System and method for remotely monitoring a medical device

• US 9,928,712 B1
• Filed: 05/05/2017
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Frederick Huntington Firth Clark
• Original Assignee: Frederick Huntington Firth Clark
• Inventors: Clark, Frederick Huntington Firth
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Point, Rufus
• Application Number:
  US15/587,711
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 1/08 using electric transmission ; transformation of alarm signals to electrical signals from a different medium, e.g. transmission of an electric alarm signal upon detection of an audible alarm signal
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/04 Monitoring of the detection circuits

Abstract

A system and method for remotely monitoring a medical device includes a sensor for monitoring sounds in the proximity of a medical device. The sensor has a microphone for producing an audio supervision signal. There is a memory and processing circuit for storing the audio supervision signal and having a monitoring program that includes device alarm characteristics, and a status flag file, and a communication circuit for communicating with a server. There is a server in communication with the sensor and a remote terminal in communication with the server. The monitoring program is configured to analyze the audio supervision signal and to refresh the status flag file to a value based whether the audio supervision signal contains the device alarm characteristics. The server is configured to query the sensor and to send an alert to a remote terminal if the status flag signal indicates that the audio supervision signal matches the device alarm characteristics.

Claims

1. A sensor for monitoring a medical device, comprising:

a microphone for producing an audio supervision signal from an audible event detected by the microphone, a memory and processing circuit for storing the audio supervision signal and having a monitoring program that includes device alarm characteristics, and a status flag file, and a communication circuit for communicating with a server;

wherein the monitoring program is configured to analyze the audio supervision signal and to refresh the status flag file to a value based on whether the audio supervision signal contains the device alarm characteristics; and

wherein the server is configured to query the sensor and to send an alert to a remote terminal if the status flag signal indicates that the audio supervision signal matches the device alarm characteristics.

2. The sensor of claim 1 further comprising an alarm analysis program for identifying and storing device alarm characteristics from a sample device alarm.

3. A system for remotely monitoring a medical device, comprising:

a sensor for monitoring sounds in the proximity of a medical device, said sensor including a microphone for producing an audio supervision signal from an audible event detected by the microphone, a memory and processing circuit for storing the audio supervision signal and having a monitoring program that includes device alarm characteristics, and a status flag file, and a communication circuit for communicating with a server;

a server in communication with the sensor; and

a remote terminal in communication with the server;

wherein the monitoring program is configured to analyze the audio supervision signal and to refresh the status flag file to a value based on whether the audio supervision signal contains the device alarm characteristics; and

wherein the server is configured to query the sensor and to send an alert to a remote terminal if the status flag signal indicates that the audio supervision signal matches the device alarm characteristics.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the remote terminal is any one of a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, personal computer, an audio speaker or a pager.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the sensor is configured to be connected to a device status signal port of a medical device configured to issue a device status signal via the device status signal port to indicate when the medical device is not functioning properly and the sensor is configured to issue a status flag that indicates failure when the medical device status signal does not indicate that the medical device is functioning properly.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the device alarm characteristics comprise a frequency and an amplitude.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the device alarm characteristics include a duration of the frequency and amplitude.

8. The system of claim 3 wherein the memory and processing circuit further includes an alarm analysis program for identifying device alarm characteristics.

9. A method for remotely monitoring a medical device, the method comprising:

providing at least one sensor including a microphone, a memory and processing circuit having a status flag file stored therein, a signal analyzer, an alarm analysis program for identifying device alarm characteristics and for generating a monitoring program which can generate status flag files, and a communication circuit for communicating with a server;

analyzing a device alarm to identify device alarm characteristics;

generating a monitoring program to identify device alarm characteristics in an audio supervision signal;

sensing audible events from the vicinity of a medical device through the microphone and producing the audio supervision signal;

testing the audio supervision signal for device alarm characteristics and generating a status flag signal indicating the result of the test, wherein a PASS status flag signal indicates that the audio supervision signal does not have the device alarm characteristics and a FAIL status flag signal indicates that the audio supervision signal does have the device alarm characteristics;

querying the sensor from a remote server to ascertain that value of the status flag file, and sending an alert if the status flag value is FAIL.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the device alarm characteristics comprises a frequency and amplitude over a specified sample period.