefined relationship data identifying a relationship between the
at least one member of the group of participants and a user of the
wireless device at operation 1008. The additional data may only be
transmitted to the first tier of participants based on their tier
designation.
[0093] FIG. 11 illustrates an example system configured to perform
one or more procedures or methods in accordance with example
embodiments. Referring to FIG. 11, the message processing system
1100 includes message history data 1140 that may be retrieved and
used to process new messages based on certain information known and
stored in memory. According to one example method of operation, the
system may identify a group of participants to receive a broadcast
message transmitted from a wireless device, the participants may be
based on known messages sent previously and stored in the history
data 1140 or may be retrieved from a user list of known contacts.
The message retrieval module 1110 may retrieve the stored history
data 1140 and automatically establish a first tier of participants
among the group of participants and designate at least one
participant of the group of participants as part of only the first
tier of participants. The retrieval module 1110 may also
automatically establish at least one additional tier of
participants among the group of participants and designate at least
one additional participant of the group of participants as part of
only the second tier of participants. The message processing module
1120 may transmit at least one broadcast message to a plurality of
computing devices corresponding to the group of participants, the
at least one broadcast message is transmitted to both the first
tier of participants and the at least one additional tier of
participants depending on the preconfigured tier information. The
system may also transmit additional data to at least one member of
the group of participants based on predefined relationship data
identifying a relationship between the at least one member of the
group of participants and a user of the wireless device. The
additional data may only be transmitted to the first tier of
participants. Changes to the recipients list, tier members, etc.,
may also be automatically generated and prepared for subsequent
message broadcasting via the update module 1130.
[0094] The at least one broadcast message may be sent via at least
one of a short message service (SMS) format, a video format, an
audio format, and wherein the plurality of computing devices
comprise at least one of a smartphone, cell phone, tablet computing
device, personal computer, and a laptop computer. Each member of
the group of participants are configured to receive the at least
one broadcast message according to a predefined delivery preference
specified for each participant of the group, such as SMS, email,
voice message, telephone call, etc. The settings for each member
may be identified and derived from previous message
transmissions.
[0095] The at least one broadcast message is a first data type and
the additional data is a second data type that is different from
the first data type. For example, one message may be text, and the
next is an image, video, audio or a combination thereof. The system
may then identify a message transfer history of the wireless device
based on a number of messages transferred from the mobile device to
each of the participants in the group of participants and also
identify a first group of participants having been sent more
messages than a remaining group of participants that have been sent
fewer messages than the first group of participants based on the
message transfer history. The system may then designate the first
group of participants as part of the first tier of participants and
designate the second group of participants as part of the second
tier of participants. The first tier of participants are configured
to receive data messages corresponding to at least two of text
data, video data, audio data, and the second tier of participants
are configured to only receive one of text data, video data and
audio data. The first tier may be a closer or more privileged group
of members than the second group.
[0096] Another example method of operation may include the system
identifying a group of participants to receive a broadcast message
transmitted from a wireless device and transmitting at least one
broadcast message from the wireless device to a plurality of
computing devices corresponding to the group of participants. In
response, a plurality of response messages may be received
responsive to the at least one transmitted broadcast message, which
are then examined so content of the plurality of response messages
may be extracted and processed prior to delivering the information
to the original user. In one example, message retrieval module 1110
may retrieve the messages and the processing module 1120 may
process the messages to generate a summary message based on the
extracted content of the plurality of response messages, the
summary message may include portions from all of the plurality of
response messages and also information unique to each of the
plurality of response messages. For example, a noun and/or verb
from each message may be included in a single summary message, the
noun or verb may be extracted via a parsing operation. Those
keywords, nouns, verbs, etc., that are the same in each message may
be included in the summary only one time. The summary message may
be displayed on a display interface of the wireless device.
