METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING PATIENTS FOR CLINICAL EPISODES
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for monitoring vital signs for the prediction and treatment of physiological ailments are provided. The methods and systems may be applied to the monitoring of a broad range of physiological ailments or “episodes,” including, but not limited to, asthma, hypoglycemia, coughing, edema, sleep apnea, labor, and REM sleep stages, among others. The methods employ sensors, for example, non-contact sensors, adapted to detect vital signs, such as heart rate or respiration rate, to produce signals that can be analyzed for trends, for deviations, or for comparison to prior conditions or criteria. The sensors may be positioned whereby the subject need not be viewed by the health care provider. Some methods and systems employ the use of “scores” based upon the combination of sensed vital signs or based upon a comparison of the vital signs to criteria.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1-22. -22. (canceled)
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23. A method for detecting edema in a subject, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of mechanical sensors, each sensor adapted to sense a mechanical signal of a part of the body of the subject without contacting the subject;
sensing a plurality of mechanical signals from the plurality of sensors; and
analyzing the plurality of mechanical signals to determine the presence of edema. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for detecting edema in a subject, the system comprising:
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a plurality of mechanical sensors, each sensor adapted to sense a mechanical signal of a part of the body of the subject without contacting the subject and produce a plurality of mechanical signals from the plurality of sensors; and
a signal analyzer adapted to analyze the plurality of mechanical signals to determine the presence of edema. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33-116. -116. (canceled)
Specification