Electrocardiograph and blood pressure signals simulator

• US 7,917,774 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pronk Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pronk Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Ruiter, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Stoynov; Stefan
• Application Number:
  US11/841,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20080052333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/323, 600/485, 600/500, 702/98, 702/138, 703/6, 708/270
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/319 Circuits for simulating ECG signals
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

System, methods, and apparatuses produce simulated human physiological waveforms such as electrocardiograph (ECG) and blood pressure signals where the microcontroller and/or digital-to-analog converters may be switched to a lower power-consuming state by programmable instructions and switched on in response to a programmable sleep timer.

Claims

1. A physiological waveform simulator comprising:

a sleep timer; and

a microcontroller comprising;

means for waking, responsive to an output from the sleep timer;

means for writing a portion of a simulated physiological waveform profile produced by the physiological waveform simulator; and

means for sleeping;

wherein the means for writing comprises a writing module for executing one or more writing events including a first writing event wherein the microcontroller transmits a first physiological waveform value based on the simulated physiological waveform profile; and

wherein the microcontroller is placed in a lower power-consuming state after the writing module transmits the first physiological waveform value.

2. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 1 wherein the sleep timer comprises a sleep timer oscillator and the microcontroller further comprises a microcontroller oscillator.

3. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 1 wherein the sleep timer is invoked when a time slope of the simulated physiological waveform profile becomes zero.

4. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 1 wherein the means for writing comprises a writing module for writing a plurality of physiological waveform values representative of a simulated physiological waveform profile to a digital-to-analog converter.

5. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 1 wherein

the writing module for executing one or more writing events further includes a second writing event wherein the microcontroller wakens and transmits a second physiological waveform value based on the simulated physiological waveform profile;

wherein the microcontroller is placed in a lower power-consuming state after the writing module transmits the second physiological waveform value; and

wherein a time interval between the first writing event and the second writing event is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

6. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 5 wherein a time interval between the first writing event and the second writing event is inversely related to non-zero time rates of change in the simulated physiological waveform profile.

7. A physiological waveform simulator comprising:

a sleep timer; and

a microcontroller comprising;

a writing module for executing one or more writing events of the physiological waveform simulator, one or more writing events including a first writing event wherein the microcontroller transmits a first physiological waveform value based on a simulated physiological waveform profile, to a digital-to-analog converter; and

wherein the microcontroller is adapted to be placed in a lower power-consuming state after the writing module transmits the first physiological waveform value; and

wherein the digital-to-analog converter is adapted to be placed in an on state to receive the first transmitted physiological waveform value and the digital-to-analog converter is adapted to be placed in a lower power-consuming state after receiving the first physiological waveform value transmission.

8. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the sleep timer comprises a sleep timer oscillator and the microcontroller further comprises a microcontroller oscillator.

9. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 further comprising a sample-and-hold circuit for receiving an output of the digital-to-analog converter prior to the digital-to-analog converter being placed in a lower power-consuming state.

10. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the writing module for executing one or more writing events further includes a second writing event wherein the microcontroller transmits a second physiological waveform value to a digital-to-analog converter;

and

wherein the digital-to-analog converter is adapted to be placed in an on, or awake, state to receive the second transmitted physiological waveform value and the digital-to-analog converter is adapted to be placed in a lower power-consuming state after receiving the second physiological waveform value transmission and wherein a time interval between the first writing event and the second writing event is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

11. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the digital-to-analog converter is adapted to be placed in an on state responsive to the sleep timer.

12. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the sleep timer is invoked when a time slope of the simulated physiological waveform profile becomes zero.

13. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein a time interval between the first writing event and the second writing event is inversely related to non-zero time rates of change in the simulated physiological waveform profile.

14. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the digital-to-analog converter is output-enabled to output a value for a duration wherein the digital-to-analog converter output-enabled duration is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

15. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the digital-to-analog converter is output-enabled to output a value for a duration wherein the digital-to-analog converter output-enabled duration is based on a magnitude of the simulated physiological waveform profile.

16. The physiological waveform simulator of claim 7 wherein the digital-to-analog converter is output-enabled to output a value for a duration wherein the digital-to-analog converter output-enabled duration is based on a time rate of change of the simulated physiological waveform profile.

17. A method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator comprising:

waking a microcontroller of the physiological waveform simulator from a sleep mode via a sleep timer;

transmitting a first physiological waveform value, based on a simulated physiological waveform profile, to at least one of;

a first receiving digital-to-analog converter and a second receiving digital-to-analog converter;

putting the microcontroller into the sleep mode after the transmission of the first physiological waveform value; and

enabling at least one of;

(a) the first receiving digital-to-analog converter to be powered for a duration to drive a first hold circuit and (b) the second receiving digital-to-analog converter to be powered for a duration to drive a second hold circuit.

18. The method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator of claim 17 wherein the enabling duration of the at least one of the first receiving digital-to-analog converter and the second receiving digital-to-analog converter is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

19. The method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator of claim 17 wherein the enabling duration of the at least one of:

the first receiving digital-to-analog converter and the second receiving digital-to-analog converter is based on a magnitude of the simulated physiological waveform profile.

20. The method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator of claim 17 wherein the enabling duration of the at least one of:

of the first receiving digital-to-analog converter and the second receiving digital-to-analog converter is based on a time rate of change of the simulated physiological waveform profile.

21. A method of energy management for the physiological waveform simulator of claim 17 further comprising, when a monitor excitation source is available, powering a portion of the physiological simulator via the monitor excitation source.

22. The method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator of claim 17 further comprising:

waking, after a time interval, the microcontroller from a sleep mode via the sleep timer; and

transmitting a second physiological waveform value, based on the simulated physiological waveform profile, to at least one of a first receiving digital-to-analog converter and a second receiving digital-to-analog converter;

wherein the time interval is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

23. A method of energy management for the physiological waveform simulator of claim 22 further comprising inverting a monitor excitation source to drive at least one of:

the first receiving digital-to-analog converter and the second receiving digital-to-analog converter.

24. A method of energy management for a physiological waveform simulator comprising:

waking a microcontroller of the physiological waveform simulator from a sleep mode via a sleep timer;

writing a first physiological waveform value, based on a simulated physiological waveform profile;

putting the microcontroller into the sleep mode after the writing of the first physiological waveform value;

waking, after a time interval, the microcontroller from the sleep mode via the sleep timer; and

writing a second physiological waveform value, based on the simulated physiological waveform profile;

wherein the time interval is based on the simulated physiological waveform profile.

25. A method of energy management for the physiological waveform simulator of claim 24 further comprising, when a monitor excitation source is available, powering a portion of the physiological waveform simulator via the monitor excitation source.

26. A method of energy management for the physiological waveform simulator of claim 25 further comprising inverting the monitor excitation source to drive at least one digital-to-analog converter.