JP7208843B2 - medical telemetry system - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to medical telemetry systems.

Medical telemetry systems have traditionally been used in hospitals to monitor the condition of each patient. In a medical telemetry system, a transmitter (medical telemeter) carried by a patient acquires a patient's biological information signal, and transmits the biological information signal to a predetermined frequency band (preferably within the range of 420 MHz to 450 MHz). transmit wirelessly. After the biological information signal is received by an antenna present near the patient, the biological information signal is sent to a receiver (preferably a biological information monitor) via a coaxial cable (preferably a coaxial leakage cable) and a mixer. Send to In this way, by using the medical telemetry system, it is possible to collect the biological information data of each patient in a remote location from the biological information monitor (also referred to as a central monitor). By viewing the biological information data of each patient displayed on the information monitor, the current health condition of each patient can be grasped in real time (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-143917 A

By the way, in existing medical telemetry systems, the number of channels assigned to each patient is limited to 480 channels at maximum within the range of 420 MHz to 450 MHz, which is the carrier wave frequency band for biological information signals. In other words, existing medical telemetry systems limit the total number of patients that can be monitored on a patient monitor to 480. Therefore, in large-scale hospitals where the total number of outpatients and inpatients exceeds 1000, existing medical telemetry systems cannot monitor the health conditions of all patients in real time on biological information monitors.

In addition, with the progress of the 4th industrial revolution in recent years, a medical version IoT (Internet of Things) system in which all biological information sensors are connected to a communication network is attracting more and more attention. In particular, by providing each biological information sensor such as a pulse wave sensor with a wireless communication module compatible with wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), biological information signals obtained from each biological information sensor are aggregated into the biological information monitor. It is assumed that On the other hand, in short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, it is necessary to build a new system for collecting biological information signals from each biological information sensor into a biological information monitor. Is required.

In this way, existing medical telemeters, which have a limited number of allocated channels, can be effectively used when constructing a new system for integrating biological information signals from biological information sensors with built-in wireless communication modules into a biological information monitor. There is room for consideration in terms of

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a medical telemetry system capable of supporting biological information signals in a frequency band different from the frequency band used in existing medical telemetry systems while reducing the cost required for system construction.

A medical telemetry system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes:
a first transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit a biological information signal in a first frequency band;
a second transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit a patient information signal in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band;
a first antenna configured to receive the biometric signal;
a second antenna configured to receive the patient information signal;
a first frequency converter configured to convert the frequency band of the patient information signal output from the second antenna from the second frequency band to a third frequency band different from the second frequency band;
a mixer connected to the first frequency converter and the first antenna;
a distributor connected to the mixer;
a first bandpass filter connected to the splitter and configured to pass signals in the first frequency band;
an amplifier configured to amplify the biological information signal that has passed through the first bandpass filter;
a second bandpass filter connected to the splitter and configured to pass signals in the third frequency band;
a receiver coupled to the amplifier and the second bandpass filter and configured to receive the biometric information signal and/or the patient information signal;
Prepare.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a medical telemetry system that can handle biological information signals in a frequency band different from the frequency band used in existing medical telemetry systems, while reducing the cost required for system construction.

1 is a diagram showing a medical telemetry system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as this embodiment); FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a second transmitter; FIG. It is a figure which shows the medical telemetry system which concerns on a modification.

An embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) will be described below with reference to the drawings. The term "connection" used in this specification is not necessarily limited to "physical connection". For example, "connection between A and B" may mean "electrical, optical, magnetic or physical connection between A and B".

A medical telemetry system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a medical telemetry system 1. As shown in FIG. A medical telemetry system 1 is a system for monitoring the condition of each patient in a hospital. A medical telemetry system 1 according to this embodiment includes first transmitters 2 a and 2 b, a second transmitter 3 , first antennas 3 a to 3 d and a second antenna 4 . Furthermore, the medical telemetry system 1 includes a frequency converter 5 (an example of a first frequency converter), a mixer 6, a distributor 7, a first bandpass filter (hereinafter referred to as first BPF) 8, and an amplifier 9. . Further, the medical telemetry system 1 includes a second bandpass filter (hereinafter referred to as second BPF) 14 , a mixer 11 , a power supply 12 and a receiver 13 .

