Patent ID: 6112224
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: G16H

Abstract:
A patient monitoring system for use in a telemedicine system, comprising:a plurality of medical devices;a control unit;a device interface connecting each of said medical devices to said control unit;a first data bus connecting said control unit and said device interface;an address bus connecting said control unit and said device interface;a single interrupt connection connecting said control unit and said device interface;a plurality of second data buses, each of which connects said device interface and a respective one of said medical devices;wherein said device interface is designed to communicate data from said control unit to any one of said medical devices, said device interface being designed to communicate particular data from said control unit to a particular medical device by decoding an address corresponding to said particular medical device on said address bus in order to identify said particular medical device and by communicating said particular data received from said first data bus to a respective one of said second data buses that corresponds to said particular medical device;wherein said device interface is designed to use a single interrupt in the transfer of data from said medical devices to said control unit, said device interface being designed to communicate data from any one of said medical devices to said control unit, said device interface designed to communicate certain data from a certain medical device to said control unit by receiving said certain data on a respective one of said second buses that is connected to said certain medical device, temporarily storing said certain data, communicating a single interrupt on said single interrupt connection to said control unit, and communicating said certain data received from said respective second data bus to said control unit via said first data bus.