Portable medical device for assistance to heart patients and method for processing and transmitting data through said device

• US 9,392,940 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2013
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medico, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Medico, Inc.
• Inventors: Snichelotto, Eugenio
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes, Rex R
• Application Number:
  US14/425,609
• Publication Number:
  US 20150223692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,014 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/363 Detecting tachycardia or bradycardia
• 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: A61N 1/371 Capture, i.e. successful stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37211 Means for communicating with stimulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37217 characterised by the communication link, e.g. acoustic or tactile
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37247 User interfaces, e.g. input or presentation means
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37258 Alerting the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37282 characterised by communication with experts in remote locations using a network
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

The invention relates to a portable medical device for assistance to heart patients carrying an implanted pacemaker, which includes at least one electric energy accumulator for power supply, at least one electronic card provided with a first wireless communication unit for the reception of data sent by the pacemaker, and a processing unit suited to process the data received from the pacemaker. The device further includes an external casing suited to be grasped by the patient in order to bring it to the pacemaker'"'"'s transmission field and provided with at least one light signal for communicating the data processed by the processing unit at least partially to the patient.

Claims

1. A method of processing and transmitting data by a portable medical device for assistance to heart patients carrying an implanted pacemaker comprising:

providing the portable medical device, which comprises,

a unit measuring and storing data regarding functionality of a patient'"'"'s heart or of the pacemaker,

a wireless unit configured to transmit the stored data stored within a transmission field proximal to the pacemaker,

at least one electric energy accumulator for power supply,

at least one electronic card provided with a first wireless communication unit for receiving the data sent by the pacemaker, and a unit for processing the data received from the pacemaker, and

an external casing configured to be grasped by the patient in order to bring the external casing to the transmission field proximal to the pacemaker and provided with at least one light signal configured to communicate at least partially the data processed by said processing unit to the patient;

positioning, by the patient, said portable medical device in the transmission field proximal to the pacemaker;

selectively starting reception of the data sent by the pacemaker by said portable medical device;

processing the data received from the pacemaker, carried out by said portable medical device; and

communicating at least partially to the patient the data processed by said processing unit through said at least one light signal,

wherein said processing step comprises determining selected functional parameters starting from the data received from the pacemaker, comparing said selected functional parameters with threshold values of the same parameters set by the patient'"'"'s family doctor, and generating one or more alarms to be activated when at least one of said threshold values is exceeded, said communicating step comprising activating said at least one light signal in presence of one or more of said alarms.

2. The method according to claim 1,

further comprising a first preliminary setting step during which the patient'"'"'s family doctor sets in said portable medical device a first sequence of dates or times for complete execution of all the method steps and a second sequence of dates or times for execution of the steps of providing, positioning, selectively starting, processing and communicating at least partially, wherein said step communicating the data to the patient'"'"'s family doctor is carried out automatically by said portable medical device only in presence of one or more of said alarms.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a second preliminary step during which at least one of said light signals or a sound emitter is automatically activated on a date or at a time contained in said first sequence or in said second sequence, so as to instruct the patient to perform said steps of positioning and selectively starting, while said portable medical device performs automatically said steps of processing, communicating at least partially, and communicating the data, or of processing and communicating at least partially, wherein said step of communicating the data to the patient'"'"'s family doctor is carried out automatically by said portable medical device only in the presence of one or more of said alarms.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said first preliminary setting step comprises storing in said portable medical device, by the patient'"'"'s family doctor, patient'"'"'s personal data, doctor'"'"'s data and data of a reference hospital as well as date or time of the patient'"'"'s next hospital check-up, said method further comprising the step of reminding the date or the time of the next hospital check-up through automatic activation of at least one of said light signals or a sound emitter.

5. The method according to claim 1, and

wherein the step of communication the data to the patient'"'"'s family doctor comprises automatically generating a report file in a standard format.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise impedance of connection catheters between the pacemaker and the patient'"'"'s heart.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise onset of self-commutation of a sensing polarity of the pacemaker.

8. The method according claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise onset of self-commutation of a pacing polarity of the pacemaker.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise duration of an atrial tachycardia or ventricular frequency in presence of an atrial tachycardia.

10. The method according claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise duration of a ventricular tachycardia.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selected functional parameters determined starting from the data received from the pacemaker comprise expiration of a recommended pacemaker replacement time.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said positioning step and said selectively starting step are carried out manually by the patient, while said processing step and said step of at least partially communicating to the patient are carried out automatically by said portable medical device.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of communicating the data received from the pacemaker to the patient'"'"'s family doctor through a second communication unit of a wired type or a third communication unit operating through a mobile cellular network.