Prescription-customized medical hardware

• US 7,495,552 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2005
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company), Mayo Foundation For Medical Education And Research (Mayo Clinic)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Tong, Blakley, Daniel Robert, Friedman, Paul, Simske, Steven John, Somers, Virend, Bruce, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US11/107,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20060253066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.12, 340/573.1, 340/506, 340521-522, 600/300, 705 2- 3
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/349 Detecting specific parameters of the electrocardiograph cycle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7232 involving compression of the physiological signal, e.g. to extend the signal recording period
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• 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

Abstract

A method of providing customized medical monitoring to a patient is disclosed. The method can include steps of selecting a medical monitoring device for a patient, where the medical monitoring device is associated with a biological transducer, determining at least one desired monitoring parameter, and customizing locally the medical monitoring device to monitor the desired monitoring parameter collected by the biological transducer. The method may further include steps of providing the medical monitoring device to the patient, and monitoring at least one health parameter of the patient from a remote location. The medical monitoring device can also be customized remotely.

Claims

1. A method of providing customized medical monitoring of a patient to a medical care provider, comprising steps of:

selecting a customizable medical monitoring device for the patient, the medical monitoring device associated with a biological transducer;

determining at least one intended health parameter;

customizing the customizable medical monitoring device according to at least one of a hardware prescription from the medical care provider, firmware or interchangeable software modules to monitor the at least one intended health parameter collected by the biological transducer;

providing the customizable medical monitoring device to the patient;

monitoring at least one health parameter of the patient from a remote location; and

reconfiguring either locally or remotely at least one patient-utilized hardware device of the customizable medical monitoring device according to the at least one of the hardware prescription from the medical care provider, the firmware or the interchangeable software modules;

wherein when the reconfiguring is based on the hardware prescription, the hardware prescription maps from an initial hardware prescription to a selection of contingent hardware prescriptions, and the hardware prescription for the reconfiguring is selected as needed from the initial and contingent hardware prescriptions according to the patient'"'"'s changing conditions and needs;

wherein the at least one patient-utilized hardware device of the customizable medical monitoring device is selected from the group consisting of memory, processing power, storage, and diagnostic module.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of customizing includes customizing locally the customizable medical monitoring device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of customizing includes customizing remotely the customizable medical monitoring device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of customizing remotely includes uploading software to the customizable medical monitoring device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of customizing remotely includes enabling or disabling software in the customizable medical monitoring device.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of customizing remotely occurs due to changes in the at least one health parameter.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of customizing remotely occurs due to changes in a medication regimen of the patient.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of customizing remotely occurs in order to collect diagnostic health data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the intended health parameter includes a portion of a physiological waveform.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of adding a data module to the customizable medical monitoring device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data module performs data analysis.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering an amount of control memory in the customizable medical monitoring device.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering an amount of program memory in the customizable medical monitoring device.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering an amount of storage memory in the customizable medical monitoring device.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering processing power of the customizable medical monitoring device.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering software in the customizable medical monitoring device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of altering software further includes a step of adding an interchangeable software module to the customizable medical monitoring device.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering data compression within the customizable medical monitoring device.

19. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally further includes a step of altering battery capacity of the customizable medical monitoring device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the biological transducer is changeable.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the biological transducer measures a biological fluid.

22. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of customizing locally includes a step of adding a medical diagnostic module to the customizable medical monitoring device.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the at least one intended health parameter at least partially depends on a prior history of the patient.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the intended health parameter is at least partially related to the diagnosis of the patient.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the intended health parameter is at least partially unrelated to the diagnosis of the patient.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the customizable medical monitoring device is at least partially customized by the patient.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one health parameter is the at least one intended health parameter.

28. A method for providing improved medical monitoring of a patient located at a remote location from a medical facility, comprising steps of:

providing the patient with a medical diagnosis;

determining an appropriate customizable medical monitoring device according to the medical diagnosis;

determining at least one intended health parameter related to the medical diagnosis;

providing the medical monitoring device to the patient;

customizing the medical monitoring device according to at least one of a hardware prescription from the medical care provider, firmware, or interchangeable software modules to monitor the at least one intended health parameter;

monitoring at least one health parameter of the patient via the medical monitoring device from a remote location; and

reconfiguring either locally or remotely at least one patient-utilized hardware device of the customizable medical monitoring device, the reconfiguring being based on the at least one of the hardware prescription, the firmware, or the interchangeable software modules;

wherein when the reconfiguring is based on the hardware prescription, the hardware prescription maps from an initial hardware prescription to a selection of contingent hardware prescriptions, and the hardware prescription for the reconfiguring is selected as needed from the initial and contingent hardware prescriptions according to the patient'"'"'s changing conditions and needs;

wherein the at least one patient-utilized hardware device of the customizable medical monitoring device is selected from the group consisting of memory, processing power, storage, and diagnostic module.

29. The method of claim 28, further including a step of determining at least one intended health parameter related to a prior medical history of the individual.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising a step of customizing remotely the medical monitoring device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of customizing remotely occurs due to changes in the at least one health parameter.