WO2017030522A1

WO2017030522A1 - In-vehicle health monitor

Info

Publication number: WO2017030522A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/045187
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pramita Mitra; Gary Steven Strumolo; Craig John SIMONDS; Ali Hassani; Mark A. CUDDIHY; David Melcher
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2015-08-14
Filing date: 2015-08-14
Publication date: 2017-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-14

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a computing device having a processor and a data storage medium. The computing device is programmed to receive medical data from a wearable device, process the medical data, and output a command signal to command at least one vehicle subsystem to operate in accordance with the medical data.

Description

IN-VEHICLE HEALTH MONITOR

BACKGROUND

[0001] Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system— which generally protects a person's health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses— mistakenly attacks that person's joints. This immune response can cause inflammation that can damage joints and organs, such as the heart. Rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other autoimmune diseases, can interfere with a person's day-to-day activities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] FIG. 1 illustrates an example vehicle with a system for receiving medical data transmitted by a wearable device.

[0003] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing example components of the system of FIG. 1.

[0004] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process that may be executed by the system of FIGS. 1 and 2 for receiving medical data received from a wearable device.

[0005] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process that may be executed by the system of FIGS. 1 and 2 for processing medical data received from a wearable device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] While autoimmune diseases can affect many aspects of a person's life, diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, injuries, and other similar conditions can impact a driver's ability to control the vehicle. For instance, arthritis can impact the driver's ability to control the throtde. In a different but related context, some drivers, such as truck drivers or bus drivers, move too litde during extended driving periods, which can lead to joint stiffness and can potentially trigger an arthritis event. Consequently, it may be beneficial for the vehicle to detect the presence of muscle strain in the driver which maybe result of such diseases and injuries.

[0007] An electromyogram (EMG) is a diagnostic procedure for measuring the electrical impulses of muscles. Similar to the electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures electrical impulses of the brain, and the electrocardiogram (EKG), which measures electrical impulses of the heart, the EMG allows physicians to see what is happening in the body's nerves. This test can be used to diagnose, e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects the median nerve at the wrist, muscle and nerve damage caused by injured discs in the lower back or neck, and various forms of muscular dystrophy. The EMG test is often performed in tandem with nerve conduction test, which involves brief electric shocks delivered to the nerves in order to record the speed and amount of electricity nerves are conducting to determine if nerve blockages exist.

1

RECTIFIED (RULE 91) - ISA/US The EMG and the nerve conduction test together provide a holistic picture about the electrical activities in the nerves and the muscles, allowing a physician to accurately pinpoint where the problem is and also help quantify the amount of damage.

[0008] An example EMG electrode may include an integrated saline-based conductive gel embedded into a fabric-styled casing. The electrode may adhere to a person's skin and is clean to use. Embedding such a low-impedance, skin-based electrode into a wearable device paired with a vehicle system may offer a non-invasive way to perform EMG/nerve conduction testing inside the vehicle to detect and monitor muscle strains in drivers.

[0009] An example vehicle system that can receive an EMG or nerve conduction test data captured by a wearable device includes a computing device having a processor and a data storage medium. The computing device is programmed to receive the medical data from the wearable device, process the medical data, and output a command signal to command at least one vehicle subsystem to operate in accordance with the medical data.

[0010] Vehicle-based or wearable biometric sensor can be used to detect the presence of arthritis, injuries, or muscle strain (e.g., the pressure transducer on the steering wheel or surface EMG sensors on wearable devices) and communicate the presence of such medical issues to various vehicle subsystems. Once muscle strain or other nerve conduction anomalies are detected, there are a number of ways these signals could be used by the vehicle or the wearable to assist the driver.

[0011] For example, brought-in devices (e.g., wearable devices, smartphones) can store driver identification and personalized cabin configurations data, especially for drivers who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or injuries that benefit from vehicle adjustments to fit their condition such as having their cabin personalized before or as soon as they enter the vehicle (e.g., power-assisted seat position, engaging gas/brake pedal block for leg spasms, etc.). Such wearable-based personalized configurations could also allow disabled drivers to take their settings with them on- the-go in, e.g., rental or car sharing situations.

