Patient activity monitoring system
First Claim
1. A system to monitor the movements and activity of a bed confined patient and to provide an indication of unauthorized patient movement, said system including:
- a plurality of radiant energy emitters positioned at the bed of the patient to be monitored,a corresponding plurality of radiant energy sensitive detector circuits positioned at the bed of the patient and in spaced alignment with said emitters, said detector circuits generating output signals having a particular frequency in response to a supply of radiant energy received from said emitters,a plurality of first signal processing means respectively connected to receive and amplify the output signals of each of said detector circuits,at least a first and a second additional signal processing means, said first additional signal processing means connected to receive output signals from some of said plurality of first signal processing means, and said second additional signal procesing means connected to receive output signals from some other of said plurality of first signal processing means,each of said first and second additional signal processing means having a respective timing means to provide corresponding first and second predetermined time delays to account for random or accidental patient movements, said first additional signal processing means adapted to generate a first output warning signal in the event that an unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least one of said emitters and corresponding radiant energy sensitive detector circuits for an interval of time in excess of said first predetermined time delay, and said second additional signal processing means adapted to generate a second output warning signal in the event that an unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least a second of said emitters and corresponding radiant energy sensitive detector circuits for an interval of time in excess of said second predetermined time delay, andalarm means connected to receive the first and second output warning signals generated by said first and second additional signal processing means so as to thereby provide an indication of unauthorized patient movements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In order to monitor the movements of a patient who is confined to a bed and to alert supervisory personnel in the event that the patient attempts an unauthorized departure therefrom, an array of radiant energy emitters and a corresponding array of radiant energy detectors are installed in the headboard and in the footboard of the bed. In one embodiment, emitters supply infrared energy to the detectors so as to cover the bed with a blanket of invisible light. When the transmission of infrared energy is interrupted for a predetermined time by an overactive patient, both local and remote warning signals are generated to immediately alert the supervisory personnel to the possibility of impending patient injury.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system to monitor the movements and activity of a bed confined patient and to provide an indication of unauthorized patient movement, said system including:
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a plurality of radiant energy emitters positioned at the bed of the patient to be monitored, a corresponding plurality of radiant energy sensitive detector circuits positioned at the bed of the patient and in spaced alignment with said emitters, said detector circuits generating output signals having a particular frequency in response to a supply of radiant energy received from said emitters, a plurality of first signal processing means respectively connected to receive and amplify the output signals of each of said detector circuits, at least a first and a second additional signal processing means, said first additional signal processing means connected to receive output signals from some of said plurality of first signal processing means, and said second additional signal procesing means connected to receive output signals from some other of said plurality of first signal processing means, each of said first and second additional signal processing means having a respective timing means to provide corresponding first and second predetermined time delays to account for random or accidental patient movements, said first additional signal processing means adapted to generate a first output warning signal in the event that an unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least one of said emitters and corresponding radiant energy sensitive detector circuits for an interval of time in excess of said first predetermined time delay, and said second additional signal processing means adapted to generate a second output warning signal in the event that an unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least a second of said emitters and corresponding radiant energy sensitive detector circuits for an interval of time in excess of said second predetermined time delay, and alarm means connected to receive the first and second output warning signals generated by said first and second additional signal processing means so as to thereby provide an indication of unauthorized patient movements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A patient activity monitoring system having at least two modes of operation, said monitoring system including:
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a first plurality of radiant energy supplying emitters and a corresponding first plurality of radiant energy sensitive detectors, said first pluralities of emitters and detectors arranged in spaced alignment with one another, said first pluralities of emitters and detectors activated during a first of said two modes of operation in order to detect certain unauthorized movements of a bed confined patient, a second plurality of radiant energy supplying emitters and a corresponding second plurality of radiant energy sensitive detectors, said second pluralities of emitters and detectors arranged in spaced alignment with one another, said second pluralities of emitters and detectors activated during a second of said two modes of operation in order to detect certain other unauthorized movements of a bed confined patient, said first and second pluralities of detectors generating output signals in response to radiant energy supplied thereto by said corresponding first and second pluralities of emitters, a plurality of means, each being connected to receive and amplify the output signal generated by a corresponding one of said first and second pluralities of detectors and to substantially block the transmission of spurious signals, first and second signal processing means respectively responsive to the absence of an output signal generated by one of said first and second pluralities of detectors and received from said amplification and signal blocking means, said first signal processing means activated to generate a first output warning signal after a first predetermined time delay and during the first mode of operation in the event that the certain unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least one emitter and detector of said first pluralities of emitters and detectors, said second signal processing means activated to generate a second output warning signal after a second predetermined time delay and during the second mode of operation in the event that the certain other unauthorized patient movement interrupts the supply of radiant energy between at least one emitter and detector of said second pluralities of emitters and detectors, and alarm means responsive to the first or second output warning signal generated by said first or second signal processing means in each of the first and second modes of operation to provide an indication of unauthorized patient movement. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A patient activity monitoring system to detect unauthorized or excessive movements of a patient who is confined to a bed, said patient activity monitoring system comprising:
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radiant energy emitter means to emit radiant energy across the patient'"'"'s bed, radiant energy detector means aligned with said emitter means at a location across the patient'"'"'s bed so as to receive the radiant energy generated by said emitter means, and alarm means operative to produce an alarm signal when receipt of radiation by said detector means is interrupted by a patient moving into a position between said emitter means and said detector means, said emitter means and said detector means being aligned so that radiant energy therebetween is not blocked in the normal patient position in the bed and is blocked when the patient assumes any unauthorized position in the bed. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of monitoring unauthorized or excessive movements of a patient on a bed, said method including the steps of:
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transmitting energy across the bed to locations such that the energy is not blocked in normal patient positions on said bed and is blocked when the patient assumes an unauthorized position in the bed, detecting the blockage of the energy being transmitted, and activating an alarm upon detecting such blockage.
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Specification