Systems and Methods for Recalibrating a Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Monitor

• US 20100081944A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett Ireland
• Original Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett Ireland
• Inventors: Addison, Paul Stanley, Watson, James Nicholas, Baker, Clark R. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 9,301,697 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/485
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0223 of calibration, e.g. protocols for calibrating sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/022 by applying pressure to close blood vessels, e.g. against the skin; Ophthalmodynamometers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02225 using the oscillometric method
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

Techniques for non-invasive blood pressure monitoring are disclosed. Data corresponding to a patient may be received from a hospital information system. The data may include, for example, drug administration data, medical procedure data, medical equipment data, or a combination thereof. Whether a blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated may be determined, based at least in part on the received data. If it is determined that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated, the recalibration may be performed and at least one blood pressure measurement of the patient may be computed using the recalibrated blood pressure monitoring system.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring blood pressure, the method comprising:

receiving, from a hospital information system, data corresponding to a patient;

determining, based at least in part on the received data, whether a blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated;

recalibrating the blood pressure monitoring system if it is determined that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated; and

computing at least one blood pressure measurement of the patient using the recalibrated blood pressure monitoring system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the data corresponding to the patient comprises receiving data selected from the group consisting of:

drug administration data, medical procedure data, and medical equipment data.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining an identifier corresponding to a drug to be administered to the patient based at least in part on a scan of a tag corresponding to the drug; and

storing the identifier in the hospital information system as part of the data corresponding to the patient.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein computing the at least one blood pressure measurement comprises:

detecting a first photoplethysmograph (PPG) signal;

detecting a second PPG signal;

measuring a time difference between the first and second PPG signals; and

generating the at least one blood pressure measurement based at least in part on the measured time difference.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining whether the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated is further based at least in part on an item selected from the group comprising:

the computed at least one blood pressure measurement and at least one characteristic of the first and second PPG signals.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated comprises scheduling a recalibration in response to determining that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the data received from the hospital information system is indicative of a drug to be administered to the patient; and

scheduling the recalibration is based at least in part on at least one characteristic of the drug to be administered.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein recalibrating the blood pressure monitoring system comprises:

accessing a reference blood pressure measurement; and

computing at least one mathematical constant based on the accessed reference blood pressure measurement, wherein computing the at least one blood pressure measurement is based at least in part on the computed at least one mathematical constant.

9. A blood pressure monitoring system comprising:

a hospital information system operable to store data corresponding to a patient; and

a processor coupled to the hospital information system, operable to;

receive the data from the hospital information system;

determine, based at least in part on the received data, whether the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated;

recalibrate the blood pressure monitoring system if it is determined that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated; and

compute at least one blood pressure measurement of the patient using the recalibrated blood pressure monitoring system.

10. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 9 wherein the hospital information system is further operable to receive data selected from the group consisting of:

drug administration data, medical procedure data, and medical equipment data.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the hospital information system is further operable to:

determine an identifier corresponding to a drug to be administered to the patient based at least in part on a scan of a tag corresponding to the drug; and

store the identifier as part of the data corresponding to the patient.

12. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 9 further comprising:

a first sensor operable to detect a first photoplethysmograph (PPG) signal; and

a second sensor operable to detect a second PPG signal, wherein the processor is further operable to;

measure a time difference between the first and second PPG signals; and

generate the at least one blood pressure measurement based at least in part on the measured time difference.

13. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 12 wherein the hospital information system is further operable to determine whether the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated based at least in part on an item selected from the group comprising:

the computed at least one blood pressure measurement and at least one characteristic of the first and second PPG signals.

14. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 9 wherein the processor is further operable to schedule a recalibration in response to determining that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated.

15. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 14 wherein:

the hospital information system is further operable to store data indicative of a drug to be administered to the patient; and

the processor is further operable to schedule the recalibration based at least in part on at least one characteristic of the drug to be administered.

16. The blood pressure monitoring system of claim 9 wherein the processor is further operable to:

access a reference blood pressure measurement;

compute at least one mathematical constant based on the accessed reference blood pressure measurement; and

compute the at least one blood pressure measurement based at least in part on the at least one mathematical constant.

17. Computer-readable medium for use in determining blood pressure, the computer-readable medium having computer program instructions recorded thereon for:

receiving, from a hospital information system, data corresponding to a patient;

determining, based at least in part on the received data, whether a blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated;

recalibrating the blood pressure monitoring system if it is determined that the blood pressure monitoring system needs to be recalibrated; and

computing at least one blood pressure measurement of the patient using the recalibrated blood pressure monitoring system.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, the computer-readable medium having further computer program instructions recorded thereon for receiving data selected from the group consisting of:

drug administration data, medical procedure data, and medical equipment data.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, the computer-readable medium having further computer program instructions recorded thereon for scheduling a recalibration that is determined to be necessary.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, the computer-readable medium having further computer program instructions recorded thereon for:

receiving from the hospital information system data indicative of a drug to be administered to the patient; and

scheduling the recalibration based at least in part on at least one characteristic of the drug to be administered.