Home medical supervision and monitoring system

• US 6,221,010 B1
• Filed: 07/02/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Donald A. Lucas
• Original Assignee: Donald A. Lucas
• Inventors: Lucas, Donald A.
• Primary Examiner(s): HINDENBURG, MAX F
• Application Number:
  US09/347,348
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 340/573.1, 128/906
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0008 Temperature signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/747 in case of emergency, i.e. alerting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/00 Accommodation for nursing, e.g. in hospitals, not covered by groups A61G1/00 - A61G11/00, e.g. trolleys for transport of medicaments or food service or tea-tables, trolleys or wagons A47B31/00; Prescription lists
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/70 Audible labels, e.g. for pre-recorded info or messages
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0463 for multiple patients
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A home medical supervision and monitoring system with computer-controlled base station provides medical supervision of an individual and controls medical monitoring, environmental, and safety devices. Modular electronic components, a real-time operating system and multilevel application software provide decision-making choices to inform a monitoring service or the like if a medical crisis is occurring or an adverse environmental or safety condition exists.

Subsystems include medical monitoring devices to control and monitor specific medical conditions. If a crisis is detected, predefined physician instructions are implemented. A daily medical supervision subsystem records messages to be played back at preset intervals to supervise the individual'"'"'s daily medical, safety or environmental activities under control of application software. A personal distress call subsystem can contact a monitoring service by pushing a distress button or by voice activating a communication circuit via a speaker telephone. Safety and environmental sensing devices such as motion, fire, smoke, etc., detect abnormal conditions and notify the base station while an archiving subsystem collects and processes information on a hard drive for later retrieval. The system has an optional medication-dispensing cabinet that will open a compartment at a prescribed time containing prescribed medication.

Claims

1. A medical supervision and monitoring system comprising:

a medical monitoring system to monitor at least one medical condition of a patient operatively connected to a computer control;

an environmental sensing system having sensors to detect at least one from the following group;

power, motion, fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, window and door, said detector in operative communication with said computer control; and

a computer based decision making system operatively connected to the medical monitoring system and the environmental sensing system to transmit one or more responsive actions dependent thereon.

2. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a personal distress monitoring system to contact help by remote means.

3. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a archiving system to retain information monitored for retrieval at a later time.

4. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a medication dispensing system that allows access to predetermined medication at predetermined times.

5. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the medication dispensing system includes an indicator indicative of whether the medication has been dispensed.

6. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the responsive action is sending a signal to a remote location.

7. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the responsive action is sending a signal to a speaker for audible reception by the patient.

8. A medical supervision and monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the responsive action is sending at least one corrective signal to an environmental control device.