System and method for transfer of primary alarm notification on patient monitoring systems

• US 9,384,652 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2014
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spacelabs Healthcare LLC (OSI Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Spacelabs Healthcare LLC (OSI Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gilham, Jeffrey Jay, Jensen, Patrick Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US14/460,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20150035679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The present application discloses methods and systems for transferring primary alarm notification on patient monitoring systems from a bedside monitor to one or more secondary devices which may operate on a less than fully reliable network. The bedside monitor includes an attached physiological parameter measurement device which detects when a specific physiological parameter measures outside a predetermined range. The bedside monitor then directs the secondary device(s) to annunciate its alarm. Primary alarming responsibility reverts from the secondary device(s) back to the bedside monitor whenever communication between the two is lost or when acknowledgement of the alarm condition by the secondary device is not relayed back to the bedside monitor within a predetermined amount of time.

Claims

1. A system for managing alarms in a medical environment, comprising:

a secondary device adapted to generate a request for primary alarm responsibility from a bedside monitor, establish a consistent confirmation that a communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational, and, when an alarm condition is detected, actuate an alarm and send an acknowledgement to the bedside monitor; and

the bedside monitor adapted to receive the request for primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device, establish said consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational, and, if said acknowledgement from the secondary device is not received in a predetermined amount of time, retake primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the bedside monitor is further configured to actuate an alarm if said acknowledgement from the secondary device is not received in a predetermined amount of time.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the secondary device is further configured to receive an acknowledgement of the alarm by a user.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the secondary device is further configured to communicate said acknowledgement of the alarm by the user to the bedside monitor.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the bedside monitor is further configured to actuate an alarm if said acknowledgement of the alarm by the user is not received in a predetermined amount of time from the secondary device.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein, if the consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational is not detected by the bedside monitor, the bedside monitor retakes primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein, if the consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational is not detected by the bedside monitor, the bedside monitor actuates said alarm.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein, if the consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational fails to meet a predefined reliability threshold, the bedside monitor retakes primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein, if the consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational fails to meet a predefined reliability threshold, the bedside monitor actuates said alarm.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said consistent confirmation that the communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is an electronic heartbeat.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said secondary device is at least one of a cellular phone, PDA, smart phone, tablet computing device, patient monitor, custom kiosk, or other computing device.

12. A system for managing alarms in a medical environment, comprising:

a secondary device adapted to generate a request for primary alarm responsibility from a bedside monitor, establish an electronic heartbeat, said electronic heartbeat being a consistent confirmation that a communication link between the secondary device and the bedside monitor is operational, and, when an alarm condition is detected, actuate an alarm and send an acknowledgement to the bedside monitor; and

the bedside monitor adapted to receive the request for primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device, establish said electronic heartbeat between the secondary device and the bedside monitor, and, if said acknowledgement from the secondary device is not received in a predetermined amount of time, actuate an alarm.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the bedside monitor is further configured to retake primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device if said acknowledgement from the secondary device is not received in a predetermined amount of time.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the secondary device is further configured to receive an acknowledgement of the alarm by a user.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the secondary device is further configured to communicate said acknowledgement of the alarm by the user to the bedside monitor.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the bedside monitor is further configured to actuate an alarm if said acknowledgement of the alarm by the user is not received in a predetermined amount of time from the secondary device.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein, if the electronic heartbeat is not detected by the bedside monitor, the bedside monitor retakes primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein, if the electronic heartbeat is not detected by the bedside monitor, the bedside monitor actuates said alarm.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein, if the electronic heartbeat fails to meet a predefined reliability threshold, the bedside monitor retakes primary alarm responsibility from the secondary device.

20. The system of claim 12 wherein, if the electronic heartbeat fails to meet a predefined reliability threshold, the bedside monitor actuates said alarm.