METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A PATIENT IDENTIFICATION BEACON FOR PATIENT WORN SENSORS

• US 20110125535A1
• Filed: 08/11/2009
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Gross, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,876 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A bracelet beacon device (10) includes a flexible material strap (16) which encases or is attached to a writable layer (22) carrying human readable patient identification information, a flexible power supply (26), and a flexible circuit layer (24). The flexible circuit layer includes a memory (40) for storing at least patient identification information and a body coupled communication transmitter (42) for transmitting the patient identification information via the patient using a body coupled communication protocol.

Claims

1. A beacon apparatus comprising:

a strap of flexible material configured to be attached to an extremity of a patient;

a printable layer attached to the strap;

a flexible power supply attached to the strap; and

,

a flexible circuit attached to the strap and the power supply, the flexible circuit including a wireless transmitting unit which wirelessly transmits at least beacon identification information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit layer further includes:

a memory that stores at least the patient identification information; and

,

a processor that at least communicates the beacon identification information from the memory to the transmitting unit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the circuit layer further includes:

a receiver unit that receives at least one of;

(i) requests to transmit the patient identification information, (ii) a caregiver identification from a treating caregiver, and (iii) monitored physiological, administered medication, or clinical lab data.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further including a transceiver that receives at least the beacon identification information from the transmitting unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further including:

a diagnostic or test apparatus connected with the transceiver to receive the beacon identification from the beacon associated with a patient to be diagnosed or tested.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3, further including:

a diagnostic or test apparatus which communicates diagnostic or test results via body coupled communications to the receiver unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4, further including:

a hospital system including an interface for receiving information from the transceiver and storing it in a medical facility database.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the beacon identification information is different from a patient ID and wherein the interface correlates information received from the transceiver with a patient associated with the beacon identified information.

9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting unit is a body coupled communication transmitter.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further including:

a body coupled communication device connected with an appliance or a caregiver which at least one of communicates the beacon identification to the body coupled communication device and communicates information from the body coupled communication device to the flexible circuit layer.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits periodically or on demand to prolong battery life.

12. A hospital system comprising:

a plurality of beacon apparatuses according to claim 1, for attachment to a plurality of patients;

a transceiver for receiving information from and transmitting information to the beacon apparatuses;

a medical facility system connected with the transceiver for storing and retrieving patient information, the medical facility system including an interface which correlates received beacon identification information to a patient associated with the beacon identification information;

a diagnostic or testing apparatus for receiving beacon identification information from the transceiver and providing diagnostic or test information associated with the beacon identification information received from the transceiver to the hospital system; and

,

a display and user input device connected with the transceiver.

13. A method of associating information with a patient, the method comprising:

printing human readable patient information on a printable layer;

attaching together the printable layer, a strap of flexible material, a flexible circuit layer, and a power supply;

attaching the flexible strip with the attached printable layer, flexible circuit layer, and flexible power supply to an extremity of the patient; and

,

wirelessly transmitting at least beacon identification information from the flexible circuit layer.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the beacon identification information in a body coupled communication protocol.

15. The method according to claim 14, further including at least one of:

electronically storing the beacon identification information in an electronic memory of the flexible circuit layer;

storing an identification of a treating caregiver in the flexible circuit layer memory; and

storing monitored physiological data in the flexible circuit layer memory.

16. The method according to claim 15, further including:

downloading the stored beacon identification information, caregiver identification, or monitored physiological data from the electronic memory to a database of a medical system.

17. The method according to claim 14, further including:

performing a diagnostic, monitoring, therapy, or testing operation with a diagnostic, monitoring, therapy, or testing apparatus to generate diagnostic, monitoring, therapy, or test results;

bringing the patient into body coupled contact with a transceiver associated with the diagnostic, monitoring, therapy, or testing apparatus to at least one of transfer the beacon identification information from the flexible circuit layer memory to the diagnostic or testing apparatus or transfer information from the diagnostic or test results apparatus to the flexible circuit layer memory; and

,

electronically associating the beacon identification information with the diagnostic or test results.

18. The method according to claim 14, further including:

bringing a caregiver equipped with a body coupled communication device into body coupled communication with the patient;

at least one of communicating caregiver identification information from the caregiver body coupled communication device to the flexible circuit layer memory and communicating the beacon identification information from the flexible circuit layer memory to the caregiver body coupled communication device; and

communicating caregiver identifications to a database of a medical system to track the caregivers with whom the patient is in contact.

19. The method according to claim 14, further including:

bringing the patient into body coupled communication with an appliance equipped with a body coupled communication device;

at least one of communicating information from the body coupled communication device associated with the appliance to the memory and communicating the patient identification information from the memory to the medical appliance body coupled communication device.

20. The method of according to claim 14, further including:

when a patient leaves a medical facility, removing the strap and disabling the flexible circuit layer from transmitting the beacon identification information.