Method for processing event data using a removable data storage medium and clock

• US 5,680,864 A
• Filed: 08/26/1996
• Issued: 10/28/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Heartstream, Inc. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Powers, Daniel J., Morgan, Carlton B., Cole, Clinton
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US08/703,433
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 128/696, 128/697, 128/710
• US Class Current: 600/518
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3904 External heart defibrillators [EHD]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/39044 in combination with cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] therapy
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/02 with provision for altering or correcting the law of variation
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 9/005 Solid-state data loggers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A method for gathering event data using a data gathering instrument having an instrument clock and an instrument data storage medium, the method comprising the steps of: gathering event data using the data gathering instrument; storing the event data in an instrument data storage medium; using an instrument clock to associate time information with the event data; storing the associated time information in the instrument data storage medium; separating the instrument data storage medium from the data gathering instrument; separating the instrument clock from the data gathering instrument; and storing in a main data storage medium the event data and the time information stored in the instrument data storage medium. The invention also includes a data gathering system practicing this method, the data gathering instrument itself, and removable instrument clock and memory modules, preferably disposed together in a housing such as a PCMCIA format card.

Claims

1. A method for processing event data comprising the following steps:

gathering event data using a defibrillator;

storing the event data in a data storage medium disposed within an event data storage apparatus housing, the event data storage housing being connected to the defibrillator;

obtaining time information from an event data clock disposed in the event data storage apparatus housing; and

storing the time information in the data storage medium.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising disconnecting the event data storage housing from the defibrillator.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising recovering in a main data recovery unit the event data and the time information stored in the data storage medium.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises a PCMCIA format card housing.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising calculating time between an external event and use of the defibrillator to treat a patient.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the external event is dispatch of the defibrillator to treat a patient.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising synchronizing a dispatch clock with a clock in the main data recovery unit.