WO2014091329A1 - Monitoring apparatus and method for monitoring vital functions of a patient - Google Patents
Monitoring apparatus and method for monitoring vital functions of a patient Download PDFInfo
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- WO2014091329A1 WO2014091329A1 PCT/IB2013/059986 IB2013059986W WO2014091329A1 WO 2014091329 A1 WO2014091329 A1 WO 2014091329A1 IB 2013059986 W IB2013059986 W IB 2013059986W WO 2014091329 A1 WO2014091329 A1 WO 2014091329A1
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- patient
- monitoring apparatus
- drug
- measurement
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- G—PHYSICS
- G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
- G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
- G16H40/60—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices
- G16H40/63—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices for local operation
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus for monitoring vital functions of a patient and a corresponding monitoring method. Further, the present invention relates to a computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method according to the present invention when said computer program is carried out on a computer.
- the known monitoring systems provide a reduced flexibility for monitoring patients and do not reduce the risk of potential drug interactions or drug side effects.
- a monitoring apparatus for monitoring vital functions of a patient, comprising:
- connection device connectable to a patient medication storage unit for receiving information about at least one drug administered to the patient
- an interface connectable to a drug database for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs
- a measurement device associated to the patient for measuring at least one vital parameter of the patient
- control unit for enabling a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or for enabling an evaluation of a measurement of at least one vital parameter on the basis of the information about the at least one effect.
- a monitoring apparatus comprising:
- connection device connectable to a patient medication storage unit and for receiving information about at least one drug administered to a patient
- an interface connectable to a drug database for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs
- a display unit for providing information to a user in order to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database.
- a computer program comprising computer code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method according to the present invention when said computer program is carried out on a computer.
- the present invention is based on the idea to enable certain patient alarms on a patient monitor for patients who are at risk of drug interaction or drug side effects.
- the known drug interaction and side effects are received from the drug database for the administered drugs and certain measurements are recommended, enabled or evaluated with respect to the known drug side effects, adverse drug effects and/or the known adverse drug interaction effects. Since the alarm is merely enabled and the respective vital parameter of the patient is monitored, the drug combination can be administered to increase the flexibility of the medication regimen while the potential risk is reduced by monitoring a respective vital parameter of the patient which may be affected. Hence, the flexibility of drug combinations can be increased and the potential risk for the patient can be reduced.
- the monitoring apparatus further comprises a second interface connectable to a determining device for determining an effect of the at least one administered drug and/or the combination of the administered drugs on a vital function of a patient on the basis of the information received from the drug database and the information received from the storage unit, wherein the control unit is adapted to enable the measurement of the at least one vital parameter and/or to enable the evaluation of the measurement of the at least one vital parameter on the basis of the determined effect.
- the effect on the patient can be determined separately and precisely on the basis of the known drug interactions and the medication regimen provided to the patient.
- the at least one vital parameter corresponds to the effect determined by the determining device. This is a possibility to reduce the risk for drug interactions or side effects, since the potentially effected vital parameter is monitored so that the risk for the patient can be further reduced.
- the monitoring apparatus further comprises an alarm unit for comparing a measured value of the vital parameter with a predefined threshold value or detecting abnormal rhythm or other irregularity in the vital sign and for providing an alert if the measured value exceeds the predefined threshold value or shows abnormal rhythm or other irregularity.
- the monitoring apparatus further comprises a second connection device connectable to an electronic health record database of the patient, wherein the control unit is further adapted to enable the measurement and/or the evaluation on the basis of the information received from the health record, which may include actual patient laboratory data.
- the monitoring apparatus comprises an input terminal connected to the storage unit for a manual input of the information about the at least one administered drug and/or for manual input of information about effects of the at least one administered drug.
- the patient medication storage unit is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution to get the medication history of the patient with low technical effort.
- the first connection device is connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the patient medication storage unit via the network.
- the interface is connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the drug database via the external network.
- the drug database is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution to reduce the technical effort, since a connection to an external network is not necessary and the monitoring apparatus can be used independently.
- the monitoring apparatus comprises a second interface connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the determining device.
- the determining device is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution of the monitoring apparatus, whereby the monitoring apparatus can be used flexible and independently from a connection to an external network.
- the monitoring apparatus comprises a display unit for providing information to a user in order to indicate a potential risk and/or to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database.
- the present invention provides a more flexible solution of a patient monitoring with increased patient safety, wherein vital parameters are measured and/or evaluated on the basis of a potential risk regarding known side or adverse effects of an administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs so that the risk for the patient is reduced due to the individual monitoring. Since the potential risk is reduced by the individual monitoring, drug combinations can bS administered, which have a potential risk, whereby the flexibility of the medication is increased.
- Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention
- Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the monitoring apparatus of the present invention.
- Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow chart of a method for monitoring vital functions of a patient according to the present invention.
- Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a monitoring apparatus generally denoted by 10.
- the monitoring apparatus 10 comprises a control unit 12 for controlling the functions of the monitoring apparatus 10.
- the control unit 12 is connected to a display 14 and to a keyboard 16 for operating the monitoring apparatus 10.
- the control unit 12 is further connected to a health record 18, to a drug database 20 and to an evaluation unit 22.
- the control unit 12 is further connected to an alarm unit 24 which is connected to a sound generator 26 for providing an alert sound.
- the alarm unit 24 is further connected to the display 14 for providing a visual alert to the user.
- the control unit 12 is further connected to a medication storage unit 28, which is provided to store a medication regimen or in other words the drugs administered to the patient.
- the keyboard 16 is also connected to the medication storage unit 28 to input the drugs administered to the patient.
- the control unit 12 is further connected to a measurement device 30, which is associated to the patient and provided for measuring vital parameters of the patient.
- the measurement device 30 provides measured vital parameters to the control unit 12 for evaluating the vital parameters.
- the control unit 12 comprises a plurality of connection devices and/or interfaces 32, 34, 36, 38 by means of which the control unit 12 is connected to the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28.
- the monitoring apparatus 10 furtfZer comprises a housing 40, wherein the control unit 12, the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22, the alarm unit 24 and the medication storage unit 28 are in this specific embodiment integrated in the housing 40.
- at least one or a plurality of the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28 is located outside the housing 40 and is connectable to the control unit 12 by means of one of the respective interface 32, 34, 36, 38 and preferably connectable via a network and/or the internet.
- the control unit 12 receives a medication regimen or a history of drugs administered to the patient to be monitored from the medication storage unit 28 and adverse effects of the drugs administered to the patient or drug interaction effects of the drugs administered to the patient from the drug database 20.
- the control unit 12 provides the information received from the medication storage unit 28 and from the drug database 20 to the evaluation unit 22, which may be separately from the control unit 12 or may be an algorithm running in the control unit 12.
- the medication regimen of the patient and the adverse effects of the administered drugs are analyzed for interaction effects.
- the evaluation unit 22 provides the result of the analysis to the control unit 12 including the information which vital function may be affected by the administered drugs and should be monitored.
- a necessary measurement unit for measuring the vital function is not connected to the monitoring apparatus 10 or the necessary measurement unit is not connected to the patient, a respective message or advise is provided to the caregivers e.g. via the display 14 to connect or to install the necessary monitoring or measurement device.
- the control unit 12 enables measurements of vital parameters of the patient by means of the measurement device 30, related to the vital functions which may be affected by the adverse effects of the drugs and/or the drug combination administered to the patient. Alternatively, the control unit 12 enables a certain analysis of a vital parameter, which is measured by means of the measurement device 30 regarding a certain vital function, which may be affected by the adverse effects
- control unit 12 is adapted to enable the measurement and/or the evaluation of different vital parameter.
- the control unit 12 is further adapted to disable a measurement and/or evaluation of a certain vital parameter on the basis of the determined adverse effects.
- the measured vital parameter is provided to the alarm unit 24.
- the alarm unit 24 enables based on the received drug information those alarms which the patient may encounter due to adverse drug effects or drug interactions.
- the alarm unit 24 compares the measured vital parameter to a certain threshold vMue, a rhythm or other time dependent values and provides an alert by means of the alert sound generator 26 and/or the display 14 if the measured vital parameter exceeds the threshold value.
- an alarm function is enabled including activating the measurement of a vital parameter and/or activating the evaluation of the measured vital parameter and providing an alert if the vital parameter exceeds certain values.
- control unit 12 Since the susceptibility of the patient to the adverse effects of single drugs and/or drug combinations is dependent on the general health of the patient and/or other conditions like prevalence patient adherence, hydration and nutritional status, degree of renal or hepatic impairment, smoking and alcohol use, genetics and drug dosing, the control unit 12 is also connected to the electronic health record 18 and provides all information about the patient including laboratory data received from the laboratory information system to the evaluation unit 22 so that these information are also considered for the analysis and also considered for enabling a certain measurement and/or a certain evaluation of vital parameters measured by the measurement device 30 and for enabling the alarm function.
- a potential drug interaction effect such as increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias can occur in patients whose medication regimen contains the drug Sotalol in combination with Quinolones.
- potential drug interaction effects like increased risk of profound bradycardia, sinus arrest, and hypotension can occur if the medication regimen contains drugs with agent Amiodarone in combination with Fentanyl.
- the heart rate and the blood pressure would be measured by means of the measurement device 30 and evaluated to detect cardiac arrhythmias bradycardia and sinus arrest.
- the potential risk for the patient can be reduced since the critical parameters are measured, evaluated and in case of a deviation from normal parameters the alert will be provided by means of the alarm unit 24.
- the control unit 12 provides a respective indication or alarm to the display 14 so that the users, e.g. the clinical professionals are informed of a potential risk.
- the medication history i.e. the medication regimen or the administered drugs are input via the keyboard 16 and stored in the medication storage unit 28.
- FIG. 1 shows a simple application and can be used independent of any data connection and, therefore, this monitoring apparatus 10 can be implemented with low technical effort.
- Fig. 2 shows a schematic block dftgram of an alternative embodiment of the monitoring apparatus 10. Identical elements are denoted by identical reference numerals, wherein here merely the differences are explained in detail.
- the monitoring apparatus 10 comprises the housing 40, wherein within the housing the control unit 12 and the alarm unit 24 are accommodated and the display 14 and the keyboard 16 are provided at the housing 40.
- the control unit 12 is connected via an interface 42 to an external network 44.
- the external network 44 may be an intranet e.g.
- the interface 42 may be a cable connection for connecting the monitoring apparatus 10 to the external network 44 or may be a wireless connection.
- the external network 44 is connected to the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28.
- the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28 are connected to the control unit 12 via one external network 44, however, in a certain embodiment, these elements may be connected via different networks to the control unit 12.
- the health record 18 may be connected via an internal network of the hospital or the like to the monitoring apparatus and the monitoring apparatus may be connected to the drug database 20 via the internet.
- the medication storage unit 28 and the drug database 20 are received by the control unit 12 and evaluated by means of the evaluation unit 22 accessible via the interface 42 and the external network 44.
- the information from the health record 18 are also considered for the evaluation.
- the medication regimen and/or the medication history of the patient may be input in the medication storage unit 28 via the keyboard 16.
- the monitoring apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 is quite simple, since the control unit 12 receives any necessary information via the interface 42 and the external network 44 from certain elements and the evaluation of the information is also performed outside the monitoring apparatus. Therefore, the update of the information provided to the monitoring apparatus 10 for enabling certain alarms is quite simple and any monitoring apparatus 10 used in e.g. one hospital can excess all necessary data.
- Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of the method according to the present invention for monitoring vital functions of a patient.
- the method is generally denoted by 50.
- the method starts with step 52.
- the medication regimen and/or the medication history is received from the medication storage unit 28.
- administered drugs are received from the drug database 20.
- step 58 additional information regarding the patient health are received from the health record 18. This may include the laboratory data received from the laboratory information system.
- the information received during the previous steps 54, 56, 58 are evaluated by means of the evaluation unit 22. If a potential risk is detected, a respective notification is provided to the display 14 as shown at step 62.
- the notification may include an advice to the caregivers which vital parameter shall be monitored and/or which measurement unit 30 shall be installed or enabled.
- the measurements of related vital parameters of the patient are enabled and the respective parameter is measured by means of the measurement unit 30 as shown at step 64. Additionally or alternatively if the vital parameter is already measured by means of the measurement unit 30, the evaluation of the measured vital parameter, which is related to the determined adverse effect, is enabled as shown at step 66.
- the measured vital parameter is compared to a threshold level, a rhythm and / or other time dependent parameter which form the normal range of the measured vital parameter. If the vital parameter exceeds normal values, i.e. if the vital parameter reaches abnormal values, an alarm is provided at 70.
