A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates to a cardiac monitoring system and, more particularly, to a wireless electrocardiograph (ECG) system.
An electrocardiograph (ECG) system monitors heart electrical activity in a patient. Conventional ECG systems utilize conductive pads or electrodes placed on a patient in specific locations to detect electrical impulses generated by the heart during each beat. In response to detection of the electrical impulses from the heart, the electrodes produce electrical signals indicative of the heart activity. Typically, these electrical signals are directly transferred from the electrodes to a stationary ECG monitor via multiple cables or wires. The ECG monitor performs various signal processing and computational operations to convert the raw electrical signals into meaningful information that can be displayed on a monitor or printed out for review by a physician.
Doctors have used ECG systems to monitor a patient's heart activity for decades. Currently, there are several different systems that use ECG signals to monitor a patient's heart activity. These systems, however, are generally stationary and are not developed or suitable for portable use. While portable telemetry systems exist, they are not a direct replacement for stationary ECG monitors. Moreover, because conventional systems use multiple cables or wires, and are cumbersome and uncomfortable for the patient, and require a significant amount of set up time. Thus, a need exists for an ECG system that solves the aforementioned problems.
The present invention relates to a wireless ECG system that is universally compatible with existing or conventional ECG monitors. The ECG system comprises a chest assembly, a body electronics unit, and a base station. The chest assembly connects to electrodes specifically located on a patient's body for detecting electrical signals from the patient's heart. The electrical signals are detected by the chest assembly—thus, providing up to a “7 lead” analysis of the heart. Alternatively, the chest assembly can be augmented with a precordial assembly that connects to electrodes specifically located on the patient's body—thus, providing a “12 lead” analysis of the heart.
The electrical signals are transmitted through the chest assembly and the precordial assembly to the body electronics unit, which removably secures to the patient via an armband. The body electronics unit transmits the electrical signals to the base station via radio transmission. The base station transmits the electrical signals to a conventional ECG monitor via standard cabling, which, in turn, processes or transforms the electrical signals into meaningful information that can be displayed on the ECG monitor for review by a physician.
The ECG system eliminates the wires that ordinarily tethers an ECG patent to an ECG monitor by replacing conventional wires with a radio link. The present invention is lightweight and portable—thereby providing increased comfort and mobility to the patient. In addition, the present invention requires decreased setup times and is more convenient for health practitioners to use than conventional ECG systems.
These as well as other novel advantages, details, embodiments, features, and objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention, the attached claims and accompanying drawings, listed herein below which are useful in explaining the invention.
The foregoing aspects and many of the advantages of the present invention will become readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
a is an exemplary embodiment of the user interface of the electronics body unit;
a is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the base station used in conjunction with the token key;
b depicts the body electronics unit used in conjunction with the token key;
a is an exemplary embodiment of the user interface of the base station;
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings. Briefly, the present invention relates to a wireless, portable ECG system. Referring to
The chest assembly 12 is a one-piece flexible circuit that connects a plurality of electrode connectors 18, which are individually labeled 18a, 18b, 18c 18d, and 18e. The electrode connectors 18 have releasable connections that connect to electrodes 20, which are individually labeled 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e. Preferably, the electrode connectors 18 have snap terminals that connect to electrodes 20 having snap terminals. Each electrode connector 18 connects to an electrically conductive element or trace for transmitting electrical signals. The electrically conductive elements or traces run along the chest assembly 12 and connect to a chest assembly connector 21.
Referring to
Referring back to
Referring to
The expandable arms 50, 56 are die cut in a serpentine pattern. The expandable arms 50, 56 comprise polypropylene or polyethylene fabric, Kapton, Mylar, or other flexible, memoryless material. The expandable arms 50, 56 expand, if necessary, by elongating the serpentine pattern. When expanded, a portion or all of the expandable arm is extended. Where only a portion of the expandable arm is extended, another portion remains folded. The expandable arms 50, 56 allow for extension as needed to so that the chest assembly 12 can fit patients of various sizes and also allow for patient movement when the patient is wearing the chest assembly 12. The extension arm 58 allows for flexible positioning of the V electrode connector in the middle of the patient's chest such as placement at electrode position V1, V2 or V3. In some instances, the health care practitioner may desire not to utilize the extension arm 58 for taking electrocardiograph measurements. Thus, to keep the extension arm 58 secured to the linear run 58 and to ensure that the extension arm 58 will not interfere with the placement and positioning of the chest assembly 12, the extension arm 58 is die cut with a perforated seam that connects the extension arm 58 and the linear run 54 along the length of the extension arm 58. If the health care practitioner desires to use the extension arm 58, the perforated seam is unbroken so that the extension arm 58 can be selectively positioned on the patient's chest.
The chest assembly 12 can be used with a precordial assembly 60 to provide a “12-lead” analysis of the electrical activity of the heart. Similar to the chest assembly 12, the precordial assembly 60 is a one-piece flexible circuit that connects a plurality of electrode connectors 62. The electrode connectors 62 have releasable connections that connect to electrodes 64. Preferably, the electrode connectors 62 have snap terminals that connect to electrodes 64 having snap terminals. Each electrode connector 62 connects to an electrically conductive element or trace for transmitting electrical signals from a patient's heart. The electrically conductive elements or traces run along the precordial assembly 60 and connect to a precordial assembly connector 66. The precordial assembly 60 has the construction as shown in FIG. 2.
