Patent Publication Number: US-2007106131-A1

Title: Physiological signal monitoring apparatus for measuring physiological signals of a living subject

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a health care system, more particularly to a health care system that includes a physiological signal monitoring apparatus for transmitting the measured physiological records of a living subject to a health care provider via a network.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Due to rapid advance of transportation technology and health care system, the life span of a human being is prolonged for a relatively long years. According to the UNO (United Nation Organization) report on human-life survey, after 300 years from now, average life span of a person will be 95 years, specifically, a Japanese national can live up to 106 years due to their low-salt diet and environment. As the life span prolongs, there will appear several diseases that may endanger the lives of the aged persons. Some chronic diseases, such as hypertension, heart troubles, cancer of different types, paralysis, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, viral hepatitis and arteriosclerosis are well known today and are the most fatal diseases for the aged persons.  
      Since precaution is better than cure, a person should go under medical check up once in a year when he is over 40 years of age, in addition to taking care of daily eating habits. A person is in command of his own health. Physician and medical staff stand second in line so long as a person&#39;s health is concerned, and the person should listen to and take their professional advice as long as his health is concerned. A blood sugar tester, a blood-pressure gauge, a body scale, a cardiograph instrument, a thermometer and an obesity detector are some of the medical-assisting appliances people can rely on and use in their daily life in order to take down essential records of a person&#39;s health.  
      A physiological signal monitoring apparatus is generally used for measuring physiological records of a living subject (including persons suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women, children, elder persons and medical care takers). A general rule, a person usually follows is that he or she will write down his or her physiological records daily with the assistance of the abovementioned monitoring apparatus (like a thermometer) and he will supply the records to a physician for reference when the former calls on the latter (see  FIG. 1 ). He will visit a clinic or hospital unless on emergency cases, which he cannot attend to himself, such as a sudden fall leading to bone fracture.  
      For a busy man, it is somewhat difficult to regularly monitor or measure his physiological records. The larger the physiological records are to be monitored, the more difficult for him to accomplish. For example, in order to check the amount of uric acid, cholesterol and trigylceride contained in the blood of a person, the sample blood for undergoing the test is to be drawn out when his stomach is empty (i.e. without taking food for 10 hours long). Another way of precaution method is to take a routine check up of blood sugar level. The person suffering from diabetes must regularly visit a medical center (like township health care center) every 3 to 6 months so as to have the blood sugar level recorded, thereby eliminating the trouble of taking down the physiological records daily by himself.  
      On the other hand in Taiwan, a health care system known as “family doctor system” is introduced lately into a dwelling community in order to look after the health of the dwelling people within the community. In case, the physiological records of the dwelling people can be transmitted to the health care provider (like clinic or hospital), the health of the dwelling people will be kept under observation, thereby providing the necessary advice to the dwelling people when required.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The object of the present invention is to provide a health care system that includes a physiological signal monitoring apparatus via which physiological records of a living subject can be measured and the measured physiological records are immediately transmitted to a health care provider.  
      The other object of the present invention is to provide a physiological signal monitoring apparatus for use in a health care system. The monitoring apparatus is capable of transmitting the measured physiological records to the health care provider.  
      In one aspect of the present invention, a physiological signal monitoring apparatus is provided for use in a health care system, the health care system including a network, a health care provider and the physiological signal monitoring apparatus that is communicated with the health care provider via the network. The physiological signal monitoring apparatus includes: a physiological signal measuring module for measuring physiological records of a living subject, a reminding module for immediately generating warning signals and reminding matters based on the warning signals, and a transmission interface for transmitting the physiological records of the living subject to the health care provider. The reminding matters are used for reminding the living subject to conduct a predetermined performance in order to achieve a corresponding result that is transmitted to the health care provider via the transmission interface.  