- the method ends at step 72.
- the risk for the patient is reduced, since the alarm function, i.e. the measurement and the evaluation of critical vital parameters is enabled on the basis of the known adverse effects of single drugs and/or drug combinations and an alert is provided if the vital parameter reaches abnormal values such that the flexibility of the medication is increased and the risk for the patient is reduced (patient safety is increased).
- the alarm function i.e. the measurement and the evaluation of critical vital parameters is enabled on the basis of the known adverse effects of single drugs and/or drug combinations and an alert is provided if the vital parameter reaches abnormal values such that the flexibility of the medication is increased and the risk for the patient is reduced (patient safety is increased).
- a computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
- a suitable medium such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus (10) for monitoring vital functions of a patient, comprising a connection device (38, 42) connectable to a patient medication storage unit (28) and for receiving information about at least one drug administered to the patient, an interface (34, 42) connectable to a drug database (20) for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs, a measurement device (30) associated to the patient for measuring at least one vital parameter of the patient, and a control unit (12) for enabling a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or for enabling an evaluation of a measurement of at least one vital parameter on the basis of the information about the at least one effect.
Description
Monitoring apparatus and method for monitoring vital functions of a patient
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus for monitoring vital functions of a patient and a corresponding monitoring method. Further, the present invention relates to a computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method according to the present invention when said computer program is carried out on a computer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the field of monitoring systems for monitoring vital parameters of a patient, it is well known to measure a plurality of vital parameters and to provide an alarm if one of the vital parameters exceeds predefined limits or shows abnormal rhythm or other irregularity. In this field it is common practice that the alarm or the alarms are enabled and disabled by the caregivers or the medical assistant. Certain alarms and certain evaluation methods for evaluating the measured vital parameters are enabled or disabled on the basis of the patient's health condition and treatment regimen, his medical history as documented in his health record and on the basis of the experience of the caregivers or medical assistant.
It is also known e.g. from WO 0145774 Al to connect a monitoring system to a drug database and to provide a drug alarm if adverse drug effects of the administered drugs are known and if the patient could be harmed due to a known drug allergy.
It is further known from US 2005/267402 Al to provide a drug alarm if the administered drugs may lead to harmful drug interactions.
In the clinical settings where patient monitoring is used, such drug interaction alarms can be switched off by the clinical professional using the monitor, which may increase the risk for the patient. Further, if the drug regimes are complex the risk for interactions may increase, however, certain drug combinations may not be harmful due to the particular constitution of the patient. In that case, the known monitoring systems will give an alarm regarding the known drug interactions that the combination of drugs should not be
administered to the patient. However, in some particular situations, a combination of drugs
having a potential risk for interactions or drug si2le effects are medically necessary for the patient.
Hence, the known monitoring systems provide a reduced flexibility for monitoring patients and do not reduce the risk of potential drug interactions or drug side effects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring apparatus for monitoring vital functions of a patient, a corresponding method for monitoring a vital parameter of a patient and a corresponding computer program, providing an improved flexibility of the monitoring of a patient and at the same time reducing the risk of drug interactions or drug side effects for the patient.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a monitoring apparatus is provided for monitoring vital functions of a patient, comprising:
a connection device connectable to a patient medication storage unit for receiving information about at least one drug administered to the patient,
- an interface connectable to a drug database for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs,
a measurement device associated to the patient for measuring at least one vital parameter of the patient, and
a control unit for enabling a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or for enabling an evaluation of a measurement of at least one vital parameter on the basis of the information about the at least one effect.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a monitoring apparatus is provided, comprising:
a connection device connectable to a patient medication storage unit and for receiving information about at least one drug administered to a patient,
an interface connectable to a drug database for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs, and
a display unit for providing information to a user in order to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database.
According to another aspect of th3 present invention, a method for monitoring vital functions of a patient is provided comprising the steps of:
receiving information about at least one drug administered to the patient from a patient medication storage unit,
- receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug from a drug database, and
enabling a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient and/or enabling an evaluation of a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or providing information to a user in order to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect.