[0012] Another potential benefit relates to providing occupant assistance. That is, the vehicle can assist with advanced safety technologies such as compensating the amount of assistance required, for instance, changing the EPAS gain or brake boost.

[0013] When certain nerve or muscle conditions are detected, the system may warn the driver to pull over and seek medical attention or send an alert using an on-board emergency assistance function to inform emergency response teams of the driver's muscle condition before, during and after an accident. [0014] Moreover, the medical data may be used for accident reconstruction. Encrypted EMG test data may be uploaded to a cloud-based server along with other driver health data (heart rate, galvanic skin response, etc.) as well as vehicle data for analysis and holistic reconstruction of an accident.

[0015] The elements shown may take many different forms and include multiple and/or alternate components and facilities. The example components illustrated are not intended to be limiting. Indeed, additional or alternative components and/ or implementations may be used.

[0016] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the host vehicle 100 includes a vehicle system 105 programmed to receive and process medical data received from a wearable device 110. In some instances, the medical data may be uploaded to a remote server 115. The vehicle system 105 is discussed in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 2. Although illustrated as a sedan, the host vehicle 100 may include any passenger or commercial automobile such as a car, a truck, a sport utility vehicle, a crossover vehicle, a van, a minivan, a taxi, a bus, etc. In some possible approaches, the host vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous (e.g., driverless) mode, a partially autonomous mode, and/or a non-autonomous mode.

[0017] The wearable device 110 may include any number of electronic circuits and components that monitor various physiological parameters of the person wearing the wearable device 110. The wearable device 110 may include one or more sensors that measure physiological parameters associated with, e.g., nerve or muscle damage. The sensors incorporated into the wearable device 110 may include sensors that can measure physiological parameters through skin. Examples of such sensors may include electromyogram (EMG) sensors, for instance. The sensors incorporated into the wearable device 110 may be programmed to output a signal representing the physiological parameter detected or measured. The wearable device 110 may further include a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, or both, configured to transmit and receive signals, respectively. Thus, the wireless device may be configured to wirelessly communicate with the vehicle system 105, the remote server 115, or both. Such communication may include transmitting signals representing detected or measured physiological parameters to the vehicle system 105 or the remote server 115 either direcdy or via a mobile device such as a smartphone. The detected or measured physiological parameters may be generally referred to as "medical data". Alternatively or in addition, "medical data" may represent a diagnosis made by, e.g., a physician or determined by the wearable device 110, the mobile device paired with the wearable device 110, the remote server 115, the vehicle system 105, etc. [0018] The remote server 115 may include an electronic computing device, with various components and circuits, configured to electronically store data. The remote server 115 may be in wireless communication with the wearable device 110, the vehicle system 105, or both. The remote server 115 may, for instance, communicate with the wearable device 110 or host vehicle 100 in accordance with a telecommunications technology such as code division multiple access (CDMA), global system for mobiles (GSM), or the like, or a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology such as Wi-Fi. The remote server 115 may communicate direcdy or indirecdy with the wearable device 110 or the vehicle system 105. For instance, the wearable device 110, vehicle system 105, or both, may pair with a smartphone via, e.g., Bluetooth® or Bluetooth Low Energy®, and the smartphone may facilitate communications between the remote server 115 and the wearable device 110 or vehicle system 105.

[0019] The remote server 115 may include any number of databases that relate medical data to users of particular wearable devices 110 or users of particular vehicles. In one possible approach, the remote server 115 may be programmed to periodically synchronize with the wearable device 110, the host vehicle 100, or both. Alternatively, the remote server 115 may only synchronize in response to a user input. Further, whether the wearable device 110 or vehicle 100 synchronizes with the remote server 115 may be based on a user input, including an opt-in feature where the user of the wearable device 110 gives explicit permission for the medical data to be uploaded to the remote server 115. Thus, the remote server 115 may include a historical record of the medical data captured by the wearable device 110. In some instances, the remote server 115 may include a historical record of any actions taken by the host vehicle 100 in response to certain medical data.