As depicted in
As shown in
In operation, the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60 detect electrical signals generated by the heart during each beat and transfer these signals to the body electronics unit 14. When the system is operating in “7 lead” mode (i.e. when only the chest assembly 12 is being used) the body electronics unit 14 acquires signals from the RL, RA, LL, LA, and V electrodes. The body electronics unit 14 uses the RL electrode as a ground reference. When the system is operating in the “12 lead” mode (i.e. the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60 are being used) the body electronics unit 14 acquires signals from the RL, RA, LL, and LA electrodes via the chest assembly 12 and acquires signals from the V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, and V6 electrodes via the precordial assembly 60. Alternatively, a various number of electrodes may be monitored by the system. For example, the health care provider or physician may choose to use only two electrodes to monitor the heart, seven electrodes to monitor the heart, or the like. In other words, the present system is not limited to performing a “7 lead” and “12 lead” analysis of the heart. In addition, to detecting electrical signals from the heart, the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60 may be constructed to detect other vital signs of the patient, for example, pulse, respiration rate, heart rate, temperature EEG signals, and pulse oximeter signals.
Referring to
As shown in
The chest assembly connector 21 has a sensor pin or ground pin 98 that completes a circuit within the body electronics unit 14 when the chest assembly connector 21 is plugged into the chest assembly port 88, thereby activating the power and bringing the body electronic unit 14 out of “sleep mode.” The sensor pin has specific tongue that corresponds and fits into a groove located in the chest assembly port 88. The sensor pin 98 serves as a means for the body electronics unit 14 to identify the chest assembly 12 and to prevent the use of other chest assemblies or electrocardiograph wearables that are not designed to be used with the on-body electronic unit 14. In other words, the power of the body electronics unit 14 will not activate unless the body electronics unit 14 identifies or recognizes the sensor pin 98 of the chest assembly 12.
The outside casing of the body electronics unit 14 is constructed of lightweight, molded plastic, such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or other suitable material. The shape and configuration of the body electronics 14 unit is not limited to any particular shape or configuration. As shown
The battery 104 is inserted into a battery port 106 located in the bottom of the body electronics unit 14. The battery 104 is retained in the battery port 106 by latches or other suitable fastening means, such as clips, screws or the like. The battery 104 is preferably a 3.6 V Li-ion rechargeable battery. The battery 104 is readily accessible to the patient when the body electronics unit 14 is secured to the armband 100.
The body electronics unit 14 controls the acquisition of the ECG signals from the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60. A transmitter 108 within the body electronics unit 14 receives or acquires ECG signals from the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60 preferably at 3 kbps. When the system is operating in “7 lead” mode (i.e. when only the chest assembly 12 is being used) the body electronics unit 14 acquires signals from the RL, RA, LL, LA, and V electrodes. When the system is operating in the “12 lead mode” (i.e. the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60 are being used) the body electronics unit 14 acquires signals from the RL, RA, LL, and LA electrodes via the chest assembly 12 and acquires signals from the V1 thru V6 electrodes via the precordial assembly 60. In addition, other vital signs of the patient may be detected by the system and transmitted to the body electronics unit 14, for example pulse, respiration rate, heart rate, temperature, EEG signals and pulse oximeter signals.
As shown in
The multiplexer 114 sequentially selects signals from the electrode signal channels 112 using time division multiplexing. One of ordinary skill in the art, however, recognizes that other combination functions can be used. The ADC 116 converts the combined analog signals to digital signals for transmission. Preferably the controller 118 comprises a digital signal processor (DSP) that decimates the digitized signals as to lessen the bandwidth required to transmit the signals. The radio 120 modulates the digital signals with a carrier signal for transmission. In an exemplary embodiment, the radio 120 includes a demodulator for receiving information. The controller 118 digitally transmits the ECG data to the base station 16. In addition to transmitting ECG data, the controller 118 may transmit signals pertaining to pacemaker information, battery level information, electrode disconnection information, and other information as required. For example, vital signs such as pulse, respiration rate, heart rate, temperature, EEG signals, and pulse oximeter signals may be transmitted.
The body electronics unit continuously monitors the integrity of all patient electrode connections. In the event a lead is disconnected, the body electronics unit will send a signal to the base station which in turn causes the base station to trigger the “lead off” alarm on the ECG monitor. Additionally, the body electronics unit has a self-test function which monitors the integrity of the primary functions including the microprocessor, data acquisition, internal voltage references, and radio functionality. In the event a failure is detected, the body electronics unit will capture the fault condition, stop data acquisition and transmission and indicate that fault has occurred through the lead off alarm.
The body electronics unit 14 operates to minimize undesired noise or signals. For example, components are matched such that later application to a differential amplifier in a legacy ECG monitor for determining a heart vector is accurate. ECG vectors are not formed by the ECG system 10, but rather by the legacy ECG monitor. Because the ECG system 10 is essentially “in-series” with the legacy ECG monitor, any error may produce undesirable results. One potential source of error is differential error. This differential error can be observed on the legacy ECG monitor when the ECG monitor forms the ECG lead signals by combining the individual electrode signals in the ECG monitor input stage. This input stage comprises a difference, or differential, amplifier to eliminate common mode interference from the signals produced at the electrodes 20.
An artifact will be present if there is any difference in how each of the electrode signals are processed when the legacy ECG's differential amplifier forms the ECG lead signals or ECG vectors. For example, if there is a difference in the gain of the amplifier, a difference in the phase shift associated with the anti-aliasing (Nyquist) filters, or a difference in how the respective track and hold circuits treat the electrode signals, then this differential error creates an artifact on the legacy ECG monitor. One important technique to minimize this potential source of differential errors is to choose a Nyquist filter cutoff frequency that is very high. This is because each individual filter will have differing group delay performance. To mitigate that difference, the frequency that this group delay will affect is much higher than the frequency of the ECG signals, which are about 0.05 Hz to 150 Hz. By choosing a high cutoff frequency for the Nyquist filters, any mismatch in the Nyquist filter components will not affect accuracy of the individual electrode ECG signals. For example, picking a filter cutoff frequency of 1,200 Hz mitigates this source of error. With this approach, the individual electrode ECG signals are over sampled at about 3,000 Hz in order to not introduce aliasing. Of course higher filter cutoff frequencies and correspondingly higher sampling rates may further reduce error. Lower cutoff frequencies and/or sampling rate may be used.
Because the electrode signals are now sampled at such a high rate, these signals may be decimated to minimize the required transmission bandwidth. For example the digital samples are decimated by a factor of eight in the controller 118. Greater or lesser rates of decimation can be used, such as decimation as a function of the bandwidth available for transmission, the number of electrode signals to be represented, and the Nyquist sampling rate. Referring back to
After the body electronics unit 14 and the base station 16 are paired, the body electronics unit 14 and the base station 16 will remain communicating with each other as long as the token key 132 remains in the token key port 134 of the base station 16 (or the token key port 136 of the body electronics unit 14, depending on the order of the pairing process). In other words, as soon as the token key 132 is removed from the base station 16, the electronics unit 14 and the base station 16 will discontinue or cease communication. Any specific token key 132 can be used to pair any specific base station 16 with any specific body electronics unit 14.
The outside casing of the base station 16 is constructed of lightweight, molded plastic, such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or other suitable material. The shape and configuration of the base station 16 is not limited to any particular shape or configuration. The base station 16 is removably secured to an ECG monitor 138 via suitable mounting means, such as Velcro®, dual-lock strips, double-sided foam tape, or the like. Preferably, the base station 16 is removably mounted to a mounting plate secured near the ECG monitor 138 via suitable mounting means. As shown in
As depicted in
Additionally, the base station has a self-test function which monitors the integrity of the primary functions including the microprocessor, data acquisition, internal voltage references, and radio functionality. In the event a failure is detected, the body electronics unit will capture the fault condition, stop data acquisition and transmission and indicate that fault has occurred through the lead off alarm.
A receiver 154 located within the base station 16 receives signals sent to the base station 16 from the body electronics unit 14. As shown in
The receiver 154 has nine electrode signal channels 166 corresponding to the 10 electrodes connected to the chest assembly 12 and the precordial assembly 60. The electrode signal channels 166 each comprise a sample and hold circuit 168, a filter 170, and an attenuator 172. The sample and hold circuit 168 is controlled by the controller 118 so that the converted electrode signals appear simultaneously on each electrode signal channel 166. Other embodiments may include individual DAC's that provide the signal substantially simultaneously. The filter 170 comprises a low pass reconstruction filter for removing high frequency signals associated with the DAC conversion process. The attenuator 172 comprises an amplifier for decreasing the amplitude to a level associated with signals at the electrodes, which were earlier amplified in the amplifiers of the body electronics unit 14. This results in a unity system gain so as not to introduce error between the electrodes and the conventional ECG monitor.
The base station 16 transmits the ECG signals to the ECG monitor 138 via preexisting or conventional monitor cables 174. In turn, the information is displayed on the ECG monitor and reviewed by a physician. As depicted in
There may be instances where a base station 16 will not be in every ward or hospital room for use with the body electronics unit 14. In such instances, an adapter assembly 178 may be used to connect the chest assembly 12 or the precordial assembly 60 to the ECG monitor 138. In one exemplary embodiment, the adaptor assembly 178 allows the chest assembly 12 or precordial assembly 60 to be plugged directly into a conventional or existing telemetry transmitter.
In the foregoing specification, the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that a person understanding this invention may conceive of changes or other embodiments or variations, which utilize the principles of this invention without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, therefore, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited except as may be necessary in view of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit of the filing date pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §120 application Ser. No. 09/908,509, for a WIRELESS ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH SYSTEM AND METHOD, filed Jul. 17, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,705, the disclosure and content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20030105403 A1 | Jun 2003 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 09908509 | Jul 2001 | US |
Child | 09998733 | US |