Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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TITLE: SYSTEM FOR THERAPY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
'The invention relates generally to systems for conducting psychological and
psychiatric
therapy sessions through the world wide web.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Psychological and psychiatric counseling has traditionally occurred in a
practitioner's
office. 'The patient generally schedules an appointment with the therapist and
then attends at the
therapist's office at the appointed time. The patient and practitioner then
engage in the session,
which generally involves the patient conveying information to the practitioner
about the patients
condition, including details of the patient's experiences, feelings, history
and other deeply
personal information. The practitioner may then counsel the patient depending
on the nature of
the information revealed to the practitioner by the patient. This counseling
may take several
forms; however, it often consists of conveying to the patient information
which assists the patient
in re-interpreting the experiences or feelings which the patient has
experienced. The information
conveyed by the practitioner may also assist the patient in dealing with
stress or psychological
pressure or may otherwise assist or comfort the patient.
The effectiveness of the therapy is dependent on many factors, including the
amount and
quality of the information conveyed by the patient to the practitioner. It is
important that the
information conveyed to the practitioner be as accurate and complete as
possible, in order for the
practitiotier to accurately assess the patient's condition and assist in
treatment. However, patients
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often have difficulty fully and accurately conveying this information. Much of
the information
conveyed to the practitioner from the patient is highly confidential and often
very difficult for the
patient to communicate due to the emotional significance the patient may
attaches to the
information. In many cases, the information being revealed by the patient is
highly prejudicial to
the patient, and the patient may be reluctant to reveal it. Therefore,
patients often require that the
information being conveyed remain secure and confidential. In many cases,
despite the legal and
other assurances given by the practitioner, the patient may still be reluctant
to reveal the
information because the patient feels or believes the information is too
shameful to be revealed.
In such cases, not only is confidentiality and security required, but the
patient also feels the need
for anonymity. Anonymity is very difficult to achieve in a therapy session
because in order to
schedule a session, the therapist's office must communicate with the patient
and record several
details about who the patient is. This is necessary to schedule the session,
but also to ensure that
the session is paid for. Therefore, patient's who cannot reveal certain
information because the
information is too personal for them to reveal, either do not seek counseling,
or do not fully
disclose all that needs to be disclosed during a session. An improved system
of counseling is
required which permits the patient and practitioner to freely and fully
exchange information with
one another while maintaining the secrecy and anonymity of the patient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a
secure
system wherein patients (clients) may obtain psychological therapy in a safe,
secure and
anonymous manner. The invention is a system for remotely conducting
psychotherapy between a
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client having and a therapist over the internet. The system includes a first
web enabled computer
device operated by the client, said first computer device having a web browser
and being
operatively coupled to the Intemet. The system further includes a second web
enabled computer
device operated by the therapist, said second computer device having a web
browser and being
operatively coupled to the Internet. The system also includes a server
operatively coupled to the
Internet and a web server application resident on the server and a web site
resident on the server.
The web server application is operatively coupled to a private web based chat
application, said
chat application being activated by the client by engaging a first link on the
web site. The private
chat application is adapted and configured to relay live text, audio and video
messages between
the client and therapist via the web browsers of the first and second computer
devices. The web
server application and the private chat applications are adapted and
configured to permit the
client to interact anonymously with the therapist via the chat application.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to
those skilled
in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the
invention is herein
described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof,
which includes a
description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a schematic view of the system of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic view of the index page of the web site component of
the present
inventiort.
Figure 3 is a schematic view of a patient conducting a remote therapy session
with a practitioner
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using the system of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic view of a patient conducting a remote therapy session
with the artificially
intelligent component of the system of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a schematic view of a patient conducting a search through the
forum and wiki
database features of the system of the present invention.
Figure 6 is a schematic view of the process used by a standard A.I. bot which
incorporates the
AIML in answering queries from a person.
Figure 7 is a schematic view of the process used by the A.I. bot of the
present invention in
answering queries from a patient.
Figure 8 is a schematic view of the process used by the A.I. and spider bots
of the present
invention in expanding the A.I. database used by the A.I. bot.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
the different
figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring firstly to figure 1, a system for therapy according to the present
invention is
shown generally as item 10 and consists of server 12 which is operatively
coupled to the intemet
(world wide web) 18 and therefore to remote computing devices 14, 15 and 16.
Remote
computing devices 14, 15 and 16 may be any web enabled computer device such as
a laptop
computer, a desktop computer, a hand held computer, a BlackberryTm device or
even a cell
phone, provided the device is web enabled and has a web browsing application
17. Numerous
such devices are readily available on the marketplace. Any modern web browser
application
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such as Internet Explorerr"'', SafariTM, OperaTM, or Firefox' running on any
suitable operating
system such as WindowsTM, LinuxTM, OSXr"'t, BSDTM, SolarisTM, Unix' or the
like may be used
to access the system.
Server 12 is loaded with a web application 21 which is operatively coupled to
an
artificially intelligent application (or Al Bot) 22, an automated payment
application 24, a
Wikipedia like database 26, a forum application 28, a chat like web
application 30 and a spider
application (or spider bot). AI Bot 22 is operatively coupled to Al database
50. Web application
21 is operatively coupled to a web site, 23, which is stored on server 12. Web
application 21 is
operatively coupled to applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 such that the web
application shuttles
information between computing devices 14, 15 and 16, web site 23 and
applications 22, 24, 26,
28 and 30. Server 12 is operatively coupled to computer 32 and web application
21 is adapted
and configured to shuffle information between computer 32 and computing
devices 14, 15 and 16
using information from web site 23. Server 12 runs a highly stable and highly
secure operating
system, preferably Linux and applications 21, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 are of
course configured to
run securely on Linux. Web application 21 preferably consists of a Linux based
open source web
server application of the type readily available in the market, for example
Apache, CherokeeTM,
HdraTM, phpbb and has modifications and or system guards to stop myslq
injection attacks and/or
false user attacks. The application may also use encrypted software such as
MDF blowfish and
DES/RSA encryption using SHA2 (used to properly secure data as well as
embedded
applications such as the chat service), or the Onion network (defends against
DDOS attacks).
As best seen in figure 2, web site 23 preferably takes the form of a web
portal which, to
any user operating devices 14, 15 and 16, appears to be a large and extensive
web site divided
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into several separate sections with an index (home) page shown generally as
item 34. Page 34
has links 30A, 24A, 26A and 28A corresponding to applications 30, 24, 26 and
28, respectively.
The user activates the appropriate application by clicking onto the
corresponding link.
Referring back to figure 1, chat application 30 is quite similar to a standard
chat
application such as MSN chat, Yahoo Chat, or the like, the principle
difference being that chat
application 30 is web based and does not require the user to download a
separate chat application
to his or her computer. Chatting via chat application 30 occurs using the
remote computing
device's web browser application. When a user on remote computing devices 14,
15 or 16
activates chat application 30, application 30 opens a line of communication
between computer 32
and the remote computing device, much like a traditional chat program does,
thereby enabling
the user to chat with the person operating computer 32. Computer 32 may be
operatively
coupled to server 12 through an appropriate local area network (not shown) or
it may be
connected to server 12 via the Internet. Hence, the therapist or practitioner
operating computer
32 may be located remote from both server 12 and the patient using remote
computing devices
14, 15 or 16.
As seen in figure 3, from the perspective of the user operating remote
computing devices
14, 15 or 16, a web page 36 appears in the user's browser window. Web page 36
is adapted and
configured much like a traditional chat program would, and includes write
dialogue field 38
wherein the user can type a message, a read dialogue field, wherein the user
can read the message
sent from the person operating computer 32, a viewing field 42 wherein the
user operating the
remote computing device can see a live video or still image of the person
operating computer 32,
and buttons 44 wherein the user can adjust the fonts displayed in fields 38
and 40, use emoticons,
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control the volume and the like. The chat application also has the ability to
broadcast live audio
and video between computer 32 and remote computing device 14, much like a
standard chat
program, using web cam/microphone devices 45 and 47. Unlike a standard chat
program;
however, the chat sessions are not logged and cannot be recorded or saved on
server 12 andlor
computer 32, thereby providing the user with increased anonymity and security.