[0020] Referring now to FIG. 2, the vehicle system 105 may include a communication device 120 and a computing device 125 in communication via, e.g., a communication bus 130.

[0021] The communication device 120 may include any number of circuits and components that permit wireless communication with the wearable device 110. The communication device 120 may be programmed to pair with the wearable device 110 (or a smartphone paired with the wearable device 110) when an occupant brings the wearable device 110 into the host vehicle 100 and the host vehicle 100 is started. The communication device 120 may be programmed to communicate with the wearable device 110 in accordance with any number of communications protocols including, e.g., Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth® Low Energy, etc. The communication device 120 may further include any number of circuits and components that permit wireless communication with the remote server 115. Thus, the communication device 120 may be programmed to transmit signals in accordance with, e.g., CDMA, GSM, or other wireless telecommunications technologies, or WLAN technologies such as Wi-Fi. Thus, in addition to communicating with the wearable device 110, the communication device 120 may transmit signals to, and receive signals from, the remote server 115. Further, the communication device 120 may be in communication with various components of the host vehicle 100 via, e.g., the communication bus 130, as described in greater detail below.

[0022] The communication bus 130 may include any number of circuits and components that allow various components of the host vehicle 100 to communicate with one another. For instance, the communication bus 130 may facilitate communication between the communication device 120 and the computing device 125. That is, the communication device 120 may receive medical data from the wearable device 110, the remote server 115, or both, and transmit the received medical data to the computing device 125 for processing. Because it is incorporated into the host vehicle 100, the communication bus 130 may include a vehicle bus, such as a control area network (CAN) bus.

[0023] The computing device 125 may include any number of circuits and components, such as a processor 135 and a data storage medium 140. The data storage medium 140 may store computer-executable instructions, data, or both, and the processor 135 may be programmed to access the data and execute computer- executable instructions stored in the data storage medium 140. Thus, various operations of the computing device 125 may be carried out by the processor 135 executing instructions and generating various signals that can be communicated over, e.g., the communication bus 130.

[0024] The computing device 125 may be programmed to receive the medical data transmitted by the wearable device 110. The wearable device 110 may transmit the medical data to the host vehicle 100, specifically, the communication device 120. Alternatively, the wearable device 110 may transmit the medical data to the remote server 115, which may in turn communicate the medical data to the communication device 120. The communication device 120 may transmit the medical data to the computing device 125 via the communication bus 130. The computing device 125 may be programmed to process the medical data and output a command signal to one or more vehicle subsystems 145 to operate in accordance with the medical data. The command signal may be output via, e.g., the communication bus 130.

[0025] The medical data may indicate a chronic medical condition, an acute medical condition, or both. The action taken in response to the medical data may be based on whether the medical data suggests a chronic or acute condition. The data storage medium 140 may include one or more databases relating medical data to chronic and acute medical conditions, as well as the type of command signal to generate in response to the detected medical condition.

[0026] For example, the medical data, which may include electromyogram data, may suggest that the driver or another occupant has a particular medical condition, such as a medical condition associated with a nerve condition including, e.g., arthritis, a nerve injury, or a muscle strain, etc., that requires a particular seat position for the occupant's comfort. Thus, the computing device 125 may output the command signal to move the seats to the particular position dictated by the occupant's medical condition. Alternatively, the medical data may indicate that the driver has a nerve condition that makes the driver prone to, or indicates that the driver is currently experiencing a leg spasm, in which case the command signal may engage a gas or brake pedal block, which may cause the host vehicle 100 to ignore certain inadvertent driver inputs believed to be caused by the leg spasms. Further, some medical data associated with certain nerve conditions may indicate that the driver could benefit from an increase in assisted steering support (which may be referred to as electric power assisted steering (EPAS) gain) or a brake boost. In some instances, the computing device 125 may not make a medical diagnosis. Rather, the computing device 125 may process the medical data to extract a medical diagnosis indicated by the medical data. The medical diagnosis may be made by, e.g., a physician and uploaded to the remote server 115 or stored in another database accessible to the remote server 115, the vehicle system 105, the wearable device 110, or another device such as a smartphone paired with the wearable device 110 or the vehicle system 105. Thus, the computing device 125 may be programmed to recognize a medical diagnosis from the medical data and output the appropriate command signals to control the respective vehicles subsystems 145 accordingly.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process 300 that may be executed by the vehicle system 105, namely the communication device 120, for receiving medical data from the wearable device 110. The process 400 may be initiated at any time such as, e.g., when the host vehicle 100 is started, during operation of the host vehicle 100, in response to a door of the host vehicle 100 opening, the wearable device 110 pairing with the host vehicle 100, or the like. The process 300 may continue to execute until, e.g., the host vehicle 100 is turned off, all occupants have exited the host vehicle 100, or so long as the host vehicle 100 is paired with the wearable device 110.

[0028] At block 305, the vehicle system 105 may wirelessly pair with the wearable device 110. Wirelessly pairing with the wearable device 110 may include a handshake procedure between, e.g., the communication device 120 and the wearable device 110. The handshake procedure may be executed in accordance with a wireless communication protocol such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth Low Energy®, etc. Once paired, the process 300 may proceed to block 310.

[0029] At block 310, the vehicle system 105 may receive medical data from the wearable device 110. The medical data may include, e.g., data representative of chronic or acute medical conditions. The medical data may be received in accordance with any number of wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth® Low Energy, etc. Instead of receiving the medical data from the wearable device 110, the communication device 120 may receive medical data from the remote server 115. For instance, the wearable device 110 may simply identify a user of the wearable device 110, and the communication device 120 may query the remote server 115 for the medical data associated with the person wearing the wearable device 110. In some implementations, the communication device 120 may transmit the medical data received from the wearable device 110 to the remote server 115.

[0030] At block 315, the communication device 120 may transmit the medical data to the computing device 125 for processing. The medical data may be transmitted to the computing device 125 via, e.g., the communication bus 130. FIG. 4, described below, is directed to a process 400 for processing the medical data. The process 300 may end after block 315, or may return to block 310 to await additional medical data.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process 400 that may be executed by the vehicle system 105, namely the processor 135 incorporated into the computing device 125, for processing medical data received from the wearable device 110. The process 400 may be initiated at any time such as, e.g., when the host vehicle 100 is started, during operation of the host vehicle 100, in response to a door of the host vehicle 100 opening, the wearable device 110 pairing with the host vehicle 100, or the like. The process 400 may continue to execute until, e.g., the host vehicle 100 is turned off, all occupants have exited the host vehicle 100, or so long as the host vehicle 100 is paired with the wearable device 110. Instructions associated with the process 400 may be stored in the data storage medium 140 and accessed and executed by, e.g., the processor 135 of the computing device 125.

[0032] At block 405, the computing device 125 may receive medical data from a wearable device 110 paired for wireless communication with the host vehicle 100, specifically, the communication device 120. The wearable device 110 may measure or detect one or more physiological parameters and output medical data representing the physiological parameters measured or detected. The medical data may be transmitted to the communication device 120, which may in turn transmit the medical data to the computing device 125 via the communication bus 130.

[0033] At block 410, the computing device 125 may process the medical data. For example, the medical data, which may include electromyogram data, may suggest that the driver or another occupant has a particular medical condition, such as a medical condition associated with a nerve condition including, e.g., arthritis, a nerve injury, or a muscle strain, etc., that requires a particular vehicle setting. The computing device 125, therefore, may process the medical data to identify whether the occupant has the medical condition and whether the occupant is currently experiencing symptoms associated with the medical condition.

[0034] At decision block 415, the computing device 125 may determine whether the occupant has a chronic medical condition. If so, the process 400 may proceed to block 420. Otherwise, the process 400 may continue at block 430. Whether the medical data is associated with a chronic medical condition may be determined from, e.g., a lookup table or other database stored in the data storage medium 140 or the remote server 115.

