Portable electrocardiogram monitor

• US 6,587,712 B1
• Filed: 05/26/2000
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Teruaki Itoh
• Original Assignee: Teruaki Itoh
• Inventors: Itoh, Teruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Schaetzle, Kennedy
• Application Number:
  US09/579,042
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 600/509, 600/515, 600/523, 128/923
• US Class Current: 600/515
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor

Abstract

A portable electrocardiogram monitor according to the present invention includes an electrode piece fixed in contact with the surface of a body of a user, for receiving an electrical signal corresponding to a bioelectric current generated by contraction of heart muscles, a signal amplifier for amplifying the electrical signal, a processor for processing the amplified signal to acquire electrocardiogram waveform data, a display for displaying an electrocardiogram based on the electrocardiogram waveform data, a memory for storing electrocardiogram waveform data of the user who is in good health, as standard data, a comparator for comparing the electrocardiogram waveform data with the standard data, a determination unit for determining one of presence and absence of abnormality according to whether a difference between the electrocardiogram waveform data and the standard data exceeds a permissible range, and an alarm generator for raising an alarm when the determination unit determines the presence of abnormality.

Claims

1. A portable electrocardiogram monitor comprising:

an electrode piece fixedly contacting a surface of a body of a user, for receiving an electrical signal corresponding to bioelectric current generated by contraction of heart muscles;

a signal amplifier for amplifying the electrical signal received by the electrode piece;

a processor for processing a signal amplified by the signal amplifier to acquire electrocardiogram waveform data;

a display for displaying an electrocardiogram based on the electrocardiogram waveform data acquired by the processor;

a reference data storing memory for storing reference data of the electrocardiogram waveform data;

a comparator for comparing the electrocardiogram waveform data acquired by the processor with the reference data stored in the reference data storing memory;

a determination unit for determining one of presence and absence of abnormality according to whether a difference between the electrocardiogram waveform data and the reference data, compared by the comparator, exceeds a permissible range;

an alarm generator for raising an alarm when the determination unit determines the presence of abnormality;

an operation switch having a preparatory mode button which turns on in a measurement preparatory stage and a measurement mode button which turns on during measurement; and

reference data storing means including a gate which turns on when the preparatory mode button of the operation switch turns on, said reference data storing means supplying the electrocardiogram waveform data processed by the processor to the reference data storing memory through the gate and storing the electrocardiogram waveform data in the reference data storing memory as reference data.

2. The portable electrocardiogram monitor according to claim 1, wherein the alarm generator includes at least one of acoustic alarm generation means using sound, optical alarm generation means light, and information-transmission type alarm generation means using character information and image information.