Patent Application
20180325391
The present invention relates to a cable hub apparatus configured to communicate physiological data for a patient to a patient monitoring device.
With reference to
There are several drawbacks to this known configuration: as can be seen in
To address these drawbacks, embodiments of the invention described hereinafter utilize a streamlined configuration including a cable hub apparatus with patient cable connectors/interfaces.
Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein relate generally to a cable hub apparatus. The cable hub apparatus is configured to communicate physiological data for a patient to a patient monitoring device. The cable hub apparatus includes: a plurality of analog sensor connectors configured to receive analog physiological sensor data for the patient; a plurality of digital sensor connectors configured to received digital physiological sensor data for the patient; a controller to control collecting the received physiological sensor data; and a digital interface configured to communicate through a single cable the received physiological sensor data to the patient monitoring device.
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a system, patient monitoring devices, and a cable hub apparatus. In particular, the cable hub apparatus is configured to communicate physiological data for a patient to a patient monitoring device. The cable hub apparatus may comprise: a plurality of analog sensor connectors configured to receive analog physiological sensor data for the patient; a plurality of digital sensor connectors configured to receive digital physiological sensor data for the patient; a controller to control collecting the received physiological sensor data; and a digital interface configured to communicate through a single cable the received physiological sensor data to the patient monitoring device.
When a patient in the patient bed is to be transported, only common interface cable 175 needs to be disconnected. IV pole 150 and objects attached thereto including IV bag 155 and cable hub apparatus 160, as well as sensor cables 180, may be easily transported together with the patient. Because IV pole 150 is securely fastened to or provided as a part of the patient bed, no extra effort is required to move IV pole 150. Once the patient in the patient bed reaches the destination location (e.g., from the ER to the ICU), all the physiological sensors may resume working after a monitoring device 165 at the destination location is connected to cable hub apparatus 160 with a single common interface cable 175.
Referring to
On a second side 225 (top side shown in
On a third side 235 (bottom side shown in
For example, common interface cable 175 may be attached to cable hub apparatus 160. If common interface cable 175 is removably attached, a common interface connector for common interface cable 175 may be provided on third side 235. Further, the common interface cable/connector is electrically connected to a common interface of the hardware architecture of cable hub apparatus 160, as will be described in more detail below.
As will be more particularly described hereinafter, common interface cable 175 may carry sensor-related data for multiple sensors (e.g., both analog physiological sensors and digital physiological sensors) to the monitoring device 165, as well as, to supply power from the monitoring device 165 to the cable hub apparatus 160, and, in turn, to the physiological sensors connected to cable hub apparatus 160. Moreover, as will be described below, common interface cable 175 may also carry a heater signal that may be required by a physiological sensor that includes a heater.
On a fourth side 245 (left side shown in
It should be appreciated that the previously described physiological sensors may be analog or digital and may be invasive or non-invasive. Examples of sensor devices may include pressure sensors, temperature sensors, image sensors, light sensors, electric sensors, magnetic sensors, flow sensors, biosensors, accelerometer sensors, etc., that may be used to measure patient physiological data such as: cardiac measurements, blood measurements, chemical measurements, hemodynamic measurements, breathing measurements, electric measurements, intracranial pressure measurements, etc. It should be appreciated that physiological sensor devices may be any type of medical sensor device.
In one embodiment, a physiological sensor that outputs digital signals may be connected to cable hub apparatus 160 through a smart or portable cable. Hereinafter a smart or portable cable refers to a cable that carries digital signals as well as stores data. A smart cable may store, for example, patient demographic data, physiology measurement data, and/or sensor life data (data relating to the remaining life of a sensor), etc. In one embodiment, the smart cable may transmit and store patient-related data and sensor-related data (e.g., physiological sensor data). Of course, connection via a smart cable is not required for digital sensor connectors 250.
The embodiment shown in
On a fifth side (back side, not shown) of external housing 161, a fastening mechanism for securing cable hub apparatus 160 to a bed rail or an IV pole may be provided. The fastening mechanism may be, for example, a pole clamp, and may be configurable such types of fastening mechanism are known to those of skill in the art.
It should be appreciated that the specific physical configuration of elements of cable hub apparatus 160 described herein is merely illustrative and merely provides examples and does not limit the invention. Clearly, adjustments may be made to the configuration within the spirit of the invention. For example, in a first alternative embodiment, push buttons 230 may be provided on first side 210 instead of second side 225; in a second alternative embodiment, the alarm silence button of push buttons 230 may be omitted; in a third alternative embodiment, LED indicators 220 may be omitted; and in a fourth alternative embodiment, analog sensor connector 255 adapted for HRS connection on fourth side 245 may be omitted. It should be appreciated that the various connectors, buttons, indicators may be included or omitted and may be on any side and/or position based upon design configurations.
