Core body temperature monitoring in heart failure patients
First Claim
1. A heart monitoring system, comprising:
- a temperature sensor for determining a core body temperature of a patient;
a bodily activity sensor for determining a bodily activity level of the patient; and
a heart monitor operatively connected to the temperature sensor and bodily activity sensor and configured to receive data representative of the core body temperature and the bodily activity level;
the heart monitor further being configured to generate an alarm message upon determination that a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level is outside of a predefined range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An implanted heart monitor includes sensors that measure various aspects of the heart failure patient'"'"'s heart. A remote heart monitoring system connects the implanted heart monitor to a care provider, such as a physician. The data provided by the implanted heart monitor permits the care provider to obtain valuable data on the heart in order to make health care decisions affecting the heart failure patient'"'"'s treatment. In many cases, the measurement of core body temperature and other patient data will enable the care provider to alter the patient'"'"'s treatment to address the patient'"'"'s condition. The implanted heart monitor can communicate over a wireless communication link with an external monitor. The implanted heart monitor may be implemented as part of a pacing device (i.e., pace maker) or may be a separate unit devoted to monitoring functions. The external monitor communicates with a monitoring station over a communication link. The monitoring station can operate as a centralized data collection unit, collecting data from multiple external monitors and multiple implanted heart monitors. Various other aspects of a heart failure patient'"'"'s heart and/or body can be monitored, such as heart rate, blood pH levels, blood CO2 levels, and any other indications of the heart failure patient'"'"'s activity. Various predetermined thresholds may be set to trigger alarms and/or data reports.
44 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A heart monitoring system, comprising:
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a temperature sensor for determining a core body temperature of a patient; a bodily activity sensor for determining a bodily activity level of the patient; and a heart monitor operatively connected to the temperature sensor and bodily activity sensor and configured to receive data representative of the core body temperature and the bodily activity level; the heart monitor further being configured to generate an alarm message upon determination that a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level is outside of a predefined range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for diagnosing a performance level of a heart in a patient, comprising the steps of:
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determining a core body temperature; determining a bodily activity level; determining a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level; and generating a first alarm message, in response to determining that the relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level is outside of a predetermined acceptable relationship range. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An implantable heart monitor, comprising:
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a core body temperature sensor for determining a core body temperature of a patient; a bodily activity sensor for determining a bodily activity level of a patient; a transmission unit for transmitting the core body temperature and the bodily activity level to an external monitor; and a processing unit for calculating a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level and for generating an alarm message in response to a determination that the relationship is outside of a predefined acceptable range; wherein the transmission unit is further operative to transmit the alarm message to the external monitor. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A heart monitoring system, comprising:
an implanted heart monitor having; a temperature sensor for determining a core body temperature of a patient; a bodily activity sensor for determining a bodily activity level of the patient; and a communication link for transmitting the core body temperature and the bodily activity level to an external monitor; and the external monitor operative to transmit the core body temperature and the bodily activity level to a care provider; wherein the implanted heart monitor is operative to send an alarm message to the external monitor in response to a determination that a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level is outside of a predefined acceptable range.
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31. An implantable heart monitor, comprising:
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a core temperature level means for determining a core body temperature of a patient; an activity level means for determining a bodily activity level of a patient; a transmission means for transmitting the core body temperature and the bodily activity level to an external monitor; and a processing means for calculating a relationship between the core body temperature and the bodily activity level and for generating an alarm message in response to a determination that the relationship is outside of a predefined acceptable range; wherein the transmission means is further operative to transmit the alarm message to the external monitor.
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Specification