Medical device failure detection and warning system

• US 7,389,144 B1
• Filed: 11/05/2004
• Issued: 06/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flint Hills Scientific, LLC
• Original Assignee: Flint Hills Scientific, LLC
• Inventors: Frei, Mark G., Osorio, Ivan, Bhavaraju, Naresh C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno; Carl H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORALES, JON ERIC C
• Application Number:
  US10/982,748
• Time in Patent Office: 1,320 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 607/1, 607/2, 607/27, 607/29, 607/63, 128/908
• US Class Current: 607/29
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• 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 5/242 Detecting biomagnetic fields, e.g. magnetic fields produced by bioelectric currents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4094 Diagnosing or monitoring seizure diseases, e.g. epilepsy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/686 Permanently implanted devices, e.g. pacemakers, other stimulators, biochips A61B5/6861 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7221 Determining signal validity, reliability or quality A61B5/7207 and A61B5/7217 take precedence
• 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: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36142 for improving safety
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3706 Pacemaker parameters stimulation threshold A61N1/371
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37258 Alerting the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A failure detection and warning system for monitoring a medical device wherein the system includes means structured to passively or actively detect faults occurring in the medical device being monitored, and wherein the fault includes an unprogrammed and/or undesired shut off of the medical device being monitored or an unprogrammed and/or undesired shut-off of the output of the medical device being monitored by the system.

Claims

1. A failure detection and warning system structured to passively or actively monitor a medical device in order to detect at least one failure in the operation of the medical device, comprising:

(a) sensing means configured to operatively determine at least one state of the medical device being monitored by the system;

(b) memory means configured to store information corresponding to at least one expected state of the medical device being monitored by the system;

(c) comparison means configured to operatively compare the at least one state determined by the sensing means with the at least one expected state stored in the memory means in order to detect the occurrence of a fault in the medical device being monitored by the system;

(d) output means configured to operatively provide an output in the event that the comparison means detects the occurrence of a fault in the medical device being monitored by the system; and

(e) a clock mechanism; and

(f) wherein the memory means is further configured to operatively log at least one detected failure of the medical device being monitored by the system, wherein the log includes information selected from the group comprising;

time from the clock mechanism which is indicative of the time of the detected failure of the medical device, type of detected failure of the medical device, type of corrective action taken by the system, response of the medical device to the corrective action, and time of response of the medical device to the corrective action.

2. A failure detection and warning system structured to passively or actively monitor a medical device in order to detect at least one failure in the operation of the medical device, comprising:

(a) sensing means configured to operatively determine at least one state of the medical device being monitored by the system;

(b) memory means configured to store information corresponding to at least one expected state of the medical device being monitored by the system;

(c) comparison means configured to operatively compare the at least one state determined by the sensing means with the at least one expected state stored in the memory means in order to detect the occurrence of a fault in the medical device being monitored by the system;

(d) output means configured to operatively provide an output in the event that the comparison means detects the occurrence of a fault in the medical device being monitored by the system; and

(e) insulating means to insulate the system from electromagnetic interference, or filters to protect the system from electromagnetic interference.