Infant monitoring system

• US 20020057202A1
• Filed: 10/25/2001
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 2Spot.Com Ltd.
• Original Assignee: 2Spot.Com Ltd.
• Inventors: Luzon, Ronen
• Application Number:
  US09/983,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20020057202A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/06 Children, e.g. for attention deficit diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1135 by monitoring thoracic expansion

Abstract

An infant monitoring system providing a communication link between an infant wearing a diaper sleeping in a crib and its mother at a remote station, the system alerting the mother in the event the baby in the crib has ceased to breathe or has a fever, or is awake and crying. The system includes a module attached to the diaper at a position engaging the belly of the baby and including three sensors. The first sensor responds to rhythmic belly movement accompanying breathing to produce a corresponding pulsatory signal that is interrupted only when the baby ceases to breathe. The second sensor is responsive to the temperature of the belly to yield a varying signal whose magnitude is high should the baby have a fever. The third sensor is responsive to sound to yield an audio signal, should the baby be awake and crying. These sensor signals are applied through a multiplexer to a microwave transmitter to modulate a microwave carrier. The remote station includes a receiver to intercept and demodulate the carrier radiated from the module transmitter and a multiplexer coupled to the receiver to recover the sensor signals and to apply these signals to distinctive alarms which serve to alert the mother should her infant cease to breathe or have a fever, or be crying whereby the mother can then take an appropriate action.

Claims

1. A system adapted to link an infant who is wearing a diaper and is sleeping at a local site with a monitoring station located at an external site attended by a caretaker for the infant, said system functioning to alert the caretaker in the event the infant has ceased to breathe or has a fever or is crying;

said system comprising;

A. a module mountable on the infant to engage a surface thereon which as the infant breathes moves rhythmically in and out, the surface being at a temperature that depends on the internal body temperature of the infant said module including;

(a) a first sensor responsive to movement of said surface to yield a corresponding pulsatory signal;

(b) a second sensor responsive to changes in said surface temperature to produce a signal which varies accordingly;

(c) a third sensor responsive to said crying sounds to produce a corresponding audio signal, and

(d) a microwave transmitter whose carrier is modulated by the first, second and third sensor signals whereby radiated from the module is the modulated microwave carrier; and

B. a monitoring station at said external site, said station including;

(a) means including a receiver which intercepts and demodulates the radiated carrier and acts to recover the pulsatory signal, the varying signal and the audio signal; and

(b) means responsive to the recovered signals to activate respective alarms and thereby alert the caretaker in the event of an interruption in the pulsatory signal indicating that the infant has ceased to breathe, or in the event the infant has a fever or cries.

2. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the module is mounted in a diaper worn by the infant.

3. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which said diaper has a waist section that engages the belly, and the module is integrated with the waist section.

4. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the diaper has a waist section and the module is coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive so that the module can be adhered to this section.

5. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the module is attached to a band looped about the infant'"'"'s chest.

6. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the first sensor is a piezoelectric element.

7. A system as set forth in claim 1 in which the second sensor is a thermistor.

8. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the third sensor is a microphone.

9. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the means at the station which activates the alarm for the signal from the first sensor includes a microprocessor adapted to time the duration of the interruption of the signal and to activate the alarm when the duration of the interruption exceeds a predetermined brief interval.

10. A system as set forth in claim 8, in which the interval is about 2.5 seconds.

11. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the alarm for the cessation of breathing includes an audio oscillator modulated to produce a siren-like sound.

12. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the means at the station which activates the alarm for body temperature is adapted to activate this alarm only when the body temperature approaches a fever level.

13. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the means at the station which, activates the alarm for crying sounds activates this alarm only when the crying of the infant is at a bawling level.

14. A system as set forth in claim 1, in which the sensor signals are applied through a multiplexer to said transmitter to prevent intermixing of the sensor signals modulating the carrier.

15. A system as set forth in claim 14, in which the demodulated carrier signals at the station are fed through a multiplexer to recover the sensor signals.

17. A system as set forth in claim 16 in which said transmitter is a microwave transmitter whose carrier is modulated by said signals, and said monitoring station includes a microwave receiver to demodulate said carrier to recover said signals, and means associated with the receiver to alert the attendant when the signals indicate that the infant has ceased to breathe, or has a fever, or is crying.

16. A system adapted to link an infant wearing a diaper to a monitoring station attended by a caretaker for the infant so as to alert the caretaker should the infant cease to breath, or has a fever, or is crying;

said system comprising;

A. a module mountable on the diaper so as to engage a surface of the infant which moves in and out as the infant breathes and which rises in temperature when the infant has a fever, said module being exposed to sounds when the infant is crying;

B. a first sensor included in the module responsive to movement of the surface to provide a first signal indicative of breathing or an interruption thereof;

C. a second sensor included in the module responsive to the temperature of the surface to provide a second signal indicative of a fever;

D. a third sensor included in the module responsive to said sounds to provide a third signal indicative of crying, and

E. a transmitter included in the module to convey the first, second and third signals to said monitoring station.

18. A module attachable to a diaper worn by an infant to engage a surface of the infant which moves in and out as the infant breathes, which rises in temperature when the infant has a fever and is exposed to sounds when the infant is crying, said module comprising:

A. a first sensor responsive to movement of the surface to provide a first signal indicative of breathing or an interruption thereof;

B. a second sensor responsive to the temperature of the surface to provide a second signal indicative of a fever;

C. a third sensor responsive to said sounds to provide a third signal indicative of crying; and

D. a transmitter to transmit the first, second and third signals to a monitoring station.