Referring to
A digital common interface 320 may include sensor data lines, power supply, and in some embodiments, a heater signal supply (not shown). Through common interface 320, cable hub apparatus 160 may be connected to monitoring device 165 with a common interface cable 175, as previously described. As an example, the connection of sensor data lines of common interface 320 to controller 310 via buses 305 may be implemented with RS-485/UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) circuitry. The power supply may include, for example, +/−12V and +5V DC voltages.
In one embodiment, common interface 320 may also include circuitry that carries signals causing the start and/or reset of controller 310 and/or physiological sensors that output digital signals. A plurality of digital sensor interfaces 325 may be provided that correspond to digital sensor connectors 250 of
A plurality of analog sensor interfaces (e.g., DPT interfaces) 330 may be provided that correspond to analog sensor connectors 240 of
Additional circuitry may be provided to allow controller 310 to determine the connection/operation status of DPTs connected to analog DPT interfaces 330. For each of the plurality of analog DPT interfaces 330, a respective LED driver 335 that drives an LED indicator 220 of
An HRS interface 345 may be provided that corresponds to analog sensor connector 255 adapted for an HRS connection of
Of course, the description herein relating to
As described above, memory 315 may store patient-related data and sensor-related data. The data may include, for example, a first use date of a sensor, a maximum age of a sensor, a unique patient ID, patient demographic data, patient physiological data, notes, and/or a transport flag, etc. Therefore, cable hub apparatus 160 may store patient demographic data, historical physiological data, sensor information, etc. in memory 310. The data stored in memory 310 may be retrieved, used, reused, or edited by a currently connected monitoring device 165. When a sensor is connected to cable hub apparatus 160 with a smart cable, which itself stores data, memory 315 may be utilized as a buffer, a backup, or a combination of both, for the data stored in the smart cable. The patient-related data and sensor-related data may be retrieved by a monitoring device 165 currently connected to cable hub apparatus through common interface cable 175. The data may be displayed on or otherwise utilized by monitoring device 165. Further, the patient-related data and sensor-related data stored in memory 315 may be edited through a monitoring device 165.
Therefore, according to embodiments of the invention, the cable hub circuitry includes: a plurality of analog sensor interfaces 330 that are configured to receive analog physiological sensor data from analog physiological sensors for the patient via a cable; and a plurality of digital sensor interfaces 325 configured to receive digital physiological sensor data from digital physiological sensors for the patient via a cable. Further, the controller 310 controls collecting the received physiological sensor data. For example, the controller 310 may package all of the received physiological sensor data into an appropriate digitized format and command the transmission through the digital common interface 320, which is configured to communicate the packaged data through the single common interface cable 175, to the patient monitoring device 165. Further, as previously described, the controller 310 may control the storing of received patient-related data and sensor-related data in memory 315 from the physiological sensor devices, as well as from the smart cable and/or the patient monitoring device 165. Moreover, the cable hub circuitry of the cable hub may be provided power via the single common interface cable 175 from the monitoring device 165. Further, in some embodiments, power may also be provided through the cable hub apparatus to the physiological sensors.
In this way, cable clutter may be reduced and transportation of patients simplified with the help of cable hub apparatus 160, according to embodiments of the invention, as described herein. When a patient is to be transported, common interface cable 175 may be disconnected from monitoring device 165 at the pre-transportation location. No separate handling of power supply cables is necessary because power is supplied through common interface cable 175 from the monitoring device 165. Cable hub apparatus 160 is easily transported together with the patient in a patient bed. When the patient is transported to the destination (e.g., from the ER to the ICU), common interface cable 175 is connected to monitoring device 165 at the post-transportation location to be powered. Patient- related data and sensor-related data stored in memory 315 is preserved during the transportation and is available for use and reuse once cable hub apparatus 160 is connected to monitoring device 165 at the post-transportation location. In other words, cable hub apparatus 160 may facilitate transfer of patient- and sensor-related data between one or more patient monitoring devices 165.
It should be appreciated that although cables have been described as connecting the physiological sensors to the cable hub apparatus and between the cable hub apparatus and the monitoring device, that in some embodiments, wireless connections may also be utilized.
It should be appreciated that aspects of the invention previously described may be implemented in conjunction with the execution of instructions by processors (e.g., controllers) of the devices, such as the cable hub apparatus and patient monitoring device, previously described. Processors may operate under the control of a program, routine, or the execution of instructions to execute methods or processes in accordance with embodiments of the invention. For example, such a program may be implemented in firmware or software (e.g. stored in memory and/or other locations) and may be implemented by processors and/or other circuitry of the devices previously described. Further, it should be appreciated that the terms processor, microprocessor, circuitry, controller, etc., refer to any type of logic or circuitry capable of executing logic, commands, instructions, software, firmware, functionality, etc.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software/firmware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Memory to store data and modules may include RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
This application claims the benefit of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2015/61254, filed Nov. 18, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties for all purposes.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2015/061254 | 11/18/2015 | WO | 00 |
