Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator Aggregating Physiological Parameters
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wearable cardioverter defibrillators (WCDs) often rely solely on electrocardiogram (ECG) signals for shock/no shock determinations, which can be inadequate due to noise interference and conflicting signals from multiple channels, leading to potential misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatments.
Innovation Solution
The WCD system incorporates multiple transducers to sense various patient parameters from different body parts, aggregating individual analysis scores to determine an aggregate analysis score that meets a shock criterion, considering multiple physiological inputs such as ECG, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation to make informed shock/no shock decisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the WCD system relies solely on ECG signals for shock/no shock determinations, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision and reliability of shock determination deteriorate due to noise interference and conflicting signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple physiological parameters (ECG, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate) into a unified shock determination process. By merging these different data sources and aggregating their individual analysis scores, the system achieves more reliable shock/no shock determinations that overcome the limitations of relying solely on ECG signals.
2Reliability
If the WCD system incorporates multiple transducers to sense various patient parameters, then the reliability of shock determination is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The WCD system is designed with multi-functionality, where a single device integrates multiple transducers for sensing different physiological parameters (ECG, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate). This universal approach allows the device to perform comprehensive patient monitoring and reliable shock determination without requiring multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an aggregation module that acts as an intermediary, combining individual analysis scores from multiple physiological parameters into an aggregate analysis score. This mediator integrates diverse data sources and translates them into a unified shock determination, managing the complexity of multiple inputs while maintaining high reliability.
3Reliability
If the WCD system uses multiple physiological inputs for shock determination, then the reliability is improved, but the loss of information increases due to the complexity of integrating multiple data sources
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where individual analysis scores from each physiological parameter are continuously evaluated and aggregated. The aggregate analysis score provides feedback on the overall patient status, allowing the system to make informed shock determination decisions that synthesize information from all sources without losing critical data.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) system comprises sensing one or more patient parameters from different parts of a body of the patient by the one or more transducers, obtaining a plurality of physiological inputs from the sensed one or more patient parameters, detecting first aspects from each of at least some of the physiological inputs, generating an aggregated first aspect from at least two of the detected first aspects, determining an aggregate analysis score from the aggregated first aspect, and determining whether the aggregate analysis score meets an aggregate shock criterion. The electrical charge is discharged within six minutes from when it is determined that the aggregate shock criterion is met, otherwise the electrical charge is not discharged for at least 19 minutes from when it is determined that the aggregate shock criterion is not met.