According to still another aspect of the present invention a computer program is provided comprising computer code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method according to the present invention when said computer program is carried out on a computer.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. It shall be understood that the claimed method has similar and/or identical preferred
embodiments as the claimed device and as defined in the dependent claims.
The present invention is based on the idea to enable certain patient alarms on a patient monitor for patients who are at risk of drug interaction or drug side effects. The known drug interaction and side effects are received from the drug database for the administered drugs and certain measurements are recommended, enabled or evaluated with respect to the known drug side effects, adverse drug effects and/or the known adverse drug interaction effects. Since the alarm is merely enabled and the respective vital parameter of the patient is monitored, the drug combination can be administered to increase the flexibility of the medication regimen while the potential risk is reduced by monitoring a respective vital parameter of the patient which may be affected. Hence, the flexibility of drug combinations can be increased and the potential risk for the patient can be reduced.
According to a preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus further comprises a second interface connectable to a determining device for determining an effect of the at least one administered drug and/or the combination of the administered drugs on a vital function of a patient on the basis of the information received from the drug database and the information received from the storage unit, wherein the control unit is adapted to enable the measurement of the at least one vital parameter and/or to enable the evaluation of the measurement of the at least one vital parameter on the basis of the determined effect. Hence,
the effect on the patient can be determined separately and precisely on the basis of the known drug interactions and the medication regimen provided to the patient.
According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one vital parameter corresponds to the effect determined by the determining device. This is a possibility to reduce the risk for drug interactions or side effects, since the potentially effected vital parameter is monitored so that the risk for the patient can be further reduced.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus further comprises an alarm unit for comparing a measured value of the vital parameter with a predefined threshold value or detecting abnormal rhythm or other irregularity in the vital sign and for providing an alert if the measured value exceeds the predefined threshold value or shows abnormal rhythm or other irregularity. This is a simple possibility to detect an abnormal behavior of a vital function of the patient and to reduce the potential risk for the patient, i.e. increase patient safety.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus further comprises a second connection device connectable to an electronic health record database of the patient, wherein the control unit is further adapted to enable the measurement and/or the evaluation on the basis of the information received from the health record, which may include actual patient laboratory data. This provides a possibility to consider the health record history of the patient and/or certain conditions, which may lead to additional or special risks with the drug combination administered to the patient whereby the risk of the patient can be further reduced.
In a further preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus comprises an input terminal connected to the storage unit for a manual input of the information about the at least one administered drug and/or for manual input of information about effects of the at least one administered drug. This is a simple possibility to provide the medication history to the monitoring apparatus and/or to add effects of the drugs, which may not yet be included in the drug database, whereby the technical effort for providing the necessary information is reduced.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the patient medication storage unit is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution to get the medication history of the patient with low technical effort.
In a further embodiment, the first connection device is connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the patient medication storage unit via the network. This provides a more flexible system, since any monitoring apparatus
can be connected to the patient medication storage unit, whereby the handling effort of the monitoring apparatus and a potential risk of mishandling is reduced.
According to a preferred embodiment, the interface is connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the drug database via the external network. This is a possibility to increase the information about the administered drugs, since the monitoring apparatus can be connected to a central database having all necessary information and a continuous update of the adverse effects to reduce the potential risk for the patient.
According to a preferred embodiment, the drug database is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution to reduce the technical effort, since a connection to an external network is not necessary and the monitoring apparatus can be used independently.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus comprises a second interface connectable to an external network for connecting the monitoring apparatus to the determining device. This is a solution to determine the potential risk externally from the monitoring apparatus, whereby the technical effort of the monitoring apparatus is reduced.
Alternatively, the determining device is integrated in the monitoring apparatus. This is a simple solution of the monitoring apparatus, whereby the monitoring apparatus can be used flexible and independently from a connection to an external network.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the monitoring apparatus comprises a display unit for providing information to a user in order to indicate a potential risk and/or to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database. This is a further possibility to reduce the potential risk of the patient, since the clinical professionals or the caregivers using the monitor are informed of any potential risk so that a certain critical drug may not be administered or enable or install the measurement of a corresponding critical vital parameter of the patient.