Also, to provide
the user with greater anonymity and privacy, chat application 30 is fiirther
adapted and
configured so that the user may disable the video and audio features on
his/her computer thereby
permitting him to view and listen to the person operating computer 32 while
not broadcasting any
video or audio from remote computing device 14. Finally, chat application 30
includes an
embedded encryption application to ensure that only the operator of computer
32 and the user of
computing device 14 can read, see and hear the contents of the chat
conversation taking place;
hence, the: user can feel fully protected and secure in the knowledge that the
chat conversation is
both secure and anonymous.
Preferably, the system incorporates a trained psychologist or psychiatrist as
the operator
of computer 32, thereby permitting the user of remote computing device 14,
namely the patient,
to engage in a live one-on-one therapy session with a trained professional.
The anonymity,
secrecy and security provided by the present system enables the patient to
feel more comfortable
about relaying emotionally sensitive or "shameful" information to the
therapist, thereby
increasing the potential effectiveness of the session. The live video and
voice features of the chat
session permits the patient to experience the session much like an in-person
session; hence, the
effectiveness of the session is not greatly reduced as a result of the session
being carried out
through a remote chat conversation as opposed to an in-person session.
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Referring now to figure 4, in the event that a trained psychologist or
psychiatrist is not
available to participate in a live chat session with a patient, the system can
still provide the user
with a therapy session using the interactive chat application 30 with Al Bot
22 standing in place
for the therapist. Al Bot 22 is adapted and configured to interact with chat
application 30 such
that the Al Bot can send and receive text and voice messages through the chat
application to the
user operating remote computing device 14. Artificial Intelligence Bot 22 is
made up of a self-
learning, input analysis process where by selected, words, phrases and
meanings are compiled in
a database 70 and then integrated into the Al Bot. The system is made up of a
specialized file
structure using the xmi standard known as AIML Files or Artificial
Intelligence Markup
Language. With Combined knowledge of health care information, defmitions and
resources, the
Bot is able to think and then respond in a therapeutic and human like manner
to, not only provide
answers to questions posed by the patient operating remote computing device
14, but to achieve a
personal connection on an emotional level with the patient. To further this
feature, AI Bot 22 has
an integrated voice recognition and creation application 46 which is adapted
and configured to
receive and interpret voice messages from the patient and to respond in kind
via a verbal
response from the A.I. bot. AI Bot 22 also includes an integrated interactive
animated facial
structure application, which is adapted and configured to display a responsive
face in viewing
field 42 of the patient's computing device, thereby enabling a greater
emotional connection
between the patient and Al Bot 22. The software for A.I. Bot 22 uses Open
Source Software that
was originally created by Dr. Richard Walles using AIML and which is more
particularly
described in the following publications entitled AIML Overview (a copy of
which can be obtained
at http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/pics/wallacea.imltutorial.html),
Artificial Intelligence
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Markup Language (AIML), Version 1. 0.1, A. L. L C. E. AI Foundation Working
Draft, 18 February
2005 (rev 007) (a copy of which can be obtained at
http://docs.aitools.org/aiml/spec/), the
entirety of which are incorporated herein by reference. Further descriptions
of how A.I. bots can
be construced using AIML are discussed on Dr. Wallace's website at
http://wvvw.alicebot.org/documentation/, the entirety of which is incorporated
herein by
reference.
The A.I. Bot 22 is constructed using a special file type known as AIML
(Artificial
Intelligence markup language) which is a derivative of xml. Because of
flexibility of xml, user
commands and or specialized tags could be used to control the response of the
A.I. Bot. Because
of this, manipulation as well as the adding of any customized information
could be done via file
restructuring and specialized tag identification. Using multiple A.I. files
would make up a vast
selection of responses using a database system such as sql (database 50). This
would then make
the responses "human like" as the machine itself would listen to the user and
just like a human, it
would then "think," and come out with the best response it "feels" is
appropriate. The
customization of the A.I. is furthered when one controls the AIML files to
insert special
knowledge of the medical field including definitions and statistics along with
the average
response that was originally programmed plus modified behavioral patterns to
make the bot seem
to have a softer reciprocal expression. Using multiple sources as well as
collective database
solution t:he bot itself can then be automatically extended and maintained.
The A.I. can learn via
words written to the bot and when locating a response for a reactaon to occur,
it automatically
adapts the action and/or question being asked to the database and thus when
searching next time
for the answer, it would then reciprocate with a different response. Reading
the input of a user's
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text and then searching for a response, the bot categorizes the users text in
a separate AIML file
that lists such input. When the another user inputs similar data, then the new
response will
consist of not only the regular programmable expressions but may add
information to its response
from that file. While this occurs, a flash action script then reads the
response that the bot has
given, outputs with a voice mechanism, which is invoked much like a web cam or
a mike on the
user's system and in turn "speaks" on what the output of the bot has
represented. While this
section of the bot occurs, another action flash script automatically adapts
the speech to the
animatiori of the facial interface to make it more "human like." This part of
the system also goes
along with the ability to follow one's mouse curser by pinpointing the
application device
processing ID located on the user's system thus making it seem, like it knows
where the pointing
device is located. These extra options were added via an "off the shelf
service" at
http://www,oddcast.com and is hosted via http://www.pandorabots.com. The
result of this special
service application is an A.I. bot which provides therapy similar to the
professional who trains it
and as effectivity as the professional would have done. The AIML Files that
make up the Bots
thinking pattern and personality are stored as files 50. The Al Bot feature of
the invention
increases the confidential nature of the therapy session with the patient,
enabling the patient an
easy to approach environment withing which to obtain therapy. Furthermore,
since Al Bot 22
may be made available 24 hours a day, the patient is permitted with the option
of obtaining
therapy in times of crisis situations, as well as permitting the patient to
feel that the system is
'always on' and 'always available'. This "always on" and "always available"
feature increases
the confidence the patient can have in the system.
Referring now to figure 6., the operation of AIML based artificially
intelligent programs
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will now be discussed. A system incorporating an AIML based AI application is
illustrated
generally as item 100 and is generally resident on a server 110 which is
operatively coupled to a
user computer 120. The user computer sends a message, 112 to the Al bot, in
this case, the
message reads "I feel sick". The AIML AI bot processes the message and
identifies two portions
of the message, namely "I feel" and "sick". The AIML AI bot then conducts a
search of AIML
database 114 for "I feel" and for "sick" and pulls out the matched response
116 "that's too bad".
While this simple AIML based AI application would have the ability to
realistically simulate a
conversation with an individual, it does not actually perform any
psychological analysis since it
does not repeatedly query the user in order to find out why the user feels
they way he or she does.
The present invention, on the other hand, does perform repeated queries in
order to perform
psychological analysis. As seen in figure 7, the Al bot of the present
invention receives a
message 118 from a patient 122, in this case "I feel sick". The AI bot of the
present invention
parses message 118 into an emotion portion "I feel" and a keyword portion
"sick". The
keyword contained in the initial message from patient 122 is stored in a
temporary keyword list,
and the Al bot of the present invention searches AIML database 50 to find the
response "that's
too bad". However, the AI bot of the present invention has a custom edit of
the response "that's
too bad". The Al bot of the present invention matches the standard response
"that's too bad"
with the ]ceyword "sick" contained in the patient's message to generate the
response 124 which is
a question relating to the keyword "sick". In this case the response reads
"why do you feel sick".
Hence, the AI bot of the present invention edits the response "that's to bad"
and converts it into a
question "why do you feel sick", thereby prompting another message from client
122. The
process repeats itself with the client's next response, which the Al bot of
the present invention
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again parses into an emotion portion and a keyword portion. The keyword
contained in the
keyword portion of the second message is then added to the temporary keyword
list. The
keywords in the temporary list are compared to the list of keywords in
database 50. If the
temporary keyword list contains a "special" keyword, or a particular pattern
of keywords, or a
word phrase which is contained in database 50, then a special response is
generated. The special
response will be either a definition (usually of a keyword or psychological
condition or ailment)
or a pre-configured human like response. The key aspect of the Al bot of the
present invention is
that it gerierates a series of questions to build a temporary list of
keywords, which can be used to
identify a special response, the special response relating to some
psychological condition, ailment
or factor. Since the messages created by the patient generates the specific
keywords contained in
the temporary keyword list, the response generated by the Al bot of the
present invention will
very likely be responsive to the patients condition.
