Interpolative method and system for producing medical charts and monitoring and recording patient conditions

• US 6,081,809 A
• Filed: 03/17/1997
• Issued: 06/27/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yasuo Kumagai
• Original Assignee: Yasuo Kumagai
• Inventors: Kumagai, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US08/819,860
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 707/10, 707/506-510, 707/1-4, 707/503, 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A computer system referred to as a Database Management System with Nested Time Axes (DBMS with NTA), which cooperates with a Computed Medical File and Chart System (CMFCS), employs data processing techniques to solve problems related to data collection and analysis in daily medical practice. It reconstructs irregularly or regularly collected data and places it into a database table with a standardized time axis acceptable for the CMFCS. Multiple records of an original database at irregular intervals are correlated to a progeny database with a standardized time axis by averaging, maximizing and minimizing. The DBMS with NTA consists of several database tables, each of which has a relational time axis, and corresponding programs to reconstruct a root database table to a progeny database table in hierarchical order. The DBMS with NTA cooperating with the CMFCS allows users to automatically create computer displayed medical charts from the short range view (microscopic view) via the standard view to the long range view (wide angle view) serially using several different time axes. It also creates a computer displayed medical chart showing the maximum and minimum values along with the average value in the same time axis.

Claims

1. A method of producing medical charts from data stored in database tables, said database tables comprising a structure of multiple nested time axes, comprising the steps of:

monitoring patient conditions and taking measurements reflecting said patient conditions;

entering data resulting from said measurements into an original database in a digital computer;

determining a time interval;

extracting records from said original database according to said time interval;

calculating one or more values from the data in said records for said time interval;

constructing a first progeny database table, said first progeny database table containing said values for a plurality of said time intervals; and

constructing other progeny database tables with time axes different from the time axis of said first progeny database table, said other progeny database tables being constructed from said first progeny database table,

wherein said first progeny database table and said other progeny database tables serve as input to a computed file medical chart system, said computed medical file chart system generating said medical charts showing changes in clinical data, and wherein said computed medical file chart system replaces missing values with interpolated values.

2. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, wherein said values comprise an average, a maximum, a minimum, and the number of extracted records for said time interval.

3. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1,

wherein said patient conditions are collected directly from a patient by a monitoring machine, said monitoring machine transferring said patient conditions to said original database.

4. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, wherein said charts produced by said computed medical file chart system show changes in clinical data from said first progeny database.

5. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating a standard deviation for said data in said first progeny database and said other progeny databases.

6. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating a standard error for said data in said first progeny database and said other progeny databases.

7. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using said medical charts in connection with an epidemiological study.

8. The method of producing medical charts according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using said medical charts in connection with a study on the effectiveness of a new drug.

9. A computer memory for storing patient data for access by a computed medical file chart system, comprising:

a data structure stored in said memory, said data structure including information resident therein and forming a database used by said computed medical file chart system and including;

an original database comprising records, said records including information such as patient identification, date, time, and medical data related to a patient;

a first progeny database logically connected to said original database, said first progeny database comprising values such as the averages, maximums, minimums and numbers of records from a plurality of time intervals of said original database; and

a second progeny database, said second progeny database constructed from the averages, maximums, minimums and numbers of records of a plurality of time intervals from said first progeny database, wherein said second progeny database comprises values reflecting changes in clinical data and wherein missing values are replaced with interpolated values.

10. A computer memory according to claim 9, said computer memory further comprising multiple progeny databases, said multiple progeny databases being associated with particular time intervals.

11. A computer system for monitoring and reporting patient conditions comprising:

a first data portion comprising patient identification, date, time, and medical data relating to a patient;

a second data portion comprising values such as an average, a maximum, a minimum and the number of records from a particular time interval in said first data portion;

a third data portion comprising a database constructed from said averages, maximums, minimums and numbers of records from a plurality of time intervals from said second data portion; and

a fourth data portion comprising the averages, maximums, minimums and number of records from a plurality of time intervals of said third data portion, wherein said fourth data portion comprises values reflecting changes in clinical data and wherein missing values are replaced with interpolated values.

12. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for producing medical charts from database tables, said database tables containing multiple nested time axes, said computer program comprising:

a first source code segment, said first source code segment controlling monitoring devices and receiving data from said monitoring devices;

a second source code segment recording said data into an original database;

a third source code segment determining a time interval and extracting records from said original database according to said time interval;

a fourth code segment calculating values such as an average, a maximum, a minimum and the number of extracted records for said time interval;

a fifth code segment constructing a progeny database table, said progeny database table containing the averages, maximums, minimums and number of extracted records for a plurality of said time intervals; and

a sixth code segment using said progeny database table to construct other progeny database tables with other time axes, wherein said other progeny database tables comprise database values reflecting changes in clinical data and wherein missing values are replaced with interpolated values.

13. A computer readable medium for causing a computer to produce medical charts from database tables, said database tables containing multiple nested time axes, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

a computer program stored on said medium, said computer program having an interface module, said interface module monitoring machines which collect data from a patient;

said monitoring module further collecting said data and routing said data to an original database;

said computer program further having an extraction module, said extraction module determining a time interval and extracting records from said original database according to said time interval;

said computer program further comprising a calculation module, said calculation module calculating values such as an average, maximum, minimum and number of extracted records for said time interval;

said computer program further comprising a construction module, said construction module constructing a progeny database table, said progeny database table containing the averages, maximums, minimums and numbers of extracted records for a plurality of said time intervals; and

said computer program further comprising a progeny database table module, said progeny database table module constructing other progeny database tables with other time axes, wherein said other progeny database tables comprise values reflecting changes in clinical data and wherein missing values are replaced with interpolated values.