[0035] At decision block 420, the computing device 125 may determine whether the chronic medical condition indicated by the medical data necessitates any particular vehicle settings. If so, the process 400 may proceed to block 425. Otherwise, the process may proceed to block 430. The computing device 125 may determine whether the chronic medical condition necessitates particular vehicle settings by accessing a lookup table or other database stored in the data storage medium 140 or the remote server 115.

[0036] At block 425, the computing device 125 may generate and transmit command signals to one or more vehicle subsystems 145 that initiate certain vehicle settings to accommodate the chronic medical condition identified at block 415. For example, the computing device 125 may output the command signal to move the seats to the particular position dictated by the occupant's chronic medical condition. Additionally, certain chronic nerve conditions may indicate that the driver could benefit from an increase in assisted steering support (which may be referred to as electric power assisted steering (EPAS) gain) or a brake boost.

[0037] At decision block 430, the computing device 125 may determine whether the medical data identifies an acute medical condition. If so, the process 400 may proceed to block 435. Otherwise, the process may proceed to block 445. Whether the medical data is associated with an acute medical condition may be determined from, e.g., a lookup table or other database stored in the data storage medium 140 or the remote server 115.

[0038] At decision block 435, the computing device 125 may determine whether the acute medical condition indicated by the medical data necessitates any particular vehicle settings. If so, the process 400 may proceed to block 440. Otherwise, the process may proceed to block 445. The computing device 125 may determine whether the acute medical condition necessitates particular vehicle settings by accessing a look-up table or other database stored in the data storage medium 140 or the remote server 115.

[0039] At block 440, the computing device 125 may generate and transmit command signals to one or more vehicle subsystems 145 that initiate certain vehicle settings to accommodate the acute medical condition identified at block 435. For instance, the medical data may indicate that the driver has a nerve condition (a chronic medical condition) and is currendy experiencing a leg spasm (an acute medical condition), in which case the command signal may engage a gas or brake pedal block, which may cause the host vehicle 100 to ignore certain inadvertent driver inputs believed to be caused by the leg spasms. Additionally, if the driver is experiencing an acute nerve condition, the driver may benefit from a temporary increase in assisted steering support (which may be referred to as electric power assisted steering (EPAS) gain) or a brake boost, at least until the symptoms pass. More severe acute medical conditions may cause the computing device 125 to output command signals that cause the host vehicle 100 to pull over to the side of the road until the acute symptoms pass.

[0040] At decision block 445, the computing device 125 may determine whether more medical data has been received. If so, the process 400 may proceed to block 410. Otherwise, the computing device 125 may continue to execute block 445 until more medical data is received.

[0041] Accordingly, with vehicle-based or wearable biometric sensors able to detect the presence of arthritis, injuries, or muscle strain and communicate the presence of such medical issues to various vehicle subsystems 145, muscle strain or other nerve conduction anomalies can be detected and acted upon to assist the driver. For example, brought-in devices (e.g., wearable devices 110, smartphones) can store driver identification and personalized cabin configurations data, especially for drivers who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or injuries that benefit from vehicle adjustments to fit their condition such as having their cabin personalized before or as soon as they enter the vehicle (e.g., power- assisted seat position, engaging gas/brake pedal block for leg spasms, etc.). Such wearable-based personalized configurations could also allow disabled drivers to take their settings with them on-the-go in, e.g., rental or car sharing situations. Another potential benefit relates to providing occupant assistance. That is, the vehicle can assist with advanced safety technologies such as compensating the amount of assistance required, for instance, changing the EPAS gain or brake boost. When certain nerve or muscle conditions are detected, the system may warn the driver to pull over and seek medical attention or send an alert using an on-board emergency assistance function to inform emergency response teams of the driver's muscle condition before, during and after an accident. Moreover, the medical data may be used for accident reconstruction. Encrypted EMG test data may be uploaded to a cloud-based server along with other driver health data (heart rate, galvanic skin response, etc.) as well as vehicle data for analysis and holistic reconstruction of an accident.

