Method for relaying ECG data

Abstract

This invention proposes a method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data. The method uses a mobile communication device to selectively transmit a portion of ECG data from an ECG monitoring device to a medical information system server. The method includes the steps of: a) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG monitoring device; b) synchronously calculating the heart rate variability (HRV) at each consecutive time point corresponding to the ECG data; and c) when the calculated HRV is below a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data for the corresponding time period to the medical information system server until the calculated HRV is not below the threshold value.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a method for data relay transmission, and more particularly to a method for relay transmission of electrocardiogram data. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Electrocardiography (ECG) is a method of recording the electrical activity of the heart, primarily used for the diagnosis and monitoring of heart disease. In the last century, when measuring devices could not be miniaturized, patients with heart disease had to personally visit the hospital for testing during treatment. Besides incurring high medical costs, the timing or condition at which the cause of a heart attack was detected was unpredictable, resulting in patients wasting considerable time. With the miniaturization of electronic devices, ECG devices have become smaller, and the measured data can even be wirelessly transmitted to remote data collection centers, such as the servers of hospital medical information systems, allowing doctors to remotely access patients' ECG data in real time and provide timely treatment as soon as symptoms appear, thus protecting patients' health and well-being.

[0003] Existing portable ECG monitoring devices are very powerful. Besides detecting a wide range of data, such as basic ECG parameters (P wave, PR interval, QRS complex, ST segment, T wave, and QT interval), heart rate, and rhythm, they can also deduce further parameters from the detected data, such as heart rate variability (HRV) and late potentials. Portable ECG monitoring devices can transmit these parameters completely to a data collection center via relay devices, such as smartphones; some network-enabled portable ECG monitoring devices can also transmit data directly. The ability of portable ECG monitoring devices to transmit data completely is due to considerations of data integrity and the limited storage space of their devices, which prevents the permanent retention of detected ECG data. However, most of the data transmitted from portable ECG monitoring devices to data collection centers consists of ECG data from patients under normal conditions, with very little data available for doctors to diagnose heart-related causes. Currently, data collection centers continuously collect electrocardiogram (ECG) data, and then expend resources analyzing this data to identify aspects relevant to patient diagnosis—a waste of medical resources. Ideally, portable ECG monitoring devices should transmit effective ECG data that can be directly provided to doctors for diagnosis. However, currently available portable ECG monitoring devices do not meet these requirements. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] This paragraph extracts and compiles certain features of the invention. Other features will be disclosed in subsequent paragraphs. Its purpose is to cover various modifications and similar arrangements within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0005] To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention proposes a method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which selectively transmits a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: a) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device; b) synchronously calculating the heart rate variability (HRV) at each consecutive time point corresponding to the ECG data; and c) when the calculated HRV is lower than a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data in the corresponding time period to the medical information system server until the calculated HRV is not lower than the threshold value.

[0006] The present invention also proposes another method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which selectively transmits a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: d) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device and heart rate variability at each consecutive time point corresponding to the ECG data; and e) when the calculated heart rate variability is lower than a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data in the corresponding time period to the medical information system server until the received heart rate variability is not lower than the threshold value.

[0007] The present invention also proposes another method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which selectively transmits a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: f) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device; g) if a trigger start signal is received from the ECG detection device, calculating an absolute value of the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​of heart rate variability during a judgment period before and after the trigger start signal is issued, and if the absolute value of the change is greater than a trigger value, then transmitting the ECG data after the trigger start signal is issued to the medical information system server; and h) if a trigger stop signal is received from the ECG detection device or after a transmission time has elapsed, stopping the transmission of ECG data to the medical information system server. Between step g) and step h), a further step g') is included: if the absolute value of the change is not greater than the trigger value, but the same trigger start signal is received a second time within an emergency time limit, then the electrocardiogram (ECG) data before and after the issuance of the first trigger start signal is transmitted to the medical information system server. According to the present invention, from the first issuance of the trigger start signal to the trigger stop signal, or after the transmission time has elapsed, the mobile communication device acquires the ECG data at a sampling frequency and transmits the acquired ECG data to the medical information system server.

[0008] The present invention also proposes another method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which selectively transmits a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: i) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device; j) synchronously calculating the heart rate variability (HRV) at each consecutive time point corresponding to the ECG data; and k) when the calculated HRV is higher than a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data in the corresponding time period to the medical information system server until the calculated HRV is no higher than the threshold value.

[0009] The present invention also proposes another method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, which selectively transmits a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: l) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device and heart rate variability at each consecutive time point corresponding to the ECG data; and m) when the calculated heart rate variability is higher than a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data in the corresponding time period to the medical information system server until the received heart rate variability is not higher than the threshold value.

[0010] According to the present invention, the trigger start signal and the trigger stop signal can be emitted by the detection object operating the ECG detection device. The trigger start signal and the trigger stop signal can also be emitted by the ECG detection device after detecting a physical condition of itself, wherein the physical condition is rapid flipping, rapid falling, or the external ambient temperature is higher than the normal human body temperature.

[0011] According to the present invention, the mobile communication device may be a smartphone, a tablet computer or a smart wearable device.

[0012] The present invention further proposes a computer application installed in the mobile communication device to perform the relay transmission of electrocardiogram data as described above.

[0013] This invention uses a mobile communication device as a relay between an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring device and a medical information system server to control the transmission of ECG data from the ECG monitoring device to the medical information system server. Compared to conventional ECG monitoring devices, this invention can transmit only a portion of useful ECG data that allows medical personnel to assess the patient's condition under specific conditions, without providing the complete ECG data to the medical information system server. This reduces the load on the medical information system server and allows medical personnel to grasp the patient's condition more quickly and effectively, providing immediate diagnosis and treatment, thereby solving the aforementioned problems. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0014] Figure 1 is a hardware architecture of a method for relaying electrocardiogram data according to the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram data according to the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3 shows an electrocardiogram (ECG) with calculated heart rate variability listed on it.

[0017] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the second embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram data according to the present invention.

[0018] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the third embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram data according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the fourth embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram data according to the present invention.

Implementation Method

[0020] The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following embodiments.

[0021] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows the hardware architecture of a method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data according to the present invention. Basically, the hardware architecture includes an ECG monitoring device 10, a mobile communication device 20, and a medical information system server 30. According to the present invention, the form of the ECG monitoring device 10 is not limited; it can be fixed or portable, but it must have the functions of wirelessly transmitting data, detecting the aforementioned basic ECG parameters, heart rate, heart rhythm, and calculating derived parameters. The mobile communication device 20 is, for example, but not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, and smart wearable device. The mobile communication device 20 can connect to the USB module, Wi-Fi module, or Bluetooth module of the ECG monitoring device 10 via its USB module, Wi-Fi module, or Bluetooth module to receive ECG data from the ECG monitoring device 10. As a data transmission relay device, the mobile communication device 20 can selectively transmit a portion of the ECG data to the medical information system server 30 via network N. "Selectively" means that the mobile communication device 20 can transmit a portion of the useful electrocardiogram (ECG) data (abnormal conditions) to the medical information system server 30, while the remaining ECG data (normal conditions) can be discarded directly, and all ECG data does not need to be stored in the mobile communication device 20. Here, network N can be various network architectures for data transmission, such as fixed-line or mobile communication networks. In order to implement the method of relaying ECG data, a computer application (APP) can be installed on the mobile communication device 20. When the computer application is executed on the mobile communication device 20, the specific steps of the method of relaying ECG data in the following embodiments can be executed.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data according to the present invention. The first step of the method for relaying ECG data in this embodiment is: continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device 10 (S01), and the second step is: synchronously calculating the heart rate variability (HRV) corresponding to each consecutive time point of the ECG data (S02). For a better understanding, please refer to Figure 3, which illustrates an ECG with the calculated HRV listed on it. The vertical axis of the ECG represents the ECG data, which is actually the voltage value (mV) detected by the ECG detection device 10. The horizontal axis represents time, in milliseconds. Heart rate variability refers to the time difference between consecutive heartbeats, also known as "RR intervals." Simply put, everyone's heart rate rhythm changes with their physical condition, rather than being as regular as a beater. For example, a person's resting heart rate is about 60 beats per minute, but the interval between each beat is actually quite different. In Figure 3, the time between the peak values ​​of the P wave of two adjacent heartbeats is used as the basis for calculation, and the number above the electrocardiogram is the heart rate variability.

