Patent ID: 9610059
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A monitoring system for monitoring acoustic heart signals, comprising: a sensor housing comprising a heart sound sensing element configured to sense heart sounds and to generate a heart sound signal related to the heart sounds sensed, wherein the sensor housing further comprises a first adhesive device by which the sensor housing is attached to the skin of a patient at a fixed position over the patient's heart; a monitoring unit housing comprising a processing unit adapted to receive said heart sound signal, the monitoring unit housing also comprising an integral display connected with the processing unit wherein the processing unit is programmed to process the heart sound signal and control the display to show a condition of the patient based on the processed heart sound signal, and wherein said monitoring unit housing is physically separate from said sensor housing and the monitoring unit housing further comprising a second adhesive device by which the monitoring unit housing is attached to the skin of the patient at a fixed position over the patient's upper sternum which is spaced apart from the position on the patient at which the sensor housing is attached; and a flexible elongated connector connecting said sensor housing to said monitoring unit housing, said connector having a longitudinal extension along a longitudinal axis, wherein said connector is connected to said monitoring unit housing in an angular relationship α, and wherein the angle α between said longitudinal axis and a main axis of said monitoring unit housing is within a predetermined interval, wherein the flexible elongated connector forms a bridge between said sensor housing to said monitoring unit housing that is spaced apart from the first and second adhesive devices and the elongated connector is adapted to be resiliently twisted and/or bent when attaching the sensor housing and the monitoring unit housing to the patient, wherein said flexible elongated connector is dimensionally stable and displays shape integrity, and wherein said flexible elongated connector is adapted to connect said housings in a stable, semi-rigid but still flexible manner, such that said housings are constantly physically separated by said longitudinal extension; wherein the sensor housing is configured to be connected to no more than one monitoring unit housing at a time; and wherein the monitoring unit housing is configured to be connected to no more than one sensor housing at a time.