[0097] The at least one broadcast message may be sent via at least
one of a short message service (SMS) format, a video format, an
audio format, and the plurality of computing devices may include at
least one of a smartphone, cell phone, tablet computing device,
personal computer, and a laptop computer. The examining of the
plurality of response messages and the extracting content of the
plurality of response messages may be performed after a
predetermined time threshold has expired. The predetermined time
threshold may be 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds and 60 seconds
or longer. The method may then perform reexamining the plurality of
response messages and extracting additional content of the
plurality of response messages different from previously extracted
content. The method may also perform generating another summary
message based on the extracted additional content of the plurality
of response messages, and displaying the new summary message with
at least a portion of the extracted additional content on a display
interface of the wireless device if the extracted additional
content was not part of the summary message. The new summary
message may be based on new response messages received since the
initial group of response messages. For example, five response
messages may be received in a 60 second period and processed to
create one summary message. 60 seconds later than the initial 60
seconds another four messages may be processed to create a second
summary message. The content of the new summary message may first
be filtered based on the content of the first summary message so
only new information in the second group of four messages is
processed to be part of the new summary message. This ensures that
only new information is forwarded to the user each time a summary
message is generated. The reexamining the plurality of response
messages may be performed by examining at least one additional
response message that was not previously received and examined at a
time of the first examining procedure. Also, the reexamining of the
plurality of response messages and the extracting additional
content of the plurality of response messages is performed after a
predetermined second time threshold has expired that is a later
time than the first time threshold (e.g., 1 examination per
minute).
[0098] The operations of a method or algorithm described in
connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied
directly in hardware, in a computer program executed by a
processor, or in a combination of the two. A computer program may
be embodied on a computer readable medium, such as a storage
medium. For example, a computer program may reside in random access
memory ("RAM"), flash memory, read-only memory ("ROM"), erasable
programmable read-only memory ("EPROM"), electrically erasable
programmable read-only memory ("EEPROM"), registers, hard disk, a
removable disk, a compact disk read-only memory ("CD-ROM"), or any
other form of storage medium known in the art.
[0099] An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor
such that the processor may read information from, and write
information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage
medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the
storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated
circuit ("ASIC"). In the alternative, the processor and the storage
medium may reside as discrete components. For example FIG. 12
illustrates an example network element 1200, which may represent
any of the above-described network components, etc.
[0100] As illustrated in FIG. 12, a memory 1210 and a processor
1220 may be discrete components of the network entity 1200 that are
used to execute an application or set of operations. The
application may be coded in software in a computer language
understood by the processor 1220, and stored in a computer readable
medium, such as, the memory 1210. The computer readable medium may
be a non-transitory computer readable medium that includes tangible
hardware components in addition to software stored in memory.
Furthermore, a software module 1230 may be another discrete entity
that is part of the network entity 1200, and which contains
software instructions that may be executed by the processor 1220.
In addition to the above noted components of the network entity
1200, the network entity 1200 may also have a transmitter and
receiver pair configured to receive and transmit communication
signals (not shown).
[0101] Although an exemplary embodiment of the system, method, and
computer readable medium of the present invention has been
illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the
foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the
invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is
capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and
substitutions without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention as set forth and defined by the following claims. For
example, the capabilities of the systems can be performed by one or
more of the modules or components described herein or in a
distributed architecture. For example, all or part of the
functionality performed by the individual modules, may be performed
by one or more of these modules. Further, the functionality
described herein may be performed at various times and in relation
to various events, internal or external to the modules or
components. Also, the information sent between various modules can
be sent between the modules via at least one of: a data network,
the Internet, a voice network, an Internet Protocol network, a
wireless device, a wired device and/or via plurality of protocols.
Also, the messages sent or received by any of the modules may be
sent or received directly and/or via one or more of the other
modules.
[0102] While preferred embodiments of the present application have
been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments
described are illustrative only and the scope of the application is
to be defined solely by the appended claims when considered with a
full range of equivalents and modifications (e.g., protocols,
hardware devices, software platforms etc.) thereto.
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