Method and system for monitoring the course of therapy of a patient being therapeutically treated

• US 20020169366A1
• Filed: 05/07/2002
• Published: 11/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schneider, Siegfried, Schmidt, Volker, Tiffe, Sven
• Granted Patent: US 7,066,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/00 ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical references
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

In a method and system for monitoring the course of therapy of a patient being therapeutically treated, at least one information value that requires a therapeutic and/or diagnostic measure and that is a direct or indirect measure of the course of the therapy is registered continuously or in time intervals, and at least one comparison value, to be compared to the information value or to a calculated value determined based on the information value, is allocated to the information value. An alarm signal is emitted given an impermissible deviation of the information value or of the calculated value from the comparison value and is detected in the course of the comparison The comparison value is varied dependent on the course of the therapy and is adapted to the course of the therapy, the adaptation of ensuing automatically or by means of an authorized person or entity. The adaptation ensues in predetermined time intervals or at variable time intervals and dependent on the registered information value or on the determined calculated value. Given an adaptation to be carried out by a person or entity, the person or entity is made automatically aware of the requirement of adaptation.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring therapy being administered to a patient, comprising the steps of:

acquiring an information value by obtaining a measurement from a patient representing a course of a therapy being administered to the patient;

designating a designated value selected from the group consisting of said information value and a calculated value calculated from said information value;

allocating a comparison value to said designated value and comparing said designated value to said comparison value in a comparison;

generating an alarm if said comparison indicates a impermissible deviation of said designated value from said comparison value;

adapting said comparison value to said therapy, dependent on said designated value, at intervals during said course of said therapy selected from the group consisting of predetermined time intervals and variable time intervals, by adaptation selected from the group consisting of automatic adaptation and adaptation by an agent; and

if said comparison value is adapted by an agent, automatically generating an indication to said agent of a need for the adaptation to occur.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of adapting said comparison value comprises adapting said comparison value by an authorized person as said agent.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of adapting said comparison value comprises adapting said comparison value by an authorized entity as said agent.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of allocating a comparison value to said designated value comprises allocating an upper comparison value and a lower comparison value to said designated value, and wherein the step of comparing said designated value to said comparison value comprises comparing said designated value to each of said upper comparison value and said lower comparison value.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the step of generating an alarm comprises generating an alarm if said designated value is above said upper comparison value or below said lower comparison value.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said designated value is a current designated value, and further comprising determining said impermissible deviation for said comparison by analyzing a trend of said course of said therapy from a plurality of designated values preceding said current designated value.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of acquiring an information value comprises acquiring a plurality of information values respectively from a plurality of measurements from said patient, and wherein the step of designating a designated value comprises designating a plurality of designated values respectively selected from the group consisting of said plurality of information values and a plurality of calculated values respectively calculated from said plurality of information values, and wherein the step of allocating a comparison value comprises allocating a comparison value to each of said designated values and comparing the designated value to the comparison value allocated thereto in a plurality of respective comparisons.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said information value is a current information value and wherein said designated value is a current designated value, and wherein the step of adapting said comparison value comprises adapting said comparison value dependent on analysis of a trend of said course of said therapy determined from a plurality of designated values preceding said current designated value.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising allocating a tolerance value range to said comparison value.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising automatically generating said indication to said agent if a predetermined therapy outcome, represented by said designated value, does not occur within a predetermined time duration.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 comprising allocating a time duration value to said comparison value, and defining a permissible deviation from said comparison value for said comparison, and automatically generating said indication to said agent if said designated value exhibits no permissible deviation from said comparison value within said time duration value.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising providing said agent with additional information relating to said therapy, selected from the group consisting of therapeutic information and diagnostic information, together with said indication.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 comprising generating said additional information in a knowledge data bank and reading said additional information from said knowledge data bank for providing said additional information to said agent.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising conducting at least the steps of allocating a comparison value to said designated value, comparing said designated value to said comparison value in said comparison, and adapting said comparison value to said therapy in an expert system.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising acquiring said information value with a measurement made by an acquisition device, and automatically communicating said information value from said acquisition device to an evaluation device wherein all subsequent steps are conducted.

16. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising acquiring said information value by a measurement made by said patient, entering said information value into a transmission device, establishing communication between said transmission device and an evaluation device and transmitting said information value from said transmission device to said evaluation device, and conducting all subsequent steps in said evaluation device.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising establishing communication between said evaluation device and a reception device located remotely from evaluation device, and transmitting said alarm from said evaluation device to said reception device.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising establishing communication between said evaluation device and a reception device located remotely from evaluation device, and transmitting said indication from said evaluation device to said reception device.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19 wherein said evaluation device includes an expert system at least for adapting said comparison value to said therapy.

19. A system for monitoring therapy being administered to a patient, comprising:

an acquisition device for acquiring an information value by obtaining a measurement from a patient representing a course of a therapy being administered to the patient;

an evaluation device in communication with said acquisition device for receiving said information value from said acquisition device and designating a designated value selected from the group consisting of said information value and a calculated value calculated from said information value;

said evaluation device allocating a comparison value to said designated value and comparing said designated value to said comparison value in a comparison and generating an alarm if said comparison indicates a impermissible deviation of said designated value from said comparison value;

said evaluation device adapting said comparison value to said therapy, dependent on said designated value, at intervals during said course of said therapy selected from the group consisting of predetermined time intervals and variable time intervals, by adaptation selected from the group consisting of automatic adaptation and adaptation by an agent; and

a reception device located at said agent, said evaluation device, if said comparison value is adapted by an agent, automatically generating an indication to said reception device of a need for the adaptation to occur.