System for monitoring patients with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia

• US 6,753,782 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2001
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stepscan Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vitrak Wireless Incorporated
• Inventors: Power, Michael W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US09/985,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20020060630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.4, 340/572.8, 340/539, 340/571, 340/552
• US Class Current: 340/573.4
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1124 Determining motor skills
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1127 using markers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4088 Diagnosing of monitoring cognitive diseases, e.g. Alzheimer, prion diseases or dementia
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/90 Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0211 Combination with medical sensor, e.g. for measuring heart rate, temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0247 System arrangements wherein the alarm criteria uses signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0288 Attachment of child unit to child/article
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0294 Display details on parent unit
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait

Abstract

A system is provided for monitoring the behavior, behavior patterns and movements of patients with Alzheimer'"'"'s, related dementia and a range of other diseases, disorders and injuries including childhood autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), schizophrenia, severe clinical depression, brain injury, and conditions such as recovery from hip replacement surgery. The monitoring system comprises: a transmitter worn by the patient which emits an identification signal; a detector placed at a hazard or a at a location to be monitored, the detector capable of determining the distance of the patient from the detector and determining the occurrence of an incident when the distance falls below a predetermined threshold; a receiving unit for receiving the information transmitted by the detector; and database means for accumulating information received by the receiving unit. The purpose of the system is to safeguard patients from injury and to generate, accumulate and analyze data and information about these diseases, conditions and disorders.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a person under care, comprising:

a transmitter to be worn by the person and for emitting a signal including an identification corresponding to the person;

a detector being capable of detecting the signal and being capable of measuring different values of a physical parameter of the signal which provides different values of distance from the detector to the person as the distance varies, and being capable of transmitting the identification and transmitting information indicative of said different values of distance;

a controller for receiving from the detector, the identification and the information indicative of said different values of distance; and

database means for storing information received by the controller from said detector.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said detector is placed at or near a hazard, and wherein the occurrence of the value of distance from said detector to said person falling below a predetermined threshold indicates that an incident has occurred with respect to the person, and said detector is responsive to the occurrence of said incident to transmit information about said incident, and the controller is adapted to receive said information about said incident.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the transmitter to be worn by the person is a radio frequency identification device.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the transmitter to be worn by the person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

5. The system of claim 2 further including a medical organizer having a display screen, and wherein the controller is adapted to transmit said information about said incident to the medical organizer for display in the event that the controller receives said information about said incident.

6. The system of claim 5 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to the person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring said person.

7. The system of claim 2 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to the person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring said person.

8. The system of claim 2 wherein the detector is adapted such that if one of the different values of distance from the detector to the person falls below the predetermined threshold, the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the detector is capable of deactivating the hazard in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

10. The system of claim 9 further including an alarm, and wherein the detector is adapted to transmit a signal to the alarm in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

11. The system of claim 8 further including an alarm, and wherein the detector is adapted to transmit a signal to the alarm in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

12. The system of claim 11 further including a medical organizer having a display screen, and wherein the controller is adapted to transmit said information about said incident to the medical organizer for display in the event that the controller receives said information about said incident.

13. The system of claim 11 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to the person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring said person.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter to be worn by the person is a radio frequency identification device.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the transmitter to be worn by the person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

16. The system of claim 1 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to the person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring said person.

17. A system as claimed in claim 1, comprising one or more further detectors, each further detector being capable of detecting said signal and being capable of measuring different values of a physical parameter of the signal which provides different values of distance from the detector to the person as the distance varies, and being capable of transmitting the identification and transmitting information indicative of said different values of distance, said controller being adapted to receive from each further detector the identification and said information indicative of said different values of distance, and said database means being adapted to store information received by the controller from each further detector.