[0042] In general, the computing systems and/ or devices described may employ any of a number of computer operating systems, including, but by no means limited to, versions and/or varieties of the Ford Sync® operating system, the Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system (e.g., the Solaris® operating system distributed by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California), the AIX UNIX operating system distributed by International Business Machines of Armonk, New York, the Linux operating system, the Mac OSX and iOS operating systems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, the BlackBerry OS distributed by Blackberry, Ltd. of Waterloo, Canada, and the Android operating system developed by Google, Inc. and the Open Handset Alliance. Examples of computing devices include, without limitation, an on-board vehicle computer, a computer workstation, a server, a desktop, notebook, laptop, or handheld computer, or some other computing system and/ or device.

[0043] Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a variety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, without limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, etc. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

[0044] A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readable medium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include, for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by one or more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to a processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

[0045] Databases, data repositories or other data stores described herein may include various kinds of mechanisms for storing, accessing, and retrieving various kinds of data, including a hierarchical database, a set of files in a file system, an application database in a proprietary format, a relational database management system (RDBMS), etc. Each such data store is generally included within a computing device employing a computer operating system such as one of those mentioned above, and are accessed via a network in any one or more of a variety of manners. A file system may be accessible from a computer operating system, and may include files stored in various formats. An RDBMS generally employs the Structured Query Language (SQL) in addition to a language for creating, storing, editing, and executing stored procedures, such as the PL/SQL language mentioned above.

[0046] In some examples, system elements may be implemented as computer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more computing devices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.), stored on computer readable media associated therewith (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). A computer program product may comprise such instructions stored on computer readable media for carrying out the functions described herein.

[0047] With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein. It further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed so as to limit the claims.

[0048] Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided would be apparent upon reading the above description. The scope should be determined, not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entided. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the technologies discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the application is capable of modification and variation.

[0049] All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinary meanings as understood by those knowledgeable in the technologies described herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary is made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as "a," "the," "said," etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.

[0050] The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising:

a computing device having a processor and a data storage medium, wherein the computing device is programmed to receive medical data from a wearable device, process the medical data, and output a command signal to command at least one vehicle subsystem to operate in accordance with the medical data.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1 , further comprising a communication device configured to wirelessly communicate with the wearable device.

3. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the communication device is programmed to transmit the medical data to a remote server.

4. The vehicle system of claim 1 , further comprising a communication bus, wherein the computing device is programmed to transmit the command signal to the at least one vehicle subsystem via the communication bus.

5. The vehicle system of claim 1, further comprising a communication bus, wherein the computing device is programmed to receive the medical data via the communication bus.

6. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the medical data is associated with nerve condition.

7. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the medical data is associated with at least one of arthritis, a nerve injury, and a muscle strain.

8. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the medical data includes electromyogram data.

9. A method comprising:

receiving medical data from a wearable device paired with a vehicle system;

processing the medical data; and

outputting a command signal to command at least one vehicle subsystem to operate in accordance with the medical data.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising wirelessly pairing with the wearable device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising transmitting the medical data to a remote server.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the command signal to the at least one vehicle subsystem includes transmitting the command signal via a communication bus.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the medical data from the wearable device includes receiving the medical data via a communication bus.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the medical data is associated with nerve condition.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the medical data is associated with at least one of arthritis, a nerve injury, and a muscle strain.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the medical data includes electromyogram data.

17. A vehicle subsystem comprising:

a communication device programmed to wirelessly communicate with a wearable device and receive medical data transmitted by the wearable device;

a communication bus, wherein the communication device is programmed to transmit the medical data over the communication bus; and

a computing device having a processor and a data storage medium, wherein the computing device is programmed to receive the medical data from the communication device via the communication bus, process the medical data, and output a command signal over the communication bus to command at least one vehicle subsystem to operate in accordance with the medical data.

18. The vehicle system of claim 17, wherein the communication device is programmed to transmit the medical data to a remote server.

19. The vehicle system of claim 17, wherein the medical data is associated with at least one tis, a nerve injury, and a muscle strain.

The vehicle system of claim 17, wherein the medical data includes electrom ogram data.