Portable belt monitor of physiological functions and sensors therefor
First Claim
1. A physiology monitor for sensing body respiratory functions, comprising:
- a belt adapted to fit on a body so as to undergo tension changes due to body expansion and contraction during breathing;
said belt having first sensing means with a preferential sensing axis for producing a breathing signal in response to opposing forces along the sensing axis; and
holder means interposed in the belt as part thereof to operatively hold the sensing means with its sensing axis aligned generally transverse to tension in the belt and for transforming a tension change in the belt at the sensing means to opposing forces directed along the transverse sensing axis to produce said breathing signal.
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Abstract
A portable belt-type monitor of body functions such as the heart and breathing is described formed of a plurality of articulated, distributed modules containing EKG sensors, a respiration sensor, circuitry including a microprocessor for sensing alarm conditions, a transmitter for sending alarm conditions to a remote receiver and a battery to drive the various circuits. A respiration sensor is described wherein tension changes in the belt due to breathing are transformed into opposing forces directed transversely to the belt and which cooperate to produce a reliable, sensitive detection of respiratory activities. The belt can be conveniently worn with reliable EKG sensing during normal body activities. A processor program is described whereby these body functions are monitored with alarm being generated when these functions exceed preset limits while preserving sufficient functional performance data when an alarm occurs.
254 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A physiology monitor for sensing body respiratory functions, comprising:
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a belt adapted to fit on a body so as to undergo tension changes due to body expansion and contraction during breathing; said belt having first sensing means with a preferential sensing axis for producing a breathing signal in response to opposing forces along the sensing axis; and holder means interposed in the belt as part thereof to operatively hold the sensing means with its sensing axis aligned generally transverse to tension in the belt and for transforming a tension change in the belt at the sensing means to opposing forces directed along the transverse sensing axis to produce said breathing signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A physiology monitor for sensing body respiratory functions, comprising:
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a belt adapted to fit on a body so as to undergo tension changes due to body expansion and contraction during breathing; said belt having first sensing means with a preferential sensing axis for producing a breathing signal in response to opposing forces along the sensing axis; holder means interposed in the belt as part thereof to operatively hold the first sensing means with its sensing axis aligned generally transverse to tension in the belt and for transforming a tension change in the belt at the sensing means to opposing forces directed along the transverse sensing axis to produce said breathing signal; and a rigid enclosure around the sensing means and at least partially around the holder means to enhance isolation of the sensing means from external impacts occurring along the sensing axis while enabling the sensing means to remain sensitive to belt tension changes due to breathing. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A belt adapted to fit on a patient for monitoring a physiological function, comprising:
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a plurality of mechanically, articulatively-connected and electrically connected, generally flat modules that are distributed so as to cover different portions of the patient, selected, spaced-apart modules being each provided with respiration sensing means for generating a breathing signal in response to belt tension changes attributable to breathing; said respiration sensing means having a preferential sensing axis for producing a breathing signal in response to opposing forces along the preferential sensing axis; and holding means interposed with the modules in the belt as part thereof to hold the sensing means within a said module with the sensing axis aligned generally transverse to the belt at the sensing means and for transforming a tension change in the belt to opposing forces to produce a said breathing signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A physiology monitor for sensing body respiratory functions, comprising:
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a belt adapted to fit on a body so as to undergo tension changes due to body expansion and contraction during breathing; said belt having sensing means with a sensing axis for producing a breathing signal in response to a force along the sensing axis; holder means for holding the sensing means and interposed in the belt as part thereof to transfer a change in belt tension to a force along the sensing axis to produce said breathing signal; and a rigid enclosure around the sensing means and the holder means to enhance isolation of the sensing means from external forces directed along the sensing axis so as to reliably produce said breathing signal from changes in belt tension. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification