Patient monitor with continuous status display

• US 6,731,311 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2001
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies Europe BV (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Bufe, Martin, Meier, Wilhelm
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao (Kevin)
• Assistant Examiner(s): DETWILER, BRIAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/778,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20010014769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 600/301, 345/133, 345/700, 345/733, 345/764, 345/779, 345/781, 345/790, 345/791, 345/794
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A patient monitoring system includes a plurality of patient monitors, each for monitoring the physiological condition of a local patient connected with respective patient monitor, whereby the patient monitors provide a data-communication with each other. Each patient monitor comprises a display adapted for displaying information representative of the physiological condition of the local patient. The display of at least one of the patient monitors comprises an overview area for displaying status information from one or more of the other patient monitors.

Claims

1. A local patient monitor for monitoring the physiological condition of a local patient, adapted to provide a data-communication with one or more remote patient monitors in a network, and;

a display for displaying information, wherein the display comprises an overview area for displaying status information from the one or more remote patient monitors, the overview area providing the status information continuously and independently of an alarming situation by displaying said status information, the providing of the status information occurring without the need for a prior user interaction to invoke said providing of said status information.

2. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area is a side area of the display.

3. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area is spatially separated from other display areas of the display for displaying other information, whereby the local patient monitor further comprises means for ensuring that the other display areas will not overlap the overview area on user request.

4. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area remains permanently allocated within the display.

5. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area comprises items selected from the group of symbols, codes, pictograms, graphical data curves, or alphanumerical text fields for displaying the status information.

6. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the size of the overview area comprises at least one entry point for operations to get more information from one or more of the remote patient monitors.

7. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein said information is representative of the physiological condition of the local patient.

8. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein said network further comprises a central data-display component.

9. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area is separated from other data to be displayed.

10. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area is spatially separated from other display areas of the display for displaying other information, whereby the local patient monitor further comprises means for ensuring that the other display areas only temporarily overlap the overview area on user request.

11. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area remains allocated within the display at least as long as defined by a respective application.

12. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area remains allocated within the display at least as long as defined by a user.

13. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein said providing of said status information occurs independently of a size of the overview area.

14. The local patient monitor of claim 1, wherein the overview area provides said status information by displaying said status information, the providing of the status information occurring independently of a size of the overview area.

15. A patient monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of patient monitors, each adapted for monitoring the physiological condition of a local patient connected with the respective patient monitor, whereby the patient monitors are adapted to provide a data-communication with each other, and each patient monitor comprises a display adapted for displaying information representative of the physiological condition of the local patient, wherein the display of at least one of the patient monitors comprises an overview area for displaying status information from one or more of the other patient monitors, the overview area providing the status information continuously and independently of an alarming situation by displaying said status information, the providing of the status information occurring without the need for a prior user interaction to invoke said providing of said status information.

16. A method for monitoring the physiological condition of a local patient with a local patient monitor adapted to provide a data-communication with one or more remote patient monitors in a network, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying, on a display, information representative of the physiological condition of the local patient, and

displaying, in an overview area of a display, status information from the one or more remote patient monitors, the overview area providing the status information continuously and independently of an alarming situation by displaying said status information, the providing of the status information occurring without the need for a prior user interaction to invoke said providing of said status information.

17. A software program, adapted to be stored on or otherwise provided by any kind of data carrier, for executing the steps of the method of claim 16 when run in or by any suitable data processing unit.

18. A method according to claim 16 wherein said network further comprises a central data-display component.