[0023] The third step of the method for transmitting electrocardiogram (ECG) data in this embodiment is as follows: when the calculated heart rate variability is lower than a threshold value, all ECG data in the corresponding time period are transmitted to the medical information system server 30 until the calculated heart rate variability is not lower than the threshold value (S03). In this embodiment, 800ms is set as the aforementioned threshold value. Therefore, in Figure 3, only ECG data corresponding to heart rate variability periods of 703ms, 689ms, 672ms, 683ms, and 744ms (shown in dashed boxes) will be sent from the mobile communication device 20 to the medical information system server 30. Other ECG data not lower than the threshold value will be discarded by the mobile communication device 20. It should be noted that along with the ECG data sent to the medical information system server 30, other data obtained from the mobile communication device 20 may also be included, such as the current time, temperature, humidity, and location, which can be used by doctors to assist in judgment when viewing the ECG data. In practice, step S03 can also be changed to "when the calculated heart rate variability is higher than a threshold value, all electrocardiogram (ECG) data for the corresponding time period are transmitted to the medical information system server 30 until the calculated heart rate variability is no higher than the threshold value". In this case, the mobile communication device 20 uses the higher heart rate variability as the basis for triggering the transmission of ECG data. The choice of a threshold value as the lower or upper limit for triggering can be entirely based on the medical staff's judgment of the patient's condition.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flowchart of the second embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data according to the present invention. The first step of the method for relaying ECG data in this embodiment is: continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device 10 and heart rate variability (WVR) values ​​corresponding to each consecutive time point of the ECG data in time sequence (S11). In this embodiment, the ECG detection device 10 can calculate the WVR value itself and send it to the mobile communication device 20 along with the ECG data; therefore, the mobile communication device 20 does not need to calculate the WVR value separately. Next, the second step of the method for relaying ECG data in this embodiment is: when the calculated WVR value is lower than a threshold value, transmitting all ECG data in the corresponding time period to the medical information system server 30 until the received WVR value is not lower than the threshold value (S12). Step S12 is the same as step S03 in the previous embodiment, and its technical content will not be repeated. Similar to the previous embodiment, step S12 can also be changed to "when the calculated heart rate variability is higher than a threshold value, all ECG data in the corresponding time period are transmitted to the medical information system server 30 until the received heart rate variability is not higher than the threshold value". In this case, the mobile communication device 20 also uses a higher heart rate variability as the basis for triggering the transmission of ECG data.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flowchart of the third embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data according to the present invention. The first step of the method for relaying ECG data in this embodiment is: continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device 10 (S21). The second step is: if a trigger start signal is received from the ECG detection device 10, calculating the absolute value of the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​of the heart rate variability during a judgment period before and after the trigger start signal is issued, and if the absolute value of the change is greater than a trigger value, then transmitting the ECG data after the trigger start signal is issued to the medical information system server 30 (S22). For an explanation of step S22, please refer to Figure 3. In this embodiment, the judgment period is set to 3 seconds before and after the trigger start signal is issued (total delay 6 seconds). In practice, this is not limited to this and can be set according to the patient's characteristics. The trigger start signal issuance time in Figure 3 is indicated by an empty asterisk, based on the actual time of the ECG detection device 10, to synchronize with the ECG timing. During the judgment period, 1025ms, 672ms, 683ms, 744ms, 1066ms, 1155ms, and 1023ms were obtained as the judgment heart rate variability (the judgment period is represented by a solid double arrow). The highest value was 1155ms and the lowest value was 672ms, so the absolute value of change was 482ms. If the trigger value is set to 400ms, then the mobile communication device 20 will transmit the electrocardiogram data after the hollow asterisk starts to the medical information system server 30. Conversely, if the trigger value is set to 500ms, and the absolute value of change is less than the aforementioned trigger value, then the mobile communication device 20 will not transmit the electrocardiogram data to the medical information system server 30. The third step of the method for transmitting electrocardiogram data in this embodiment is: if a trigger stop signal is received from the electrocardiogram detection device 10 or after a transmission time, the transmission of electrocardiogram data to the medical information system server 30 is stopped (S23). The aforementioned transmission of electrocardiogram (ECG) data to the medical information system server 30 is not continuous; its stopping point is the time when the trigger stop signal is issued by the ECG detection device 10, which is marked with a solid asterisk in Figure 3. Therefore, the ECG data actually received by the medical information system server 30 falls within the time points indicated by the hollow and solid asterisks. Often, the detected object (patient) forgets to issue a trigger stop signal after issuing the trigger start signal, causing the mobile communication device 20 to continuously transmit invalid ECG data (in a healthy state). To solve this problem, the present invention utilizes a transmission time set in the computer application, such as 10 minutes, and automatically stops transmitting ECG data after this transmission time has elapsed.