Each of the first transmitters 2a, 2b is, for example, a medical telemeter (eg, bedside monitor) carried by a patient. Each of the first transmitters 2a and 2b is configured to acquire a biological information signal indicating the biological information of the patient and then wirelessly transmit the biological information signal in the first frequency band. Each of the first transmitters 2a and 2b includes a control section consisting of a memory and a processor, a display section for displaying biological information, an input interface, a wireless communication interface, and a sensor interface connected to a biological information sensor. .

The patient's biological information includes, for example, the patient's electrocardiogram, pulse wave, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration, and heart rate. The first frequency band is preferably in the range 420MHz to 450MHz. Specifically, each of the first transmitters 2a and 2b can wirelessly transmit the biological information signal by digitally modulating a carrier wave having a frequency within the range of 420 MHz to 450 MHz.

Different channels (carrier frequencies) are assigned to the first transmitters 2a and 2b. Therefore, the biological information signal (radio waves) radiated from the first transmitter 2a and the biological information signal (radio waves) radiated from the first transmitter 2b do not interfere with each other.

For example, if the channel width is 12.5 KHz, the maximum number of channels that can be assigned to the first transmitter within the range of 420 MHz to 450 MHz is 480. In this case, the medical telemetry system 1 of this embodiment can operate a maximum of 480 first transmitters. Further, hereinafter, the first transmitters 2a and 2b may be simply referred to as the first transmitter 2 for convenience of explanation.

The first antenna 3a is configured to receive a biological information signal (radio waves) wirelessly transmitted from the first transmitter 2a. The biological information signal received by the first antenna 3a is transmitted to the mixer 6 via a coaxial cable (preferably a coaxial leaky cable). In this embodiment, the first transmitter 2a is arranged within the radio wave receivable range of the first antenna 3a.

Similarly, the first antenna 3b is configured to receive biological information signals (radio waves) wirelessly transmitted from the first transmitter 2b. The biological information signal received by the first antenna 3b is transmitted to the mixer 6 via a coaxial cable (preferably a coaxial leaky cable). In this embodiment, the first transmitter 2b is arranged within the radio wave receivable range of the first antenna 3b. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the biological information signals transmitted from the first transmitters 2a and 2b may simply be referred to as biological information signals without distinction.

The second transmitter 3 is, for example, a biological information sensing device worn by a patient. The second transmitter 3 is configured to acquire a patient information signal indicating patient information, which is information related to a patient, and then wirelessly transmit the patient information signal in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band. It is The patient information indicated in the patient information signal includes at least one of patient biometric information and information related to patient posture and/or position. The patient's biological information includes the patient's electrocardiogram, pulse wave, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration, heart rate, and the like. If the patient's biological information is a pulse wave or SpO2, the second transmitter 3 may be an SpO2 sensor with a wireless communication function. Information related to the patient's posture and/or position includes, for example, the patient's posture, falling, whether or not the patient is walking, the amount of activity, the sleep state, the amount of perspiration, the patient's position, the ambient temperature and illumination of the patient, the patient's ID, and the patient's body. information (height, weight, etc.), and/or other patient call signals or event signals.

When the wireless communication standard adopted by the second transmitter 3 is Bluetooth (registered trademark), the second frequency band is the 2.4 GHz band (more precisely, within the range of 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz). On the other hand, if the wireless communication standard adopted by the second transmitter 3 is Wi-Fi (registered trademark), the second frequency band may be the 5 GHz band. The second transmitter 3 can wirelessly transmit a patient information signal by digitally modulating a carrier wave having a frequency within the range of 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz.

The configuration of the second transmitter 3 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the second transmitter 3. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 , the second transmitter 3 includes a control section 30 , a storage device 31 , a GPS 32 and an inclination sensor 33 . Further, the second transmitter 3 includes a sensor interface 34 , a biological information sensor 35 connected to the sensor interface 34 , a network interface 36 , an input operation section 37 and a display section 38 . These components forming the second transmitter 3 are communicably connected to each other via a bus 39 .

The control unit 30 includes processors such as CPU, GPU, and MPU, and memories such as ROM and RAM. The processor may be configured to expand on the RAM a program designated from various programs incorporated in the storage device 31 or ROM, and to execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM.

The GPS 32 is configured to acquire current location information of the second transmitter 3 . The second transmitter 3 can acquire information related to the position of the patient K wearing the second transmitter 3 based on the current position information acquired by the GPS 32 . The tilt sensor 33 is configured to detect the tilt of the second transmitter 3, and is, for example, an acceleration sensor or an angular velocity sensor. The second transmitter 3 can acquire information related to the posture of the patient K wearing the second transmitter 3 based on the information acquired by the tilt sensor 33 .

The sensor interface 34 is communicatively connected to a biometric sensor 35 configured to acquire patient K biometric data. The network interface 36 is configured to implement the wireless communication function of the second transmitter 3 and comprises a transmitting/receiving antenna and electronic circuitry for wireless communication. The input operation unit 37 is configured to receive input operations of the patient K or the medical staff, and is, for example, a touch panel, operation buttons, or the like. The display unit 38 is configured to display biological information of the patient K, and is a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

Returning to FIG. 1, the second antenna 4 includes a receiving antenna configured to receive a patient information signal (radio wave) wirelessly transmitted from the second transmitter 3 and a predetermined radio wave transmitted from a receiver 13, which will be described later. and a transmitting antenna configured to radiate the signal (high-frequency signal) as radio waves into the air. A patient information signal received by the second antenna 4 is transmitted to a frequency converter 5 (an example of a first frequency converter) via a coaxial cable.

The frequency converter 5 receives the patient information signal from the second antenna 4 through the coaxial cable, and then converts the carrier wave of the received patient information signal from the second frequency band (within the range of 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz) to the third frequency band. is configured to The third frequency band is, for example, within the range of 2 MHz to 30 MHz. Further, as will be described later, the frequency converter 5 is configured to convert the frequency band of the carrier wave of the predetermined signal from the third frequency band (2 MHz to 30 MHz) to the second frequency band (2400 MHz to 2480 MHz). Thus, by using the frequency converter 5, it is possible to transmit a high frequency signal in the 2.4 GHz band compatible with the Bluetooth standard to the medical telemetry system. Furthermore, a high frequency signal (2 MHz to 30 MHz) output from the receiver 13 can be wirelessly transmitted to the second transmitter 3 via the second antenna 4 .

The mixer 6 is connected to the frequency converter 5 and the first antennas 3a-3d via coaxial cables. The mixer 6 integrates the patient information signal in the third frequency band output from the frequency converter 5 and the biological information signal in the first frequency band output from the first antennas 3a and 3b into one coaxial cable (transmission path). output. In this regard, since the mixer 6 and the distributor 7 are connected to each other by one coaxial cable (transmission line), the mixer 6 distributes the patient information signal and the biological information signal via one coaxial cable. Send to 7. The mixer and distributor used in the medical telemetry system 1 according to this embodiment may have an electrical/optical converter (E/O converter) and an O/E converter.

The distributor 7 is connected to the mixer 6 via a coaxial cable and receives the biological information signal and the patient information signal from the mixer 6 . The distributor 7 is configured to distribute the biological information signal and the patient information signal transmitted from the mixer 6 to two transmission lines (coaxial cables).

The first BPF 8 is connected to the distributor 7 via a coaxial cable and configured to pass at least signals in the first frequency band (420 MHz to 450 MHz). In particular, the first BPF 8 may be configured to pass only signals in the first frequency band. In this case, the first BPF 8 can block patient information signals in the third frequency band while passing only biological information signals in the first frequency band.

The amplifier 9 is connected to the first BPF 8 and configured to amplify the biological information signal that has passed through the first BPF 8 . The second BPF 14 is connected to the distributor 7 via a coaxial cable and configured to pass at least signals in the third frequency band (2 MHz to 30 MHz). In particular, the second BPF 14 may be configured to pass only signals in the third frequency band. In this case, the second BPF 14 can pass only the patient information signal in the third frequency band, while blocking the biological information signal in the first frequency band.

Mixer 11 is connected to amplifier 9 and second BPF 14 via a coaxial cable. The mixer 11 collectively outputs the amplified biological information signal output from the amplifier 9 and the patient information signal output from the second BPF 14 to one coaxial cable (transmission path). Mixer 11 transmits the biometric information signal and the patient information signal to receiver 13 via power supply 12 . The power supply 12 is electrically connected to a commercial power supply (AC power supply). The power supply 12 is configured to convert an AC voltage supplied from a commercial power supply into a DC voltage and then supply the converted DC voltage to the amplifier 9 .

