Back Monitor/Posture monitor

Overview

A few years ago I had back surgery on my back, while undergoing therapy I was repeatedly cautioned on the proper way to bend and lift heavy items. Because of this I came up with the idea to create a type of monitor that would allow the user to be instantly notified that they were bending or lifting in a wrong and potentially damaging way. I then took this monitor one step further and felt that this monitor would be great in the business world. It could be a great tool to help monitor, teach and warn employees of their potential to harm their back if bending and lifting in a wrong way. This could be taken even further to allow employers to monitor their employees and use the information to train and re-train employees that consistently bend or lift in a harmful way. I also see this information being used to have business’s worker comp insurance to lower when this type of monitor is used and fully utilized in everyday use and monitoring, as the memory chip will be coupled with software that will record and catalog the daily user’s movements. This information will then give the employer the ability to make informed decisions on each of their employees and stop or curb potential back injuries before they happen.

Monitor Description

Monitor is about the size of a pager.
Monitor uses a small gyroscope to know the exact angle in relation to the earth the user is bending.
Monitor will be equipped with two warning devices, vibrating and sound
Monitor will be able to be worn in a variety of belts contingent on the type of business it is being used in. For example if it is being used with a package delivery business such as UPS it can be fitted to be inserted into a back belt giving the user double protection.
Monitor will e equipped with memory chip
Monitor will have usb port and will then be placed on charging dock and to transfer daily use information. This information will be items such as: how many times alert went off, angles that user was lifting or bending at the time of alert, each with a time and date stamp, location. this will all be then downloaded to each individual’s computer file, giving the company accurate information to help employees of avoiding potentially damaging back issues.

Conclusion

My back monitor will be very helpful in a couple different ways. For the individual use it will help users with bad backs or that have just had back surgery how to properly bend and lift so they do not re-injure their backs. For the business that uses this monitor it potentially have huge implications. Such as: lower insurance premiums, proper training of bending and lifting new hires, re-training of employees that consistently lift or bend in a harmful way, termination of users that consistently put themselves in harm, help employees to protect back, vital and accurate information to use in the event of a workman’s comp claim.