As mentioned above, the present invention provides a more flexible solution of a patient monitoring with increased patient safety, wherein vital parameters are measured and/or evaluated on the basis of a potential risk regarding known side or adverse effects of an administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs so that the risk for the patient is reduced due to the individual monitoring. Since the potential risk is reduced by the
individual monitoring, drug combinations can bS administered, which have a potential risk, whereby the flexibility of the medication is increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. In the following drawings
Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the monitoring apparatus of the present invention; and
Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow chart of a method for monitoring vital functions of a patient according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a monitoring apparatus generally denoted by 10. The monitoring apparatus 10 comprises a control unit 12 for controlling the functions of the monitoring apparatus 10. The control unit 12 is connected to a display 14 and to a keyboard 16 for operating the monitoring apparatus 10. The control unit 12 is further connected to a health record 18, to a drug database 20 and to an evaluation unit 22. The control unit 12 is further connected to an alarm unit 24 which is connected to a sound generator 26 for providing an alert sound. The alarm unit 24 is further connected to the display 14 for providing a visual alert to the user.
The control unit 12 is further connected to a medication storage unit 28, which is provided to store a medication regimen or in other words the drugs administered to the patient. The keyboard 16 is also connected to the medication storage unit 28 to input the drugs administered to the patient.
The control unit 12 is further connected to a measurement device 30, which is associated to the patient and provided for measuring vital parameters of the patient. The measurement device 30 provides measured vital parameters to the control unit 12 for evaluating the vital parameters.
The control unit 12 comprises a plurality of connection devices and/or interfaces 32, 34, 36, 38 by means of which the control unit 12 is connected to the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28.
The monitoring apparatus 10 furtfZer comprises a housing 40, wherein the control unit 12, the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22, the alarm unit 24 and the medication storage unit 28 are in this specific embodiment integrated in the housing 40. Alternatively, at least one or a plurality of the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28 is located outside the housing 40 and is connectable to the control unit 12 by means of one of the respective interface 32, 34, 36, 38 and preferably connectable via a network and/or the internet.
The control unit 12 receives a medication regimen or a history of drugs administered to the patient to be monitored from the medication storage unit 28 and adverse effects of the drugs administered to the patient or drug interaction effects of the drugs administered to the patient from the drug database 20. The control unit 12 provides the information received from the medication storage unit 28 and from the drug database 20 to the evaluation unit 22, which may be separately from the control unit 12 or may be an algorithm running in the control unit 12. The medication regimen of the patient and the adverse effects of the administered drugs are analyzed for interaction effects. The evaluation unit 22 provides the result of the analysis to the control unit 12 including the information which vital function may be affected by the administered drugs and should be monitored. If a necessary measurement unit for measuring the vital function is not connected to the monitoring apparatus 10 or the necessary measurement unit is not connected to the patient, a respective message or advise is provided to the caregivers e.g. via the display 14 to connect or to install the necessary monitoring or measurement device. The control unit 12 enables measurements of vital parameters of the patient by means of the measurement device 30, related to the vital functions which may be affected by the adverse effects of the drugs and/or the drug combination administered to the patient. Alternatively, the control unit 12 enables a certain analysis of a vital parameter, which is measured by means of the measurement device 30 regarding a certain vital function, which may be affected by the adverse effects
determined by the evaluation unit 22. If a plurality of different adverse effects of the administered drugs are determined, the control unit 12 is adapted to enable the measurement and/or the evaluation of different vital parameter. The control unit 12 is further adapted to disable a measurement and/or evaluation of a certain vital parameter on the basis of the determined adverse effects.
The measured vital parameter is provided to the alarm unit 24. The alarm unit 24 enables based on the received drug information those alarms which the patient may encounter due to adverse drug effects or drug interactions. The alarm unit 24 compares the
measured vital parameter to a certain threshold vMue, a rhythm or other time dependent values and provides an alert by means of the alert sound generator 26 and/or the display 14 if the measured vital parameter exceeds the threshold value.
In other words, an alarm function is enabled including activating the measurement of a vital parameter and/or activating the evaluation of the measured vital parameter and providing an alert if the vital parameter exceeds certain values.
Since the susceptibility of the patient to the adverse effects of single drugs and/or drug combinations is dependent on the general health of the patient and/or other conditions like prevalence patient adherence, hydration and nutritional status, degree of renal or hepatic impairment, smoking and alcohol use, genetics and drug dosing, the control unit 12 is also connected to the electronic health record 18 and provides all information about the patient including laboratory data received from the laboratory information system to the evaluation unit 22 so that these information are also considered for the analysis and also considered for enabling a certain measurement and/or a certain evaluation of vital parameters measured by the measurement device 30 and for enabling the alarm function.
For example a potential drug interaction effect such as increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias can occur in patients whose medication regimen contains the drug Sotalol in combination with Quinolones. Likewise, potential drug interaction effects like increased risk of profound bradycardia, sinus arrest, and hypotension can occur if the medication regimen contains drugs with agent Amiodarone in combination with Fentanyl. In that case the heart rate and the blood pressure would be measured by means of the measurement device 30 and evaluated to detect cardiac arrhythmias bradycardia and sinus arrest. Hence, the potential risk for the patient can be reduced since the critical parameters are measured, evaluated and in case of a deviation from normal parameters the alert will be provided by means of the alarm unit 24.
Further, if a potential risk is detected by means of the evaluation unit 22, the control unit 12 provides a respective indication or alarm to the display 14 so that the users, e.g. the clinical professionals are informed of a potential risk. Further, the medication history, i.e. the medication regimen or the administered drugs are input via the keyboard 16 and stored in the medication storage unit 28.
The monitoring apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a simple application and can be used independent of any data connection and, therefore, this monitoring apparatus 10 can be implemented with low technical effort.
Fig. 2 shows a schematic block dftgram of an alternative embodiment of the monitoring apparatus 10. Identical elements are denoted by identical reference numerals, wherein here merely the differences are explained in detail.
The monitoring apparatus 10 comprises the housing 40, wherein within the housing the control unit 12 and the alarm unit 24 are accommodated and the display 14 and the keyboard 16 are provided at the housing 40. The control unit 12 is connected via an interface 42 to an external network 44. The external network 44 may be an intranet e.g.
within a hospital or the like or may be the internet. The interface 42 may be a cable connection for connecting the monitoring apparatus 10 to the external network 44 or may be a wireless connection. The external network 44 is connected to the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28. In this certain application shown in Fig. 2, the health record 18, the drug database 20, the evaluation unit 22 and the medication storage unit 28 are connected to the control unit 12 via one external network 44, however, in a certain embodiment, these elements may be connected via different networks to the control unit 12. For example the health record 18 may be connected via an internal network of the hospital or the like to the monitoring apparatus and the monitoring apparatus may be connected to the drug database 20 via the internet. The function of the monitoring apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 is identical with the function of the monitoring apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 1, wherein the information of the medication storage unit 28 and the drug database 20 are received by the control unit 12 and evaluated by means of the evaluation unit 22 accessible via the interface 42 and the external network 44. In certain embodiments the information from the health record 18 are also considered for the evaluation. The medication regimen and/or the medication history of the patient may be input in the medication storage unit 28 via the keyboard 16.
Hence, the monitoring apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 is quite simple, since the control unit 12 receives any necessary information via the interface 42 and the external network 44 from certain elements and the evaluation of the information is also performed outside the monitoring apparatus. Therefore, the update of the information provided to the monitoring apparatus 10 for enabling certain alarms is quite simple and any monitoring apparatus 10 used in e.g. one hospital can excess all necessary data.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of the method according to the present invention for monitoring vital functions of a patient. The method is generally denoted by 50.
The method starts with step 52. At step 54, the medication regimen and/or the medication history is received from the medication storage unit 28. At step 56, the adverse
effects of the administered drugs and/or the advfefise effects of the combination of
administered drugs are received from the drug database 20.
At step 58, additional information regarding the patient health are received from the health record 18. This may include the laboratory data received from the laboratory information system.
At step 60, the information received during the previous steps 54, 56, 58 are evaluated by means of the evaluation unit 22. If a potential risk is detected, a respective notification is provided to the display 14 as shown at step 62. The notification may include an advice to the caregivers which vital parameter shall be monitored and/or which measurement unit 30 shall be installed or enabled.
The measurements of related vital parameters of the patient are enabled and the respective parameter is measured by means of the measurement unit 30 as shown at step 64. Additionally or alternatively if the vital parameter is already measured by means of the measurement unit 30, the evaluation of the measured vital parameter, which is related to the determined adverse effect, is enabled as shown at step 66.
