Pulse oximeter with signal sonification
First Claim
1. A method of enhancing signal quality information using signal sonification while monitoring oxygen saturation in a pulse oximeter comprising the following steps:
- (a) exposing a tissue site to a plurality of wavelengths of light generated by the pulse oximeter, said tissue site having one or more pulsatile characteristic(s) associated with physiological parameters;
(b) detecting light of the plurality of wavelengths transmitted by or reflected from components of the tissue site, said detected light having a detected light pulsatile component related to one or more of the pulsatile characteristic(s) of said tissue site, and converting said detected light into a plurality of electrical signals, each said electrical signal of said plurality of said electrical signalshaving an electrical signal pulsatile component related to the detected light pulsatile component;
(c) digitizing and conditioning said plurality of electrical signals in a signal data acquisition component of the pulse oximeter to remove noise while retaining said electrical signal pulsatile component of each of the digitized and conditioned said plurality of electrical signals and creating a plurality of digital signals;
(d) deriving signal quality information from said plurality of digital signals by processing said plurality of digital signals to enhance and accentuate said electrical signal pulsatile component, creating a plurality of enhanced signals; and
combining said plurality of enhanced signals to emphasize variations related to said pulsatile tissue characteristic(s) in said plurality of electrical signals from step (b);
(e) continuously transforming said signal quality information into a signal quality audio representation by applying a frequency mapping function and a volume control function;
(f) conveying said signal quality audio representation of signal quality information to an operator;
(g) analyzing said plurality of digital signals for pulse rate and oxygen saturation level;
(h) providing pulse rate and oxygen saturation information to an operator in audible and/or readable form;
(i) combining physiological and system alert information with said signal quality audio representation conveying signal quality information to form a combined audio signal;
(j) permitting operator control of the overall audio volume of said combined audio signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved pulse oximeter is disclosed. The pulse oximeter includes audio signal generation means, controlled by algorithms in a processing element which continuously transform the signals from the sensor into signal quality information. This information is converted into an audio signal and annunciated for the operator'"'"'s use in guiding sensor placement. This signal quality information is available even in the absence of successful computation of pulse rate and/or oxygen saturation level. It furthermore can reflect signal quality changes that may be too subtle to be reflected in the typical numerical representation of pulse rate and oxygen saturation trend. The audio representation of the signal quality can further be modulated to convey other system and/or physiological status and alerts.
212 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of enhancing signal quality information using signal sonification while monitoring oxygen saturation in a pulse oximeter comprising the following steps:
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(a) exposing a tissue site to a plurality of wavelengths of light generated by the pulse oximeter, said tissue site having one or more pulsatile characteristic(s) associated with physiological parameters;
(b) detecting light of the plurality of wavelengths transmitted by or reflected from components of the tissue site, said detected light having a detected light pulsatile component related to one or more of the pulsatile characteristic(s) of said tissue site, and converting said detected light into a plurality of electrical signals, each said electrical signal of said plurality of said electrical signalshaving an electrical signal pulsatile component related to the detected light pulsatile component;
(c) digitizing and conditioning said plurality of electrical signals in a signal data acquisition component of the pulse oximeter to remove noise while retaining said electrical signal pulsatile component of each of the digitized and conditioned said plurality of electrical signals and creating a plurality of digital signals;
(d) deriving signal quality information from said plurality of digital signals by processing said plurality of digital signals to enhance and accentuate said electrical signal pulsatile component, creating a plurality of enhanced signals; and
combining said plurality of enhanced signals to emphasize variations related to said pulsatile tissue characteristic(s) in said plurality of electrical signals from step (b);
(e) continuously transforming said signal quality information into a signal quality audio representation by applying a frequency mapping function and a volume control function;
(f) conveying said signal quality audio representation of signal quality information to an operator;
(g) analyzing said plurality of digital signals for pulse rate and oxygen saturation level;
(h) providing pulse rate and oxygen saturation information to an operator in audible and/or readable form;
(i) combining physiological and system alert information with said signal quality audio representation conveying signal quality information to form a combined audio signal;
(j) permitting operator control of the overall audio volume of said combined audio signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A pulse oximeter system with enhanced signal quality information using signal sonification comprising:
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a sensor device;
a monitor device comprising at least a data acquisition component, a computing component, a memory storage component, an audio signal generation component, a visual presentation component;
wherein the system is used by (a) exposing a tissue site to a plurality of wavelengths of light generated by the sensor device of the pulse oximeter, the tissue site having one or more pulsatile characteristic(s) associated with physiological parameters;
(b) detecting light of the plurality of wavelengths transmitted by or reflected from components of the tissue site using the sensor device of the pulse oximeter, the detected light having a detected light pulsatile component related to the one or more pulsatile characteristic(s) of the tissue site and converting the detected light into a plurality of electrical signals in the data acquisition component, each of the electrical signals of the plurality of electrical signals having an electrical signal pulsatile component related to the detected light pulsatile component;
(c) digitizing and conditioning the plurality of electrical signals in a signal data acquisition component of the computing component of the pulse oximeter to remove noise while retaining the electrical signal pulsatile component of each of the digitized and conditioned plurality of the electrical signals and creating a plurality of digital signals;
(d) deriving signal quality information from the plurality of the digital signals in the computing component, by processing the plurality of digital signals to enhance and accentuate the electrical signal pulsatile component, creating a plurality of enhanced signals, and combining the plurality of enhanced signals to emphasize variations related to the pulsatile tissue characteristic(s) in the plurality of electrical signals from step (b);
(e) continuously transforming the signal quality information into a signal quality audio representation, by applying a frequency mapping function and a volume control function;
(f) conveying the signal quality audio representation of signal quality information to an operator using the audio signal generation component;
(g) analyzing the plurality of digital signals for pulse rate and oxygen saturation level;
(h) providing pulse rate and oxygen saturation information to an operator in audible form using the audio signal generation component and/or readable form using the visual presentation component;
(i) combining physiological and system alert information with the signal quality audio representation conveying signal quality information to form a combined audio signal;
(j) permitting operator control of the overall audio volume of the combined audio signal using the audio signal generation component. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification