System and method for providing closely-followed cardiac therapy management through automated patient care

• US 7,996,074 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2006
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Manicka, Yatheendhar D., KenKnight, Bruce H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno; Carl H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bays; Pamela M
• Application Number:
  US11/378,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20070219419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,971 Days
• Field of Search: 600/508, 600/509, 600/513, 600/516, 600/517, 600/518, 607/30, 607/32, 607/9, 340/573.1
• US Class Current: 600/513
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry

Abstract

A system and method for providing closely-followed cardiac therapy management through automated patient care is presented. A patient under remote care is enrolled in a monitoring program following commencement of a cardiac therapy regimen to be undertaken by the patient. A wearable monitor, including one or more patient physiology sensors and a wireless interface providing enabling bi-directional data exchange, is provided to the patient. Patient physiometry, including quantitative physiological measures, is periodically collected from the wearable monitor over the wireless interface concomitant to performance of the cardiac therapy regimen. The patient physiometry is evaluated to determine a trend indicating an onset, progression, regression, absence of, and status quo of patient health status.

Claims

1. An method for providing closely-followed cardiac therapy management through automated patient care, comprising:

selecting a patient having both a remotely monitorable therapy regimen and sufficient access to a network for communicating with a monitoring server;

enrolling the patient under remote care in a monitoring program following commencement of a cardiac therapy regimen to be undertaken by the patient;

providing a wearable monitor comprising one or more patient physiology sensors and a wireless interface providing enabling bi-directional data exchange;

periodically collecting patient physiometry comprising quantitative physiological measures from the wearable monitor over the wireless interface concomitant to performance of the cardiac therapy regimen;

evaluating the patient physiometry to determine a trend indicating an onset, progression, regression, absence of, and status quo of a patient health status;

forming one or more patient groups that each comprise sets of the qualitative physiological measures for a plurality of patients; and

analyzing the qualitative physiological measures sets in the patient groups based on one or more of pre-treatment phenotype, therapeutic response, and medication administered.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the trend to predefined alert conditions; and

generating a notification if at least one predefined alert condition is met.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

performing processing of the patient physiology comprising at least one of 3 statistical analysis, value reduction and derivation, data extrapolation, and threshold evaluation.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

grouping the patient physiology collected during an initial time period into an initial physiological measures set; and

processing the initial physiological measures set in a reference baseline indicating an initial patient health status.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

collecting quality of life physiometry comprising qualitative physiological measures from the wearable monitor over the wireless interface concomitant to performance of the cardiac therapy regimen; and

evaluating the quality of life physiometry as part of determining the patient health status.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the quantitative physiological measures are collected by the wearable monitor on at least one of a continuous and intermittent basis.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the physiological measures are selected from the group comprising heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate variability minimum, heart rate variability maximum, heart rate variability mean, physical activity, and medical therapy compliance.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cardiac therapy regimen is selected from the group comprising medication, dietary restriction or modification, and physical activity restriction.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium holding code for performing the method according to claim 1.

10. An apparatus for providing closely-followed cardiac therapy management through automated patient care, comprising:

means for selecting a patient having both a remotely monitorable therapy regimen and sufficient access to a network for communicating with a monitoring server;

means for enrolling the patient under remote care in a monitoring program following commencement of a cardiac therapy regimen to be undertaken by the patient;

means for monitoring a patient with a wearable device, wherein the wearable device comprises one or more patient physiology sensors and a wireless interface providing enabling bi-directional data exchange;

means for periodically collecting patient physiometry comprising quantitative physiological measures from the wearable monitor over the wireless interface concomitant to performance of the cardiac therapy regimen;

means for evaluating the patient physiometry to determine a trend indicating an onset, progression, regression, absence of, and status quo of a patient health status;

means for forming one or more patient groups that each comprise sets of the qualitative physiological measures for a plurality of patients; and

means for analyzing the qualitative physiological measures sets in the patient groups based on one or more of pre-treatment phenotype, therapeutic response, and medication administered.