Abstract:
The invention provides a system and method for monitoring a medical status of a user. The system and method includes a radio frequency identification transmitter for transmitting the medical status of the user, a radio frequency identification receiver for receiving the medical status of the user and comparing the medical status of the user to a first threshold value and a second threshold value, and a network for communicating the received medical status of the user to a second user.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to radio frequency identification (RFID) for performing tasks. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for retrieving patient information using RFID. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Medical monitoring equipment is critical for the well being of a patient in a hospital or medical setting. The equipment monitors a patient&#39;s temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory functions, glucose level and the like. Currently, a patient is connected to the medical monitoring equipment via tubes and wires. When a patient has to perform bodily functions, the patient is either disconnected from the equipment by a health care professional or the patient uses portable medical monitoring equipment that is transported on wheels via a tray containing the medical monitoring equipment. 
         [0005]    One of the problems of using a healthcare professional to disconnect the medical monitoring equipment is that the healthcare professional is also needed to reconnect the medical monitoring equipment. Errors can occur in reconnecting the wires and tubes. Also, the wear and tear on the wires and tubes increases over time from connecting and disconnecting the wires and tubes. 
         [0006]    Another problem with using a healthcare professional to connect and disconnect wires and tubes is that it is an inefficient use of human resources. With healthcare costs increasing and more responsibilities being given to healthcare professionals, it makes business sense to utilize healthcare professionals such that they are used in a manner that maximizes profits and provides superior customer service. 
         [0007]    Some medical facilities keep the patient immobile and utilize a bed pan. However, patients sometimes feel uncomfortable and embarrassed using a bed pan. Since a patient is in an unfamiliar environment, the additional stress of having to use a bed pan can affect readings on the medical monitoring equipment. 
         [0008]    Conventional portable medical monitoring equipment is inconvenient because the patient has to roll the equipment around. When the patient has to use the bathroom, the portable medical equipment has to be positioned in the proper manner. Also, maneuverability of the patient is affected because the patient has to deal with opening a door as well as maintaining control of the monitoring medical equipment. For example, a patient may only need two functions monitored. However, the medical monitoring equipment may be an all purpose machine that has a plurality of functions. This results in a bulky piece of equipment. 
         [0009]    Typically, if there is an alarm where the medical monitoring equipment detects a situation where a threshold has been exceeded, a nurse arrives to investigate the situation. If the situation is beyond the expertise of the nurse, a doctor is paged. Crucial time between the alarm and the summoning of the doctor can be wasted in this situation. It is also possible that the wrong type of doctor can be summoned. 
         [0010]    A further problem with conventional medical equipment is that remote diagnostic is inconvenient for the patient. For example, a patient typically has to connect to bulky medical equipment and either call in to a physician after reading the data from the medical equipment or connect the medical equipment to a phone line after taking a reading. This affects a person&#39;s schedule because now the patient has to take time out of their schedule to perform these tasks. 
         [0011]    Thus, there is a need for medical monitoring equipment that is portable, does not significantly affect the manner in which a patient performs every day functions, provides an alarm indication to a remote user, and is modular. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The above mentioned problems in the prior art can be substantially accomplished by a system and method for monitoring a medical status of a user. 
         [0013]    According to an aspect of the invention for realizing the above objects, there is provided a system and method including a radio frequency identification transmitter for transmitting the medical status of the user, a radio frequency identification receiver for receiving the medical status of the user and comparing the medical status of the user to a first threshold value and a second threshold value, and a network for communicating the received medical status of the user to a second user. 
         [0014]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for monitoring a medical status of a patient. The system comprises a radio frequency identification transmitter for transmitting the medical status of the user, a radio frequency identification receiver for receiving the medical status of the user and selecting a contact person based on at least one of a comparison of the medical status of the user to a first threshold value and a second threshold value and a medical condition being monitored, and a network for communicating a history of the received medical status of the user to a second user. 
         [0015]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for monitoring a medical status of a patient wherein the radio frequency identification transmitter comprises at least one of a thermometer, cholesterol monitor, glucose monitor, heart rate monitor, respiratory monitor and a blood pressure monitor. 
