Medical notification apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A medical notification apparatus comprising:
- an acoustic sensor configured to generate a sensor signal in response to an acoustic alarm indicative of a medical device parameter;
a signal processing unit in communication with the acoustic sensor and configured to generate an identification signal when the sensor signal from the acoustic sensor satisfies an identification criterion; and
an interface unit in communication with the signal processing unit and configured to send a message signal to a healthcare facility call system in response to the identification signal from the signal processing unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A medical notification apparatus and method for use with a preexisting healthcare facility nurse call system are disclosed. The apparatus sends a message signal to the healthcare facility call system when the apparatus receives and identifies an acoustic signal indicative of a medical device alarm or other parameter. The apparatus comprises an acoustic sensor, a signal processing unit, and an interface unit. A band pass filter, timing gate, and a processor are configured in one embodiment to process the received acoustic signal to identify an acoustic alarm. A memory device may be used to store a set of identification criteria for identifying a variety of acoustic alarms, and to store a set of message signals. The sent message signal is selected from among the stored set of message signals.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A medical notification apparatus comprising:
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an acoustic sensor configured to generate a sensor signal in response to an acoustic alarm indicative of a medical device parameter; a signal processing unit in communication with the acoustic sensor and configured to generate an identification signal when the sensor signal from the acoustic sensor satisfies an identification criterion; and an interface unit in communication with the signal processing unit and configured to send a message signal to a healthcare facility call system in response to the identification signal from the signal processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A medical notification apparatus for use with a healthcare facility call system, the medical notification apparatus comprising:
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an acoustic sensor configured to generate a sensor signal representative of an acoustic alarm received by the acoustic sensor, the acoustic alarm associated with a medical device parameter; a signal processing unit connected to the acoustic sensor and configured to store an identification criterion and to determine whether the sensor signal from the acoustic sensor satisfies the stored identification criterion; and an interface unit connected to the signal processing unit and configured to send a message signal to the healthcare facility call system when the sensor signal from the signal processing unit satisfies the stored identification criterion. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method of providing medical notification, the method comprising:
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sensing an acoustic alarm indicative of a medical device parameter; and sending a message signal from a medical notification apparatus to a healthcare facility call system in response to the medical notification apparatus identifying the acoustic alarm. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification