METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A CAREGIVER TAKES APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO PREVENT PATIENT BEDSORES

• US 20160183864A1
• Filed: 12/24/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: KUSENS, NEIL, KUSENS, MICHAEL
• Granted Patent: US 10,524,722 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 5/447 specially adapted for aiding the prevention of ulcer or pressure sore development, i.e. before the ulcer or sore has developed
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

Systems and methods allow caregivers, central monitoring, and/or other persons to monitor whether a patient has moved or changed positions sufficient to prevent the patient from developing bedsores or at least reduce the chance of bedsores from developing. The systems and methods work by detecting when a caregiver has entered within a predefined patient or bed zone. The systems and methods detect whether the caregiver remained within the zone for a predetermined time period. If the caregiver fails to remain within the zone for the predetermined time period, an alert is generated as this could indicate that the caregiver was not present long enough with the patient for the patient to sufficiently move or change positions.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring compliance with a bedsore-prevention regimen, the method comprising:

electronically receiving 3D motion sensor data from one or more sensors positioned in a room with a patient;

using the 3D motion sensor data to identify the position of the patient in the room;

defining a virtual patient zone around the patient;

detecting when a second person enters the virtual patient zone;

timing the duration from the entry of the second person into the virtual patient zone to an exit of the second person from the virtual patient zone; and

comparing the duration from the entry to the exit to a predetermined period of time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an alert if the duration from the entry to the exit is less than the predetermined period of time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second person is a known caregiver.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D motion sensor data comprises 3D motion data, and the patient position is identified using skeleton analysis, blob tracking or facial tracking.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether there was a change in the position of the patient consistent with turning the patient.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing an alert if there was no change in the position of the patient consistent with turning the patient.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time period is selected from a minimum expected time required to turn the patient and an average time required to turn the patient.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising timing a second duration from the exit of the second person from the virtual patient zone to a re-entry of the second person into the virtual patient zone or an entry of a third person into the virtual patient zone.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an alert if the second duration from the exit of the second person from the virtual patient zone to the re-entry of the second person into the virtual patient zone or the entry of a third person into the virtual patient zone exceeds a second predetermined period.

10. A method for monitoring compliance with a bedsore-prevention regimen, the method comprising:

obtaining 3D motion data from one or more sensors in a room with a patient;

generating a visual display of the 3D motion data;

identifying the patient in the visual display;

configuring a virtual patient zone around the patient;

detecting a second person in the room;

determining when the second person has entered the virtual patient zone;

timing a duration during which the second person remains in the virtual patient zone; and

providing an alert if the duration is less than a predetermined period of time.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising continuously displaying a live visual display of the 3D motion data on a display physically remote from the room.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising continuously displaying a live visual display of the 3D motion data on a display physically remote from the room after determining that the duration is less than the predetermined period of time.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the alert is delivered in the room.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the alert is delivered to a monitoring apparatus physically remote from the room.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising logging a database entry for each alert.

16. A system for monitoring compliance with a bedsore-prevention regimen, the system comprising:

one or more 3D motion sensors communicatively coupled to a network;

a visual display apparatus communicatively coupled to the network and configured to display a visual representation of 3D motion data from the one or more 3D motion sensors;

a configuration module configured to facilitate the definition of a virtual patient zone around a first person or object;

a monitoring module configured to identify an entry into the virtual patient zone by a second person;

a timer configured to determine a duration for which the second person remains in the virtual patient zone after entry; and

an alert module configured to provide an alert if the duration is less than a predetermined period of time.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a remote visual display configured to provide a live visual display of the 3D motion data.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising an identification apparatus configured to collect identification information for the first person and/or the second person.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the timer is further configured to determine a second duration from an exit of the second person from the virtual patient zone to a re-entry of the second person into the virtual patient zone of the entry of a third person into the virtual patient zone.

20. The system of claim 16, further comprising a database for logging the alert.