Monitoring, predicting and treating clinical episodes

• US 8,998,830 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EarlySense Ltd.
• Inventors: Halperin, Avner, Meger, Guy
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foreman, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/458,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20140350351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 237 Days
• Field of Search: 600587-595, 395/202, 340/825.36, 705/2
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• 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 5/1115 Monitoring leaving of a patient support, e.g. a bed or a wheelchair
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• 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 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes 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: A61G 2203/36 for motion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0211 Combination with medical sensor, e.g. for measuring heart rate, temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0461 integrated or attached to an item closely associated with the person but not worn by the person, e.g. chair, walking stick, bed sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are described, including apparatus for use with a plurality of clinicians. The apparatus includes a patient-monitoring system. A clinical sensor measures a clinical parameter of a patient, and generates a clinical-sensor signal in response thereto. In response to the clinical-sensor signal, a control unit determines that an alert event has occurred, and communicates an alert to a first subset of the plurality of clinicians before communicating the alert to any other clinician. The control unit designates the first subset of the plurality of clinicians in response to respective numbers of alerts that the plurality of clinicians have received within a previous given time period. Other applications are also described.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a location sensing system that comprises a plurality of location sensors, the location sensing system being configured to;

identify respective locations of a plurality of clinicians, and

generate a location-sensing-system signal in response thereto; and

a patient-monitoring system comprising;

a clinical sensor, configured to measure a clinical parameter of a patient,

and to generate a clinical-sensor signal in response thereto; and

a control unit configured to;

in response to the clinical-sensor signal, determine that an alert event has occurred,

in response to the location-sensing-system signal, designate a first subset of the clinicians,

in response to having determined that the alert event has occurred, communicate a first alert to the first subset of clinicians, and

in response to the location-sensing-system signal indicating that no clinician from the first subset of clinicians is within a given distance of the patient, within a given time period of the first alert, communicate a second alert.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to communicate the second alert to the first subset of clinicians.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to communicate the second alert to a clinician who is not in the first subset of clinicians.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to communicate the second alert to a more senior clinician than clinicians in the first subset of clinicians.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is further configured to communicate to the more senior clinician identities of the clinicians in the first subset of clinicians.

6. Apparatus comprising:

a location sensing system that comprises a plurality of location sensors, the location sensing system being configured to;

identify respective locations of a plurality of clinicians, and

generate a location-sensing-system signal in response thereto; and

a patient-monitoring system comprising;

a clinical sensor, configured to measure a clinical parameter of a patient,

and to generate a clinical-sensor signal in response thereto; and

a control unit configured to;

in response to the clinical-sensor signal, determine that an alert event has occurred,

in response to the location-sensing-system signal, designate a first subset of the clinicians,

in response to having determined that the alert event has occurred, communicate a first alert to the first subset of clinicians, and

in response to the location-sensing-system signal indicating that no clinician from the first subset of clinicians is moving toward the patient within a given time period, communicate a second alert to the first subset of clinicians.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in response to determining that no clinician from the first subset of the clinicians is moving toward the patient within the given time period, the control unit is further configured to communicate the second alert to a clinician not in the first subset of clinicians.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, in response to determining that no clinician from the first subset of the clinicians is moving toward the patient within the given time period, the control unit is configured to communicate the second alert to a more senior clinician than the clinicians in the first subset of clinicians.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit is further configured to communicate to the more senior clinician identities of the clinicians in the first subset of clinicians.