US 11,809,629 B1
Wearable electronic device for inducing transient sensory events as user feedback
Jacob Segil, Boulder, CO (US)
Assigned to Afference Inc., Lafayette, CO (US)
Filed by Afference Inc., Lafayette, CO (US)
Filed on Jun. 10, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/838,116.
Int. Cl. G06F 3/01 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/016 (2013.01) [G06F 3/014 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wearable electronic device for stimulating referred sensation, the wearable electronic device comprising:
a housing defining an exterior surface configured to contour to a skin surface of a user;
an electrode array extending at least partially through the exterior surface to contact the skin surface;
a memory resource storing at least one executable asset; and
a processing resource operably coupled to the memory resource and configured to cooperate with the memory resource to access the at least one executable asset to instantiate an instance of software configured to:
determine a sense impression site at which to induce a sensation, the sense impression site distal to a stimulation site above a sensory nerve of the user, the sensory nerve innervating the sense impression site;
determine a sense impression modality corresponding to a sensation type to induce for the user at the sense impression site;
query a first data store with the sense impression site and sense impression modality to retrieve a stimulation profile comprising a magnitude and a polarity of current such that inducing the current in the sensory nerve causes an afferent signal that evokes a sensory impression localized at the sense impression site, the sensory impression corresponding to the sense impression modality;
query a second data store with the stimulation profile to retrieve a calibration profile comprising information relating locations of the electrodes of the electrode array to the user as the wearable electronic device is worn by the user;
query a third data store to obtain a user-specific profile comprising a threshold defining a limit to the magnitude of current of the stimulation profile;
create a stimulation plan with the stimulation profile, the user-specific profile, and the calibration profile, the stimulation plan comprising parameters defining at least one signal to apply across a selected pair of electrodes of the electrode array to induce, at the sensory nerve, the current having the magnitude and polarity as defined by the stimulation profile so as to induce the afferent signal; and
execute the stimulation plan by generating and applying the at least one signal across the selected pair of electrodes.