      According a second aspect of the present invention, a physiological signal monitoring apparatus is provided for use in a health care system, the health care system including a network, a health care provider and the physiological signal monitoring apparatus that is communicated with the health care provider via the network. The physiological signal monitoring apparatus includes: a physiological signal measuring module for measuring physiological records of a living subject; a recording unit for recording preset reminding matters and the physiological records of the living subject, wherein the recording unit includes a calendar for recording predetermined time data, a reminding module for immediately generating warning signals and reminding matters based on the warning signals; and a transmission interface for transmitting the physiological records of the living subject to the health care provider. The reminding matters are used for reminding the living subject to conduct a predetermined performance when the warning signals matched with the predetermined time data so as to achieve a corresponding result that is transmitted to the health care provider via the transmission interface.  
      In a third aspect of the present invention, a health care system is provided to include: a physiological signal monitoring apparatus including a physiological signal measuring module for measuring physiological records of a living subject; a reminding module for immediately generating warning signals and reminding matters based on the warning signals; a health care provider for receiving the physiological records of the living subject in order to look after the living subject; a network; and a transmission interface for transmitting the physiological records of the living subject to the health care provider via the network. The reminding matters are used for reminding the living subject to conduct a predetermined performance so as to achieve a corresponding result that is transmitted to the health care provider via the transmission interface. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional system of transmitting a physiological record to a heath care provider;  
       FIG. 2  shows a health care system of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram representing a physiological signal monitoring apparatus of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      A health care system of the present invention includes a health care provider and a physiological signal monitoring apparatus having the transmitting capability. The physiological signal monitoring apparatus is adapted to measure the physiological signals of a living subject (a human being), and is adapted to transmit the measured physiological records (signals) to the health care provider. An example of the health care system is given below for better understanding of the present invention, but the scope of the invention should not be limited thereto.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , the preferred embodiment of a health care system  20  according to the present invention includes a transmission interface (not shown in  FIG. 2 ), a plurality of physiological signal monitoring apparatuses  14  (only one is visible in  FIG. 2 ) and a health care provider  18  that is in communication with the monitoring apparatuses  14  via the network  16 . Each physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  is adapted to measure the physiological records of a living subject (such as measuring blood pressure of a person, conducting blood test to find out the amount of uric acid, cholesterol and trigylceride, testing blood sugar level, taking the temperature, recording down the body weight, liver function, measuring the blood pulse, dimension of a tumor and etc.). The health care provider  18  is adapted to receive the physiological records transmitted by each of the physiological signal monitoring apparatuses  14 . The health care provider  18  can be a health care center (such as hospital, clinic and medical foundation). Alternately, the health care provider  18  can be a personal computer  180  or a server  180  (of a dormitory for the elders, security agency and a nursing home), which is communicated with the physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  via the network  16 . The network  16  can be a cable network or a wireless network so long as it can establish communication between the health care provider  18  and the monitoring apparatus  14  so that the transmission interface can transmit the measured physiological records to the medical personnel at the health care provider  18  for reference.  
       FIG. 3  shows a block diagram representing the physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  according to the present invention. The monitoring apparatus  14  includes a physiological signal measuring module  22 , a transmission interface  24 , a recording unit  26 , a reminding module  28 , a real time clock module  30 , an input medium  32  and an output medium  34 . The signal measuring module  22  can be selected from a medical device group consisting of a blood-pressure gauge, a blood sugar test, cardiograph instrument, a thermometer, and a fat detector. The signal measuring module  22  can be other medical device so long as it can measure the physiological signals of the living subject.  
      The transmission interface  24  is used for transmitting the physiological records measured by the aforesaid signal measuring module  22  to the health care provider  18  via the cable network (including wireless network). The transmission interface  24  may include a data transmission module, and can be selected from a wireless module group consisting of a ZigBee module  241 , a bluetooth module  242 , an IrDA module  243 , a home RF module  244 , a GPRS module, a WLAN/WiMax module  245  and a GPRS module  246 .  
      In case, the cable network is selected, the user can use a modem module  247 , a cable module  248 , an ADSL module  249  or a service management module  250 . Note that the wireless network structure is preferred only when the distance between the health care provider  18  and the physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  is relatively short. If the wireless network structure is chosen for transmission of information, prior to transmission of the measured physiological records to the health care provider, a backup file of the physiological records should be recorded in the personal computer, a smart phone or a personal digital assistance for precaution sake and to prevent loss of the measured physiological records of the living subject.  