[0026] In the third embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data of the present invention, a further step S22' may be included after step S22: if the absolute value of the change is not greater than the trigger value, but the same trigger start signal is received a second time within an emergency time limit, then the ECG data before and after the time of the first trigger start signal is transmitted to the medical information system server 30. Sometimes, although the computer application of the mobile communication device 20 determines that ECG data does not need to be transmitted, the patient still continues to feel uncomfortable and sends a trigger start signal again through the ECG monitoring device 10. If the time interval between the two trigger start signals is long, such as 1 hour, then the mobile communication device 20 will again start from step S21 to determine whether to transmit ECG data under the control of the computer application. However, if the time interval between the two trigger start signals is short, it means that the patient may really have symptoms, and the ECG data should be uploaded to the medical information system server 30 as soon as possible for medical staff to diagnose. In this embodiment, to address the physical discomfort caused by this delay, the decision to transmit ECG data is no longer made. Instead, ECG data transmitted directly after the moment the first start signal is triggered is sent to the medical information system server 30, and transmission continues until a stop signal is triggered (at which point the transmission time is not a constraint). The aforementioned emergency time limit is the maximum permissible time between the transmission of two start signals during the direct ECG data transmission operation, for example, 30 seconds.

[0027] According to the present invention, from the first issuance of the start signal to the issuance of the stop signal, or after the aforementioned transmission time following the first issuance of the start signal, the mobile communication device 20 automatically and synchronously acquires electrocardiogram (ECG) data at a sampling frequency in the aforementioned steps, and transmits the acquired ECG data to the medical information system server 30. The present invention does not limit the sampling frequency; the sampling frequency can be once every 30 seconds or once every minute. The purpose of this operation performed by the mobile communication device 20 is to sample potentially normal ECG data for comparison with potentially problematic ECG data obtained in steps S21 to S23. For example, within one hour of transmission time following the first issuance of the start signal, potentially problematic ECG data is transmitted between the 3rd and 6th minutes, and between the 23rd and 37th minutes. ECG data from the start to the 3rd minute, the 6th minute to the 23rd minute, and the 37th minute to the 60th minute are judged by the computer application to be potentially normal ECG data and are not sent to the medical information system server 30. For medical staff, having some potentially normal electrocardiogram (ECG) data for reference (heart rate change trends) allows them to further confirm the underlying symptoms represented by potentially problematic ECG data. As mentioned earlier, this invention avoids transmitting all ECG data to the medical information system server 30 at once, thus avoiding resource waste. Therefore, a fixed-frequency sampling technique is used within the aforementioned transmission time, allowing medical staff to obtain some "discrete" ECG data of patients under normal conditions. When medical staff observe potentially problematic continuous ECG data from the 3rd to 6th minute and from the 23rd to 37th minute, there are also some auxiliary data points that can help display the trend of heart rate changes. Of course, these fixed-frequency sampled "discrete" ECG data will also obtain the same data as those from the 3rd to 6th minute and from the 23rd to 37th minute; this portion does not need to be deliberately excluded.

[0028] According to the present invention, the trigger start signal and trigger stop signal are emitted by the detected object (patient) operating the ECG monitoring device 10. The purpose is to allow the patient to promptly instruct the mobile communication device 20 to transmit ECG data for a period of time to the medical information system server 30 when feeling unwell, so that medical staff can use this urgent message to determine how to provide emergency treatment to the patient at a distance. Of course, sometimes the patient feels unwell for other reasons unrelated to the heart's response; the absolute value of the change is the basis used by the mobile communication device 20 to determine whether to transmit ECG data. The length of the judgment period mentioned above can be set according to the patient's characteristics, taking into account the reaction time between the patient feeling unwell and the issuance of the trigger start signal. Elderly or immobile patients will inevitably be slow when operating the ECG monitoring device 10; a longer judgment period allows the mobile communication device 20 to have more heart rate variability data for reference. Furthermore, the start and stop signals can also be triggered by the ECG monitoring device 10 after detecting a physical condition of itself (ECG monitoring device 10), such as rapid flipping (detected by the accelerometer built into the ECG monitoring device 10), rapid falling (detected by the accelerometer built into the ECG monitoring device 10), or an external ambient temperature higher than normal body temperature (detected by the thermometer built into the ECG monitoring device 10). This approach allows the ECG monitoring device 10 to automatically transmit ECG data to the medical information system server 30 via the mobile communication device 20 in cases of sudden patient emergencies, such as falls, falling out of bed, or being in unsuspecting external dangerous environments, such as being outdoors in 39-degree Celsius conditions, in order to prevent sudden cardiac events.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flowchart of the fourth embodiment of the method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data according to the present invention. The first step of the method for relaying ECG data in this embodiment is: continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device 10 (S31). The second step is: if a trigger start signal is received from the ECG detection device 10, calculating a first absolute value of the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​within a first judgment period before and after the trigger start signal is issued, and if the first absolute value of the change is greater than a first trigger value, then transmitting the ECG data after the trigger start signal is issued to the medical information system server 30 (S32). This step is essentially the same as step S22 of the previous embodiment, except that the aforementioned judgment period is called the first judgment period to distinguish it from the second judgment period in the next step; the aforementioned absolute value of the change is called the first absolute value of the change to distinguish it from the second absolute value of the change in the next step; and the aforementioned trigger value is called the first trigger value to distinguish it from the second trigger value in the next step. Next, the third step of the method for transmitting electrocardiogram (ECG) data in this embodiment is as follows: if a trigger stop signal is received from the ECG detection device 10, a second absolute value of the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​of the heart rate variability during a second judgment period before and after the trigger stop signal is issued is calculated. If the second absolute value of the difference is greater than a second trigger value, the transmission of ECG data to the medical information system server 30 is stopped (S33). Clearly, step S33 is not like step S23 in the previous embodiment, where the mobile communication device 20 stops transmitting ECG data to the medical information system server 30 immediately after receiving the trigger stop signal from the ECG detection device 10. In this embodiment, the mobile communication device 20 performs a similar action to that after receiving the trigger stop signal to determine whether to stop transmitting ECG data. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the second judgment period is 1 second before and after the trigger stop signal is issued (total delay of 2 seconds). However, this is not limited to this in practice and can be set according to the characteristics of the patient. In Figure 3, the time of triggering the stop signal is marked with a solid asterisk. During the second judgment period, 1023ms and 1044ms were obtained as the heart rate variability (the second judgment period is represented by a dashed double arrow), and the absolute value of the second change was 21ms. If the second trigger value is set to 100ms, in the example in Figure 3, the mobile communication device 20 will continue to transmit ECG data to the medical information system server 30 even after receiving the trigger stop signal. This is to prevent patients from accidentally shutting down ECG data transmission by mistakenly operating the ECG monitoring device 10, resulting in an emergency situation where no relevant data is available for diagnosis.

[0030] Similar to the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the trigger start signal and trigger stop signal can be emitted by the detection object (patient) operating the ECG detection device 10. Alternatively, the trigger start signal and trigger stop signal can also be emitted by the ECG detection device after detecting a physical condition of itself (such as rapid flipping, rapid falling, or external ambient temperature higher than normal human body temperature).

[0031] Although the present invention has been disclosed above by way of embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data, wherein a portion of ECG data from an ECG detection device is selectively transmitted to a medical information system server via a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of: f) continuously receiving ECG data detected by the ECG detection device; g) if a trigger start signal is received from the ECG detection device, calculating an absolute value of the change between the highest and lowest values ​​of heart rate variability during a judgment period before and after the trigger start signal is issued, and if the absolute value of the change is greater than a trigger value, transmitting the ECG data after the trigger start signal is issued to the medical information system server; and h) if a trigger stop signal is received from the ECG detection device or after a transmission time has elapsed, stopping the transmission of ECG data to the medical information system server.

2. The method for relaying electrocardiogram data as described in claim 1, further comprising a step g') between step g) and step h): if the absolute value of the change is not greater than the trigger value, but the same trigger start signal is received a second time within an emergency time limit, then the electrocardiogram data before and after the time of the first trigger start signal is transmitted to the medical information system server.

3. The method for relaying electrocardiogram (ECG) data as described in claim 2, wherein from the moment the trigger start signal is first issued until the trigger stop signal is issued or after the transmission time has elapsed, the mobile communication device acquires the ECG data at a sampling frequency and transmits the acquired ECG data to the medical information system server.

4. A method for relaying electrocardiogram data as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trigger start signal and the trigger stop signal are emitted by the detection object operating the electrocardiogram detection device.

5. A method for relaying electrocardiogram data as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trigger start signal and the trigger stop signal are emitted by the electrocardiogram detection device after detecting a physical condition of itself.

6. The method for relaying electrocardiogram data as described in claim 5, wherein the physical condition is a rapid flip, a rapid fall, or an external ambient temperature higher than normal human body temperature.

7. A method for relaying electrocardiogram data as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the mobile communication device is a smartphone, tablet computer, or smart wearable device.

8. A computer application installed in the mobile communication device, performing a method for relaying electrocardiogram data as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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