Referring now to figure 8, it is anticipated that patients will often include
keywords which
will not be contained in database 50 and hence will not be recognized by Al
bot 22. To
overcome this problem, the A.I. bot of the present invention is further
advanced with the ability,
via a second bot (or spider bot) to scour the internet for information
relating to keywords which
are not "defined" (i.e. present in database 50). In the example illustrated by
figure 8, the patient
(122) asks the question "what is anxiety", the key word "anxiety" not having a
match in database
50. When Al bot 22 identifies a keyword which is not defined in database 50,
it activates spider
bot 68 by passing the undefined keyword to the spider bot. Spider bot 68 then
opens a TCPIP
connection and searches the internet, via various search engines or the like,
to find web pages
which contain the undefined keyword "anxiety". In the case illustrated, the
spider bot finds a
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WIKI web page which contains the word "anxiety". The spider bot then formats
the contents of
the web page to lift out sentences containing the undefmed keyword "anxiety"
and sentences
adjacent thereto, including any clickable references. The spider bot then
formats the sentences
lifted out of the webpages and formats them into AIML compatible files, which
includes any
clickable references, and adds those files to the database 50, thereby adding
to the effective
vocabulaiy of AI bot 22. When the user then asks a specific question, which
the A.I. bot 22 may
not have had the answer to before (i.e. was not previously contained in
database 50), the A.I. bot
can reply with relevant answers which may even contain a clickable reference.
Referring now to figure 5, the patient using remote computing device 14 has
the option of
activating form application 28. Form application 28 is part of web site 23 and
consists of a series
of entries and postings on a variety of topics left by therapists and other
patients. When the
patient operating remote computing device 14 activates the forum, a web page
52 opens on the
patients computer screen. Web page 52 has viewing window 54 wherein various
topics 58 are
displayed. By clicking any of the topics, the patient will be brought to
another web page (not
shown) wherein any posts relating to that topic are displayed. The patient may
simply scroll
down the list of posts in order to read the desired posts. The web page will
be provided with
activation links (or buttons) 56 which can be activated by the patient and
which are adapted and
configured to navigate the patient to another portion of the web site wherein
the patient can leave
a post. Several suitable forum applications can be used in the construction of
forum application
28. For example, the forum applications used to drive the forums in such
popular web sites such
as MySpace.com or the like may be used. Various open source forum applications
are available
for the Liiiux environment from such sources as www.vabbforum.com or
www.phpbb.com. The
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forum of the present system is restricted to topics dealing with mental
health, stress, psychology
and therapy and would be monitored and administered with the oversight of a
trained
psychologist, psychiatrist of therapist. The forum feature of the present
system facilitates the
advice of professionals, along with like-minded individuals that may be
seeking a similar
solution, who can post and receive messages. Again, this provides the system
with a more
welcoming "feel" which encourages the patient to seek out information which
may assist in
his/her treatment. This feature, and the welcoming "feel" it facilitates also
assists the patient in
disclosing more information when a session occurs through the system.
The system also includes a WikipediaTM like searchable Wiki application 26 (an
encyclopedia database application) which contains information relating to
mental health, stress,
psychology and therapy. The Wiki or encyclopedia database application has two
search
functions that can be found in the main portal or web page 34 (see figure 2),
and it is also
integrated into the community forum, so that the patient can search for what
he/she wants,
instead of wading through endless irrelevant documentation or posts. Because
of this, the Wiki
application is a great addition to the whole system to organize specific
titles and articles, which
deal with topics that the patient can easily obtain.
The system of the present invention further includes payment application 24
which
permits patients to pay for therapy sessions and for practitioners and
therapists to get paid for
conducting these sessions. Preferably, the present payment application uses a
popular payment
solution such as PayPa1' or the like, thereby providing a pay for use service
to parts of the
community forum, so that professionals are paid for their time dispensing
advice.
A specific embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed; however,
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several variations of the disclosed embodiment could be envisioned as within
the scope of this
invention.. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited
to the embodiments
described. above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of
the following
claims.
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