Patent ID: 7081095

Claim:
A method for the automatic detection of obstructive sleep apnea in a centralized hospital critical care monitoring system for the monitoring by telemetry of a plurality of patients in at least one of a critical care ward and a hospital ward, the system including a central processor having a display, and a plurality of telemetry units for mounting with said patients, each of said telemetry units having a plurality of sensors for connection with each said patient, each of said telemetry units transmitting a plurality of signals to said central processor, the method comprising the steps of: a) programming said system to analyze said signals and to-automatically identify at least one of the presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea, b) programming said system to output an indication of said identified obstructive sleep apnea; and c) programming said system to communicate with an intravenous infusion system to prevent the progression of said identified obstructive sleep apnea by limiting infusion of a narcotic.