Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Cardiovascular
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-08
2001-06-26
Sykes, Angela D. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Cardiovascular
C600S485000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06251081
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blood-pressure monitoring apparatus which monitors the blood pressure of a living subject by periodically measuring a blood-pressure value of the subject.
2. Related Art Statement
There is known a blood-pressure (“BP”) monitoring device which monitors the BP of a living subject, e.g., a patient, by periodically measuring a BP value of the subject. An example of the conventional BP monitoring device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application laid open for public inspection under Publication No. 4(1992)-261640. The BP monitoring device includes a display device which displays each of the periodically measured BP values when each BP value is measured, or a graph representing a time-wise trend or change of the periodically measured BP values.
Even a patient whose BP needs to be monitored has a constant tendency or rate of change of his or her BP, in a short period of time. That is, in a short period, a patient's BP does not change irregularly. Hence, a BP monitoring device which displays a graph representing a time-wise trend of BP values periodically measured from a patient is employed by a doctor for predicting a future BP value of the patient. Even though the last or current BP value measured from the patient may not be abnormal, if the doctor can predict from the time-wise trend of the measured BP values that the patient's BP will be abnormal in future, the doctor can immediately give necessary treatments for the patient.
However, a doctor may not be able to check each of the BP values periodically measured from of a patient. Hence, there has been proposed a BP monitoring device of a type which generates an alarm sound, when judging that a measured BP value does not fall within a predetermined normal BP range, so that the doctor may be informed of the occurrence of an abnormality to the patient. However, so long as each measured BP value falls within the normal BP range, the conventional BP monitoring device does not take any actions, even in the case where a doctor would be able to predict that the patient's BP will be abnormal in future. Therefore, there are some cases where a long time passes before the BP monitoring device generates an alarm sound, after the patient's BP indicates its abnormality. Even in the case where the doctor can check each of the periodically measured BP values of the patient, the doctor may not be able to make an appropriate judgment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blood-pressure monitoring apparatus which predicts a future blood-pressure value of a living subject or a future change of the blood pressure of the living subject.
The present invention provides a blood-pressure monitoring apparatus which has one or more of the technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (20). Any technical feature which includes another technical feature shall do so by referring, at the beginning, to the parenthesized sequential number given to that technical feature.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a blood-pressure monitoring apparatus comprising a measuring device which periodically measures a blood-pressure value of a living subject at a predetermined period; and predicting means for predicting, based on a plurality of blood-pressure values measured by the measuring device, a blood-pressure value of the living subject at a later time later by a predetermined time than a time when a last one of the plurality of blood-pressure values is measured by the measuring device. The predicting means predicts, based on the blood-pressure (“BP”) values measured by the measuring device, a BP value of the living subject at the later time, i.e., determines a predicted BP value of the subject that is predicted to be most probably measured by the measuring device at the later time. Therefore, the living subject such as a patient, or a medical person such as a doctor or a nurse who attends to the patient can more quickly take appropriate actions, or give appropriate treatments to the patient, in view of the predicted BP value.
(2) According to a second feature of the present invention that includes the first feature (1), the predicting means comprises a central-value determining means for determining, as the predicted blood-pressure value, a central value of a blood-pressure range within which the blood pressure of the living subject is predicted, based on the plurality of blood-pressure values, to fall at the later time. The central-value determining means may determine the central value of the blood-pressure range within which the BP of the subject is predicted to fall at the later time, by applying the method of least squares, for example, to the BP values measured by the measuring device.
(3) According to a third feature of the present invention that includes the first or second feature (1) or (2), the measuring device comprises an inflatable cuff, the measuring device periodically measuring a blood-pressure value of the living subject while changing a pressing pressure of the cuff applied to a body portion of the subject. In this case, the measuring device non-invasively measures a BP value of the subject, which leads to relieving the subject of the burden of being physically invaded for a BP measurement using, e.g., a catheter.
(4) According to a fourth feature of the present invention that includes any one of the first to third features (1) to (3), the monitoring apparatus further comprises period changing means for changing, when the predicted blood-pressure value does not fall within a reference blood-pressure range, the predetermined period to a changed period shorter than the predetermined period, so that the measuring device measures a blood-pressure value of the living subject at the changed period. The fact that the predicted BP value does not fall within the reference BP range means that the BP of the subject will go out of the reference BP range in future. In this case, the period changing means changes the predetermined period to a changed period shorter than the predetermined period. Therefore, the measuring device will measure a BP value of the subject at the shorter period, i.e., earlier or more frequently. If the thus measured BP value does not fall within the reference BP range, the present BP monitoring apparatus may generate an alarm sound to inform the subject, or the medical person, of the occurrence of abnormality. However, the reference BP range may be replaced with a single reference BP value, according to the fifth or sixth feature (5) or (6) described below.
(5) According to a fifth feature of the present invention that includes any one of the first to third features (1) to (3), the monitoring apparatus further comprises period changing means for changing, when the predicted blood-pressure value is greater than a reference blood-pressure value, the predetermined period to a changed period shorter than the predetermined period, so that the measuring device measures a blood-pressure value of the living subject at the changed period.
(6) According to a sixth feature of the present invention that includes any one of the first to third features (1) to (3), the monitoring apparatus further comprises period changing means for changing, when the predicted blood-pressure value is smaller than a reference blood-pressure value, the predetermined period to a changed period shorter than the predetermined period, so that the measuring device measures a blood-pressure value of the living subject at the changed period.
(7) According to a seventh feature of the present invention that includes any one of the first to sixth features (1) to (6), the monitoring apparatus further comprises measured-blood-pressure-value displaying means for displaying a graph representing a time-wise trend of the plurality of blood-pressure values measured by the measuring device, on a two-dimensional coordinate sy
Carter Ryan
Colin Corporation
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Sykes Angela D.
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