Two-axis inclinometer head of bed elevation alarm and method of operation
First Claim
1. An angular elevation notification system comprising:
- a two-axis inclinometer capable of being attached to a surface of an upper portion of a bed, wherein said two-axis inclinometer is substantially unaffected in operation by an arbitrary rotation about an axis perpendicular to said surface,said two-axis inclinometer operable to detect an angle between said surface and a local gravity vector; and
a notification device coupled to said two-axis inclinometer and operable to alert a caregiver if said angle is outside of a predetermined range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus used for reducing the incidence of aspiration in patients using a two-axis inclinometer is disclosed. The apparatus uses a two-axis inclinometer that is attached in the region of the patient'"'"'s upper body to measure the absolute angular elevation of the patient'"'"'s upper body, which is then transmitted to a display or other output device. In one embodiment, the instrument can be mounted to the head of a bed in a plurality of orientations and accurately measure the absolute angular elevation of the patient'"'"'s upper body. In other embodiments the absolute angular elevation of the patient'"'"'s upper body information is processed and transmitted to the nurses'"'"' station or to a data recorder. The disclosure also relates to a method for measuring the physical orientation of a patient, using such two-axis inclinometer apparatus.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An angular elevation notification system comprising:
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a two-axis inclinometer capable of being attached to a surface of an upper portion of a bed, wherein said two-axis inclinometer is substantially unaffected in operation by an arbitrary rotation about an axis perpendicular to said surface, said two-axis inclinometer operable to detect an angle between said surface and a local gravity vector; and a notification device coupled to said two-axis inclinometer and operable to alert a caregiver if said angle is outside of a predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for alerting a caregiver of an improper patient orientation, said method comprising:
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coupling a two-axis inclinometer to an upper portion of a patient bed, wherein said two-axis inclinometer may be arbitrarily rotated about an axis perpendicular to said upper portion of said patient bed; measuring an angle between a local gravity vector and an upper body of a patient via said two-axis inclinometer; determining if said angle is outside a predetermined range; and alerting said caregiver if said angle is outside said predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification