Method and system for monitoring the course of therapy of a patient being therapeutically treated

• US 7,066,883 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2002
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schneider, Siegfried, Schmidt, Volker, Tiffe, Sven
• Primary Examiner(s): Kindenburg, Max F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ASTORINO, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US10/139,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20020169366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: 600300-301, 128903-906, 128920-925, 3405731-576, 340/539.1, 705 2- 4, 604/890.1, 604/131, 604 65- 67
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/00 ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical references
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

In a method and system for monitoring the course of therapy administered to a patient, at least one information value that requires a therapeutic and/or diagnostic measure and that is a direct or indirect measure of the course of the therapy is registered continuously or in time intervals, and at least one comparison value, to be compared to the information value or to a calculated value determined based on the information value, is allocated to the information value. An alarm signal is emitted given an impermissible deviation of the information value or of the calculated value from the comparison value and is detected in the course of the comparison. The comparison value is varied dependent on the course of the therapy and is adapted to the course of the therapy, the adaptation of ensuing automatically or by means of an authorized person or entity.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring therapy being administered to a patient, comprising the steps of:

(a) acquiring an information value by obtaining a measurement from a patient representing a course of a therapy being administered to the patient;

(b) designating a designated value selected from the group consisting of said information value and a calculated value calculated from said information value;

(c) allocating a comparison value to said designated value and comparing said designated value to said comparison value in a comparison;

(d) generating an alarm if said comparison indicates an impermissible deviation of said designated value from said comparison value;

(e) at intervals during said course of said therapy selected from the group consisting of predetermined time intervals and variable time intervals, automatically determining, dependent on said designated value, whether a need exists to adapt said comparison value and, if so, automatically taking action selected from the group consisting of automatically changing said comparison value, and informing an agent of said need to adapt said comparison value; and

(f) if said comparison value is to be adapted by an agent, automatically generating an indication to said agent of said need to adapt said comparison value.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (e) comprises adapting said comparison value by an authorized person as said agent.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) of adapting said comparison value comprises adapting said comparison value by an authorized entity as said agent.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in step (c), allocating a comparison value to said designated value comprises allocating an upper comparison value and a lower comparison value to said designated value, and wherein comparing said designated value to said comparison value comprises comparing said designated value to each of said upper comparison value and said lower comparison value.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein step (d) comprises generating an alarm if said designated value is above said upper comparison value or below said lower comparison value.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said designated value is a current designated value, and further comprising determining said impermissible deviation for said comparison by analyzing a trend of said course of said therapy from a plurality of designated values preceding said current designated value.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (a) comprises acquiring a plurality of information values respectively from a plurality of measurements from said patient, and wherein the step of designating a designated value comprises designating a plurality of designated values respectively selected from the group consisting of said plurality of information values and a plurality of calculated values respectively calculated from said plurality of information values, and wherein step (c) comprises allocating a comparison value to each of said designated values and comparing the designated value to the comparison value allocated thereto in a plurality of respective comparisons.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said information value is a current information value and wherein said designated value is a current designated value, and wherein step (e) comprises adapting said comparison value dependent on analysis of a trend of said course of said therapy determined from a plurality of designated values preceding said current designated value.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising allocating a tolerance value range to said comparison value.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (f) comprises automatically generating said indication to said agent if a predetermined therapy outcome, represented by said designated value, does not occur within a predetermined time duration.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein step (f) comprises allocating a time duration value to said comparison value, and defining a permissible deviation from said comparison value for said comparison, and automatically generating said indication to said agent if said designated value exhibits no permissible deviation from said comparison value within said time duration value.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising providing said agent with additional information relating to said therapy, selected from the group consisting of therapeutic information and diagnostic information, together with said indication.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 comprising generating said additional information in a knowledge data bank and reading said additional information from said knowledge data bank for providing said additional information to said agent.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising conducting at least steps (c) and (e) in an expert system.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (a) comprises acquiring said information value with a measurement made by an acquisition device, and automatically communicating said information value from said acquisition device to an evaluation device, and conducting steps (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) in said evaluation device.

16. A method as claimed in claim 1 made by said patient, entering said information value into a transmission device, establishing communication between said transmission device and an evaluation device and transmitting said information value from said transmission device to said evaluation device, and comprising conducting steps (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) in said evaluation device.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein step (d) comprises establishing communication between said evaluation device and a reception device located remotely from evaluation device, and transmitting said alarm from said evaluation device to said reception device.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein step (f) comprises establishing communication between said evaluation device and a reception device located remotely from evaluation device, and transmitting said indication from said evaluation device to said reception device.

19. A system for monitoring therapy being administered to a patient, comprising:

an acquisition device that acquires an information value by obtaining a measurement from a patient representing a course of a therapy being administered to the patient;

an evaluation device in communication with said acquisition device for that receives said information value from said acquisition device and designate a designated value selected from the group consisting of said information value and a calculated value calculated from said information value;

said evaluation device allocating a comparison value to said designated value and comparing said designated value to said comparison value in a comparison and generating an alarm if said comparison indicates a impermissible deviation of said designated value from said comparison value;

said evaluation device, at intervals during said course of said therapy selected from the group consisting of predetermined time intervals and variable time intervals, automatically determining, dependent on said designated value, whether a need exists to adapt said comparison value and, if so, automatically taking action selected from the group consisting of automatically changing said comparison value, and informing an agent of said need to adapt said comparison value; and

a reception device located at said agent, said evaluation device, if said comparison value is to be adapted by an agent, automatically generating an indication to said reception device of said need to adapt said comparison value.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19 wherein said evaluation device includes an expert system at least for adapting said comparison value to said therapy.