TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wearable therapeutic device for music therapy, which can be used by disabled persons, elderly persons and older adults suffering from Alzheimer's or other dementia.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The median age of the world's population is increasing because of a decline in fertility and a 20-year increase in the average life span during the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. These factors, combined with elevated fertility in many countries during the two decades after World War II, will result in increased numbers of persons older than 65 years during the decades to come. Worldwide, the average life span is expected to extend another 10 years by 2050. The growing number of older adults increases demands on the public health system and on medical and social services. Aging often contributes to disability, diminishes quality of life and increases health- and long-term-care costs.

For example, the United States is facing a major challenge as an aging population threatens to strain the nation's healthcare system to the breaking point. The U.S. Alzheimer's Association has reported that more than 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's - a number that is projected to more than triple to 14 million by 2050 as the elderly population continues to increase. The worldwide cost of caring for older adults with Alzheimer's or other dementia is expected to escalate sharply in the coming decades.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are routine activities that people do every day without assistance. There are six basic ADLs: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence. Nearly half of all Americans who turn 65 during any given year will eventually enter a nursing home as a result of being unable to perform some ADLs. While the majority of those nursing-home admissions will be for less than a year, about a quarter will stay longer than a year. It has been found, however, that the cost of caring for older adults escalates and their quality of life frequently declines as they move from home to a nursing home or other assisted living facility. In other words, the longer an individual can live at home, the better the mental health and well-being of the individual. If someone can't care for himself or herself, then others should help. This may include spouses, children, relatives, and/or hired caregivers. If this is not effective, then the person must be moved into a long-term care facility.

Under-stimulation is a problem for many older adults living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. It becomes increasingly difficult for these older adults to enjoy the activities that they once enjoyed. Cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's or other dementia leads to weakened abilities to process sensory stimuli. Because the individual cannot process the stimuli or is not provided sufficient stimuli, he/she becomes bored, or under-stimulated. It has been found that lack of movement and activity can cause depressions and other disorders.

A person's mood or state of mind can be affected by a variety of daily experiences, from minor experiences, such as receiving an unexpected compliment or having a good meal, to more significant experiences, such as an enlightening conversation with a dear friend or a visit of a loved one. Often, one can trace an unexpectedly good mood back to a seemingly minor experience.

Regardless of short-term memory loss, an older adult's state-of-mind improves after positive experiences. The emotional boost persists after the event that caused it is forgotten. The emotional boost may result in a variety of effects, from eating on a regular basis to reduced agitation to better communication. The inability to recall the positive experience (e.g. a visit from a loved one) does not diminish the positive impact of the experience itself. Familiar voices create emotional responses every day, whether over the phone, on the radio or television, or in person. For seniors experiencing a decline in cognitive functioning due to aging, trusted voices have the power to calm, to re-orient, and to reassure. However, problems may arise when periods of time, sometimes significant, elapse between a loved one's visits and/or phone calls. Even though the resident may experience an emotional boost during the loved one's visit or phone call, the frequency of receiving this emotional boost is dependent on the loved one. Moreover, if a resident is feeling agitated or confused and thus has an immediate need for an emotional boost but the loved one is unable to visit or call, the resident must handle his/her agitation or confusion without the emotional boost.

Music is a proven method of providing a positive emotional boost to seniors suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairment that alters one's cognitive state. Musical memories often last well into advanced age, so familiar songs elicit particular emotions. Background music and singing have been shown to be useful interventions for dementia patients. Studies have confirmed that, following music therapy, individuals suffering mental or emotional impairment due to aging display an increase in quality-of-life scores, reduced agitated behaviours, and a decrease in disturbances.

One problem with many of the existing music therapy devices, however, is that they have an unwieldy and complicated design. This means that the therapy devices require a lot of storage space and that nursing staff may have difficulties in understanding and correctly setting up the music therapy system. Furthermore, older adults suffering from dementia may be functionally unable to independently use the music therapy devices due to their complicated design. In addition, most of the existing music therapy devices do not enable individualized music therapy that can be intuitively controlled by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is therefore to provide a simple and easily understandable wearable therapeutic device adapted for individualized music therapy, which is small in size and relatively light in weight and easy to set up for nursing staff and easy to use for older adults.

