Apparatus and method for monitoring the temperatures on the plantar aspects of a human foot and other vital health information

• US 6,398,740 B1
• Filed: 05/25/2000
• Issued: 06/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Salix LLC, Salix Medical Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Salix Medical Incorporated
• Inventors: Agrawal, Mauli, Athanasiou, Kyriacos A., Lanctot, Dan R., Lavery, Lawrence A., Zamorano, Ruben G., Constantinides, George P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Winakur, Eric F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ASTORINO, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US09/578,948
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300-301, 600/549, 600/587-592, 600/474, 128/903, 128/904, 128/900, 374/110-119, 731/72, 361/36
• US Class Current: 600/549
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/015 By temperature mapping of body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/022 by applying pressure to close blood vessels, e.g. against the skin; Ophthalmodynamometers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry

Abstract

An apparatus and method for monitoring items of vital health information including temperature of the plantar aspects of the foot of the human, body weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, blood glucose level and blood oxygen level. The apparatus includes a platform on which the user stands. Included on the platform are a set of heat sensitive signal generating devices. The temperature at predetermined locations on the plantar aspects of the human foot are determined by the signals obtained from the individual heat sensitive, signal generating probes. Other items of vital health information may be obtained by other sensors on the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring temperature of the plantar aspects of the foot of a human being, said device comprising:

a platform;

an array of force sensitive devices for determining the location of the left foot on the platform;

an array of force sensitive devices for determining the location of the right foot on the platform;

a set of temperature sensitive, signal generating devices located in the platform;

said force sensitive devices and said temperature sensitive, signal-generating devices being interconnected to activate a subset of said temperature sensitive, signal generating devices at predetermined locations under the human being”

feet;

means for converting said signals generated by said temperature sensitive devices into an output expressed in terms of temperature.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for generating a warning if a temperature beyond a predetermined level as between two or more of said temperature sensitive devices is sensed.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said output of sensed temperatures is a visual output.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said visual output is a liquid crystal display.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said output of sensed temperatures is an audio output.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for sensing and displaying the weight of the human being.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood pressure of the human being.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for sensing and displaying the pulse rate of the human being.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood glucose levels of the human being.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood oxygen levels of the human being.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a modem for transmitting the sensed foot temperatures to a remote location.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 further including means for transmitting the sensed blood pressure to a remote location.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 further including means for transmitting the sensed pulse rate to a remote location.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 9 further including means for transmitting the sensed blood glucose level to a remote location.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 10 further including means for transmitting the sensed blood oxygen level to a remote location.

16. A system for monitoring the temperatures of the plantar aspects of the feet of a plurality of patients, each of said patients having different size feet, said system comprising:

plurality of individual foot temperature measuring devices, each of said plurality of individual foot temperature measuring devices including;

a platform

means for determining the location of the left foot on said platform;

means for determining the location of the right foot on said platform;

a set of heat sensitive, signal generating probes constructed and arranged on said platform to sense the heat levels at predetermined locations on both the left foot and the right foot of the human being, said predetermined locations being activated by said means for determining the location of the left foot on the platform and said means for determining the location of the right foot on the platform;

means for converting said signals generated by said heat sensitive probes into an output expressed in terms of temperature;

means for sending signals to a remote location;

means for storing and analyzing said signals at said remote location;

whereby the temperatures of the feet of a plurality of human beings may be measured at said remote location.

17. The system as defined in claim 16 wherein said means for sending said signals to a remote location is a telephone modem.

18. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for generating a warning if a temperature beyond a predetermined level as between two or more of said probes is sensed.

19. The system as defined in claim 16 further including a visual display of sensed temperatures.

20. The system as defined in claim 18 further including means for generation of an audio warning.

21. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for sensing and displaying the weight of the human being.

22. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood pressure of the human being.

23. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for sensing and displaying the pulse rate of the human being.

24. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood glucose levels of the human being.

25. The system as defined in claim 16 further including means for sensing and displaying the blood oxygen levels of the human being.

26. The system as defined in claims 16, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 further including means for storing the sensed information along with the date and time when the information was sensed.

27. A health monitoring system comprising:

a left footpad and a right footpad;

each of said left footpad and said right footpad including;

means for determining the location of the plantar aspects of the left and right foot on said left and right foot respectively;

a plurality of individual temperature sensors to be activated at predetermined locations on said left footpad and said right footpad under said plantar aspects of said left and right foot by said means for determining the location of the left foot and the right foot;

whereby the temperature at predetermined locations on the plantar aspects of the feet of a human being may be repeatedly measured.

28. The health monitoring system as defined in claim 27 further including means for securing said left foot pad and said right foot pad to the feet of the patient.

29. The health monitoring system as defined in claim 28 wherein said left foot pad and said right foot pad are tailored to fit an individual patient.

30. A method for monitoring the temperature at predetermined locations on the feet of a human being, said method comprising the steps of:

determining the location of the feet with respect to a pad;

activating a plurality of temperature sensors at locations in said pad said temperature sensor locations being determined by the location of the feet with respect to said pad;

placing said pad against the bottom of the foot of a patient so that said activated temperature sensors are repeatedly in contact with the same locations on the bottom of the patient'"'"'s foot.