Portable patient monitor with defibrillator/pacemaker interface and battery power management

• US 6,591,135 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Incorporated (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Incorporated (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Schulz, Andreas, Clapp, Alan E., Bayer, Brian, Gray, James M., Palmer, Michael J., Schieble, David L., Schlosser, Horst, Loehning, Wilfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Schaetzle, Kennedy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oropeza, Frances P.
• Application Number:
  US09/835,459
• Publication Number:
  US 20030088275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 600/509, 607/4, 607/5, 607/9, 607/33, 607/34, 607/61, 607/142
• US Class Current: 607/5
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/378 Electrical supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3904 External heart defibrillators [EHD]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3975 Power supply A61N1/378 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for distributing power within a cardiac treatment and monitoring system which includes a defibrillator releasably coupled to a patient monitoring unit. The method includes the steps of determining a battery reserve capacity within the patient monitoring unit and distributing power from the patient monitoring system to a defibrillator when the determined battery reserve capacity exceeds a threshold value.

Claims

1. A cardiac treatment and monitoring system comprising:

a patient analyzer unit adapted to detect and analyze processes occurring within a body of a patient;

a defibrillator unit releasably coupled to the patient analyzer unit and adapted to receive information about the detected and analyzed processes from the patient analyzer; and

a power distribution system disposed within the patient analyzer unit and adapted to conditionally share power from a power source of the patient analyzer with the defibrillator.

2. The cardiac treatment and monitoring system as in claim 1 wherein the power source further comprising a plurality of batteries.

3. The cardiac treatment and monitoring system as in claim 2 wherein the power distribution system further comprises a battery capacity analyzer adapted to determine a battery capacity of the patient analyzer unit.

4. The cardiac treatment and monitoring system as in claim 3 wherein the battery capacity analyzer further comprises a battery sensor adapted to detect a battery of the plurality of batteries coupled to a battery connection of the patient analyzer unit.

5. The cardiac treatment and monitoring system as in claim 3 wherein the battery capacity analyzer further comprises a battery charge level detector coupled to a power bus of the power distribution system.

6. The cardiac treatment and monitoring system as in claim 2, further comprising a power switch disposed within the patient analyzer unit and adapted to couple power from the plurality of batteries to the defibrillator unit when the battery capacity analyzer determines that a reserve capacity of the plurality of batteries exceeds a threshold, value.

7. A method of distributing power within a cardiac treatment and monitoring system which includes a defibrillator releasably coupled to a patient monitoring unit, such method comprising the steps of:

determining a battery reserve capacity within the patient monitoring unit; and

distributing power from the patient monitoring unit to the releasably coupled defibrillator when the determined battery reserve capacity exceeds a threshold value.

8. The method of distributing power as in claim 7 wherein the step of determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises determining a number of batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit.

9. The method of distributing power as in claim 8 wherein the step of determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises determining that the number of batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit exceeds a number of batteries coupled to the defibrillator.

10. The method of distributing power as in claim 8 wherein the step of determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises determining a charge reserve capacity remaining within batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit.

11. The method of distributing power as in claim 7 further comprising providing power to the,defibrillator from an alternating power source.

12. The method of_distributing power as in claim 7 further comprising powering the defibrillator from a defibrillator battery during charging of a shock capacitor of the defibrillator.

13. The method of distributing power as in claim 7 further comprising powering a battery charger within the defibrillator for charging a defibrillator battery.

14. An apparatus for distributing power within a cardiac treatment and monitoring system which includes a defibrillator releasably coupled to a patient monitoring unit, such apparatus comprising:

means for determining a battery reserve capacity within a patient monitoring unit; and

means for distributing power to from the patient monitoring unit to the releasably coupled defibrillator when the determined battery reserve capacity exceeds a threshold value.

15. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 14 wherein the means for determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises means for determining a number of batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit.

16. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 15 wherein the means for determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises means for determining the number of batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit that exceeds a number of batteries coupled to the defibrillator.

17. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 15 wherein the means for determining a battery reserve capacity further comprises means for determining a charge reserve capacity remaining within batteries coupled to the patient monitoring unit.

18. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 14 further comprising means for providing power to the defibrillator from an alternating power source.

19. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 14 further comprising means for powering the defibrillator from a defibrillator battery during charging of a shock capacitor of the defibrillator.

20. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 14 further comprising means for powering a battery charger within the defibrillator for charging a defibrillator battery.

21. An apparatus for distributing power within a cardiac treatment and monitoring system which includes a defibrillator releasably coupled to a patient monitoring unit, such apparatus comprising:

a battery reserve capacity analyzer adapted to determine a battery reserve capacity within the patient monitoring unit; and

a power distribution system adapted to distribute power from the patient monitoring unit to the releasably coupled defibrillator when the determined battery reserve capacity exceeds a threshold value.

22. The apparatus for distributing power as in claim 21 wherein the battery reserve capacity analyzer further comprises a plurality of battery sensors adapted to alert the battery reserve capacity analyzer when a battery is coupled to the patient monitoring unit.

23. A cardiac treatment and monitoring system comprising:

a cardiac analyzer unit adapted to detect and analyze a QRS complex of a patient;

a defibrillator unit releasably coupled to the cardiac analyzer unit and adapted to receive QRS information of the analyzed QRS complex from the cardiac analyzer unit; and

a power distribution system disposed within the cardiac analyzer unit and adapted to conditionally share power from a power source of the cardiac analyzer unit with the releasably coupled defibrillator unit.