Devices, Systems, and Methods for Preventing, Detecting, and Treating Pressure-Induced Ischemia, Pressure Ulcers, and Other Conditions
First Claim
1. A sensor configured to be wearable by a patient to monitor patient position comprisinga processor having associated storage,at least one device of a group comprising at least one accelerometer, at least one magnetometer, and at least one altimeter,the at least one device providing input to the processor representative of the rotational or elevational orientation of the patient, anda plurality of LEDs arranged in a pattern and caused to selectively illuminate in response to input from the processor to indicate at least the current orientation of the patient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring medical conditions including pressure ulcers, pressure-induced ischemia and related medical conditions comprises at least one sensor adapted to detect one or more patient characteristic including at least position, orientation, temperature, acceleration, moisture, resistance, stress, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood oxygenation, a host for processing the data received from the sensors together with historical patient data to develop an assessment of patient condition and suggested course of treatment, including either suspending or adjusting turn schedule based on various types of patient movement. The sensor can include one or more of bi-axial or tri-axial accelerometers, magnetometers and altimeters as well as resistive, inductive, capacitive, magnetic and other sensing devices, depending on whether the sensor is located on the patient or the support surface, and for what purpose. In some embodiments, the sensor can be self-contained in that it can detect orientation and suggest repositioning independent of a host.
73 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A sensor configured to be wearable by a patient to monitor patient position comprising
a processor having associated storage, at least one device of a group comprising at least one accelerometer, at least one magnetometer, and at least one altimeter, the at least one device providing input to the processor representative of the rotational or elevational orientation of the patient, and a plurality of LEDs arranged in a pattern and caused to selectively illuminate in response to input from the processor to indicate at least the current orientation of the patient.
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5. A method of indicating compliance with a turn protocol comprising
providing a sensor wearable by a patient, the sensor being configured to detect patient position at a given time, providing a turn protocol configured to be processed by a microprocessor, iteratively detecting, by the sensor, patient position and providing to a microprocessor data representative of patient position over a period of time, comparing, in the processor, the data representative of patient position to the turn protocol, and illuminating, in accordance with outputs from the microprocessor, one of more of a plurality of LEDs affixed to the sensor indicative of at least one of a group comprising a primary region of pressurization of the patient'"'"'s skin, a suggested repositioning, and an alert to the caregiver.
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6. A method of indicating a change of position of a patient at risk for pressure ulcers from a first position associated with a pressurized region of the patient'"'"'s skin to a second position associated with a less pressurized region of the patient'"'"'s skin comprising
providing a plurality of LEDs arranged in a pattern indicative of different orientations of the patient, detecting, by a sensor wearable by the patient and having the LEDs affixed thereto, at least one region of the patient'"'"'s skin that has been subjected to pressurization due to the orientation of the patient, indicating, by a illumination of at least a first one of the plurality of LED'"'"'s, the region of the patient'"'"'s skin that has been subjected to pressurization due to the orientation of the patient, and illuminating at least a second one of the plurality of LEDs as the patient'"'"'s orientation is changed due to a turn, and altering the illumination of the at least a first one of the LED'"'"'s as the patient'"'"'s orientation is changed.
Specification