Wireless pressure ulcer alert methods and systems therefor

Abstract

Pressure monitoring methods and systems for warning a patient or caregiver that soft tissue pressure has exceeded some predetermined level that over time would necessitate moving the patient to prevent or at least reduce a risk of soft tissue damage. The methods and systems entail the use of a pressure sensing unit adapted to be applied to or near a surface of the patient's body, and a sensor associated with the sensing unit to generate electrical outputs corresponding to soft tissue pressure sensed at the surface. The electrical outputs are wirelessly monitored over a preselected time period to generate a cumulative output signal based on the electrical outputs and corresponding to whether or not the soft tissue pressure has exceeded a predetermined pressure level during the preselected time period. An alarm is generated if the cumulative output signal exceeds a predetermined cumulative threshold until the soft tissue pressure drops below the predetermined pressure level.

1 . A method of monitoring pressure and providing a warning to a patient or caregiver that the patient should be moved to at least reduce a risk of soft tissue damage to the patient, the method comprising:
 applying a pressure sensing unit to or near a surface of the patient's body that is susceptible to damage from soft tissue pressure, the pressure sensing unit comprising at least one sensor generating electrical outputs corresponding to soft tissue pressure sensed by the sensor at the surface of the patient's body;   wirelessly monitoring a plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor;   generating a counter value that increases from an initial value while the soft tissue pressure exceeds a predetermined pressure level and decreases toward the initial value while the soft tissue pressure does not exceed the predetermined pressure level;   visually displaying the counter value of the sensor and displaying a visual warning if the counter value is above the predetermined pressure level; and   continuously generating an alarm while the counter value exceeds a predetermined counter value.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the counter value increases at a first ratio relative to actual elapsed time, the counter value decreases at a second ratio relative to actual elapsed time, and the second ratio is less than the first ratio. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the counter value and the visual warning are displayed as part of a visual indication of the sensor and location thereof on a human outline, and the visual indication comprises an elapsed time progress bar that increases and decreases with the counter value. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , the method further comprising dragging the visual indication of the sensor to a specific part of a human outline displayed on a screen of a device that wirelessly monitors the plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrical outputs of the sensor are produced only if the soft tissue pressure exceeds the predetermined pressure level. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the electrical outputs of the sensor are at an identical output level regardless of how much the soft tissue pressure exceeds the predetermined pressure level. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein wirelessly monitoring the plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor comprises wirelessly transmitting the electrical outputs from the pressure-sensitive pad to a devise that is physically separate from the sensor and visually displays the counter value and the visual warning. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensing unit further comprises a carrier comprising dressing layers in which an aperture is defined, the method comprising placing the sensor in the aperture and releasably securing the sensor within the aperture with an adhesive strip. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising continuously generating an audible warning if the counter value exceeds the predetermined counter value to alert the patient to move in order to relieve the soft tissue pressure from the surface of the patient's body. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising continuously generating an audible warning if the counter value exceeds the predetermined counter value to alert the caregiver to move the patient in order to relieve the soft tissue pressure from the surface of the patient's body. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensing unit is one of a plurality of pressuring sensing units applied to or near different surfaces of the patient's body that are susceptible to damage from soft tissue pressure, the method further comprising:
 the counter value of a first of the pressure sensing units being above the predetermined pressure level; and   generating a signal that notifies the patient the location of the first pressuring sensing unit on the patient.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising storing the soft tissue pressures and durations and alarm events of the monitoring system on a memory card. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising generating a notification that the counter value previously exceeded the predetermined counter value and continuously generating the notification until the notification is disabled manually regardless of whether the counter value continues to exceed the predetermined counter value. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor vibrates while the alarm is being generated in order to notify the patient of the alarm. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising saving data regarding the counter and wirelessly uploading the data to a remote database. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising recording and saving the counter value at intervals over a predetermined period of time as historical data. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 terminating the monitoring of the plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor; and then   recording a status of the surface of the patient's body.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selectively setting the predetermined counter value prior to monitoring wirelessly the plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the counter value resets to the initial value after a predefined number of minutes of elapsed time at a sensed pressure below the predetermined pressure level. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the counter value decreases based on a predetermined algorithm that address the effects of different levels of pressure over different levels of time in relation to the location of the surface of the body subjected to the pressures. 
     
     
         21 . A monitoring system for providing a warning to a patient or caregiver that the patient should be moved to at least reduce a risk of soft tissue damage to the patient, the system comprising:
 a sensing unit adapted to be applied on or near a surface of the patient's body that is susceptible to damage from soft tissue pressure, the sensing unit comprising at least one sensor configured to generate electrical outputs corresponding to a risk of damage to the surface of the patient's body from soft tissue pressure;   an onsite wireless device including a smartphone or a tablet wirelessly communicating with the sensor and receiving the electrical outputs thereof;   an online web application communicating with a patient monitoring system; and   an online database storing data associated with the monitoring system including a set of data corresponding to the electrical outputs of the sensor.   
     
     
         22 . The monitoring system according to  claim 21 , wherein the monitoring system is a pressure monitoring system, the sensing unit is a pressure sensing unit, the electrical outputs generated by the sensor correspond to soft tissue pressure sensed by the sensor at the surface of the patient's body, and the warning is a pressure warning. 
     
     
         23 . The monitoring system according to  claim 21 , further comprising an offsite device including a smartphone, a tablet or a personal computer communicating with the onsite wireless device through a cloud. 
     
     
         24 . The monitoring system according to  claim 21 , further comprising software configured to visually display historical alerts, current alerts and status of the sensor on a monitoring screen of the onsite wireless device. 
     
     
         25 . The monitoring system according to  claim 24 , wherein the historical alerts include a visual indication of the sensor and location thereof on a human outline displayed on the monitoring screen. 
     
     
         26 . The monitoring system according to  claim 25 , wherein the visual indication of the sensor includes an elapsed time indicator. 
     
     
         27 . The monitoring system according to  claim 24 , wherein the software automatically detects the sensor and displays a visual representation of the sensor on the monitoring screen. 
     
     
         28 . The monitoring system according to  claim 27 , wherein the monitoring screen displays a human outline and is configured to enable the visual representation of the sensor to be dragged onto a body part of the human outline. 
     
     
         29 . The monitoring system according to  claim 21 , wherein the online web application communicates with a medical knowledge-based system and an interactive voice response and SMS engine that is configured to verbally communicate to the patient or caregiver that a warning is associated with the sensor and instruct the patient or caregiver as to how to take corrective action. 
     
     
         30 . A method of monitoring pressure and providing a warning to a patient or caregiver that the patient should be moved to at least reduce a risk of soft tissue damage to the patient, the method comprising:
 applying a pressure sensing unit to or near a surface of the patient's body that is susceptible to damage from soft tissue pressure, the pressure sensing unit comprising at least one sensor configured to generate electrical outputs corresponding to soft tissue pressure sensed by the sensor at the surface of the patient's body;   wirelessly monitoring a plurality of the electrical outputs generated by the sensor; and   activating an alarm while the soft tissue pressure exceeds a predetermined pressure level, deactivating the alarm when the soft tissue pressure no longer exceeds the predetermined pressure level, and re-activating the alarm after a predetermined amount of time after the alarm is deactivated.   
     
     
         31 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the predetermined amount of time before the alarm is re-activated is based on an amount of time the soft tissue pressure exceeded the predetermined pressure level. 
     
     
         32 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the predetermined amount of time before the alarm is re-activated is based on an algorithm including patient data, location of the surface on the patient's body, the soft tissue pressure, and an amount of time the soft tissue pressure exceeded the predetermined pressure level.