The receiver 13 is a biological information monitor (especially a central monitor). The receiver 13 includes a control unit comprising a memory and a processor, a storage device, and a display configured to display at least one of data associated with the biometric information signal and data associated with the patient information signal. a unit, an input interface, an input operation unit, a network interface, and an interface for a medical telemetry system. The receiver 13 receives the biometric information signal and/or the patient information signal through the medical telemetry system interface. After that, the receiver 13 demodulates the received biometric information signal and/or the patient information signal, and visually outputs at least one of the data associated with the biometric information signal and the data associated with the patient information signal. configured to display For example, the receiver 13 can display a biological information waveform (eg, an electrocardiogram waveform, a pulse wave, etc.) on the display screen based on the biological information data included in the biological information signal. Furthermore, the receiver 13 can display the bio-information waveform on the display screen based on the bio-information data included in the patient information signal. In addition, the receiver 13 can display information on the position and posture of the patient included in the patient information signal on the display screen.

Further, in the storage device of the receiver 13, there is a channel number identification table indicating the relationship between the channel number assigned to the first transmitter 2 and the carrier frequency of the biological information signal emitted by the first transmitter 2. may be saved. For example, in the channel number identification table, the relationship between the channel number assigned to the first transmitter 2a and the carrier frequency of the first transmitter 2a and the channel number assigned to the first transmitter 2b and the first transmission A relationship between the carrier frequency of the machine 2b may be indicated. Thus, the receiver 13 can identify the channel number corresponding to the carrier frequency of the biological information signal by referring to the channel number identification table.

Also, the network interface of the receiver 13 may include various wired connection terminals (for example, LAN cable connection terminals) for communicating with an external device such as a server via the communication network 16 . Also, the network interface may include various processing circuits, a transmitting/receiving antenna, and the like for wirelessly communicating with the access point. Thus, receiver 13 is communicatively connected to external communication network 16 . Communication network 16 includes at least one of LAN, WAN and the Internet.

Since the receiver 13 is communicably connected to the external communication network 16 in this manner, the biological information signal and the patient information signal can be transmitted to a cloud server or the like on the communication network 16 .

According to the medical telemetry system 1 according to this embodiment, in the existing medical telemetry system, the second antenna 4 is configured to convert the frequency band of the patient information signal from the second frequency band to the third frequency band. A frequency converter 5 and a second BPF 14 configured to pass signals in the third frequency band are newly provided. Thus, by further providing the second antenna 4, the frequency converter 5 and the second BPF 14 to the existing medical telemetry system, the receiver 13 can receive not only the biological information signals transmitted from the first transmitters 2a and 2b, but also A patient information signal transmitted from the second transmitter 3 can be received. Therefore, by effectively utilizing an existing medical telemetry system, a medical telemetry system 1 capable of transmitting a patient information signal in the second frequency band (2.4 GHz band) to the receiver 13 can be constructed at relatively low cost. becomes possible. Therefore, a medical telemetry system 1 is provided that is compatible with patient information signals in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band used in conventional medical telemetry systems, while suppressing the cost required for constructing the medical telemetry system 1. can do.

Also, the receiver 13 is configured to transmit a predetermined signal in a third frequency band (2 MHz to 30 MHz) to the second transmitter 3 via the frequency converter 5 and the second antenna 4 . In this case, the frequency converter 5 changes the frequency band of the predetermined signal transmitted from the receiver 13 from the third frequency band to the second frequency band (2.4 GHz band). Next, the transmission antenna of the second antenna 4 radiates the predetermined signal output from the frequency converter 5 into the air. After that, the network interface 36 of the second transmitter 3 receives the predetermined signal (radio wave) radiated from the frequency converter 5 . Note that the receiver 13 receives the patient information signal so that the patient information signal transmitted from the second transmitter 3 to the receiver 13 and the predetermined signal transmitted from the receiver 13 to the second transmitter 3 do not interfere with each other. You may adjust the transmission timing of a signal and a predetermined signal.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by effectively utilizing an existing medical telemetry system, a new medical telemetry system 1 capable of transmitting and receiving a patient information signal in the second frequency band at a relatively low cost is provided. can do.