18. A system for monitoring a plurality of persons under care, comprising:

for each person, a transmitter to be worn by the person and for emitting a signal including an identification corresponding to the person;

a plurality of detectors, for each signal, each detector being capable of detecting the signal and being capable of measuring different values of a physical parameter of the signal which provides different values of distance from the detector to the person that corresponds to the signal as the distance varies, and being capable of transmitting the identification corresponding to the person included in the signal and transmitting information indicative of said different values of distance;

a plurality of receiving units, each receiving unit being capable of receiving from a detector the identification corresponding to each person and the information indicative of said different values of distance from said detector to each person, each receiving unit being capable of transmitting the identification corresponding to each person and transmitting the information indicative of said different values of distance from said detector to each person; and

a central database remote from each receiving unit for storing information received by each receiving unit from said detector.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the central database is accessible by means of the Internet.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein a detector of the plurality of detectors is placed at or near a hazard, and wherein the occurrence of the value of distance from said detector to a person corresponding to a signal falling below a predetermined threshold indicates that an incident has occurred with respect to said person, and said detector is responsive to the occurrence of said incident to transmit information about said incident, and a receiving unit capable of receiving information from said detector is adapted to receive said information about said incident and to transmit said information about said incident.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is a radio frequency identification device.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein the detector is adapted such that if one of the different values of distance from the detector to the person corresponding to the signal falls below the predetermined threshold, the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the different values of the physical parameter of the signal are different values of strength of reception of the signal, and wherein the detector is adapted such that if one of the different values of strength of reception of the signal rises above a predetermined strength of reception threshold value the detector detects the occurrence of said incident by detecting that one of the different values of strength of reception of the signal has risen above the predetermined strength of reception threshold value.

25. The system of claim 18 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is a radio frequency identification device.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

27. A system for monitoring a plurality of persons under care, comprising:

for each person, a transmitter to be worn by the person and for emitting a signal including an identification corresponding to the person;

a detector, which for each signal, is capable of detecting the signal and is capable of measuring different values of a physical parameter of the signal which provides different values of distance from the detector to the person corresponding to the signal as the distance varies, and being capable of transmitting the identification corresponding to the person included in the signal and transmitting information indicative of said different values of distance;

a controller for receiving from the detector the identification corresponding to each person and the information indicative of said different values of distance from the detector to each person; and

database means for storing information received by the controller from the detector.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the detector is placed at or near a hazard, and wherein the occurrence of the value of distance from said detector to a person corresponding to a signal falling below a predetermined threshold indicates that an incident has occurred with respect to said person, and said detector is responsive to the occurrence of said incident to transmit information about said incident, and the controller receives the information about said incident.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the detector is adapted such that if one of the different values of distance from the detector to the person corresponding to the signal fills below a predetermined threshold, the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the detector is capable of deactivating the hazard in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

31. The system of claim 30 further including an alarm, and wherein the detector is adapted to transmit a signal to the alarm in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

32. The system of claim 29 further including an alarm, and wherein the detector is adapted to transmit a signal to the alarm in the event that the detector detects the occurrence of said incident.

33. The system of claim 32 further including a medical organizer having a display screen, and wherein the controller is adapted to transmit said information about said incident to the medical organizer for display in the event that the controller receives said information about said incident.

34. The system of claim 32 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to each person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring a person of the plurality of persons.

35. The system of claim 28 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is a radio frequency identification device.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

37. The system of claim 28 further including a medical organizer having a display screen, and wherein the controller is adapted to transmit said information about said incident to the medical organizer for display in the event that the controller receives said information about said incident.

38. The system of claim 37 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to each person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring a person of the plurality of persons.

39. The system of claim 28 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to each person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring a person of the plurality of persons.

40. The system of claim 27 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is a radio frequency identification device.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the transmitter to be worn by each person is housed within an electronic monitoring tag.

42. The system of claim 27 further including a medical organizer to which the controller transmits information corresponding to each person, and wherein the medical organizer is capable of receiving observations and comments from a caregiver monitoring a person of the plurality of persons.

43. A system as claimed in claim 27, comprising one or more further detectors, for each signal, each further detector being capable of detecting the signal and being capable of measuring different values of a physical parameter of the signal which provides different values of distance from the detector to the person corresponding to the signal as the distance varies, and being capable of transmitting the identification corresponding to the person included in the signal and transmitting information indicative of said different values of distance, for each signal, said controller being adapted to receive from each further detector the identification corresponding to the person included in the signal and said information indicative of said different values of distance, and said database means being adapted to store information received by the controller from each further detector.