System and method for saving battery power in a patient monitoring system
First Claim
1. A patient monitoring system, comprising:
- a patch having vital-signs monitoring circuitry and a wireless receiver, the patch configured to turn off a first portion of the circuitry that includes the receiver for a determined first period of time upon receipt of a sleep signal and then to turn on the first portion of the circuitry after the first period of time has elapsed, the patch comprising a timer on a second portion of the circuitry that remains ‘
on’
, the timer configured to provide a periodic interrupt signal that turns the first portion of the circuitry ‘
on’
when the first portion of the circuitry is ‘
off’
; and
a bridge comprising a transmitter to send the sleep signal to the patch;
wherein the bridge comprises a processing system to track when the first period of time will elapse and send the sleep signal to the patch after the first period of time elapses, and further wherein the interrupt signal of the timer is synchronized with the sleep signal of the bridge.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vital-signs patch for a patient monitoring system is disclosed. The patch consists of a housing that is configured to be worn on the skin of a patient. The housing contains a radio, one or more sensor interfaces, a processor, and a battery. The processor can selectably turn portions of the processor off and on and selectably turn power off and on to at least a portion of the sensor interfaces and radio. The processor includes a timer that, each time the timer times out, will turn all the parts of the processor on and start a new timing period. When the processor receives a signal, the processor will turn off power to at least a portion of the processor and at least a portion of the sensor interfaces.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A patient monitoring system, comprising:
-
a patch having vital-signs monitoring circuitry and a wireless receiver, the patch configured to turn off a first portion of the circuitry that includes the receiver for a determined first period of time upon receipt of a sleep signal and then to turn on the first portion of the circuitry after the first period of time has elapsed, the patch comprising a timer on a second portion of the circuitry that remains ‘
on’
, the timer configured to provide a periodic interrupt signal that turns the first portion of the circuitry ‘
on’
when the first portion of the circuitry is ‘
off’
; anda bridge comprising a transmitter to send the sleep signal to the patch; wherein the bridge comprises a processing system to track when the first period of time will elapse and send the sleep signal to the patch after the first period of time elapses, and further wherein the interrupt signal of the timer is synchronized with the sleep signal of the bridge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of conserving battery power in a patch having a wireless receiver and vital-signs monitoring circuitry in a patient monitoring system, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a sleep signal, turning off the wireless receiver and a portion of the vital-signs monitoring circuitry on the patch, starting a timer on the patch with a determined period of time to generate an interrupt signal, turning on the portion of the vital-signs monitoring circuitry that was turned off upon generating the interrupt signal, monitoring for sleep signals; synchronizing the interrupt signal from the patch with the sleep signal; and generating an alarm in a hospital system when a vital-signs data read from the patch when the portion of the vital-signs monitoring circuitry triggers at least one preset alarm condition. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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Specification