Techniques for prediction and monitoring of clinical episodes

• US 8,679,034 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EarlySense Ltd.
• Inventors: Halperin, Avner, Pinhas, Itzhak, Gross, Yossi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lavert, Nicole F
• Application Number:
  US13/750,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20130144178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 600508-509, 600/515, 600/584
• US Class Current: 600/584
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02028 Determining haemodynamic parameters not otherwise provided for, e.g. cardiac contractility or left ventricular ejection fraction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0823 Detecting or evaluating cough events
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/361 Detecting fibrillation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4094 Diagnosing or monitoring seizure diseases, e.g. epilepsy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/704 Tables
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7278 Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• 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: A61N 1/3956 Implantable devices for applying electric shocks to the heart, e.g. for cardioversion
• 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

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for monitoring a subject, including setting respective first and second thresholds that are different from one another, sensing at least one parameter of the subject, and analyzing the parameter to generate a score. If the score is between the first and second thresholds, an alert that is indicative of a condition of the subject is generated only after the subject awakes. If the score passes the second threshold, an alert that is indicative of the subject'"'"'s condition is generated immediately. Other applications are also described.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a subject, comprising:

setting respective first and second thresholds that are different from one another;

sensing at least one parameter of the subject;

analyzing the sensed parameter to generate a score;

if the score is between the first and second thresholds, generating an alert that is indicative of a condition of the subject only after the subject awakes; and

if the score passes the second threshold, generating an immediate alert that is indicative of the subject'"'"'s condition.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

generating the alert that is indicative of the condition of the subject only after the subject awakes comprises generating an alert indicative of a future predicted clinical episode, and

generating the immediate alert that is indicative of the subject'"'"'s condition comprises generating an alert indicative of a currently occurring clinical episode.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

generating the alert that is indicative of the condition of the subject only after the subject awakes comprises generating an alert indicative of a low level of asthma attack, and

generating the immediate alert that is indicative of the subject'"'"'s condition comprises generating an alert indicative of a high level of asthma attack.

2. Apparatus for monitoring a subject, comprising:

a sensor, adapted to sense at least one parameter of a subject;

a user interface; and

a control unit, adapted to;

set respective first and second thresholds that are different from one another,

analyze the sensed parameter to generate a score,

if the score is between the first and second thresholds, drive the user interface to generate an alert that is indicative of a condition of the subject only after the subject awakes, and

if the score passes the second threshold, drive the user interface to generate an immediate alert that is indicative of the subject'"'"'s condition.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is adapted to:

if the score is between the first and second thresholds, drive the user interface to generate an alert that is indicative of a future predicted clinical episode of the subject, only after the subject awakes, and

if the score passes the second threshold, drive the user interface to generate an immediate alert that is indicative of a currently occurring clinical episode of the subject.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to:

if the score is between the first and second thresholds, drive the user interface to generate an alert that is indicative of a low level of asthma attack of the subject, only after the subject awakes, and

if the score passes the second threshold, drive the user interface to generate an immediate alert that is indicative of a high level of asthma attack of the subject.