Wearable medical treatment device with motion/position detection

Abstract

A cardiac monitoring system includes an externally wearable cardiac monitoring device; at least one cardiac sensing electrode operatively coupled to the device and configured to be disposed in proximity to a patient's skin to monitor cardiac activity of the patient; at least one accelerometer configured to generate signals indicative of patient body movement; and a microcontroller disposed in the device and configured to receive the signals indicative of patient body movement, receive one or more electrocardiogram (ECG) signals of the patient from the at least one cardiac sensing electrode, and analyze the one or more ECG signals received over a period of time to determine at least one cardiac arrhythmia condition of the patient; the device being configured to wirelessly transmit data related to the at least one cardiac arrhythmia condition and the signals indicative of patient body movement recorded over the period of time to a central server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cardiac monitoring system comprising:
 an externally wearable cardiac monitoring device;   at least one cardiac sensing electrode operatively coupled to the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the at least one cardiac sensing electrode being configured to be disposed in proximity to a patient's skin to monitor cardiac activity of the patient;   at least one accelerometer configured to generate signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement;   a microcontroller disposed in the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the microcontroller configured to
 receive the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement from the at least one accelerometer over a period of time, and 
 receive one or more electrocardiogram (ECG) signals of the patient from the at least one cardiac sensing electrode over the period of time; and 
   a central server configured to
 receive the one or more ECG signals of the patient and the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement, and 
 analyze the one or more ECG signals of the patient and the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement to determine a change in a condition of the patient over the period of time; 
   wherein the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device is configured to wirelessly transmit the one or more ECG signals of the patient and the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement to the central server.   
     
     
         2 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the condition includes a sleep disorder. 
     
     
         3 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the condition includes a heart failure condition. 
     
     
         4 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the change in the condition of the patient includes at least one of an improvement and a worsening of the condition of the patient. 
     
     
         5 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement indicate that the patient is at rest in a substantially vertical position. 
     
     
         6 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the signals indicative of at least one of patient position and patient body movement indicate a reduction in patient activity. 
     
     
         7 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the condition includes a heart failure condition, and wherein the change in the condition of the patient includes at least one of an improvement and a worsening of the heart failure condition. 
     
     
         8 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the cardiac monitoring system is configured to monitor one or more medical functions other than cardiac function of the patient. 
     
     
         9 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the body position of the patient includes at least one of sitting up, lying down on the patient's left side, and lying down on the patient's right side. 
     
     
         10 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one accelerometer is disposed in the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device. 
     
     
         11 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the signals indicative of patient position indicate that the patient is in at least one of a standing position and a prone position. 
     
     
         12 . A cardiac monitoring system comprising:
 an externally wearable cardiac monitoring device;   at least one cardiac sensing electrode operatively coupled to the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the at least one cardiac sensing electrode being configured to be disposed in proximity to a patient's skin to monitor cardiac activity of the patient;   at least one accelerometer configured to generate signals indicative of patient body movement; and   a microcontroller disposed in the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the microcontroller configured to
 receive the signals indicative of patient body movement from the at least one accelerometer, 
 receive one or more electrocardiogram (ECG) signals of the patient based on the monitored cardiac activity of the patient from the at least one cardiac sensing electrode, and 
 analyze the one or more ECG signals received over a period of time to determine at least one cardiac arrhythmia condition of the patient; 
   wherein the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device is configured to wirelessly transmit data related to the at least one cardiac arrhythmia condition and the signals indicative of patient body movement recorded over the period of time to a central server.   
     
     
         13 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the signals indicative of patient body movement indicate a reduction in patient activity. 
     
     
         14 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one accelerometer is disposed in the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device. 
     
     
         15 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein a sensitivity of the at least one accelerometer can be varied from 1.5 g to 6 g. 
     
     
         16 . An externally wearable cardiac monitoring device comprising:
 a plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes operatively coupled to the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes being configured to be disposed in proximity to a patient's skin to monitor cardiac activity of the patient;   at least one motion detector configured to be disposed in proximity to the patient and to generate signals indicative of patient body movement; and   a microcontroller configured to
 process the signals indicative of patient body movement from the at least one motion detector to provide patient body movement information, 
 detect an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal of the patient from the plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes, and 
 correlate the patient body movement information with the detected ECG signal to provide correlated patient body movement and ECG information; 
   wherein the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device is configured to wirelessly transmit the correlated patient body movement and ECG information to a central server.   
     
     
         17 . The externally wearable cardiac monitoring device of  claim 16 , wherein the microcontroller is further configured to:
 detect an arrhythmia in the detected ECG signal; and   determine a confidence level that the arrhythmia detection is accurate based on the correlated patient body movement and ECG information.   
     
     
         18 . The externally wearable cardiac monitoring device of  claim 16 , wherein the microcontroller is further configured to detect, based on the patient body movement information, whether an arrhythmia condition is present after a treatment has been applied. 
     
     
         19 . The externally wearable cardiac monitoring device of  claim 16 , wherein the patient body movement information indicates that the patient body position has changed from a horizontal position to a vertical position. 
     
     
         20 . A cardiac monitoring system comprising:
 an externally wearable cardiac monitoring device;   a plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes operatively coupled to the externally wearable cardiac monitoring device, the plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes being configured to be disposed in proximity to a patient's skin to monitor cardiac activity of the patient;   at least one motion detector configured to be disposed in proximity to the patient and to generate signals indicative of patient body movement;   a microcontroller configured to
 process the signals indicative of patient body movement from the at least one motion detector to provide patient body movement information, 
 detect an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal of the patient from the plurality of cardiac sensing electrodes, 
 correlate the patient body movement information with the detected ECG signal to provide correlated patient body movement and ECG information, and 
 transmit the correlated patient body movement and ECG information to a central server; and 
   the central server configured to
 receive the correlated patient body movement and ECG information, and 
 analyze the received correlated patient body movement and ECG information to determine at least one of an activity and a body position of the patient. 
   
     
     
         21 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 20 , wherein the microcontroller is further configured to monitor a patient condition based upon the at least one of the activity and the body position of the patient over a period of time. 
     
     
         22 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 21 , wherein the patient condition includes a sleep disorder. 
     
     
         23 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 21 , wherein the patient condition includes heart failure. 
     
     
         24 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 21 , wherein the heart failure includes congestive heart failure. 
     
     
         25 . The cardiac monitoring system of  claim 21 , wherein the cardiac monitoring system is further configured to provide a treatment directed to the patient condition.