System and method for generating and transferring medical data

• US 6,264,614 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1999
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Incorporated (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Data Critical Corporation (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Albert, David E., Rieger, Carl J., Slaven, Rik, Reiter, Mac L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LAYNO, CARL HERNANDZ
• Application Number:
  US09/387,013
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: 600/528, 600/514, 128/903, 128/904
• US Class Current: 600/528
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0271 using a remote monitoring unit
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry

Abstract

A computer site includes a data generating source. The source may include a device (e.g. a heart monitor) which may be manipulated by the patient to sense a biological function or condition such as a heart beat. The device outputs an audible signal in response to the monitored condition. A computer that can be operated by the patient or other initial user at the site runs a program that processes an electric signal generated in response to the audible signal as received through a microphone connected to the computer. The program is downloaded or otherwise accessed through a computer communications network (e.g. Internet). The computer sends resulting data signals over this network. Using a plurality of the foregoing components, any number of patients (or other users) that can access the computer communications network can provide real-time information about their personal medical condition (or other generated data) to their personal medical care providers (or other remote end users).

Claims

1. A system for generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

means for sensing a biological function or condition, wherein the means for sensing provides an audible output signal in response to the sensed biological function or condition; and

means, communicating with the means for sensing, for transferring a response to the sensed biological function or condition over the Internet, wherein the means for transferring includes;

a microphone to respond to the audible output signal;

an electrical circuit connected to the microphone to convert an analog signal from the microphone to a digital signal; and

a microprocessor circuit connected to the electrical circuit and programmed to access the Internet and to transfer in real time a representation of the audible output signal over the Internet to a selected Internet site in response to the digital signal.

2. A system for generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

a sensor used by a human user to sense a function or condition of the user'"'"'s body,

a personal computer located with the sensor and having a microphone connector and analog to digital conversion means communicated with the sensor such that a digital processing circuit of the personal computer receives from the analog to digital conversion means a digital electric signal derived from an analog electric signal received through the microphone connector in response to the user'"'"'s body function or condition sensed by the sensor, wherein the personal computer is programmed to transfer data representative of the received digital electric signal over a computer communication network contemporaneously with the sensor sensing the user'"'"'s body function or condition; and

a recipient computer located at a medical facility and connected to communicate with the computer communication network, wherein the recipient computer is programmed to receive the data transferred over the computer communication network and to provide a visible representation of the sensed body function or condition and to store the data in a searchable database; and

wherein;

the sensor generates an acoustical signal; and

the system further comprises a microphone connected to the microphone connector to provide the analog electric signal in response to the acoustical signal.

3. A system for generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

a sensor used by a human user to sense a function or condition of the user'"'"'s body;

a personal computer located with the sensor and having a microphone connector and analog to digital conversion means communicated with the sensor such that a digital processing circuit of the personal computer receives from the analog to digital conversion means a digital electric signal derived from an analog electric signal received through the microphone connector in response to the user'"'"'s body function or condition sensed by the sensor, wherein the personal computer is programmed to transfer data representative of the received digital electric signal over a computer communication network contemporaneously with the sensor sensing the user'"'"'s body function or condition, and

a recipient computer located at a data communication service provider facility and connected to communicate with the computer communication network, wherein the recipient computer is programed to receive the data transferred over the computer communication network and to transmit in response thereto another signal to an end user; and

wherein;

the sensor generates an acoustical signal; and

the system further comprises a microphone connected to the microphone connector to provide the analog electric signal in response to the acoustical signal.

4. A system for generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

a sensor used by a human user to sense a function or condition of the user'"'"'s body; and

a personal computer located with the sensor and having a microphone connector and analog to digital conversion means communicated with the sensor such that a digital processing circuit of the personal computer receives from the analog to digital conversion means a digital electric signal derived from an analog electric signal received through the microphone connector in response to the user'"'"'s body function or condition sensed by the sensor, wherein the personal computer is programmed to transfer data representative of the received digital electric signal over a computer communication network contemporaneously with the sensor sensing the user'"'"'s body function or condition; and

wherein;

the sensor generates an acoustical signal; and

the system further comprises a microphone connected to the microphone connector to provide the analog electric signal in response to the acoustical signal.

5. A system for generating and transferring medical data in real time, comprising:

a sensor to provide an acoustical signal in simultaneous response to a biological function or condition;

a microphone, located with the sensor, to receive the acoustical signal as the acoustical signal is provided from the sensor; and

a computer connected to the microphone and adapted to transfer over the Internet, in real-time response to the microphone receiving the acoustical signal, electric signals representative of the received acoustical signal.

6. A system as defined in claim 5, wherein the sensor includes a hand-held transducer that converts energy from an adjacent beating heart of a patient into the acoustical signal.

7. A system as defined in claim 6, wherein the computer is a personal computer including:

a microprocessor circuit that has a microprocessor which operates at a nominal speed of at least twenty megahertz, and a microphone interface circuit connected to the microphone and the microprocessor circuit.

8. A system as defined in claim 7, wherein the personal computer is programmed with a web browser and a medical data acquisition and transmission program.

9. A system as defined in claim 8, wherein the medical data acquisition and transmission program is downloaded into the personal computer from an Internet site accessed using the web browser.

10. A system as defined in claim 5, wherein the computer is programmed with a web browser and a medical data acquisition and transmission program.

11. A system as defined in claim 10, wherein the medical data acquisition and transmission program is from an Internet site accessed using the web browser.

12. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

transducing directly from a patient a human body function or condition into a first signal;

contemporaneously converting at the site of the patient the first signal into a second signal adapted for transmission over the Internet; and

transmitting the second signal over the Internet to a recipient in real time with the steps of transducing and converting;

wherein transducing includes the patient manipulating a portable sensor adjacent the patient'"'"'s body such that the sensor senses the human body function or condition and generates the first signal in response thereto; and

wherein the sensor generates an acoustical signal as the first signal.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein converting the first signal into a second signal includes receiving the acoustical signal at a microphone having an output connected to a computer adapted for processing an output signal of the microphone to provide the second signal in response thereto.

14. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein converting the first signal into the second signal further includes downloading into the computer a medical data acquisition and transmission program from the recipient.

15. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein converting the first signal into the second signal further includes downloading into the computer, from an Internet site different from the recipient, a medical data acquisition and transmission program.

16. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

transducing directly from a patient a human body function or condition into a first signal;

converting at the site of the patient the first signal into a second signal adapted for transmission over the Internet; and

transmitting the second signal over the Internet to a recipient;

wherein converting the first signal into the second signal includes downloading into a computer a medical data acquisition and transmission program from the recipient.

17. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

transducing directly from a patient a human body function or condition into an acoustical signal;

converting using, a microphone and conventional patient-usable personal computer at the site of the patient, the acoustical signal into an electrical signal adapted for transmission over the Internet;

transmitting, using the conventional patient-usable personal computer, the electrical signal over the Internet to a recipient; and

performing the transducing, converting, and transmitting contemporaneously, and contemporaneously therewith generating at the recipient a display in response to the transmitted second signal, wherein the display is a real-time representation of the transduced human body function or condition.

18. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

transducing directly from a patient a human body function or condition into a first signal;

converting at the site of the patient the first signal into a second signal adapted for transmission over the Internet;

transmitting the second signal over the Internet to a recipient;

transmitting a medical data signal from the recipient to a second recipient in response to the first-mentioned recipient receiving the transmitted second signal; and

performing the transducing, converting and two transmitting steps contemporaneously, and contemporaneously therewith generating at the second recipient a display in response to the transmitted medical data signal, wherein the display is a real-time representation of the transduced human body function or condition.

19. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

transducing directly from a patient a human body function or condition into an acoustical signal;

converting, using a microphone and conventional patient-usable personal computer at the site of the patient, the acoustical signal into an electrical signal adapted for transmission over the Internet;

transmitting, using the conventional patient-usable personal computer, the electrical signal over the Internet to a recipient; and

transmitting a medical data signal from the recipient to a second recipient in response to the first-mentioned recipient receiving the transmitted second signal;

wherein the medical data signal is transmitted through a paging network.

20. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising:

generating an acoustical signal in response to a human body function or condition, wherein generating an acoustical signal includes a patient holding a portable heart monitor against the patient'"'"'s chest where the patient'"'"'s heartbeat energy is detected such that the portable heart monitor generates the acoustical signal in response to the heartbeat energy;

converting the acoustical signal into a corresponding electric signal;

processing the electric signal in a conventional patient-usable personal computer to provide a data signal; and

transmitting the data signal onto the Internet from the computer.

21. A method as defined in claim 20, wherein converting the acoustical signal includes receiving the acoustical signal in a microphone located near the patient and connected to the computer.

22. A method of generating and transferring medical data, comprising steps of:

(a) accessing a site on a computer communication network with a personal computer located with a patient;

(b) downloading from the accessed site to the personal computer a medical data acquisition and transmission program;

(c) holding a heart monitor against a patient and converting with the heart monitor energy from the beating heart of the patient into acoustical signals;

(d) receiving the acoustical signals in a microphone near the heart monitor and converting with the microphone the received acoustical signals into analog electric signals;

(e) communicating the analog electric signals from the microphone to an analog to digital conversion circuit of the personal computer and converting thereby the analog electric signals to digital electric signals; and

(f) processing the digital electric signals in the personal computer under control of the medical data acquisition and transmission program;

wherein at least steps (c) through (f) are performed together in real time.

