Circulation-condition monitoring apparatus

• US 20010051773A1
• Filed: 03/20/2001
• Published: 12/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Healthcare Company Limited (Omron Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Colin Corporation (Fukuda Denshi Company Limited)
• Inventors: Oka, Tohru
• Granted Patent: US 6,491,638 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/483
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0225 the pressure being controlled by electric signals, e.g. derived from Korotkoff sounds
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02255 the pressure being controlled by plethysmographic signals, e.g. derived from optical sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/363 Detecting tachycardia or bradycardia

Abstract

A blood-circulation monitor including a heartbeat-synchronous-wave sensor, a first judging device for judging whether an arrhythmia has occurred to a living subject, based on a heartbeat-synchronous wave detected by the sensor, a first determining device including a cuff and determining a first blood pressure of the subject based on a first pulse wave produced in the cuff, an information obtaining device for iteratively obtaining a piece of blood-pressure-relating information which changes in relation with blood pressure of the subject, a relationship determining device for determining a relationship between blood pressure and blood-pressure-relating information, a second determining device for iteratively determining, according to the relationship, a second blood pressure of the subject based on each of the pieces of blood-pressure-relating information, a calculating device for calculating a change value of the second blood pressure values, and a second judging device for judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the first judging device judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject and when the change value does not fall within a reference range.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring a condition of blood circulation of a living subject, comprising:

a heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device which detects a heartbeat-synchronous wave from the subject;

an arrhythmia judging means for judging whether an arrhythmia has occurred to the subject, based on the heartbeat-synchronous wave detected by the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device;

a first blood-pressure determining means including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be wound around a first body portion of the subject to occlude an artery of the first body portion, the first blood-pressure determining means determining at least one first blood pressure of the subject based on a first pulse wave which is produced in the cuff when a pressure in the cuff is decreased;

a blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means including at least one pulse-wave detecting device which is adapted to be worn on at least one second body portion of the subject to detect at least one second pulse wave from the at least one second body portion without occluding at least one artery of the at least one second body portion, the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means iteratively obtaining, based on the at least one second pulse wave detected by the at least one pulse-wave detecting device, a piece of blood-pressure-relating information which changes in relation with blood pressure of the subject;

a relationship determining means for determining a relationship between blood pressure and blood-pressure-relating information, based on at least one first blood pressure value determined by the first blood-pressure determining means and at least one piece of blood-pressure-relating information obtained by the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means;

a second blood-pressure determining means for iteratively determining, according to the relationship determined by the relationship determining means, a second blood pressure of the subject based on each of the pieces of blood-pressure-relating information iteratively obtained by the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means;

a change-value calculating means for calculating a change value of each of the second blood pressure values iteratively determined by the second blood-pressure determining means; and

an abnormality judging means for judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject and when the change value calculated by the change-value calculating means does not fall within a first reference range.

2. An apparatus according to

claim 1

, further comprising an input device which is operable for inputting a low-blood-pressure-subject signal indicating that the blood pressure of the living subject is low, wherein the abnormality judging means judges, when the low-blood-pressure-subject signal is input through the input device, that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject and when at least one of the change value calculated by the change-value calculating means and said each second blood pressure value determined by the second blood-pressure determining means does not fall within a corresponding one of the first reference range and a second reference range.

3. An apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises an electrocardiograph which includes a plurality of electrodes that are adapted to be worn at a plurality of prescribed locations on the living subject and which detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, an electrocardiogram through the electrodes.

4. An apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises the inflatable cuff and detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, the first pulse wave which is produced in the cuff in a state in which the pressure in the cuff is equal to a pre-set value lower than a diastolic blood pressure value of the living subject.

5. An apparatus for monitoring a condition of blood circulation of a living subject, comprising:

a heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device which detects a heartbeat-synchronous wave from the subject;

an arrhythmia judging means for judging whether an arrhythmia has occurred to the subject, based on the heartbeat-synchronous wave detected by the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device;

a blood-pressure measuring means including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be wound around a body portion of the subject, and iteratively measuring a blood pressure of the subject based on a pulse wave which is produced in the cuff when a pressure in the cuff is changed;

a change-value calculating means for iteratively calculating a change value of each of the blood pressure values iteratively measured by the blood-pressure measuring means; and

an abnormality judging means for operating, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject, the blood-pressure measuring means to measure a blood pressure of the subject, and the change-value calculating means to calculate a change value of the measured blood pressure value, and judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the change value calculated by the change-value calculating means does not fall within a first reference range.

6. An apparatus according to

claim 5

, further comprising an input device which is operable for inputting a low-blood-pressure-subject signal indicating that the blood pressure of the living subject is low, wherein the abnormality judging means operates, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject, the blood-pressure measuring means and the change-value calculating means, and judges that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when at least one of the change value calculated by the change-value calculating means and the blood pressure value measured by the blood-pressure measuring means does not fall within a corresponding one of the first reference range and a second reference range.

7. An apparatus according to

claim 5

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises an electrocardiograph which includes a plurality of electrodes that are adapted to be worn at a plurality of prescribed locations on the living subject and which detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, an electrocardiogram through the electrodes.

8. An apparatus according to

claim 5

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises the inflatable cuff and detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, the pulse wave which is produced in the cuff in a state in which the pressure in the cuff is equal to a pre-set value lower than a diastolic blood pressure value of the living subject.

9. An apparatus for monitoring a condition of blood circulation of a living subject, comprising:

a heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device which detects a heartbeat-synchronous wave from the subject;

an arrhythmia judging means for judging whether an arrhythmia has occurred to the subject based on the heartbeat-synchronous wave detected by the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device;

a blood-pressure measuring means including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be wound around a body portion of the subject, and measuring a first blood pressure of the subject based on a pulse wave which is produced in the cuff when a pressure in the cuff is changed;

a first abnormality judging means for judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the first blood pressure value measured by the blood-pressure measuring means is not greater than a first reference value; and

a second abnormality judging means for operating, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject, the blood-pressure measuring means to measure a second blood pressure of the subject, and judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the second blood pressure value measured by the blood-pressure measuring means is not greater than a second reference value greater than the first reference value.

10. An apparatus according to

claim 9

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises an electrocardiograph which includes a plurality of electrodes that are adapted to be worn at a plurality of prescribed locations on the living subject and which detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, an electrocardiogram through the electrodes.

11. An apparatus according to

claim 9

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises the inflatable cuff and detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, the pulse wave which is produced in the cuff in a state in which the pressure in the cuff is equal to a pre-set value lower than a diastolic blood pressure value of the living subject.

12. An apparatus for monitoring a condition of blood circulation of a living subject, comprising:

a heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device which detects a heartbeat-synchronous wave from the subject;

an arrhythmia judging means for judging whether an arrhythmia has occurred to the subject based on the heartbeat-synchronous wave detected by the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device;

a first blood-pressure determining means including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be wound around a first body portion of the subject to occlude an artery of the first body portion, the first blood-pressure determining means determining at least one first blood pressure of the subject based on a first pulse wave which is produced in the cuff when a pressure in the cuff is decreased;

a blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means including at least one pulse-wave detecting device which is adapted to be worn on at least one second body portion of the subject to detect at least one second pulse wave from the at least one second body portion without occluding at least one artery of the at least one second body portion, the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means iteratively obtaining, based on the at least one second pulse wave detected by the at least one pulse-wave detecting device, a piece of blood-pressure-relating information which changes in relation with blood pressure of the subject;

a relationship determining means for determining a relationship between blood pressure and blood-pressure-relating information, based on at least one first blood pressure value determined by the first blood-pressure determining means and at least one piece of blood-pressure-relating information obtained by the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means;

a second blood-pressure determining means for iteratively determining, according to the relationship determined by the relationship determining means, a second blood pressure of the subject based on each of a plurality of pieces of blood-pressure-relating information iteratively obtained by the blood-pressure-relating-information obtaining means;

a first abnormality judging means for judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when a first blood pressure value determined by the first blood-pressure determining means is not greater than a first reference value; and

a second abnormality judging means for judging that the condition of blood circulation of the subject is abnormal, when the arrhythmia judging means judges that the arrhythmia has occurred to the subject and when a second blood pressure value determined by the second blood-pressure determining means is not greater than a second reference value greater than the first reference value.

13. An apparatus according to

claim 12

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises an electrocardiograph which includes a plurality of electrodes that are adapted to be worn at a plurality of prescribed locations on the living subject and which detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, an electrocardiogram through the electrodes.

14. An apparatus according to

claim 12

, wherein the heartbeat-synchronous-wave detecting device comprises the inflatable cuff and detects, as the heartbeat-synchronous wave, the first pulse wave which is produced in the cuff in a state in which the pressure in the cuff is equal to a pre-set value lower than a diastolic blood pressure value of the living subject.