At step 68, the measured vital parameter is compared to a threshold level, a rhythm and / or other time dependent parameter which form the normal range of the measured vital parameter. If the vital parameter exceeds normal values, i.e. if the vital parameter reaches abnormal values, an alarm is provided at 70.
The method ends at step 72.
Hence, the risk for the patient is reduced, since the alarm function, i.e. the measurement and the evaluation of critical vital parameters is enabled on the basis of the known adverse effects of single drugs and/or drug combinations and an alert is provided if the vital parameter reaches abnormal values such that the flexibility of the medication is increased and the risk for the patient is reduced (patient safety is increased).
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.
In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain
measures are recited in mutually different deperldent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.
Claims
1. Monitoring apparatus (10) for monitoring vital functions of a patient, comprising:
a connection device (38, 42) connectable to a patient medication storage unit (28) and for receiving information about at least one drug administered to the patient, - an interface (34, 42) connectable to a drug database (20) for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs,
a measurement device (30) associated to the patient for measuring at least one vital parameter of the patient, and
- a control unit (12) for enabling a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or for enabling an evaluation of a measurement of at least one vital parameter on the basis of the information about the at least one effect.
2. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a second interface (36, 42) connectable to a determining device (22) for receiving an effect of the at least one administered drug and/or the combination of the administered drugs on a vital function of the patient determined by the determination device on the basis of the information received from the drug database (20) and the information received from the storage unit (28), wherein the control unit (12) is adapted to enable the measurement of the at least one vital parameter and/or to enable the evaluation of the measurement of the at least one vital parameter on the basis of the determined effect.
3. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one vital parameter corresponds to the effect determined by the determining device (22).
4. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an alarm unit (24) for comparing a measured value of the vital parameter with a predefined threshold value and for providing an alert if the measured value exceeds the predefined threshold value.
5. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a second connection device (32, 42) connectable to an electronic health record database (18) of the patient, wherein the control unit (12) is further adapted to enable the measurement and/or the evaluation on the basis of the information received from the health record (18).
6. Monitoring apparatus (10) comprising:
a connection device (38, 42) connectable to a patient medication storage unit (28) and for receiving information about at least one drug administered to a patient,
- an interface (34, 42) connectable to a drug database (20) for receiving information about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug and/or a combination of administered drugs, and
a display unit for providing information to a user in order to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database (20).
7. Monitoring apparatus, as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an input terminal (16) connected to the storage unit (28) for manual input of the information about the at least one administered drug.
8. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the patient medication storage unit (28) is integrated in a housing (40) of the monitoring apparatus (10).
9. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first connection device (42) is connectable to an external network (44) for connecting the monitoring apparatus (10) to the patient medication storage unit (28) via the external network (44).
10. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the interface (42) is connectable to an external network (44) for connecting the monitoring apparatus (10) to the drug database (20) via the external network (44).
11. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the drug database (20) is integrated in a housing (40) of the monitoring apparatus (10).
12. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 to 11, wherein the second interface (42) is connectable to an external network (44) for connecting the monitoring apparatus (10) to the determining device (22).
13. Monitoring apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a display unit (14) for providing information to a user in order to indicate a potential risk and/or to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect received from the drug database (20).
14. Method (50) for monitoring vital functions of a patient, comprising the steps of:
receiving information (54) about at least one drug administered to the patient from a patient medication storage unit (28),
- receiving information (56) about at least one effect of the at least one administered drug from a drug database (20), and
enabling a measurement (64) of at least one vital parameter of the patient and/or enabling an evaluation (66) of a measurement of at least one vital parameter and/or providing information to a user in order to advise a measurement of at least one vital parameter of the patient on the basis of the information about the effect.
15. Computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method (50) as claimed in claim 14 when said computer program is carried out on a computer.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US201261736626P | 2012-12-13 | 2012-12-13 | |
| US61/736,626 | 2012-12-13 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2014091329A1 true WO2014091329A1 (en) | 2014-06-19 |
Family
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Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2013/059986 WO2014091329A1 (en) | 2012-12-13 | 2013-11-08 | Monitoring apparatus and method for monitoring vital functions of a patient |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
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| WO (1) | WO2014091329A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
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| WO2016058807A1 (en) * | 2014-10-13 | 2016-04-21 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Monitoring information providing device and method |
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