         [0016]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for monitoring a medical status of a patient. The system comprises a radio frequency identification transmitter for transmitting the medical status of the user, a radio frequency identification receiver for receiving the medical status of the user and selecting a contact person based on at least one of a predetermined time selected by at least one of a doctor or the patient, and a network for communicating a history of the received medical status of the user to the doctor. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a radio frequency identification (RFID) monitoring system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a process for monitoring a medical status in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary data processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    Several exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings. In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein has been omitted for conciseness. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a radio frequency identification (RFID) monitoring system  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitoring system  100  comprises a first computer  120  or the like, a network  130 , a communication devices  140 , a second computer  190 , an RFID medical status device transmitter  170  comprising  170   1 ,  170   2 ,  170   3  and  170   4  and an RFID medical status device receiver  180 . 
         [0023]    It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the network  130  may comprise a public switched network, a wireless network, a private packet network and/or the Internet. Similarly, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that communication device  140  may comprise a cellular phone, a pocket PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and/or a computer. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment of the present invention, medical status device transmitter  170  may comprise an integrated unit wherein the RFID transmitter and the medical status device are integrated as one unit. In another embodiment of the present invention the RFID transmitter and the medical status device are separate units. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  comprises an all purpose device that can perform multiple functions or at least two functions such as pulse monitoring, cholesterol monitoring, glucose level monitoring, respiratory monitoring, temperature monitoring and the like. In another embodiment of the present invention, the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  comprises a single purpose device wherein each device performs a single function such as pulse monitoring, cholesterol monitoring, glucose level monitoring, respiratory monitoring, temperature monitoring and the like. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  comprising a single purpose device is modular wherein different RFID medical status device transmitter  170  can be connected to, for example, share a power source or a transmission channel. 
         [0025]    A patient  110  is fitted with the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  either an all purpose model or a single function model. The application used may be dependent on the patient&#39;s medical condition, the costs involved and the purpose of the monitoring. In the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1  multiple single purpose RFID medical status device transmitters  170  are shown for illustrative purposes. The RFID medical status device transmitter  170  may transmit continuously or periodically based on the type power supply, the transponder or receiver used. 
         [0026]    The patient or a third party such as a medical professional can program the system  100  to select a contact person via the computer  120 . In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the contact person can be a specialist related to the patient&#39;s  110  medical condition or status that is being monitored. The contact person can also be the patient&#39;s  110  personal physician. For instance, rather than have the patient  110  come to the doctor&#39;s office for testing, the personal physician can retrieve the patient&#39;s medical status remotely. This saves the patient the inconvenience of going in to the doctor&#39;s office where the patient&#39;s stress related to being in a doctor&#39;s office can affect the readings. In addition, the doctor can retrieve a report for a predetermined period of time covering a long period of time rather than the readings of a short duration that are obtained when a patient goes to the doctor&#39;s office. 
         [0027]    In an embodiment of the present invention, RFID medical status device receiver  180  can be integrated into a portable communication device such as a PDA, pocket PC and the like without a network connection. In this embodiment, the location of the patient can be local to the position of the contact person wherein the location can comprise a home, office, school, supermarket, mall and the like. The contact person can be a nonmedical person such as a parent, spouse, coworker, teacher or any person capable of performing a monitoring function. For example, a parent may want to monitor a child&#39;s medical status while in the house with the child. The parent also has the option of transporting the child to any location and being in direct contact with the medical status of the child. 
         [0028]    A minimum and maximum threshold can also be set for each medical device or feature of the all in one RFID medical status device transmitter  170  or for the single function RFID medical status device transmitter  170 . 
         [0029]    The measurement period can be selected for predetermined periods. For example, cholesterol testing and glucose testing can be set to be read six hours after the patient&#39;s  110  last meal so that the readings are reliable and not affected by the patient&#39;s recent food intake. The accuracy of the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  is preferably within ±0.5%. The operational frequency of the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  is preferably at least one of 433 MHz, 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz. 
         [0030]    The RFID medical status device receiver  180  receives the signals from the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  and provides the information to the computer  120 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that RFID medical status device receiver  180  can be integrated into computer  120 . 
