Medical instrument with low power, high contrast display
First Claim
1. A patient monitoring instrument operable in different ambient lighting conditions comprising:
- circuitry which produces a measure of one or more patient bodily functions;
a display, coupled to the circuitry, which displays the bodily function measure in numeric or graphical form;
a user interface for selecting one of a plurality of display maps of different contrast,a display controller, coupled to the display and coupled to the user interface, for setting the display to display the bodily function measure in accordance with a selected display map, wherein one of the display maps acts to cause the display of a bright bodily function measure against a dark background, and another of the display maps acts to cause the display of a dark bodily function measure against a bright background; and
an ambient light sensor, coupled to the user interface, and configured to sense an ambient light level in which the instrument is operating, wherein the user interface is responsive to a change in the ambient light level above or below a preset or user-adjusted threshold to automatically change the selected display map.
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Abstract
A patient monitoring/defibrillation instrument displays patient vital signs in numeric form or as graphical waveform traces. Under normal room lighting conditions the numeric and waveform information is displayed in color against a black or gray background. When the patient monitor is operated outside or in bright light, the user has the option to select a color map for display of the patient vital signs information in a highly contrasting manner such as black numeric or waveform information against a bright background such as yellow. The high contrast display, while being objectionable in most indoor settings, has been found to comfortably and effectively display the monitored information in sunlight without the need to increase power to the display.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A patient monitoring instrument operable in different ambient lighting conditions comprising:
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circuitry which produces a measure of one or more patient bodily functions; a display, coupled to the circuitry, which displays the bodily function measure in numeric or graphical form; a user interface for selecting one of a plurality of display maps of different contrast, a display controller, coupled to the display and coupled to the user interface, for setting the display to display the bodily function measure in accordance with a selected display map, wherein one of the display maps acts to cause the display of a bright bodily function measure against a dark background, and another of the display maps acts to cause the display of a dark bodily function measure against a bright background; and an ambient light sensor, coupled to the user interface, and configured to sense an ambient light level in which the instrument is operating, wherein the user interface is responsive to a change in the ambient light level above or below a preset or user-adjusted threshold to automatically change the selected display map. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A patient monitoring instrument operable in different ambient lighting conditions comprising:
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circuitry which produces a measure of one or more patient bodily functions; a display which displays the bodily function measure in numeric or graphical form; and a display controller, coupled to the circuitry and to the display, for setting the display of the bodily function measure and background, wherein the display controller is configured to cause the display of one of two selectable display which are a colored or bright bodily function measure against a dark background, and a dark bodily function measure against a bright background, wherein the display controller sets the display in accordance with an algorithm or other programmed information which includes pixel selections for displaying the bodily function measure and background colors. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A patient monitoring instrument operable in different ambient lighting conditions comprising:
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circuitry which produces a measure of one or more patient bodily functions; a display which displays the bodily function measure in numeric or graphical form in at least one of a normal contrast viewing mode or a high contrast viewing mode; a display controller, coupled to the display, which, in the normal viewing mode causes the display of at least one of a color bodily function measure or a bright bodily function measure against a dark background, and, in the high contrast viewing mode, causes the display of a dark bodily function measure against a bright background, wherein the display displays the bodily function measure in the normal viewing mode when the instrument is used in an indoor setting of relatively low ambient light and the display displays the bodily function measure in the high contrast viewing mode when the instrument is used in an outdoor setting of relatively high ambient light; and an ambient light sensor, coupled to the display controller, and configured to sense an ambient light level in which the instrument is operating, wherein the display controller is responsive to a change in the ambient light level above or below one or more preset or user-adjusted thresholds to automatically change the display from the low contrast viewing mode to the high contrast viewing mode, or from the high contrast viewing mode to the low contrast viewing mode. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for operating a patient monitoring instrument comprising:
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locating the instrument in a setting with relatively high ambient light; manipulating a control to selectively change a display contrast from one which displays at least one of numeric or graphical information in a bright color against a dark background to one which displays at least one of the numeric or graphical information in a dark color against a bright background when the instrument is used in the setting with relatively high ambient light, wherein selectively changing the display contrast is based on ambient lighting conditions, and wherein the control is automatically manipulated to selectively change the display contrast in response to a change in an ambient light level above at least one of a preset or user-adjusted threshold. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification