Patient Monitoring System

• US 20080221466A1
• Filed: 04/12/2006
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Waffenschmidt, Eberhard, Te Vrugt, Juergen, Brauers, Andreas, Lauter, Josef
• Application Number:
  US11/911,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20080221466A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/508
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/043 in a linear array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1102 Ballistocardiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture

Abstract

The present invention relates to a patient monitoring system, a patient monitoring method and a computer program. In order to improve the monitoring of patients, particularly for cardiac monitoring and weight monitoring, a patient monitoring system (1) is provided, the system comprising a number of force sensors (2) assigned to a patient'"'"'s bed (3), the force sensors (2) being adapted for generating first signals corresponding to a first force component, the force sensors being further adapted for generating second signals corresponding to a second force component, the second force component not running parallel to the first force component, and the system further comprising an analyzing module (4) adapted for deriving from said signals data corresponding to the patient'"'"'s condition.

Claims

1. A patient monitoring system, the system comprising a number of force sensors associated with a patient'"'"'s bed, said force sensors being adapted for generating first signals corresponding to a first force component and second signals corresponding to a second force component, the second force component not running parallel to the first force component, which system further comprises an analyzing module adapted for deriving from said first and second signals the patient'"'"'s weight and the patient'"'"'s movements.

2. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force sensors are adapted for generating first signals corresponding to a vertical force component and second signals corresponding to a horizontal force component.

5. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the analyzing module is adapted for deriving from said first and second signals at least one of the patient'"'"'s heart rate, breathing rate, breathing abnormalities, special movement patterns.

6. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force sensors are associated with a number of bedposts.

7. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force sensors are arranged such that the planes of application of the forces are not parallel to each other.

8. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of force sensors are adapted for measuring at least one of torque and shearing forces.

9. The patient monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two force sensors are arranged to form a combined sensor module to be positioned in a single bedpost.

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

10. A patient monitoring method, the method comprising the steps of:

assigning a number of force sensors to a patient'"'"'s bed, the force sensors being adapted for generating first signals corresponding to a first force component and second signals corresponding to a second force component, the second force component not running parallel to the first force component, and

deriving from said first and second signals the patient'"'"'s weight and the patient'"'"'s movements.

11. A computer program for monitoring a patient, comprising computer instructions for deriving the patient'"'"'s weight and the patient'"'"'s movements from a number of signals when said computer program is executed on a computer, said signals corresponding to a first force component and a second force component, the second force component not running parallel to the first force component, said first and second force components being generated by a number of force sensors associated with the patient'"'"'s bed.