Wireless telecommunications system adaptable for patient monitoring

• US 20090105549A1
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smiths Medical ASD, Inc. (Smiths Group International Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smiths Medical MD Incorporated
• Inventors: Ellis, Matthew E., Oswald, Matthew T., Smith, Guy A., Brown, Matthew L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,134,459 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0209 adapted for power saving
• 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 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/747 in case of emergency, i.e. alerting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A wireless network having an architecture that resembles a peer-to-peer network has two types of nodes, a first sender type node and a second receiver/relay type node. The network may be used in a medical instrumentation environment whereby the first type node may be wireless devices that could monitor physical parameters of a patient such as for example wireless oximeters. The second type node are mobile wireless communicators that are adapted to receive the data from the wireless devices if they are within the transmission range of the wireless devices. After an aggregation process involving the received data, each of the node communicators broadcasts or disseminates its most up to date data onto the network. Any other relay communicator node in the network that is within the broadcast range of a broadcasting communicator node would receive the up to date data. This makes it possible for communicators that are out of the transmitting range of a wireless device to be apprized of the condition of the patient being monitored by the wireless device. Each communicator in the network is capable of receiving and displaying data from a plurality of wireless devices.

Claims

1. System for communicating information relating to physical attributes of patients, comprising:

at least one patient monitoring device associated with a patient having sensor means for detecting at least one physical attribute from the patient and at least a transmitter for transmitting patient data corresponding to the detected physical attribute out to a device transmission area; and

a plurality of communicators, each of said communicators having a transceiver adapted to at least receive data transmitted from said patient monitoring device when located within said device transmission area and to communicate with other communicators within a communicator transceiving area;

wherein one of said communicators, when located within said device transmission area, is adapted to receive the patient data from said patient monitoring device, and wherein after receipt of the patient data from said patient monitoring device, said one communicator broadcasts the patient data to other communicators that are located within its communicator transceiving area.

2. System of claim 1, wherein each of other of said plurality of communicators within the communicator transceiving area of said one communicator, upon receiving the patient data from said one communicator, broadcasts the patient data for dissemination to other communicators located within the communicator transceiving area of said each other communicator.

3. System of claim 1, wherein there are at least two communicators located within said device transmission area, first of said two communicators broadcasting the patient data it received from said patient monitoring device in accordance to an assigned time slot time synchronized with another time slot assigned to second of said two communicators so that there is no interference in the transmission and reception of signals between the two communicators.

4. System of claim 2, wherein said each communicator updates the patient data stored in its data store with the patient data it has most recently received provided that the most recently received patient data is more up to date than the patient data, if any, already stored in its data store.

5. System of claim 1, wherein said each communicator in receipt of the patient data aggregates the received patient data with data, if any, previously stored in its data store and thereafter broadcasts the aggregated patient data to its transceiving area.

6. System of claim 1, wherein a remote communicator that is located out of the range of the device transmission area of said patient monitoring device is adaptable to receive patient data of the patient so long as said remote communicator is within the transceiving area of said one communicator or is telecommunicatively linked to said one communicator indirectly via at least an other communicator so that a telecommunications path is established between said one communicator and said remote communicator.

7. System of claim 1, wherein said patient monitoring device comprises an oximeter having a transceiver including said transmitter, said patient monitoring device wearable by the patient.

8. System of claim 1, wherein each of said communicators comprises an oximeter having a radio transceiver adapted to both receive and transmit signals within its transceiving area, said each communicator including at least one memory for storing the patient data.

9. System of claim 1, wherein there are multiple patient monitoring devices each associated with a particular patient, each of said multiple patient monitoring devices having sensor means for detecting at least one physical attribute from its associated patient and at least a transceiver to at least transmit patient data corresponding to the detected physical attribute of the particular patient within a device transmission area;

and

wherein each of said plurality of communicators, when located within the device transmission area of said each patient monitoring device, receives the patient data transmitted from said each patient monitoring device in accordance to an assigned time slot time synchronized with respective time slots assigned to said multiple patient monitoring devices and others of said plurality of communicators so that there is no interference in the transmission and reception of data and/or signals among the multiple patient monitoring devices and the plurality of communicators.

10. System of claim 1, wherein said patient monitoring device and each of said plurality of communicators are time synchronized with respect to a communications schedule for the transmission, reception and/or broadcasting of signals and/or data.

11. System of claim 1, wherein said transmitter comprises an other of said communicators, and wherein said other communicator is located fixedly relative to said sensor means so that a communications path is established between said other communicator and said one communicator.

12. System of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of communicators is mobile and is adapted to be positioned at different locations.

13. System for communicating information relating to physical attributes of patients, comprising:

multiple patient monitoring devices each associated with a particular patient, each of the multiple patient monitoring devices having sensor means for detecting at least one physical attribute from the patient associated therewith and at least one transmitter for transmitting patient data corresponding to the physical attribute detected for the particular patient out to a transmission area of said each patient monitoring device; and

a plurality of communicators, each of said communicators having a transceiver adapted to receive patient data transmitted from patient monitoring devices when located within respective transmission areas of the patient monitoring devices, and to communicate with other communicators within its transceiving area;

wherein each of said communicators, when located within the transmission area of any one of said patient monitoring devices, is adapted to receive the patient data from said any one patient monitoring device and broadcasts the received patient data out to its communicator transceiving area.

14. System of claim 13, wherein other communicators located within the communicator transceiving area of said each communicator are adapted to receive the patient data broadcasted by said each communicator and to thereafter broadcast the received patient data out to their respective transceiving areas.

15. System of claim 13, wherein a remote communicator that is located out of the range of the device transmission area of any one of said patient monitoring devices is adaptable to receive the patient data of the patient associated with said any one patient monitoring device so long as said remote communicator is within the transceiving area of a given communicator located within the device transmission area of said any one patient monitoring device and is in receipt of the patient data from said any one patient monitoring device, or is telecommunicatively linked to said given communicator indirectly via at least an other communicator so that a telecommunications path is established between said given communicator and said remote communicator.

16. System of claim 13, wherein said each communicator aggregates the received patient data with patient data, if any, previously stored in its data store and, provided that the received patient data is more up to date than the previously stored patient data, thereafter broadcasts the aggregated patient data to its transceiving area.

17. System of claim 13, wherein said each communicator in receipt of patient data of a particular patient associated with a particular one of said multiple patient monitoring devices aggregates the received patient data with data, if any, previously stored in its data store and thereafter broadcasts the aggregated patient data of said particular patient to its transceiving area so that the aggregated patient data may be propagated further along by being broadcast by any other communicator located within the range of the transceiving area of said each communicator.

18. System of claim 13, wherein each of said plurality of communicators, when located within the device transmission area of any one of said multiple patient monitoring devices, receives the patient data transmitted from said any one patient monitoring device in accordance to an assigned time slot time synchronized with respective time slots assigned to said multiple patient monitoring devices and others of said plurality of communicators so that there is no interference in the transmission and reception of signals among the multiple patient monitoring devices and the plurality of communicators.

19. System of claim 13, wherein each of said multiple patient monitoring devices and each of said plurality of communicators are time synchronized with respect to a communications schedule for the transmission, reception and/or broadcasting of signals and/or data.

20. System of claim 13, wherein the transmitter associated with at least one of said multiple patient monitoring devices comprises an other communicator located fixedly relative to the sensor means of said at least one patient monitoring device adapted to communicate with said each communicator of said plurality of communicators.

21. System of claim 13, wherein at least one of said plurality of communicator is movable to different locations relative to at least one other of said communicators and/or at least one of said multiple patient monitoring devices.

22. System for disseminating information relating to physical attributes of patients remotely, comprising:

at least one oximeter associated with a patient having sensor means for detecting at least SPO2 of the patient, said oximeter including a transceiver to at least transmit patient data corresponding to the detected SPO2 away from said device;

a plurality of communicators, each of said communicators having a transceiver adapted to receive data transmitted from said patient oximeter when located within the transmission range of said patient oximeter, said each communicator further adapted to communicate with other communicators;

wherein one of said communicators, when located within the transmission range of said patient oximeter, receives the patient data from said patient oximeter, and thereafter broadcasts the received patient data to other communicators that are located within its transmission range.

23. System of claim 22, wherein each of said communicators comprises an oximeter having means to display at least the received patient data, and a memory for storing patient data, wherein the patient data of the patient stored in the memory is updated when new patient data of the patient is received.

24. System of claim 22, further comprising:

another communicator located out of the transmission range of said patient oximeter but nonetheless receives the patient data when it is within the broadcast range of said one communicator so that it is able to receive the patient data broadcast by said one communicator, said communicator movable relative to said patient oximeter.

25. System of claim 22, wherein said patient oximeter and the plurality of communicators each are assigned a given time slot synchronized with other time slots to effect time scheduled communications among said patient oximeter and the plurality of communicators.