Method and apparatus for simultaneously determining a patient's identification and blood oxygen saturation

• US 6,618,602 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2002
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Palco Laboratories
• Original Assignee: Palco Laboratories
• Inventors: Levin, Paul D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Winakur, Eric F.
• Application Number:
  US10/061,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20020125991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 586 Days
• Field of Search: 600/310, 600/322, 600/323, 600/340, 600/344, 128/903
• US Class Current: 600/323
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for simultaneously determining a patient'"'"'s identification and blood oxygen saturation are provided. An pulse oximeter probe carries a light source such as LEDs or lasers which is used to read patient identification information carried on the patient'"'"'s wristband by a bar code. Alternately, the patient'"'"'s wristband incorporates a radio frequency reader chip which contains the patient'"'"'s identification information and the pulse oximeter probe carries an antenna adjacent its cable so that, when the pulse oximeter is turned on, it reads the chip in the wristband during the same motion with which the patient'"'"'s oxygen blood saturation is measured with the pulse oximeter.

Claims

1. A system for determining and storing patient identification and blood oxygen saturation and other vital signs from a plurality of patients, comprising:

a portable pulse oximeter having a probe adapted to be temporarily placed onto a patient'"'"'s finger to determine said patient'"'"'s blood oxygen saturation,

a patient wristband having either a unique bar code or a unique RF reader chip identifying each patient,

means carried by said portable pulse oximeter probe for reading said patient'"'"'s wristband and obtaining said patient'"'"'s identification simultaneously with determining said patient'"'"'s blood oxygen saturation, and

storage means in said portable pulse oximeter for storing the identification of each of said plurality of patients together with said blood oxygen saturation reading and other vital signs measured for each of said plurality of patients.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for reading each wristband comprises light means on said portable pulse oximeter probe which can be directed onto said wristband to read said bar code.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for reading each comprises a coaxial cable from said portable pulse oximeter with an antenna from said coaxial cable and means for causing an RF signal to be sent from said antenna to said chip and receiving the return signal.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising data storage means onto which said patient identification for each of said plurality of patients and said vital signs, including blood oxygen saturation, may be periodically downloaded and stored.

5. An apparatus for determining and storing patient identification and blood oxygen saturation and storing other vital signs taken from a plurality of patients wherein each of said patients wears a wristband having either a unique bar code or a unique RF reader chip identifying each patient comprising:

a portable pulse oximeter having a probe adapted to be temporarily placed onto a patient'"'"'s finger to determine said patient'"'"'s blood oxygen saturation,

means carried by said portable pulse oximeter probe for reading said patient'"'"'s wristband and obtaining said patient'"'"'s identification simultaneously with determining said patient'"'"'s blood oxygen saturation, and

storage means in said portable pulse oximeter for storing the identification of each of said plurality of patients together with said blood oxygen saturation reading and other vital signs measured for each of said plurality of patients.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said plurality of patients wears a wristband having a unique bar code identifying said patient and wherein said means for reading each wristband comprises light means carried by said portable pulse oximeter probe which can be directed onto said wristband to read said bar code.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said plurality of patients wears a wristband having an RF reader chip uniquely identifying each patient and wherein said means for reading each wristband comprises a coaxial cable from said portable pulse oximeter with an antenna in said coaxial cable and means for causing an RF signal to be sent from said antenna to said chip to be received.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising means for periodically downloading said patient identification for each of said plurality of patients and said vital signs, including blood oxygen saturation to data storage means.

9. A method for determining and storing patient identification and blood oxygen saturation and storing other vital signs taken from a plurality of patients wherein each of said patients wears a wristband having either a unique bar code or a unique RF reader chip identifying each patient, comprising the steps:

temporarily placing a portable pulse oximeter probe on a finger of each of said patients to determine blood oxygen saturation,

using said portable pulse oximetry probe to read the wristband worn by each of said patients to determine the identification of each patient simultaneously with determining blood oxygen saturation for each patient,

determining one or more other vital signs from each of said plurality of patients, and

storing in said portable pulse oximeter each of said patients'"'"' identification and the patients'"'"' respective blood oxygen saturation and other vital sign or signs.

10. The method of claim 9 comprising the further step:

periodically downloading said stored patient identifications and said blood oxygen saturation and other vital sign readings for each of said patients from said portable pulse oximeter into a storage medium functioning as a vital signs record.