Compartment syndrome monitoring systems and methods

• US 9,314,175 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2010
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TCI3-Pressure Applications LLC
• Original Assignee: TCI3-Pressure Applications LLC
• Inventors: Jacofsky, Marc C., Jacofsky, David J., Peeters, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Lee S
• Assistant Examiner(s): LLOYD, EMILY M
• Application Number:
  US12/832,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20120010525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,112 Days
• Field of Search: 600/561
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/168 Fluid filled sensor housings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/03 Detecting, measuring or recording fluid pressure within the body other than blood pressure, e.g. cerebral pressure; Measuring pressure in body tissues or organs A61B5/205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/036 by means introduced into body tracts A61B5/032 and A61B5/035 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4519 Muscles A61B5/389, A61B5/224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6828 Leg
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6833 Adhesive patches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6853 with a balloon
• 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 5/7282 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 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B

Abstract

Embodiments of a compartment monitor that can be implanted and left in situ to continuously (or semi-continuously) measure compartment pressures are presented. An exemplary monitor includes a pressure sensor adapted to be implanted in a compartment, a transmitter external to the compartment and coupled to the pressure sensor, and a receiver in communication with the transmitter to receive and process pressure data received from the transmitter. The monitor may also be configured to transmit measured pressure data to a networkable device. The networkable device can then communicate the patient'"'"'s status and condition to a healthcare provider through a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). This communication allows the healthcare provider to remotely monitor a patient. The networkable device, or associated computing system, can record and display trends in the pressure data over time, and log the data to the patient'"'"'s electronic health records.

Claims

1. A system for measuring and monitoring pressure within a muscle fascia compartment of a patient, the system comprising:

a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensor configured to be implanted within the muscle fascia compartment and to measure the pressure within the compartment;

a transmitter configured to be disposed external to the muscle fascia compartment, wherein the transmitter is electrically and physically coupled to the pressure sensor by a tether configured to penetrate through the patient'"'"'s skin,

wherein the tether is configured to allow removal of the pressure sensor from the muscle fascia compartment by pulling the tether away from the skin, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to receive sensor data from the pressure sensor and to transmit the sensor data;

a skin patch having an adhesive substrate, wherein the transmitter is attached to the skin patch, and wherein the adhesive substrate is configured to hold the skin patch on the patient'"'"'s skin; and

a receiver in wireless communication with the transmitter to receive, process, and store the sensor data received from the transmitter.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises a radio frequency (RF) transmitter.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the transmitter and the receiver each have a unique radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes an RFID chip and a sensor interface device, wherein the RFID chip and the sensor interface device are coupled via a serial peripheral interface (SPI).

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor interface device is configured to process the sensor data received from the pressure sensor and communicate processed data to the RFID chip.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the RFID chip is configured to store received processed data in a memory.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature sensor configured to be implanted within the muscle fascia compartment and to measure the temperature within the muscle fascia compartment, wherein the temperature sensor is electrically coupled to the transmitter to transmit temperature data to the receiver.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a pH sensor configured to be implanted within the muscle fascia compartment and to measure the pH within the muscle fascia compartment, wherein the pH sensor is electrically coupled to the transmitter to transmit pH data to the receiver.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the MEMS pressure sensor is configured to be implanted in the muscle fascia compartment of a leg of the patient.

10. A system for monitoring pressure within a muscle fascia compartment of a patient, the system comprising:

an implantable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensor configured to be implanted within the muscle fascia compartment and to continuously monitor the pressure within the muscle fascia compartment for at least twenty-four hours;

a patch configured for placement on the patient'"'"'s skin;

a pressure interface integrated into the patch, wherein the pressure interface is coupled to the MEMS pressure sensor by a tether configured to penetrate through the patient'"'"'s skin, wherein the tether is configured to allow removal of the pressure sensor from the muscle fascia compartment by pulling the tether away from the patient'"'"'s skin;

a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip coupled to the pressure interface;

and

a wireless network device configured to receive pressure data from the RFID chip and configured to record and display trends in the pressure data over time.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the RFID chip has a first identifier and the wireless network device has a second identifier.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a temperature adjustment circuit configured to calibrate processing of pressure data in the RFID chip.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless network device is configured to alert a healthcare provider if the pressure data is outside a predetermined range or if the pressure trend indicates pressure trending in an adverse direction.