      The service management module  250  uses an independent telephone line for transmitting and registering the measured physiological records to the health care provider. Alternately, the service management module  250  may include at least two telephone lines, one of which is used for contacting the health care provider such that the latter can register the transmitted data into the data base under a specific name after identifying and assuring the user&#39;s name. Once thus arranged, the health care provider  18  will use the other telephone line to fetch the latest physiological records of the user at preset time intervals.  
      The recording unit  26  is used for recording preset reminding matters, and includes a calendar for recording predetermined time data. The reminding matters can be light beams of specific color, sound of specific amplitude, letters and calligraphy, warning signs or images. The reminding module  28  can generate the alarm signals and the reminding matters immediately based on the alarm signals. When the alarm signal generated by the reminding module  28  matches with the predetermined time data stored in the calendar, the transmission interface  34  will display the reminding matters, thereby urging and reminding the living subject to conduct a predetermined performance so as to achieve a corresponding result that is transmitted to the health care provider  18  by the transmission interface  34 .  
      An important to note that the alarm signals in the preferred embodiment is produced by the real time clock module  30 . The alarm signals are supplied into the reminding module  28  for conducting the matching operation. The recording unit  26  is capable of supplying the physiological records measured at the predetermined time intervals for taking care of the living subject. The reminding module  28  can remind the living subject according to the instructions of the health care provider  18  to conduct the predetermined performance that may include actions of measuring physiological signal of the living subject, taking medicines regularly, calling on the health care provider  18  upon an appointment date, and undergoing rehabilitation exercises or a combination of two actions.  
      The physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  of the present invention further includes an input interface  32  via which plurality sets of preset information can be inputted into the transmission interface  24  for transmission to the health care provider  18 . The preset information includes the individual physiological records, the reminding matters based on the alarm signals and etc. The input interface  32  includes an input medium  320 , such as a sound-recognizing module  326  for recognizing individual sound of the living subject, a finger-print recognizing module  324  for recognizing an individual finger print of the living subject or an image acquisition module  322  for recognizing the mage of the living subject. The image acquisition module  322  may include an image transmission module  240  for processing the image data. The input medium  320  also includes a keyboard and a writing pad for input of codes and letters for transmitting the same to the health care provider  18  in an e-mail form.  
      The image acquisition module  322  includes optical instruments, such as CCD (charge coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor). For those persons who have to spend most of the time in bed due to weakness or unable to walk, the finger-print recognizing module  324  is a choice for identifying the individual person when transmitting the measured physiological records the health care provider. In addition, the sound-recognizing module  326  is another alternative for those persons who are short of sight and who are unable to work freely by themselves.  
      The physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  of the present invention further includes an output interface  34  having an output medium  340  for displaying the warning signals. The output medium  340  includes a display screen, an amplifier, and a verbal module  342  for broadcasting a procedure for measuring the physiological records of the living subject. When required, the verbally explained procedure can be downloaded and is recorded in the recording unit  26  of the physiological signal monitoring apparatus  14  of the present invention. The recorded procedure can be broadcasted over the amplifier when circumstance required for benefit of the operator nearby.  
      Some of the benefits provided by the physiological signal monitoring apparatus of the present invention are as follow: 
      (1) when the physiological signal monitoring apparatus is used, the user is free from the trouble of noting down the measured physiological records (such as blood sugar level, blood pressure) in paper charts, since the monitoring apparatus itself is capable of immediately transmitting the measured physiological records to the health care provider;     (2) the user&#39;s life can be saved in case of emergency, since the health care provider can supply medical advice to the user;     (3) the expense for hiring the nursing personnel for looking after the disabled elders can be reduced, since reminding matters and warning signals can eliminate accidents for the disable elders; and     (4) the monitoring apparatus is compatible to the family health care system, since the user&#39;s physiological records are kept under observation at the health care provider side without relying on physical paper handling.    

      While the invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.