SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO MONITOR REPOSITIONING OF A PATIENT
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring an orientation of a patient to reduce a risk of the patient developing a pressure ulcer, the system comprising:
- a sensor including an accelerometer, a processor, and a first wireless transceiver, said sensor configured to output a signal responsive to acceleration, said acceleration indicative of a possible change in an orientation of said patient when said sensor is worn by said patient; and
a patient monitor comprising a signal processor, a memory device, a storage device, and a second wireless transceiver, said second wireless transceiver is configured to receive said signal, and said signal processor is configured to process said signal to determine whether said possible change corresponds to an actual change in said orientation, when said actual change has occurred, configured to record a patient turn event, to compare said patient turn event with a patient turn protocol, and when said possible change is not said actual change and no patient turn event occurs according to the patient turn protocol, said patient monitor is configured to notify a caregiver of a patient turn protocol violation,wherein said signal processor configured to determine whether said possible change corresponds to said actual change includes being configured to determine a difference between said orientation at a previous time and at a current time based at least on said signal, and when said difference is above a threshold, recording said patient turn event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A patient monitoring system to help manage a patient that is at risk of forming one or more pressure ulcers is disclosed. The system includes a patient-worn wireless sensor that senses the patient'"'"'s orientation and wirelessly transmits information indicative of the sensed orientation to a patient monitor. The patient monitor receives, stores, and processes the transmitted information. It also displays and transmits information indicative of the patient'"'"'s orientation to help caregivers manage the patient'"'"'s risk of formation of one or more pressure ulcers. The patient monitor detects patient turns from one position to another. The system can identify the present orientation of the patient and determine how long the patient has been in the present orientation. If the patient remains in an orientation beyond a predefined duration, the system can notify the patient and/or caretakers that the patient is due to be repositioned.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring an orientation of a patient to reduce a risk of the patient developing a pressure ulcer, the system comprising:
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a sensor including an accelerometer, a processor, and a first wireless transceiver, said sensor configured to output a signal responsive to acceleration, said acceleration indicative of a possible change in an orientation of said patient when said sensor is worn by said patient; and a patient monitor comprising a signal processor, a memory device, a storage device, and a second wireless transceiver, said second wireless transceiver is configured to receive said signal, and said signal processor is configured to process said signal to determine whether said possible change corresponds to an actual change in said orientation, when said actual change has occurred, configured to record a patient turn event, to compare said patient turn event with a patient turn protocol, and when said possible change is not said actual change and no patient turn event occurs according to the patient turn protocol, said patient monitor is configured to notify a caregiver of a patient turn protocol violation, wherein said signal processor configured to determine whether said possible change corresponds to said actual change includes being configured to determine a difference between said orientation at a previous time and at a current time based at least on said signal, and when said difference is above a threshold, recording said patient turn event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method to determine a patient'"'"'s change in orientation by monitoring patient movement with a patient-worn sensor, communicating a signal indicative of said monitoring to a processing device, receiving said signal at said processing device, and processing using a signal processor said signal to determine whether said change in orientation has occurred, said patient-worn sensor including an accelerometer, a processor, and a first wireless transceiver, said processing device including said signal processor, a memory device, a storage device, and a second wireless transceiver, said method comprising:
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receiving, from said patient-worn sensor, information indicative of a patient'"'"'s orientation at a first time period; receiving, from said patient-worn sensor, information indicative of the patient'"'"'s orientation at a second time period, wherein said first time period is prior to, and in close temporal proximity to said second time period; and with said signal processor, processing said information including; combining said received information to form a time window of patient orientation information, wherein said time window spans said first and second time periods; dividing said time window into segments, wherein each segment has a segment value indicative of said patient'"'"'s orientation; determining a difference between said segment values; when said determined difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, determining a patient turn event has occurred; classifying said patient turn event; reporting said classified patient turn event to a caregiver; and resetting a timer associated with a patient turn protocol. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method to determine a patient'"'"'s change in orientation by monitoring patient movement with a patient-worn sensor, communicating a signal indicative of said monitoring to a processing device, receiving said signal at said processing device, and processing using a signal processor said signal to determine whether said change in orientation has occurred, said patient-worn sensor including an accelerometer, a processor, and a first wireless transceiver, said processing device including said signal processor, a memory device, a storage device, and a second wireless transceiver, said method comprising:
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receiving, from said patient-worn sensor, information indicative of a patient'"'"'s orientation at a current time period, said information including acceleration data having a roll axis value and a pitch axis value; with said signal processor, electronically processing said information including; extracting, from said storage device, information indicative of the patient'"'"'s orientation at a previous time period, said previous time period is prior to, and in close temporal proximity to said current time period; combining said current and previous orientation information to form a time window of patient orientation information, said time window spanning said previous and current time periods; segmenting said time window into at least two segments; determining, for each segment, a segment value, each segment value comprising a roll component and a pitch component; comparing, pairwise, said determined segment values; determining, for each pairwise comparison whether a patient turn event has occurred; in response to a determined patient turn event occurrence classifying said determined turn event; identifying a most frequently classified turn event; reporting, as said patient'"'"'s new orientation, said most frequently classified turn event; and resetting an orientation duration timer. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification