Electrocardiograph system and its communication device

• US 6,735,464 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2001
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Original Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Inoue, Kouichi, Onoda, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Getzow, Scott M.
• Application Number:
  US10/012,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20020091331A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 600/509-525
• US Class Current: 600/509
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/335 using integrated circuit memory devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/339 Displays specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick

Abstract

An electrocardiograph system has an electrocardiograph transmitting cardiograms produced to outside equipment, and a communication device wirelessly communicating with the electrocardiograph. The communication device accepts a subject'"'"'s posture selected from multiple posture options, and transmits a specific instruction signal to the electrocardiograph upon receiving the selection. The electrocardiograph stores a cardiogram produced when the instruction signal is received from the communication device as a reference cardiogram corresponding to the selected posture discriminating it from other cardiograms.

Claims

1. Electrocardiograph system comprising:

an electrocardiograph producing cardiograms, and transmitting the produced cardiograms;

a communication device wirelessly communicating with said electrocardiograph;

wherein,

said communication device accepts a subject'"'"'s posture selected from multiple posture options and transmits a predetermined instruction signal to said electrocardiograph when the posture is accepted; and

said electrocardiograph stores the cardiogram produced when said instruction signal is received from said communication device as a reference cardiogram corresponding to the selected posture.

2. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said electrocardiograph transmits the produced cardiogram to said communication device;

said communication device has a display unit, which displays as a static image the waveform of said reference cardiogram received from said electrocardiograph in response to said instruction signal, while sequentially displaying as time-varying images waveforms of cardiograms received time-sequentially from said electrocardiograph.

3. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said instruction signal transmitted from said communication device includes information about the selected posture.

4. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said communication device is a portable terminal device.

5. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said communication device communicates with said electrocardiograph by electro-magnetic coupling.

6. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said communication device communicates with said electrocardiograph by infrared rays.

7. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said multiple posture options include a standing position and a face-up lying position.

8. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said multiple posture options include a standing position, a face-up lying position, a right side lying position, and a left side lying position.

9. Electrocardiograph system of claim 8, wherein

said communication device has an operating unit provided with multiple marks corresponding respectively to said standing, face-up lying, right side lying, and left side lying positions, by means of which the selection of each posture is entered.

10. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1, wherein

said electrocardiograph stores cardiograms produced for a predetermined period and stores also information for identifying portions that correspond to said reference cardiogram from a series of cardiograms thus stored.

11. Electrocardiograph system of claim 1 further comprising an analyzing device that analyzes cardiograms;

wherein

said analyzing device wirelessly receives from said electrocardiograph said reference cardiogram and the cardiograms produced by said electrocardiograph for the predetermined period, and compares the cardiograms produced by said electrocardiograph for the predetermined period with said reference cardiogram.

12. Electrocardiograph system of claim 11, wherein

said analyzing device discriminates changes in the cardiograms caused by disease from changes caused in the cardiograms caused by posture changes of the subject based on the result of comparing, and counts the number of abnormal heartbeats contained in the cardiograms.

13. Electrocardiograph system comprising:

an input circuit producing cardiograms based on electrical potential changes detected by biological electrodes;

an operating unit accepting a subject'"'"'s posture selected from multiple posture options;

a memory storing a cardiogram produced by said input circuit when said operating unit accepts a posture selection as the reference cardiogram corresponding to the selected posture discriminating it from other cardiograms; and

a display displaying as a static image the waveform of said reference cardiogram, while sequentially displaying as time-varying images waveforms of cardiograms produced time-sequentially by said input circuit.

15. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein said display displays the waveform of said reference cardiogram as a static image at a time when said reference cardiogram is stored in said memory.

16. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein the input circuit forms a part of a first device and the operating unit forms a part of a second device, the first and second devices being separate from one another and communicating with one another wirelessly.

17. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein the input circuit forms a part of a storage device, and the operating unit forms a part of a monitoring device that also includes a communication unit which transmits a reference cardiogram storage instruction to the storage device when the operating unit accepts the posture selection as the reference cardiogram.

18. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein the monitoring device receives the reference cardiogram from the storage device in response to the reference cardiogram storage instruction received by the storage device, with the display displaying the static image of the waveform of the reference cardiogram.

19. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein the operating unit and the display are provided together on a single unit.

20. Electrocardiograph system of claim 13, wherein said single unit is a monitoring device.

14. Communication device wirelessly communicating with an electrocardiograph comprising:

an operating unit accepting a subject'"'"'s posture selected from multiple posture options;

a transmitting unit transmitting a predetermined instruction signal to said electrocardiograph when the posture is accepted; and

a receiving unit receiving a cardiogram produced by the electrocardiograph when the electrocardiograph receives said instruction signal as the reference cardiogram corresponding to the selected posture discriminating it from other cardiograms.