Intelligent medical vigilance system
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
- placing adjacent the person a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the person;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning an upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning an upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the upper soft range is selected to be a predetermined downward departure from the upper hard range;
assigning a lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the lower soft range is selected to be a predetermined upward departure from the lower hard range;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated; and
activating an alarm when at least one signal is in a hard range, and activating an alarm when at least two signals are in a soft range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An intelligent medical vigilance system that observes and analyzes, and, only in the event of a clinically significant negative condition, notifies and reports the event to the care staff utilizing the hospital'"'"'s existing nurse call system. The device includes a bedside unit connected to a pad or coverlet with a sensor array (placed under the patient) and also to an existing hospital nurse call system via an interface. Within the physical bedside unit are a signal processor and an alarm processor that measure data and evaluate whether a clinically significant event is occurring. The bedside unit is a wall-mounted unit with a display that becomes active when an alarm condition is enabled. The sensing pad or coverlet is a thin, piezoelectric film, or other similar sensing technology, with an array of sensors sheathed in soft padding and is not directly in contact with the skin of the patient. The nurse call feature is made up of hardware, software and cabling to connect to the nurse call system already installed in the hospital or care facility. The monitoring system can also be installed in vehicles to monitor operator physiological conditions.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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placing adjacent the person a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the person;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning an upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning an upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the upper soft range is selected to be a predetermined downward departure from the upper hard range;
assigning a lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the lower soft range is selected to be a predetermined upward departure from the lower hard range;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated; and
activating an alarm when at least one signal is in a hard range, and activating an alarm when at least two signals are in a soft range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for monitoring the physiology of a patient and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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placing adjacent the patient a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the patient;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the patient with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning an upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning an upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated;
activating an alarm when at least one signal is in a hard range;
activating an alarm when at least two signals are in a soft range; and
communicating an activated alarm to a health care provider through a pre-existing nurse call system within a health care facility. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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placing adjacent the person a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the person;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning an upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning an upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated;
selecting signals in the upper ranges which are increasing in value and signals in the lower ranges which are decreasing in value;
activating an alarm when at least one said selected signals is in a hard range; and
activating an alarm when at least two of said selected signals are in a soft range. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A method for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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placing adjacent the person a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the person;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning an upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning a lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
assigning an upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the upper soft range is selected to be a predetermined downward departure from the upper hard range;
assigning a lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter, wherein the lower soft range is selected to be a predetermined upward departure from the lower hard range;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated; and
applying a fuzzy logic function to each signal within a range;
activating an alarm when the sum of the fuzzy logic functions exceed a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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placing adjacent the person a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of the person;
detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person with said sensors;
converting the detected parameters into signals;
assigning a pair of upper range signal values for each physiological parameter, one of the pair being below the other, such that one range is an outer range and the other range is an inner range;
assigning a pair of lower range signal values for each physiological parameter, one of the pair being above the other, such that one range is an outer range and the other range is an inner range;
analyzing at least two of the signals over a period of time to determine in which range each signal is situated;
activating an alarm when at least one signal is in an outer range, and activating an alarm when at least two signals are in an inner range. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 40)
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29. Apparatus for monitoring the physiology of a person and providing an alarm to warn of an undesirable condition, comprising:
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a plurality of sensors for detecting one or more physiological parameters of the person;
a processor configured to convert each detected parameter into an information signal; and
an alarm system in communication with the processor, the alarm system being configured to provide one or more alarms;
wherein the processor is configured to perform steps including;
receiving a designated upper hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter receiving a designated lower hard range of signal values for each physiological parameter;
receiving a designated upper soft range of signal values below the upper hard range for each physiological parameter;
receiving a designated lower soft range of signal values above the lower hard range for each physiological parameter;
analyzing at least two signals over a period of time to determine in which range of values each signal is situated;
activating the alarm when at least one signal is in a hard range; and
activating the alarm when at least two signals are in a soft range. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42)
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Specification