Systems for safe and remote outpatient ECG monitoring

• US 10,262,111 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2017
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medicalgorithmics S.A.
• Original Assignee: Medicalgorithmics S.A.
• Inventors: Dziubinski, Marek, Piotrowicz, Ryszard, Piotrowicz, Ewa, Baranowski, Rafal
• Primary Examiner(s): Stice, Paula J
• Application Number:
  US15/808,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20180089388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 600509-528
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/349 Detecting specific parameters of the electrocardiograph cycle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/363 Detecting tachycardia or bradycardia
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/364 Detecting abnormal ECG interval, e.g. extrasystoles, ectopic heartbeats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/366 Detecting abnormal QRS complex, e.g. widening
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7203 for noise prevention, reduction or removal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A system and method providing outpatient ECG monitoring and safe home based cardiac tele-rehabilitation. The system includes a recordation module for recording ECG signals using at least one lead, a tele-rehabilitation module for home based exercise management for a patient'"'"'s recovery, the tele-rehabilitation module including a processing module for recognizing erroneous data from the ECG signals and an analysis module for calculating beat-to-beat annotations and determining if an ECG event and/or if a QT interval duration change has occurred. The system can include an exercise module for guiding the patient during an exercise session, a visual display that informs the patient to start and/or to stop the tele-rehabilitation exercise, a visual display and/or audible signal that informs the patient of an incoming or a missed tele-rehabilitation exercise session, and/or a communication module for transmitting/receiving data between the a cardiac tele-rehabilitation module and a physician/monitoring center.

Claims

1. A system for recording and processing ECG signals, the system comprising:

an ECG digitization and wireless transmission device (ECG_DWT) comprising;

a single lead configured to record real-time, beat-by-beat, ECG signals, and

a ECG_DWT transceiver configured to transmit the real-time ECG signals;

a tele-rehabilitation module comprising;

an ECG transceiver configured to receive the real-time ECG signals, and

circuitry configured to i) process the real-time ECG signals and ii) recognize erroneous signals and reduce noise in the real-time, beat-by-beat, ECG signals received from the single lead, and

wherein the ECG transceiver is further configured to transmit the processed real-time ECG signals to a network; and

a remote monitoring module comprising;

a computer periphery device configured to connect to the network and receive the real-time ECG signals and the processed real-time ECG signals, and

a monitor configured to display real-time waveforms of the real-time ECG signals including the processed real-time ECG signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the module is further configured for constant monitoring and analysis of the patient'"'"'s ECG signals.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the ECG transceiver employs a communications protocol designed to allow a specialist to simultaneously monitor a large group of patients.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the tele-rehabilitation module is further configured to receive patient input to send an ECG fragment related to a perceived symptom based event to a doctor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the single lead includes a first electrode and a second electrode.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the ECG DWT device is also configured to operate on a multi-channel signal that includes signals from three or more electrodes.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a control module operable connected to the remote monitoring module and comprising circuitry configured to remotely reconfigure settings of limited lead analysis circuitry operably coupled to the telerehabilitation module.

8. A method for remote recording and processing ECG signals from a patient for transmission to medical personnel, the method comprising:

recording, using an ECG digitization and wireless transmission (DWT) device real-time, beat-by-beat, ECG signals using a single lead;

processing, via a tele-rehabilitation module circuitry communicatively coupled to the ECG DWT device, the real-time ECG signals;

recognizing erroneous signals and reducing noise in the real-time, beat-by-beat, ECG signals received from the single lead, via the tele-rehabilitation module circuitry; and

displaying, via a monitor of a computing device communicatively coupled to the tele-rehabilitation module, real-time waveforms of the real-time ECG signals including the processed real-time ECG signals.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising constantly monitoring and analyzing, via the tele-rehabilitation module circuitry, the ECG signals.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising receiving, via the tele-rehabilitation module, patient input to send an ECG fragment related to a perceived symptom based event to a doctor.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the single lead comprises a first electrode and a second electrode.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising recording, using the ECG DWT device, the ECG signals, on a multi-channel signal that includes signals from a multiple leads, the multiple leads including three or more electrodes.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising remotely re-configuring, via a control module operable connected to the remote monitoring module, settings of limited lead analysis circuitry operably coupled to the tele-rehabilitation module in response to receiving all the gathered information.