Mobile Device Sensor Association for Patient Mobility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing physiological information management systems face challenges in ensuring accurate association between patients and sensors, particularly when connections become wireless, leading to difficulties in verifying the correct patient-sensor link and limiting the flexibility of patient movement.

Innovation Solution

A mobile device system that includes patient and sensor ID acquisition sections, a controller for association, and a wireless communication section to receive and display physiological information signals, ensuring accurate patient-sensor pairing without the need for a separate wireless transmitter, thereby enhancing movement flexibility and reducing the risk of incorrect associations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a wired connection is used between sensor and display device, then accurate patient-sensor association is ensured, but patient movement flexibility is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepatient-sensor association accuracyVSAvoidpatient movement flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical wired connection with a wireless communication system. The sensor transmits physiological information wirelessly to the display device, eliminating the physical cable that restricted patient movement while maintaining reliable patient-sensor association through wireless signal transmission and identification matching.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Adaptability or versatility

If a wireless transmitter is added to enable wireless communication, then patient movement flexibility is improved, but device complexity and weight increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepatient movement flexibilityVSAvoidsystem structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the wireless transmission function directly into the sensor unit. The sensor incorporates both the physiological information acquisition function and the wireless transmission function, eliminating the need for a separate wireless transmitter device. This integration reduces system complexity and the weight that the patient must carry.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Weight of moving object

If wireless communication is implemented without separate transmitter, then device weight is reduced, but patient-sensor association verification becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesensor weightVSAvoidpatient-sensor association verification

Core Design Contradiction:

Weight of moving objectVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the display device displays not only the physiological information but also identification information that confirms which patient the sensor is attached to. This allows real-time verification of the patient-sensor association, ensuring that the correct patient's data is being displayed even though the connection is wireless and the sensor is lightweight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11219368B2Mobile device, sensor, physiological information management method, and computer readable medium storing physiological information processing program

Publication Date: 2022.01.11 NIHON KOHDEN CORP

AI summary

A physiological information management system includes sensors to be attached to patients to acquire physiological information of the patients and a mobile device. The mobile device includes a patient information acquiring section configured to acquire patient IDs identifying the patients, a sensor information acquiring section configured to acquire sensor IDs identifying the sensors, a controller configured to associate the patient IDs and the sensor IDs with each other, a wireless communicating section configured to receive sensor signals corresponding to the physiological information, from the sensors identified by the sensor IDs associated with the patient IDs, and a displaying section configured to display the physiological information based on the sensor signals.