System and method for monitoring external portable medical devices

• US 8,319,632 B1
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gintaras A. Vaisnys, Giovanni C. Meier, Glenn W. Laub
• Original Assignee: Gintaras A. Vaisnys, Giovanni C. Meier, Glenn W. Laub
• Inventors: Vaisnys, Gintaras A., Meier, Giovanni C., Laub, Glenn W.
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFSASS, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US13/317,702
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.12, 340/539.24, 340/540, 607/5
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3925 Monitoring; Protecting
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3993 User interfaces for automatic external defibrillators
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

External portable medical devices, such as portable external defibrillators (PEDs), have long standby times and may be required to indicate their operational status to a user while conserving battery power. Frequently, numerous PEDs are scattered throughout one or more large facility, which may make identifying a PED that is indicating an operational status that requires attention more difficult. To conserve power and provide more effective notice, a PED may use a broadcast transmitter, which minimizes power usage, to communicate the PED'"'"'s status to a remote monitor that is connected to a relatively unlimited power supply. The remote monitor may then provide a wide variety of sensory alerts to indicate the status of the PED without concern for the power consumption associated with the sensory alert.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a portable emergency medical device, comprising;

a portable emergency medical device including

a broadcast transmitter, the broadcast transmitter capable of broadcasting a condition information stream;

device programmable circuitry programmed with a self-diagnostic test, having programming to execute the self-diagnostic test, to generate the condition information stream containing a data payload based on the executed self-diagnostic test containing status information, and using the broadcast transmitter, transmit the condition information stream; and

a remote monitor including

a broadcast receiver, the broadcast receiver capable of receiving from the broadcast transmitter the condition information stream,

a monitor having programmable circuitry with programming thereon to analyze the information in the condition information stream and to determine if the status information therein warrants a sensory alert or not, and

a sensory alert that may be activated by the programming of the monitor programmable circuitry

wherein the broadcast receiver and broadcast transmitter are not networked.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the programming of the device programmable circuitry further includes programming to execute the self-diagnostic test periodically, and the programming of the monitor programmable circuitry includes programming to determine if a condition information stream was timely received based on the periodicity of self-diagnostic tests and issue an alert if it was not.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the programming of the monitor programmable circuitry includes the capability of determining whether more than a known period has passed since receipt of the last condition information stream and issue an alert if so.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the portable emergency medical device is a portable external defibrillator.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitting programming converts the condition information stream into line code.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the transmitting programming further includes programming to broadcast the line code by turning the broadcast transmitter on and off.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the programmable circuitry has a control circuit controlled by the programming for turning the broadcast transmitter ON to broadcast the condition information stream and turning the broadcast transmitter OFF after the broadcast.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the line code does not contain a separate clock signal.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the line code has bits and each bit is of the same time duration.

10. The system of claim 1 further including a repeater, the repeater being between the portable emergency medical device and the monitor.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the system includes at least one more portable emergency medical device than monitor.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the system includes two monitors and the programming in each monitor allows each monitor to receive and analyze the condition information stream from the same portable emergency medical device.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the condition information stream contains information to permit each monitor to react differently.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the system includes two portable emergency medical devices and three monitors, and the first monitor receives and analyzes condition information streams from both portable emergency medical devices, the second monitor receives and analyzes a condition information stream only from one portable emergency medical device and the third monitor receives and analyzes a condition information stream only from the other portable emergency medical device.

15. A portable emergency medical device including:

programmable circuitry and programming for performing a medical procedure;

self-diagnostic test programming executing within the programmable circuitry outputting a condition information stream;

a self-contained broadcast transmitter electrically associated with the programmable circuitry for broadcasting the condition information stream to a non-networked remote broadcast receiver; and

a portable power source powering the portable emergency medical device and the broadcast transmitter.

16. The portable emergency medical device of claim 15 wherein the medical procedure is defibrillation.

17. The portable emergency medical device of claim 15 wherein the programmable circuitry has a control circuit controlled by the programming for turning the broadcast transmitter ON to broadcast the condition information stream and turning the broadcast transmitter OFF after the broadcast.

18. The portable emergency medical device of claim 17 wherein the transmitter is of the type that broadcasts by turning itself on and off.

19. The portable emergency medical device of claim 15 wherein the transmitter produces a signal that does not contain a clock signal.

20. A method for transmitting status information of a portable emergency medical device to a remote monitor comprising the steps of:

A) obtaining a portable emergency medical device, having a broadcast transmitter therein, and capable of performing a self-diagnostic test;

B) conducting the self-diagnostic test to determine an operational status;

C) converting the operational status into a condition information stream;

D) using the broadcast transmitter to broadcast the condition information stream to a remote non-networked broadcast receiver;

E) turning OFF the broadcast transmitter.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein for the obtained portable emergency medical device, steps B-E are repeated.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein in the repeated step C, each condition information stream is unique.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein in the step of conducting a self-diagnostic test, the self self-diagnostic test is conducted sua sponte.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein in the step of conducting a self-diagnostic test, the self self-diagnostic test is manually activated.

25. A method of alerting a user to the operational condition of a portable emergency medical device comprising the steps of:

A) obtaining a portable emergency medical device, having a broadcast transmitter therein, and capable of performing a self-diagnostic test;

B) obtaining a remote monitor having a broadcast receiver capable of receiving a signal from the broadcast transmitter and having programming to analyze the signal and activate a sensory alert;

C) conducting the self-diagnostic test on the portable emergency medical device to determine an operational status;

D) converting the operational status into a condition information stream;

E) using the broadcast transmitter to broadcast the condition information stream, the broadcast transmitter and broadcast receiver not being networked;

F) using the broadcast receiver in the monitor to receive the broadcasted condition information stream;

G) when received by the monitor, analyzing the condition information stream to determine the operational status; and

H) activating the sensory alert if appropriate.

26. The method of claim 25 further including the step of repeating the steps C-H for the obtained portable emergency medical device but generating in step D a unique condition information stream each time the steps are repeated thereby creating multiple unique condition information streams from a single broadcast transmitter.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein each unique condition information stream contains a unique segment having an ordinal value, and further including a step I, occurring between steps F and G, of the broadcast receiver analyzing a latest unique condition information stream as to the penultimate unique condition information stream to determine if there is a missed unique condition information stream.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein in the step of obtaining a portable emergency medical device, the device includes a defibrillator.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein in the step of conducting a self-diagnostic test, the self self-diagnostic test is conducted sua sponte.

30. The method of claim 25 wherein in the step of conducting a self-diagnostic test, the self self-diagnostic test is manually activated.

31. A method of alerting a user to the operational condition of a portable emergency medical device comprising the steps of:

A) obtaining a portable emergency medical device, having a broadcast transmitter therein and programming to transmit an intermittent signal, the broadcast transmitter being powered by a power source self-contained within the portable medical device;

B) obtaining a monitor that is separate from the portable emergency medical device and having a broadcast receiver capable of receiving the intermittent signal from the broadcast transmitter when the broadcast transmitter and broadcast transmitter are not networked and having programming knowledgeable of when the intermittent signal should be received; and

activate a sensory alert;

C) activating the sensory alert if the periodic signal is not received when anticipated.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein in step A, the intermittent signal contains the results from a self-diagnostic test.