This first object is achieved by means of a wearable therapeutic device according to claim 1, which comprises: an upper-body harness configured to be worn around a user's shoulders; at least one music player connected to the upper-body harness; at least one first sensor configured to be worn on a user's body part other than the shoulders to detect movement of the user's body part and/or at least one second sensor attached to the upper-body harness and configured to detect movement of the user's body part other than the shoulders relative to the second sensor; and at least one control unit connected to the upper-body harness and configured to wirelessly communicate with the at least one first sensor and/or to communicate with the at least one second sensor, wherein the at least one control unit is configured to control the at least one music player based on one or several signals received from the at least one first sensor and/or the at least one second sensor, and wherein the harness has a weight sufficient to apply a reassuring pressure on the shoulders of the user wearing the harness; wherein the at least one control unit is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating movement of the user's shoulders and/or the body part or body parts other than the shoulders, cause the at least one music player to start playing a user's personal favourite piece of music intuitively within 3 seconds; and wherein the at least one control unit is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating the user being in a static position, cause the at least one music player to stop playing the music intuitively within 3 seconds.

The reassuring pressure applied on the shoulders of the user by the harness is advantageous since it gives the user of the therapeutic device a feeling of security, which will promote confidence and relaxation during the music therapy.

Since the at least one control unit is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating movement of the user's shoulders and/or the body part or body parts other than the shoulders, cause the at least one music player to start playing a user's personal favourite piece of music intuitively within 3 seconds, the user of the wearable therapeutic device according to the invention will be stimulated to keep moving by the music.

Since, on the other hand, the at least one control unit is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating the user being in a static position, cause the at least one music player to stop playing the music intuitively within 3 seconds, the user of the wearable therapeutic device according to the invention will be stimulated to start moving again by the interruption of the music. Accordingly, thanks to the reassuring pressure applied by the upper-body harness, a user wearing the wearable therapeutic device according to the invention will feel both secure and relaxed while receiving music therapy. Furthermore, movements performed by the user will cause the music player to play personal favourite music of the user, so that the user gets a reward and will associate movement with favourite music and be stimulated to start or continue moving to be rewarded again. If, on the other hand, the user stops moving, this will cause the music player to stop playing favourite music so that the user will associate being in a static position with the interruption of music and be stimulated to start moving again in order to start the music again. In this way, the wearable therapeutic device according to the invention can substantially increase the activity level of older adults suffering from Alzheimer's or other dementia.

Further objects and advantages of the invention, and the features enabling these objects and advantages to be achieved, will become evident from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the present invention will be described by means of a number of different embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a wearable therapeutic device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention being worn around a user's shoulders while the user wearing the wearable therapeutic device receives music therapy; and

Figure 2 shows a more detailed schematic view of the wearable therapeutic device of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the following, a number of embodiments of a wearable therapeutic device according to the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying Figures 1 and 2. As can be seen in Figure 1, the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention comprises an upper-body harness 101 configured to be worn around a user's shoulders SI, S2. The upper-body harness can be a vest harness or a collar harness, or a combination thereof. The upper-body harness in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is a collar harness.

The wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention further comprises at least one music player 102 connected to the upper-body harness 101. The at least one music player preferably comprises, or is connected or connectable to, at least one portable loudspeaker. The at least one music player, including the portable loudspeaker, is preferably attached to, or integrated into the upper-body harness, as in the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. However, embodiments of the wearable therapeutic device where music players and/or loudspeakers are integrated into headphones are also conceivable (not shown in the figures). It is preferred that the at least one music player including the at least one portable loudspeaker are worn by the user during music therapy as shown in Figure 1. However, embodiments with wireless external loudspeakers (not shown in the figures) are also conceivable.

The wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention further comprises at least one first sensor 103, 104 configured to be worn on a user's body part W, A other than the shoulders to detect movement of the user's body part W, A and/or at least one second sensor 105 attached to the upper-body harness 101 and configured to detect movement of the user's body part W, A other than the shoulders relative to the second sensor 105.

In one advantageous embodiment, the at least one first sensor is a movement sensor 103, 104, preferably an accelerometer, which is adapted to be attached to a user's wrist W and/or a user's ankle A. The movement sensor 103, 104 is preferably adapted for wireless communication via IR or radio.

In another advantageous embodiment, the at least one second sensor is a position sensor, preferably an IR sensor, most preferably an IR sensor comprising an IR unit 105 attached to the upper-body harness 101 and configured to detect movement of an IR reflector or emitter (not shown in the figures) attached to the user's body part W, A other than the shoulders relative to the IR unit 105.

The wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention further comprises at least one control unit 106 connected to the upper-body harness 101 and configured to wirelessly communicate with the at least one first sensor 103, 104 and/or to communicate with the at least one second sensor 105, wherein the at least one control unit 106 is configured to control the at least one music player 102 based on one or several signals received from the at least one first sensor 103, 104 and/or the at least one second sensor 105. The at least one control unit 106 is preferably attached to, or integrated into the upper-body harness 101, as in the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. However, embodiments with external control units (not shown in the figures) are also conceivable.

The upper-body harness 101 of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention has a weight sufficient to apply a reassuring pressure on the shoulders SI, S2 of the user wearing the harness 101. In a preferred embodiment, the harness 101 has a weight between 150 - 2000 g, which depends on the physical strength and body size of the user. The reassuring pressure applied on the shoulders by the harness is advantageous since it gives the user of the wearable therapeutic device 100 a feeling of security, which will promote confidence and relaxation during the music therapy. The upper-body harness 101 is advantageously provided with size adjustment means, preferably magnetic means or velcro means, to allow adjustment to fit different body sizes.

The at least one control unit 106 of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating movement of the user's shoulders SI, S2 and or the body part or body parts W, A other than the shoulders, cause the at least one music player 102 to start playing a user's personal favourite piece of music intuitively within 3 seconds. This feature is advantageous since the user of the wearable therapeutic device will be stimulated to start or keep moving in order to be rewarded by personal favourite music. A short time span between movement performed by the user of the wearable therapeutic device and music starting playing is important since many persons suffering from dementia have a short memory span. As short a time span as possible between movement and music starting playing will help users suffering from dementia to associate movement with favourite music. However, if the time span is too short, there is a risk that tremor or other unintentional movements causes the music to start playing, which is not desirable. Therefore, it can be particularly advantageous that the at least one control unit 106 of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention is configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating movement of the user's shoulders SI, S2 and/or the body part or body parts W, A other than the shoulders, cause the at least one music player 102 to start playing a user's personal favourite piece of music intuitively within 1.5 seconds, preferably within 0.4 to 1.5 seconds.

The at least one control unit 106 of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention is further configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating the user being in a static position, cause the at least one music player 102 to stop playing the music intuitively within 3 seconds. This feature is advantageous since the user of the wearable therapeutic device will be stimulated to start moving again by the interruption of the music.

A short time span between assuming a static position and the interruption of music is important since many persons suffering from dementia have a short memory span. As short a time span as possible between assuming a static position and the interruption of music will help users suffering from dementia to associate being in static position with the interruption of music. However, if the time span is too short, there is a risk that just a brief stop in the movement causes the music to stop playing, which is not desirable. Therefore, it can be particularly advantageous that the at least one control unit 106 of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention is further configured to, when receiving a signal or signals indicating the user being in a static position, cause the at least one music player 102 to stop playing the music intuitively within 1.5 seconds, preferably within 0.4 to 1.5 seconds. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the wearable therapeutic device 100 has a first manual control button 107 configured to allow the user to change volume level of the at least one music player 102; and a second manual control button 108 configured to allow the user to select pieces of music played by the at least one music player 102. These features are advantageous since they allow the user to independently control the volume and selection of music during music therapy.

In another advantageous embodiment of the wearable therapeutic device 100 according to the invention, the music player 102 or music players, the sensor or sensors 103, 104, 105 and the control unit 106 or control units all are battery-operated. This feature is advantageous since it eliminates the need for cumbersome power cords.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the wearable therapeutic device 10 according to the invention, the body part or body parts other than the shoulders SI, S2 is/are a user's wrist W or wrists and/or a user's ankle A or ankles to which the first sensor or sensors 103, 104 is/are attached and/or the movement of which the second sensor 105 or sensors detects/detect while the user receives music therapy. This feature is advantageous since it allows detection of either arm movements or leg movements, or both, depending on the mobility of the user.

In the foregoing, the present invention has been described with the aid of a number of different embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments and to what is shown in the drawings, but that also other embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.