         [0031]    Computer  120  processes the signal and based on a program such as Solarian™ manufactured by Siemens Medical Solutions a determination can be made to contact a physician based on the predetermined upper threshold values being exceeded or the lower threshold values being unmet and the type and/or feature of the RFID medical status device transmitter  170  used such as cholesterol monitoring, glucose monitoring, blood pressure and the like. 
         [0032]    A message comprising the medical status information and contact information is communicated over the network  130 . Network  130  may comprise a private network or a public network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a public switched network (PSTN), an Internet, a packet network, a wireless network and the like. 
         [0033]    The message can be received at a medical facility  160  such as a hospital or doctor&#39;s office via a second computer  190 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the second computer  160  may comprise any type of communication device. 
         [0034]    In an embodiment of the invention, the contact person  150  may be reached directly via the communication device  140  and provided with the medical status information. The contact person can then review the medical status information which in an embodiment of the invention covers a predetermined period. In another embodiment, Solarian can provide a customized report for the contact person wherein a correlation among all the medical status information such as cholesterol readings, glucose readings, temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate and the like may be provided. 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a process  200  for monitoring a medical status in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The process  200  begins at step  202  where a medical module is selected. The medical module may comprise a thermometer, heart rate monitor, respiratory monitor and the like. A user may select one module or a plurality of modules. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the modules can work independently from each other. In another embodiment of the present invention, the modules can work in combination with each other. 
         [0036]    At step  204 , a contact list is established. The contact list may be based on a personal choice of the patient or may have a relationship with the module used. For example, if a patient has a heart problem, selection of the heart rate monitor may automatically select a heart specialist. In another embodiment of the present invention, a database can be established where doctors are selected based on specialty and availability. Thus, if a patient is at a hospital, only doctors that are working onsite are contacted. In the case of a patient at home, the patient may have the option of selecting a personal doctor and have the doctor meet the patient at the hospital or select a doctor located at the nearest hospital or a hospital with an excellent reputation in a particular area. 
         [0037]    At step  206 , a minimum threshold and a maximum threshold are established are established for the selected medical module. The minimum threshold and the maximum threshold may also be reset to new values while the selected module is in use. 
         [0038]    At step  208 , measurement intervals are selected for each of the selected modules. The measurement intervals may be any portion or multiple of a second. For example, the transmitter  170  can transmit medical status information via RFID every five seconds to the receiver. 
         [0039]    At step  210 , the medical status information is monitored and recorded. A report can be prepared based on the received medical status. In addition, the medical status information can be combined with a patient&#39;s medical file. If there is an alarm due to a threshold being exceeded or fallen below, computer  120  can transmit the patient&#39;s medical status information and/or medical history over the network  130  to a doctor on the contact list. The medical status information can comprise a visual or verbal message. For example, a doctor on the contact list can be contacted via cell phone or landline phone and a verbal message provided comprising the medical status information of the patient. In another embodiment of the present invention, the doctor on the contact list can be contacted via the doctor&#39;s communication device  140  such as a cell phone, computer, and/or PDA and the medical status information of the patient provided via email. 
         [0040]    It is to be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processes, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the present invention can be implemented in software as an application program tangible embodied on a computer readable program storage device. The application program can be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. 
         [0041]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer system  301  for implementing the present invention can comprise, inter alia, a central processing unit (CPU)  302 , a memory  303  and an input/output (I/O) interface  304 . The computer system  301  is generally coupled through the I/O interface  304  to a display  305  and various input devices  306  such as a mouse and a keyboard. The support circuits can include circuits such as cache, power supplies, clock circuits, and a communication bus. The memory  303  can include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), disk drive, tape drive, etc., or a combinations thereof. The present invention can be implemented as a routine  307  that is stored in memory  303  and executed by the CPU  302  to process the signal from the signal source  308 . As such, the computer system  301  is a general purpose computer system that becomes a specific purpose computer system when executing the routine  307  of the present invention. 
         [0042]    The computer system  301  also includes an operating system and micro instruction code. The various processes and functions described herein can either be part of the micro instruction code or part of the application program (or combination thereof) which is executed via the operating system. In addition, various other peripheral devices can be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage device and a printing device. 
         [0043]    It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures can be implemented in software, the actual connections between the systems components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings of the present invention provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention. 
         [0044]    The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.