Vital signs monitor used for conditioning a patient's response

Abstract

The invention provides a method for monitoring a patient, comprising the following steps: 1) outfitting the patient with a ambulatory blood pressure monitor that features an optical system for measuring blood pressure without using a cuff, and a wireless system configured to send and receive information sent from an Internet-based system through a wireless network; 2) sending from the Internet-based system to the ambulatory blood pressure monitor a signal that indicates a blood pressure level; 3) comparing a blood pressure value measured with the ambulatory blood pressure monitor to the blood pressure level; and 4) generating a signal in response to the comparing step.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 752,198, filed on Jan. 6, 2004.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates to medical devices for monitoring vital signs such as heart rate, pulse oximetry, and blood pressure, and using this information to condition a patient's response. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0004] Pulse oximeters are medical devices featuring an optical module, typically worn on a patient's finger or ear lobe, and a processing module that analyzes data generated by the optical module. The optical module typically includes first and second light sources (e.g., light-emitting diodes, or LEDs) that transmit optical radiation at, respectively, red (λ˜630-670 nm) and infrared (λ˜800-1200 nm) wavelengths. The optical module also features a photodetector that detects radiation transmitted or reflected by an...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The present invention provides a cuffless blood-pressure monitor that features a behavior modification system. The blood pressure monitor is typically worn on a patient's head and makes a transdermal, optical measurement of blood pressure, which it then sends to a processing component (e.g., a PDA). The processing component preferably features an embedded, short-range wireless transceiver and a software platform that displays, analyzes, and then transmits the information through a wireless network to an Internet-based system. This system generates an audio or visual alarm when the patient's blood pressure trends high, and thus the patient may modify their behavior through conditioned response. In addition, a medical professional can continuously monitor a patient's blood pressure during their day-to-day activities. Monitoring patients in this manner minimizes erroneous measurements due to ‘white coat syndrome’, increases the accuracy of a blood-pressure measurement and additionally allows patients to modify behavior to lower blood pressure while wearing the device.

[0007] The invention has many advantages. In particular, one aspect of the invention provides a system that continuously monitors a patient's blood pressure using a cuffless blood pressure monitor and an off-the-shelf mobile communication device. Information describing the blood pressure can be viewed using an Internet-based website, using a personal computer, or simply by viewing a display on the mobile device. Blood-pressure information measured continuously throughout the day provides a relatively comprehensive data set compared to that measured during isolated medical appointments. This approach identifies trends in a patient's blood pressure, such as a gradual increase or decrease, which allows for the patient to view and conditionally respond to high blood pressure through behavior modification such as breathing exercises. The monitor can also characterize the patient's heart rate and blood oxygen saturation using the same optical system for the blood-pressure measurement. This information can be wirelessly transmitted along with blood-pressure information and used to further diagnose the patient's cardiac condition. The monitor is small, easily worn by the patient during periods of exercise or day-to-day activities, and makes a non-invasive blood-pressure measurement in a matter of seconds. The resulting information has many uses for patients, medical professionals, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical agencies conducting clinical trials, and organizations for home-health monitoring.

[0012] In addition, the cuffless blood pressure-measuring device of the invention combines all the benefits of conventional cuff-based blood-pressure measuring devices without any of the obvious drawbacks (e.g., restrictive, uncomfortable cuffs). Its measurement is basically unobtrusive to the patient, and thus alleviates conditions, such as a poorly fitting cuff, that can erroneously affect a blood-pressure measurement. The device is small and makes a non-invasive blood-pressure measurement in a matter of seconds. An on-board or remote processor can analyze the time-dependent measurements to generate statistics on a patient's blood pressure (e.g., average pressures, standard deviation, beat-to-beat pressure variations) that are not available with conventional devices that only measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Problems solved by technology

This generates ‘noise’ in the plethysmograph, which in turn can lead to motion-related artifacts in data describing pulse oximetry and heart rate.

Ultimately this reduces the accuracy of the measurement.

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