Information processing system for counting coughs or evaluating other activities of a patient
First Claim
1. A system for counting coughs emitted by a patient recumbent upon a mattress, comprising:
- a. an air mattress positionable beneath the mattress for sensing pressure changes caused by the emitted coughs;
b. a pressure transducer connectable to the air mattress for converting the pressure changes to a first series of electrical signals;
a microphone remote from the patient for sensing sounds caused by the emitted coughs and converting the sounds to a second series of electrical signals; and
d. a recorder having first and second inputs for receiving the first and second series of electrical signals, respectively.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system using audio and visual information to count coughs or evaluate other discrete information, including respiration and heart rate, relating to a patient in a fixed location such as a bed is disclosed. The system provides movement- and sound-based information derived from the patient'"'"'s activities to a storage device and subsequently to a signal processing apparatus. One embodiment of the invention includes a pressure transducer, a video camera, a directional microphone, and a videocassette recorder (VCR) having two audio channels. Signals obtained from the transducer and microphone are transmitted to the two audio channel inputs of the VCR, while movement of the patient is recorded using the video camera connected to the video channel input of the VCR. Part or all of the information stored using the VCR may be transmitted to signal processing equipment and frequency filtered to determine the presence and number of coughs, and any remaining information (e.g. the video data) may be used to confirm the count. Because various conditions manifest themselves in movements having different frequency characteristics, the present system, as appropriately modified, also can be used to determine the presence of symptoms such as restlessness and thereby evaluate the effectiveness of medicines such as sedatives and hypnotics.
69 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A system for counting coughs emitted by a patient recumbent upon a mattress, comprising:
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a. an air mattress positionable beneath the mattress for sensing pressure changes caused by the emitted coughs; b. a pressure transducer connectable to the air mattress for converting the pressure changes to a first series of electrical signals; a microphone remote from the patient for sensing sounds caused by the emitted coughs and converting the sounds to a second series of electrical signals; and d. a recorder having first and second inputs for receiving the first and second series of electrical signals, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for acquiring desired information regarding a monitored condition of a patient comprising:
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(a) a pressure responsive sensing system activated by the presence of said patient at a monitoring location for producing signals indicative of said presence; (b) a sound sensing system for sensing the sounds emitted by the patient to produce signals indicative of the monitored condition; and (c) an information acquisition system for receiving and storing the signals form said pressure responsive sensing system and said sound sensing system to permit determination of desired information regarding the monitored condition of said patient when the patient is present at said patient monitoring location. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for acquiring desired information regarding a monitored condition of a patient comprising:
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(a) a presence sensing system for producing a presence signal indicative of the presence of said patient at a patient monitoring location; (b) a monitoring system for producing monitoring signals indicative of the monitored condition of said patient, said monitoring system including a sound sensor for generating audio monitoring signals corresponding to sounds emitted by the patient; and (c) an information acquisition system for receiving and storing said presence signal and said audio monitoring signals to permit determination of desired information regarding the monitored condition of the patient when the patient is present at said patient monitoring location. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system for acquiring desired information regarding a monitored condition of a patient comprising:
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(a) a presence sensing system including a pressure sensor spaced part from the patient for producing a presence signal indicative of the presence of the patient at a monitored location; (b) a sound sensor for generating audio signals corresponding to sounds emitted by the patient; and (c) an information acquisition system for receiving said presence and said audio signals to permit determination therefrom of desired information regarding the monitored condition of the patient when the patient is present at said patient monitoring location. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for acquiring desired information regarding a monitored condition of a patient comprising the steps of:
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(a) producing a first signal indicative of the presence of the patient at a monitoring location; (b) sensing sounds emitted by the patient which are indicative of the monitored condition and generating corresponding audio signals; and (c) acquiring and storing said first signal and said audio signals to permit determination therefrom of desired information regarding the monitored condition of the patient when the patient is present at said patient monitoring location. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A method of acquiring desired information regarding a monitored condition of a patient comprising the steps of:
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(a) measuring a first pressure change at a location that is spaced apart from the patient to generate a signal indicative of the presence of said patient at a monitoring location; (b) measuring a second pressure change associated with said monitored condition of said patient and generating signals corresponding thereto, said first and second pressure changes being measured by monitoring the changes in pressure in an inflatable bladder having a transducer connected thereto; and (c) acquiring and storing said signals corresponding to said fist and second pressure changes to permit the determination of desired information regarding the monitored condition of said patient. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification