METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A CRITICAL SITUATION OF A SUBJECT

• US 20100261982A1
• Filed: 10/03/2008
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Universite Joseph Fourier, Vigilio
• Original Assignee: Universite Joseph Fourier, Vigilio
• Inventors: Noury, Norbert, Lundy, Jean-Eric
• Application Number:
  US12/746,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20100261982A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7246 using correlation, e.g. template matching or determination of similarity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• 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 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method for detecting the critical situation of a subject that comprises measuring a physiological parameter of the subject. The method includes (a) measuring the physiological parameter; (b) calculating a variation rate of the physiological parameter; (c) determining a synthesis variable for the physiological parameter by taking into account both the value of the parameter and the variation rate thereof; and (d) detecting a critical situation from the synthesis variable. Steps (a) to (c) may be implemented for at least two physiological parameters, and the method may further include determining a global decision variable from the different synthesis variables, the critical situation being detected during step (d) from the global decision variable. Embodiments of the invention can be used for improving the detection of accidents or health problems, particularly for the elderly at their places of residence.

Claims

1. A process for detecting a critical situation of a subject by measuring a physiological parameter on the subject, the process comprising the following steps:

(a) measuring the physiological parameter by means of an embedded sensor on the subject;

(b) calculating a variation rate of the physiological parameter;

(c) determining a synthesis variable for the physiological parameter by taking into account at the same time the value of the parameter and its variation rate; and

(d) detecting a critical situation from this synthesis variable.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, comprising implementing steps (a) to (c) for at least two physiological parameters, and further comprising the following step:

(c′

) determining a global decision variable from the different synthesis variables, the critical situation being detected in step (d) from this global decision variable.

3. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein the physiological parameters are selected from the group consisting of cardiac frequency, respiratory frequency, temperature of the subject, level of activity of the subject, and glycaemia of the subject.

4. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein determination of the global decision variable is done by weighted combination of the synthesis variables determined for each of the physiological parameters.

5. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein detection of a critical situation comprises comparison of the global decision variable with one or more threshold values.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein determination of the synthesis variable for a physiological parameter comprises comparison of the value of the parameter with one or more threshold values.

7. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein determination of the synthesis variable for a physiological parameter comprises comparison of the variation rate of said physiological parameter with one or more threshold values.

8. The process as claimed in claim 6, wherein determination of the synthesis variable for a physiological parameter comprises comparison of the variation rate of said physiological parameter with one or more threshold values, wherein the value of the parameter is compared to two threshold values to determine if the value of the parameter is low, normal or high, and wherein the variation rate of the parameter is compared to a threshold value to determine if the variation rate of the parameter is weak or strong.

9. The process as claimed in claim 8, wherein the value of the synthesis variable is:

higher if the value of the parameter is high than if the value of the parameter is normal,

higher if the value of the parameter is low than if the value of the parameter is normal, and

higher if the variation rate of the parameter is strong than if the variation rate of the parameter is weak.

10. The process as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the following step:

(e) remotely transmitting via wireless link of the existence of said critical situation.

11. An apparatus for detecting a critical situation of a subject comprising,

at least one embedded sensor capable of measuring a physiological parameter, and

a processing unit configured to receive the values measured by the sensor or the sensors and calculating a variation rate of the physiological parameter or of each of the physiological parameters, and determine a synthesis variable for the physiological parameter or each of the physiological parameters by taking into account its value and its variation rate at the same time, for the parameter or for at least one of the parameters.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprising at least two embedded sensors configured to measure at least two different physiological parameters, and in which the processing unit is configured to (a) measure the physiological parameter by means of an embedded sensor on the subject;

(b) calculate a variation rate of the physiological parameter; and

(c) determine a synthesis variable for the physiological parameter by taking into account at the same time the value of the parameter and its variation rate for at least two physiological parameters, and wherein the processing unit is further configured to (c′

) determine a global decision variable from the different synthesis variables, and (d) detect a critical situation from the global decision variable.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the apparatus is fully embedded on the subject and further comprises remote transmission means of information relative to the existence of a critical situation.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising an embedded device including the sensors and an external station housing at least part of the processing unit, and further comprising remote transmission means of information relative to the existence of a critical situation.