Medical monitoring system having multipath communications capability

• US 20020193076A1
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Braemar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cardionet Incorporated
• Inventors: Eggers, Philip N., Rogers, Bobby E., Marable, William R.
• Granted Patent: US 6,665,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/66.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/004 Alarm propagated along alternative communication path or using alternative communication medium according to a hierarchy of available ways to communicate, e.g. if Wi-Fi not available use GSM
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry

Abstract

A medical monitoring system has a sensor system including a sensor associated with a patient and a remote monitoring unit. The remote monitoring unit includes a microprocessor in communication with the sensor system, and a portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system in communication with the microprocessor. The portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system has a land-line telephone transceiver and/or a cellular telephone transceiver, and a third-network transceiver such as a paging-network transceiver. A full data set is transmitted over the land-line telephone transceiver or the cellular telephone transceiver when communications links over these transceivers are available, and a reduced data set is transmitted over the third-network transceiver when communications links over the land-line telephone transceiver and the cellular telephone transceiver are not available.

Claims

1. A medical monitoring system, comprising:

a sensor system including a sensor associated with a patient; and

a remote monitoring unit comprising

a microprocessor in communication with the sensor system, and

a portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system in communication with the microprocessor, the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system comprising

a land-line telephone transceiver,

a primary wireless-network transceiver, and

a third-network transceiver.

2. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the primary wireless-network transceiver comprises a cellular telephone transceiver.

3. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the third-network transceiver comprises a paging-network transceiver.

4. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the third-network transceiver comprises a bidirectional paging-network transceiver.

5. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein a third network operating with the third-network transceiver has a lower data bandwidth than a primary wireless network operating with the primary wireless-network transceiver.

6. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the medical monitoring system further includes

a central unit comprising

a central unit transceiver which supports communication with the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system.

7. The medical monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor of the remote monitoring unit includes

a first processing routine that transmits

a full data set over the land-line telephone transceiver when a communication link over the land-line telephone transceiver is available, and

a full data set over the primary wireless-network transceiver when a communication link over the primary wireless-network transceiver is available and a communication link over the land-line telephone transceiver is not available, and

a second processing routine that transmits a reduced data set over the third-network transceiver when a communication link over the land-line telephone transceiver and the primary wireless-network transceiver are not available.

8. A medical monitoring system, comprising:

a sensor system including a sensor associated with a patient; and

a remote monitoring unit comprising

a microprocessor in communication with the sensor system, and

a portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system in communication with the microprocessor, the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system comprising a paging-network transceiver.

9. The medical monitoring system of claim 8, wherein the medical monitoring system further includes

a central unit comprising

a central unit transceiver which supports communication with the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system.

10. A medical monitoring system, comprising:

a sensor system including a sensor associated with a patient; and

a remote monitoring unit comprising

a microprocessor in communication with the sensor system, and

a portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system in communication with the microprocessor, the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system comprising

at least one transceiver selected from the group consisting of a land-line telephone transceiver and a primary wireless-network transceiver, and

a third-network transceiver.

11. The medical monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the primary wireless-network transceiver comprises a cellular telephone transceiver.

12. The medical monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the third-network transceiver comprises a paging-network transceiver.

13. The medical monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the medical monitoring system further includes

a central unit comprising

a central unit transceiver which supports communication with the portable-monitoring-unit transceiver system.

14. The medical monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the microprocessor of the remote monitoring unit includes

a first processing routine that transmits a full data set over the at least one transceiver when a communication link over the at least one transceiver is available, and

a second processing routine that transmits a reduced data set over the third-network transceiver when a communication link over the at least one additional transceiver is not available.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third-network link is a paging-network link.

15. A method for performing communications by a remote monitoring unit to a central unit, comprising the steps of

determining a need for communication by the remote monitoring unit to the central unit;

the remote monitoring unit communicating with the central unit by a land-line link if the land-line link is available;

the remote monitoring unit communicating with the central unit by a cellular link if the land-line link is not available; and

the remote monitoring unit communicating with the central unit by a third-network link if the land-line link and the cellular link are not available.