23. A method as defined in claim 22, further comprising accessing from the personal computer a second site on the computer communication network, and transmitting patient heart data over the computer communication network to the accessed second site in real-time response to the processed digital electric signals, both under control of the medical data acquisition and transmission program in the personal computer.

24. A method as defined in claim 23, further comprising contemporaneously transmitting, from a computer at the second site, the patient heart data over a wireless communication network to a physician.

25. A method of monitoring biological functions and conditions of a plurality of patients, comprising:

distributing to each patient at least one sensor to detect at least one biological function or condition of the patient;

maintaining a medical data acquisition and transmission program at an Internet site accessible by the patients such that the patients can use, from computers at the locations of the patients, the medical data acquisition and transmission program to control their respective computers to receive and process signals from the patients'"'"' respective sensors and to transmit medical data onto the Internet in response thereto; and

distributing to a plurality of physicians receivers for receiving at least portions of the medical data transmitted over the Internet.

26. A method as defined in claim 25, further comprising providing a combination Internet receiving and wireless network data transmitting site to receive the medical data transmitted on the Internet and to transmit received medical data to at least one respective physician'"'"'s receiver through a wireless network.

27. A method of monitoring biological functions and conditions of a plurality of patients, comprising:

distributing to each patient at least one sensor to detect at least one biological function or condition of the patient;

maintaining a medical data acquisition and transmission program at an Internet site accessible by the patients such that the patients can use, from computers at the locations of the patients, the medical data acquisition and transmission program to control their respective computers to receive and process signals from the patients'"'"' respective sensors and to transmit medical data onto the Internet in response thereto; and

marking each sensor with indicia defining the address of the Internet site.

28. A method of monitoring biological functions and conditions of a plurality of patients, comprising:

distributing to each patient at least one sensor to detect at least one biological function or condition of the patient; and

maintaining a medical data acquisition and transmission program at an Internet site accessible by the patients such that the patients can use, from computers at the locations of the patients, the medical data acquisition and transmission program to control their respective computers to receive and process signals from the patients'"'"' respective sensors and to transmit medical data onto the Internet in response thereto;

wherein maintaining the medical data acquisition and transmission program includes storing the program in a computer at the Internet site and wherein the method further comprises storing a database of potential recipients of the medical data, the database also accessible by each patient such that each patient can identify from the potential recipients at least one selected recipient to receive the medical data for that patient.

29. A method as defined in claim 28, further comprising communicating, to a respective patient'"'"'s at least one selected recipient, the medical data transmitted onto the Internet for that patient.

30. A remote heart monitoring method, comprising:

distributing to each of a plurality of patients a respective portable heart monitoring device that the respective patient can hold against his or her chest without assistance;

maintaining a medical data acquisition and transmission program at a first Internet site known to the patients such that each patient can access, using a web browser program of a computer at the location of the patient, the medical data acquisition and transmission program to control the computer to receive and process signals from the patient'"'"'s respective heart monitoring device and to transmit medical data onto the Internet in response thereto and in response to automatic operation of the medical data acquisition and transmission program;

receiving the transmitted medical data at a second Internet site; and

communicating, from a computer at the second Internet site, respective portions of the medical data to respective end users of the medical data.

31. A method as defined in claim 30, wherein communicating respective portions of the medical data includes transmitting the respective portions over a paging network to hand-held computers of respective end user medical providers.

32. A method as defined in claim 31, further comprising marking each heart monitoring device with the web address of the first Internet site.

33. A method as defined in claim 30, further comprising marking each heart monitoring device with the web address of the first Internet site.

34. A method of generating medical data representative of a biological function or condition of an individual, comprising:

(a) accessing an Internet site with a personal computer located with the individual, wherein the personal computer is programmed with a conventional operating program;

(b) downloading from the accessed Internet site to the personal computer a medical data acquisition program automatically operable with the conventional operating program;

(c) generating an acoustical signal in response to the biological function or condition of the individual;

(d) receiving the acoustical signal in a microphone near the individual and converting with the microphone the received acoustical signal into an analog electric signal;

(e) communicating the analog electric signal from the microphone to an analog to digital conversion circuit of the personal computer and converting thereby the analog electric signal to a digital electric signal;

(f) processing the digital electric signal in the personal computer under control of the medical data acquisition program; and

(g) displaying to the individual, through the personal computer, a representation of the individual'"'"'s biological function or condition in response to which the acoustical signal was generated.

35. A method as defined in claim 34, wherein at least steps (c) through (g) are performed together in real time.

36. A method as defined in claim 35, further comprising in real time with at least steps (c) through (g), transmitting from the personal computer over the Internet data responsive to the processed digital electric signal.

37. A method as defined in claim 34, further comprising in real time with at least steps (c) through (g), transmitting from the personal computer over the Internet data responsive to the processed digital electric signal.