FEVER DETECTION APPARATUS

• US 20140088443A1
• Filed: 05/21/2012
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Van Den Heuvel, Teun, Muehlsteff, Jens
• Granted Patent: US 9,924,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/483
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• 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 5/02416 using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation A61B5/14552 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/026 Measuring blood flow A61B3/1233, A61B3/1241 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a fever detection apparatus for detecting fever of a living being. A heart rate providing unit (3) provides a heart rate value and a peripheral physiological value providing unit (3) provides a peripheral physiological value, wherein a heart rate characteristics determination unit (4) determines heart rate characteristics from the heart rate value and a peripheral characteristics determination unit (5) determines peripheral characteristics from the peripheral physiological value. A fever detection unit (6) detects fever depending on the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics. Since the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics are influenced by fever, the fever detection apparatus can be used to reliably and preferentially unobtrusively detect fever.

Claims

1. A fever detection apparatus for detecting fever of a living being, the fever detection apparatus comprising:

a heart rate providing unit for providing a heart rate value being indicative of the heart rate of the living being measured over time,

a peripheral physiological value providing unit providing a peripheral physiological value being indicative of a peripheral physiological property of the living being measured over time,

a heart rate characteristics determination unit for determining heart rate characteristics from the heart rate value measured over time,

a peripheral characteristics determination unit for determining peripheral characteristics from the peripheral physiological value measured over time, characterized by

a fever detection unit for detecting fever depending on the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics.

2. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the peripheral physiological value providing unit is adapted to provide at least one of a skin temperature value being indicative of a skin temperature of the living being and a peripheral perfusion value being indicative of the blood perfusion in the periphery of the living being as the peripheral physiological value.

3. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to apply predefined fever detection rules to the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics.

4. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein a) the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics are determined such and b) the fever detection rules are predefined such that fever is detected, if the heart rate value increases and the peripheral physiological value decreases in a same time interval.

5. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to determine a heart rate gradient from the heart rate value measured over time as heart rate characteristics and a peripheral gradient from the peripheral physiological value measured over time as peripheral characteristics.

6. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the fever detection rules are predefined such that fever is detected, if the heart rate gradient is positive indicating a heart rate increase and the peripheral gradient is negative indicating an increase of the peripheral physiological property within a same time interval.

7. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the fever detection rules are predefined such that fever is detected, if additionally the absolute peripheral gradient is larger than a peripheral threshold and the absolute heart rate gradient is larger than a heart rate threshold.

8. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the heart rate providing unit is adapted to provide an initial heart rate value and an actual heart rate value, wherein the peripheral physiological value providing unit is adapted to provide an initial physiological value and an actual physiological value, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to determine a heart rate change based on the provided initial and actual heart rates as heart rate characteristics and a peripheral change based on the provided initial and actual physiological values as peripheral characteristics, and wherein the fever detection rules are predefined such that fever is detected, if the heart rate change indicates an increase of the heart rate and the peripheral change indicates a decrease of the peripheral physiological value in a same time interval.

9. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to apply predefined fever probability rules to the peripheral characteristics and the heart rate characteristics for determining a fever property value being indicative of the probability of having fever.

10. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the fever detection unit is further adapted to detect recovery from fever depending on the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics.

11. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to apply predefined fever recovery rules to the peripheral characteristics and the heart rate characteristics for detecting recovery from fever, wherein a) the peripheral characteristics and the heart rate characteristics are determined such and b) the fever detection rules are predefined such that recovery from fever is detected, if the peripheral physiological value increases and the heart rate decreases in a same time interval.

12. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the fever detection apparatus further comprises a property providing unit for providing a further measured property of the living being or a property of the surrounding of the living being, wherein the fever detection unit is adapted to detect fever depending on the peripheral physiological value, the heart rate and the property provided by the property providing unit.

13. The fever detection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the heart rate providing unit is a heart rate measuring unit and the peripheral physiological value providing unit is a peripheral measuring unit, wherein the heart rate measuring unit and peripheral measuring unit are combined in a pulse oximeter for measuring a pulse rate as the heart rate value and a perfusion value as the peripheral physiological value.

14. A fever detection method for detecting fever of a living being, the fever detection method comprising:

providing a heart rate value being indicative of the heart rate of the living being measured over time by a heart rate providing unit,

providing a peripheral physiological value being indicative of a peripheral physiological property of the living being measured over time by a peripheral physiological value providing unit,

determining heart rate characteristics from the heart rate value measured over time by a heart rate characteristics determination unit,

determining peripheral characteristics from the peripheral physiological value measured over time by a peripheral characteristics determination unit, characterized by

detecting fever depending on the heart rate characteristics and the peripheral characteristics by a fever detection unit.

15. A fever detection computer program for detecting fever of a living being, the fever detection computer program being characterized by comprising program code means for causing a fever detection apparatus to carry out the steps of the fever detection method as defined in claim 14, when the fever detection computer program is run on a computer controlling the fever detection apparatus.