In this embodiment, the receiver 13 simultaneously receives the biological information signal and the patient information signal from the mixer 11, and simultaneously displays data related to the received biological information signal and the patient information signal on the display unit. can be displayed explicitly. Further, the receiver 13 receives either the biological information signal or the patient information signal from the mixer 11, and visually displays data related to the received biological information signal or the patient information signal on the display unit. You may

(Modification)
Next, a medical telemetry system 10 according to a modification will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a medical telemetry system 10 according to a modification. As shown in FIG. 3, the medical telemetry system 10 is significantly different from the medical telemetry system 1 according to this embodiment in that a distributor 18 and a frequency converter 19 (an example of a second frequency converter) are provided.

The distributor 18 is connected to the power supply 12, the receiver 13 and the frequency converter 19 via coaxial cables, and receives the biological information signal and the patient information signal from the mixer 11 respectively. The distributor 18 is configured to distribute the biological information signal and the patient information signal to two transmission lines (coaxial cables).

The frequency converter 19 is connected to an external communication network 16, and converts the frequency band of the patient information signal transmitted from the distributor 18 from the third frequency band (2 MHz to 30 MHz) to a suitable wired LAN or wireless LAN communication. configured to convert to a frequency band. In this way, since the carrier wave frequency of the signal output from the frequency converter 19 is converted into a carrier wave frequency suitable for a wired LAN or wireless LAN, the frequency converter 19 transfers the patient information signal transmitted through the coaxial cable to the communication network. It can be sent to a cloud server on 16 or the like. A second BPF 14 may be further provided between the frequency converter 19 and the distributor 18 . In this case, only the patient information signal in the third frequency band is input to frequency converter 19 .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed to be limited by the description of the embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that this embodiment is merely an example, and that various modifications of the embodiment are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

1, 10: Medical Telemetry System 2, 2a, 2b: First Transmitter 3: Second Transmitter 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d: First Antenna 4: Second Antenna 5: Frequency Converter 6: Mixer 7: Distributor Device 8: first bandpass filter (first BPF)
9: Amplifier 11: Mixer 12: Power supply 13: Receiver 14: Second bandpass filter (second BPF)
16: Communication network 18: Distributor 19: Frequency converter 30: Control unit 31: Storage device 33: Tilt sensor 34: Sensor interface 35: Biometric information sensor 36: Network interface 37: Input operation unit 38: Display unit

Claims (7)

a first transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit a biological information signal in a first frequency band;
a second transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit a patient information signal in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band;
a first antenna configured to receive the biometric signal;
a second antenna configured to receive the patient information signal;
a first frequency converter configured to convert the frequency band of the patient information signal output from the second antenna from the second frequency band to a third frequency band different from the second frequency band;
a mixer connected to the first frequency converter and the first antenna;
a distributor connected to the mixer;
a first bandpass filter connected to the splitter and configured to pass signals in the first frequency band;
an amplifier configured to amplify the biological information signal that has passed through the first bandpass filter;
a second bandpass filter connected to the splitter and configured to pass signals in the third frequency band;
a receiver coupled to the amplifier and the second bandpass filter and configured to receive the biometric information signal and/or the patient information signal;
A medical telemetry system with 2. The medical telemetry system of claim 1, wherein the patient information signal includes at least one of patient biometric information and information related to patient posture and/or position. wherein the receiver is a vital monitor configured to visually display at least one of data associated with the vital information signal and data associated with the patient information signal;
The vital information monitor is communicably connected to an external communication network,
The medical telemetry system according to claim 1 or 2. Further comprising a second frequency converter connected to an external communication network and configured to convert the frequency band of the patient information signal from the third frequency band to a frequency band suitable for wired LAN or wireless LAN communication. The medical telemetry system according to claim 1 or 2. the receiver is configured to transmit a predetermined signal in the third frequency band to the second transmitter via the first frequency converter and the second antenna;
the first frequency converter is further configured to convert a frequency band of a predetermined signal transmitted from the receiver from the third frequency band to the second frequency band;
The second antenna is configured to wirelessly transmit the predetermined signal output from the first frequency converter,
The second transmitter is configured to wirelessly receive the predetermined signal,
Medical telemetry system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The first frequency band is in the range of 420 MHz to 450 MHz,
The second frequency band is within the range of 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz,
the third frequency band is in the range of 2 MHz to 30 MHz;
Medical telemetry system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The first bandpass filter is configured to pass only signals in a frequency band from 420 MHz to 450 MHz,
The second bandpass filter is configured to pass only signals in a frequency band from 2 MHz to 30 MHz.
The medical telemetry system according to claim 6.

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